Friday Qur’an Reflections: Who else but He, grants pure, true, and inspiring guidance?

{وَمَن يَهْدِ اللَّهُ فَهُوَ الْمُهْتَدِ}

“And whomsoever Allah guides, has the proper guidance.” (Surat Al-Isra, Verse 97)

Above all else, Divine guidance is all we need. Without it, we fail in this world and the hereafter. What a loss that would be! Who else but He, grants pure, true, and inspiring guidance?

Lately, I’ve come to know that anything myself or others do is purely because of the tawfiq (success) God grants us. Without tawfiq from Allah, we would fail to wake up for fajr, or pray our prayers on time, or get into medical school, or be healthy enough to serve our communities, etc. We can see ourselves as greater than others, but who are we fooling, really? Were it not for this very tawfiq God has given us, where would we be?

Tawfiq in guidance is a blessing beyond other blessings. It is the most beautiful because in order to be guided by God, one must take a step towards Him, and He promises to run towards us. It’s an eternal relationship that allows us to receive much more than we can ever give.

I guess what I’m trying to say is this: it’s only through the tawfiq of Allah do we find guidance, remain guided, and pursue our life through this guidance. It was He who found us lost and guided us. Whenever we see someone who has yet to be guided, it is a reminder for us firstly — to remember how we once were and to never retrace that path, to be grateful for this gift from Allah, and to aid those who are struggling just as we struggled.

We all started somewhere and only God knows if we will remain guided. It is this very ego of ours that misguides us, so let us never look down on anyone besides ourselves. We can always be better.