The Way Out When Life Feels Stuck | Allah’s Names | Dr. Omar Suleiman | Ep. 15

The Cycles of Life

Allah speaks about everything in cycles. Because nothing here really moves in a straight line. Everything loops until it comes to an end. Think about اختلاف الليل والنهار, the alternation of night and day.

The sun goes down, everything goes dark. And before you know it, it's daytime again. And that's either comforting because you need to know that the bright day will come with relief after a really dark night, or frustrating because you lost another day and don't feel like you're moving anywhere closer to where you want to get to.

It's Monday, and then the next thing you know, it's Monday again. And the week keeps looping until it becomes months, and then years. And then the next thing you know, it's all over.

If you're feeling pain today, then know that they felt pain like you yesterday. And we alternate these days among the people. Every power and pain rotates amongst the people to remind you that neither your wins nor your wounds define you.

They felt that sting at the loss of Badr, and now you felt it at Uhud. So the good and bad days rotate until you no longer have any days left. But what's the difference? وَتَرْجُونَ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لَا يَرْجُونَ You want something different from Allah than what they want.

Otherwise, you're just stuck in the cycle like them.

The Cycle of Material Possession

Which brings us to the next cycle, the cycle of material possession.

Know that the life of this world is nothing but play, then amusement, then vanity, then competition amongst the people, and then the accumulation of wealth and children.

And just like when the rain falls on the soil, suddenly the crops bloom, and everything looks alive and new and full of promise, and so it turns green, or maybe gold, but then it loses its color, and it fades, fades into yellow, until it eventually dies. And then you're left with dirt in your hand, just like you started, and you only have what you harvested for the hereafter, of good or evil.

The Cycle of Human Existence

And then Allah turns the mirror towards you yourself, and this one stings the most.

Allah created you in weakness, and then out of that weakness, He gave you strength, and then He returned you to weakness again, but this time, with grey hair and withering bones. You begin dependent, then you grow independent, and if you live long enough, you end up being dependent once again. And this is not to humiliate you, but to remind you of who gave you that strength in the first place, and what it was supposed to be for.

Breaking Free from the Cycles

And so all of these things are like spinning mirrors of realities that you can't control. But sometimes, you get stuck inside one or more of those loops, and the worst one is sin. When it's the same sin you keep coming back to even after you said you never would.

Or it's the same goals you're setting for yourself every Ramadan, only to have another year pass and realize you're still promising the same thing. Or it's the same du'a that you're making, and somehow the same condition keeps plaguing you. It's like you keep refreshing the same broken page, hoping the next time will load differently, and the heart knows there has to be a door somewhere, but your eyes can't seem to find it.

What if you're staring at a wall that doesn't have the door you're waiting for? Only Allah can reboot you, and reroute your life according to what He knows you need. But you have to delete some things that are clogging your spiritual processor first, and pay closer attention to what you already have.

(Hadith Qudsi - Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2466)

O child of Adam, devote yourself to My worship, and I will fill your heart with richness, and I will remove your poverty. But if you don't, then I will fill your hands with problems, and I will not alleviate your poverty.

So notice how He promises you that both your heart and your hands will be full, not just with money in the account, but with a sense of contentment that comes with it. It's sustenance that actually satisfies.

And the word is غِنًى, contentment, during the cycle until the cycle itself actually changes.

Al-Ghani: The Self-Sufficient

And this is where His name, Al-Ghani, the self-sufficient comes into focus. Al-Ghani is the one who is entirely free of need.

You know a lot of times people hear غني, and they think wealthy. But غني means free of need in every sense, because Allah is not in need of your worship, your obedience, your thanks, or even your existence.

O mankind, you are the ones in need of Allah, and Allah alone is Al-Ghani Al-Hamid.

He will not guide you because He needs you, but because He wants you. And that changes everything, because love that needs nothing from you is the purest kind of love. And when you need something from people, you get treated differently.

Human beings will hide their wealth behind closed doors and polite excuses not to give you. They'll say business is slow right now, expenses are really high. But Allah opens His door constantly and says, I have it, and I want you to ask me for it.

And that's why Wahb ibn Munabbah, rahimahullah, once said to a scholar who was going around courting kings for money, وَيْحَكَ تَأْتِي مَن يُغْلِقُ عَلَيْكَ بَابَهُ وَيُظْهِرُ لَكَ فَقْرًا وَيُوَارِي عَنْكَ غِنَاهُ Woe to you! You go to the one who shuts his door in your face, who shows you his poverty, and who hides his wealth, and all along you leave the one who opens his door day and night. يُظْهِرُ لَكَ غِنَاهُ وَيَقُولُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ He shows you his wealth, he shows you his richness, and he says, call upon me and I will answer you.

So what do you say about such a lord? الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ All praise is due to him who doesn't treat us like a creature would, which brings us to the name Al-Hamid, the praiseworthy.

Al-Hamid: The Praiseworthy

Al-Hamid means the praiseworthy intrinsically and eternally, not because anyone adds to him, but because his perfection demands it. And he pairs Al-Ghani with Al-Hamid because when he tells you, I don't need you, he's not dismissing you. As Ibn Al-Qayyim said, he is praiseworthy بذاته by his very essence, whether or not anyone praises him.

And the difference between حمد and شكر matters here. شكر is to say thanks for a particular favor. حمد is praise for who the giver is himself along with that thanks.

So Allah is teaching you to love the مُنْعِم, the one bestowing the blessing, not only the نِعَم, the blessing itself.

And here's one way the names Al-Ghani and Al-Hamid come together. The more you praise a blessing, the more present and fulfilling it becomes.

So you have greater perspective on what you already have, which gives غِنًى, contentment in your heart, and حمد, praise for your circumstances. That allows you to not worry about what isn't, but to be pleased with what is. And then you focus your heart on pleasing Allah with whatever your circumstances are.

(Hadith Qudsi - Sahih Ibn Hibban, Hadith 2901)

And Allah says in Hadith Qudsi, When I put one of my faithful servants to trial, and he praises me despite his trial, he will rise from his bed free of sin like the day he was born from his mother. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, I have confined my servant and put him to test. So reward him as you used to when he was healthy.

Transcending Through Praise

So one way of transcending the cycle of pain is to praise Allah despite your situation. But the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam taught us to also praise Allah when he gives you more blessings. And this connects us to what we spoke of last time.

When you're buried in hardship, سبحان الله is how you transcend and rise above like Yunus alayhi salam. But when you're blessed by ease, الحمد لله is how you stay grounded like Sulaiman alayhi salam.

In the same way that سبحان الله protects you from being trapped by pain, الحمد لله protects you from being trapped by pleasure.

Al-Fattah: The Opener

But then there is one more amazing name that fits this pattern. Al-Ghani and Al-Hamid remind you of what you currently have and can make the most of with gratitude. But how do you open new doors and escape those cycles themselves? That's Allah Al-Fattah, the opener.

It may be that you're stuck in a sin and can't find the door out. Or you're afraid that leaving that sin will also leave behind something or someone that you need to survive.

And whoever is mindful of Allah, he will make a way out for him and then he will provide for him from where he could not imagine.

So before Allah shows you the new entrance, He shows you the current exit. Or you could be stuck in trying to understand something that's just not clicking. But as Ibn Taymiyyah rahimahullah would say when he got stuck, يَا مُعَلِّمَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَلِّمْنِي وَيَا مُفَهِّمَ سُلَيْمَانَ فَهِّمْنِي O teacher of Ibrahim, teach me. And O giver of understanding to Sulaiman, grant me understanding.

And Allah opens a door of comprehension for you that you never knew was there. You could be stuck in trying to get out of a bad financial situation or trying to get something, but you feel like someone is standing in the way.

Whatever mercy Allah opens for a people, none can withhold. And whatever He withholds, none can release after Him.

Remember when Nuh alayhi salam said, رَبِّ إِنِّي مَغْلُوبٌ فَانْتَصِرْ My Lord, I am overpowered, so help me.

So we opened the gates of the sky with pouring water, and we split the earth with springs. And those who mocked Him were swept away by the very flood they denied, opened by Al-Fattah.

Victory Through Al-Fattah

You might feel stuck in defeat, and we might feel stuck in defeat as an ummah. But remember how the companions felt at Hudaybiyyah when they were turned away from the Ka'bah, bound by terms they didn't want, and unable to see what Allah was preparing. Until Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said:

We have opened for you a clear opening. What looked like a setback was actually a door to victory.

And this is so crucial because sometimes Al-Fattah doesn't open a new door to a new reality, but an inner door to the same reality. And suddenly you can walk where you once felt walled in.

Al-Ghani and Al-Hamid let you see what you already have. Al-Fattah lets you see what it can become.

When to Call Upon Al-Fattah

So when do you call upon Al-Fattah? When your mind can't solve it, or your heart or someone else's heart is locked, or your sustenance feels stuck, or the path feels foggy. Sometimes He opens the very door you're knocking on.

And then sometimes He shows you a side door of good that you never noticed. Sometimes He lengthens the hallway so that your steps can earn their reward. But He guarantees tawfiq to the sincere if you keep looking to Him.

And He promises you that He will open. And Al-Fattah is also the one who will open the final chapter with justice.

Say that our Lord will gather us once again and then He will open between us with truth. And He is the Opener, the All-Knowing.

So if justice felt elusive here in this dunya, know that no file goes missing on the Day of Judgment. The seals will be broken, the records will be opened, and every wrong will be met with His perfect fattah, the opening that no hand can close.

Du'a

Ya Ghani, you are free of all need while I am always in need of you. Let me never beg from those as poor as me. Make me rich through contentment and fill my heart with gratitude instead of greed.

Ya Hamid, you are praised whether or not I remember to say it. Teach me to love you not just for what you give, but for who you are. Let my praise echo in hardship as it does in ease. And let every breath I take be a quiet thank you.

Ya Fattah, open doors I cannot find and hearts that I cannot reach. Open paths to good where I only see walls. And open my chest to trust whatever you've decreed. Let every opening you grant me lead me back to you.