Recently in one of my counselling sessions my client asked me to help her understand what surrendering to Allah actually meant.
The word Islam itself means to surrender to Allah’s will. As Muslims we understand this on a conceptual level, we accept this as our foundation of existence, but we don’t always succeed in the act of surrendering to Allah in our daily lives.
We get consumed by the fear of the unknown. Our mind and body become debilitated by anxiety because of this fear of the unknown. And our daily struggles become more burdensome because we forget that Islam is always about surrendering, not resisting, to Allah’s will.
And that’s what is the most challenging part of being a Muslim.
In answering to my client’s question, I asked her to think of the following scenario to gain a better understanding of what surrendering to Allah actually looked like in action:
Imagine that you have been given a storm warning. It is estimated to be in your location in a few hours. One of the first things we do in that case is to prepare for our safety. We make sure that all windows and doors are shut, all outdoor furniture is stored away or appropriately covered. We ensure we remain in a safe and secure space.
And then we wait for the moment of the storm. We listen, we try and remain calm while the storm is happening. Once the storm passes, we then begin the big clean-up. We spend hours, sometimes days restoring everything back to normal.
In the above scenario, there is a precise moment which teaches us surrender. Allah has blessed us with our mind and body to prepare for the storm and to clean up after the storm. But He has showed us that the actual moment of the storm belongs only and only to Him alone.
It is Allah that knows exactly when the rain, winds, thunder, and lightening during that storm will occur and with what force.
The moments before the storm and the moments after the storm we use our skills, logic, our mind, and body, to control things but there is absolutely zero control any creation has in the precise moment of the storm’s occurrence. That moment belongs to Allah. Accepting this knowing and acting without resistance to it is what surrendering means.
It is to know and accept without resistance that you can prepare for your day, and you can analyse the events that occurred in your day, but you can’t control everything in your day.
You will be required to pause during your day, every day, and realise that whatever you’re trying hard to control through anger or fear or shame or guilt or blame is only going to cause more pain and anguish.
Take a deep breath and as you exhale, surrender in the knowing that it is Allah who can help you feel calmer. Turn to Allah and surrender your “storm” to Allah. This too shall pass.
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