The Traces of His Mercy
Being an active observer of our personal signs
When we speak of the divine, we conjure majestic images of superior powers — sprouting from our ruminations of the vast and enigmatic universe. Perhaps we project visions of the lights and curves of faraway galaxies, hearken to the mysterious realm of the spirit, or imagine the raw forces behind the lifting of mountains and spreading of seas. We think of a meticulous Hand, setting the scenes of our history’s chronology: the big maneuvers and rises and falls.
Yet why does it often escape our periphery that the very same Source of Divinity is ever present in the seemingly small and banal details of our days?
With His infinite Capacity beyond our comprehension, we should believe that He has the Power of delicately minute attention towards the entirety of His creation, should we not? And that includes the whole of humanity, and the intricacies of their life.
For He is Musabbibul Asbaab, the Cause of all causes — All-Seeing, All-Hearing, and He is acquainted with all that we do.
So perhaps we should see everything for what they truly are. Each person, each leaf, each circumstance, each recommended video, this Medium piece, could not have surfaced into our lives without His Permission. So behind the sensoric physical embodiment of all these, our heart should be sufficiently softened to recognize the divine dimension behind them. We should actively ask, “What is the Message behind this?”
Rajji’s Theorizing and Rakean’s Themes
Upon my last visit up the trapdoor and into the room of my highschool companion, Rajji, he discussed a certain mindset of his.
“Whatever it is, I’m always trying to find a Reason for it. Like, ‘oh of course this happened, Allah is trying to tell me something.’”
Apparently, his habit of theorizing the reasons of things in this matter caught on to his regular crew, and left an impression on them. He thought of it as something that was only natural. Of course A and B happened in the way that it did. It had to happen for C to become the perfect outcome. And from C came the perfect lesson.
What I saw: faith.
And I became somewhat jealous of that level of instinctual and active faith — guiding the way Rajji saw the threads of life. With it came not only acceptance of the trials and tribulations that heavily colored the journey of Rajji, but also an active search of the message behind each one.
In this discussion, I realized that to an extent, I also often find patterns within my own life — themes, if you will. All the planned and unplanned situations, the conversations, the algorithm-recommended content, the ups, and the downs in a certain period of my life often point towards a grand theme. My time during exchange abroad, for example, was a large lesson in learning of solitude and home — an experience that solidified a massive part of how I carry myself today. And afterwards, I see the dots connect perfectly.
But before these dots become the constellation of passed fate, there are signs. We can spot the patterns; we can actively seek what His message is behind all the accumulated little things.
So when a headline sticks out, when a YouTube video pops up out of nowhere with a salient message, when a friend approaches with a sudden conversation, when a memory randomly surfaces—perhaps there is something behind it. No. There is something behind it: a reason in the divine web of Reasons that was placed at the opportune moment in time a space for you to pick up on.
This is what we have been called to do.
We are reminded to be actively observant towards the aathaar ( اٰثٰرِ), the effects — the traces !— of His Mercy. It is His Mercy that embeds hidden lessons, messages, and grand themes behind our livelihoods. And it is our job to seek them.
So observe the effects of the mercy of Allāh — how He gives life to the earth after its lifelessness. Indeed, that [same one] will give life to the dead, and He is over all things competent. — Q.S. Ar-Rum 30:50
