A person often perceives the events that happen in their life as coincidences, because they are satisfied with what they see and struggle to comprehend the wisdom that lies beyond the unseen, whereas from an Islamic perspective, no event in a person’s life occurs without reason or purpose, since everything happens by the decree of Allah, with a specific wisdom and measure, and even if a person is unable to understand that wisdom immediately, its existence does not change.
In the Holy Qur’an, it is repeatedly emphasized that everything that befalls a person happens by the permission of Allah, and no event occurs in an uncontrolled, unplanned, or random manner; however, since a person often sees only the outward aspect of events, they tend to evaluate them either as failures or coincidences, and in doing so, they fail to perceive the deeper meaning hidden behind divine decree.
Sometimes a person strongly desires something and strives to attain it, yet despite all efforts, fails to achieve it, which leads to disappointment, whereas one of the greatest truths taught by Islam is that not everything a person desires is necessarily good for them, and at times Allah distances a person from what they want precisely to protect them, because a person only knows what they see, while Allah knows both what is seen and what is unseen.
A person often interprets delays in their life as failures, yet these delays can sometimes be opportunities for preparation, because everything has its own time and Allah brings things to pass at the most appropriate moment; therefore, a delay does not mean something is meaningless, but rather, it can be a stage of preparation for something greater.
The people we encounter in life are also not coincidental, because every person enters our life either as a blessing or as a lesson, and each of these encounters plays a certain role in our development, as some bring us love and comfort, while others test us, strengthen our patience, and reveal our inner strength.
In Islam, life is described as a test, and this test is not limited to hardships alone but also includes comfort and blessings, because a person is tested not only in times of difficulty but also in times of ease, and sometimes the greatest test for a person is precisely what they possess, because when they fail to appreciate these blessings or use them in the wrong way, this too becomes part of their trial.
A person often considers the difficulties they face to be meaningless and asks, “Why me?”, yet the answer to this question is often not found in their thoughts but within their faith, because a believer knows that Allah does nothing without purpose, and behind every hardship lies either the cleansing of sins or the spiritual elevation of the person.
Sometimes a person’s plans collapse, their dreams remain unfulfilled, and life does not proceed in the direction they had hoped for, yet such situations often become opportunities for self-reflection, because it is only when plans fall apart that a person realizes who truly holds control, and this realization brings them closer to Allah.
When a person looks at the events in their life only from an external perspective, they lose much of their meaning, but when they accept that there is divine wisdom behind these events, their perspective changes, and they begin to seek a message in every occurrence, a lesson in every hardship, and a hidden benefit in every loss, and this transforms their inner world, making them more patient, more humble, and more aware.
In the end, a person comes to understand a fundamental truth: nothing that happens in their life is random; they simply may not be able to grasp its meaning immediately, and sometimes what they fail to understand turns out to be beneficial for them, sometimes what they lose directs them toward a better path, sometimes delays prepare them, and sometimes closed doors mean that better doors will open for them.