Uncertainty lies at the heart of our human condition. Our relationship with uncertainty is also at the heart of our most human distress – anxiety. When we’re unable to tolerate the uncertainties of life, whatever they are – will Allah accept my deeds, will I succeed in this world, will I be loved/rejected – the everyday soon becomes unbearable.
One of the ways I look after myself is by reminding myself every morning a prayer my mother taught me when I was a child: “In the name of Allah, I depend on you, oh Lord, and there is is no Power nor Strength but with God alone.” When the uncertainties of the world overwhelm my gaze, I remember that no matter what I do, no matter how hard I try, nothing can be achieved unless it was Willed to be achieved. All that is asked of me is that I try. And this brings my heart peace.