A Personal Reminder: Trusting Allah’s Plan in Difficult Times

The moral of the story: Allah is the best of planners. Truly put your trust in Him. Whatever happens in this life is qadar and written for you. Allah does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear. I’ve been dealing with serious health problems and need a hip replacement. I kept postponing it because I’m only 21, but eventually I accepted it had to be done. I searched for the best doctor and got into the top hospital in my country. I found a surgeon with around 20 years’ experience who often works with younger patients. In my head I thought: If anyone can do this surgery, it’s him. He’s going to fix me. But that thinking was wrong. If anyone is going to truly heal me, it is Allah. Doctors are just means. I realized I had put too much trust in a human instead of turning fully to Allah. One week before the operation-after I’d prepared mentally and physically-I got a call. My surgeon had broken his ankle after a fall and couldn’t operate for a while. They said another doctor could do the surgery. I looked him up and found out he’d only started as a surgeon this year. So I had two choices: wait months for the experienced surgeon to recover, or go ahead next week with a brand-new surgeon. I felt crushed. Family and friends kept asking what I’d do, and I didn’t have an answer. I broke down, cried, and asked Allah why this was happening. Instead of turning to my Creator first, I went everywhere else looking for answers-friends and distant relatives. Finally, that day I started praying sincerely again. I cried and begged Allah for help and guidance. While praying the second salah that day, something clicked. Maybe this was a lesson to fully trust Allah, have tawakkul, and stop thinking humans hold more power than they truly do. I told myself that no matter who performs the surgery, it is Allah who heals. I prayed Salat al-Istikhara and asked: “Ya Allah, if this is good for my life and my deen, make it easy for me. And if it is not good for me, make this process difficult.” That night my sister asked again what I planned to do. I told her I felt broken but had left it in Allah’s hands. I said I’d prayed Istikhara and would accept whatever happens. She reminded me that trusting Allah doesn’t mean being careless. She was right, and I doubted myself again. But then I looked out my window and said: No. Allah is the best of planners. Whatever happens, happens. I can’t change this now-my only choice is to trust Allah. The next day I went for a walk in the nearby forest to clear my head and record a message for my future self about this choice. After three minutes I realized I’d left a piece of equipment in my car and turned back. As I reached my car, my phone rang. It was the new doctor. He apologized and said he couldn’t operate next week because two other patients needed urgent surgeries before mine. I stood there and felt neither angry nor upset-I felt content. I remembered my Istikhara immediately. This seemed like the clearest sign I could have asked for. He said they would put me on an urgent list; if my original doctor returned, I’d be first on his list and wouldn’t face further delay. He also offered to meet me so I could feel comfortable with him. Right after I hung up, my mother called. She asked me to come to the mosque to pray Asr so I could drive her home afterward. I checked the time-only three minutes left before prayer. The forest is right next to the mosque, and if I hadn’t forgotten my equipment I wouldn’t have made it in time. As I walked into the mosque, the iqama began. I felt a peace in prayer I hadn’t felt in a long time. My mistake had been neglecting my prayers and letting my trust in people replace trust in Allah. I was ignorant to lean more on humans than on the One who controls all. I hope anyone who reads this finds comfort, strength, and deeper tawakkul in Allah. I learned a lesson: things that seem annoying or inconvenient might have a bigger wisdom behind them-like forgetting my equipment but making it to the masjid in time for prayer.