How Allah Answered One Muslim’s Search for Peace

My friend once said, “We can find inner peace through success in life. That’s why we need to work extremely hard.”

He pushes hard every day to make his dreams come true. His mindset motivated me to work harder.

However, is it true that we can find peace and joy through success?

My mind was opened after I experienced a crisis. Everything I had built and everything I worked hard for was taken away from me in the blink of an eye. Sadly, it left me depressed.

Read my story if you want to experience true peace no matter what you may be going through.

Can Success Brings Peace?

I came from an underprivileged family. My dad was a schoolteacher in our small village. My mom took care of the household.

Due to our poor financial condition, I became strongly motivated to work and support my family. At a relatively young age, I was able to secure a prominent position in a good company. Eventually, I opened up a small shop and food stalls to help with my siblings’ tuition.

My career was looking up. I started to enjoy what some people would consider “success”. My dad had retired, and I was able to support my whole family, own a car, and pay my mortgage.

However, during these good times, I never felt the peace that success promised. I felt an empty hole in my heart, and I constantly faced trials.

The higher my position at work, the fiercer the competition. I often worried that I wasn’t going to hit my sales goal. And I was physically exhausted from all the overtime they made me do.

All these things took away my peace and joy. Success brought anxiety, not peace. I had to keep looking. 

A Surprising Story from a Successful Friend

I was even more shocked when a tragic thing happened to a close friend of mine. It reminded me that success wasn’t everything.

My friend was an inspiration for me from the start. He worked hard and was considered much more successful than I was.

However, one day, I found out that he had committed suicide! Apparently, he hid his problems from people and struggled alone. After that incident, I started to consider my life once more.

Looking at this successful person who took his own life because of depression, I asked myself, “How on earth am I going to experience peace?”

Life on Earth is Filled with Obstacles and Challenges

Then I experienced a major challenge. It’s true that we cannot know when our lives may change drastically.

“Be sure We shall test you with something of fear and hunger some loss in goods or lives or the fruits (of your toil) but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere.” (Qs 2:155).

Because of the pandemic and financial crisis, I didn’t perform well in sales. And the company began experiencing a downturn.

They started to let go of some employees, including me. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, I had to close down my shop and food stalls due to the low number of customers.

How was I supposed to experience joy in a difficult situation when I couldn’t even find it in my moment of success? This brought me to an even worse mental state.

Looking for Comfort through Religion

During my difficult situation, I tried to look for Allah’s guidance. I diligently studied my religious teachings and asked questions to my ustad.

He explained, “Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of God: for without doubt in the remembrance of God do hearts find satisfaction” (Qs 13:28).

I prayed and read the Quran regularly. However, I still didn’t experience Allah’s comfort. My mind was too burdened from all the problems I was facing.

Trying to Better Understand My Religion

While reading one surah, many questions popped in my mind. “Allah doth enlarge, or grant by (strict) measure, the Sustenance (which He giveth) to whom He pleaseth … Truly Allah leaveth to stray, whom He will; But He guideth to Himself those who turn to Him in penitence … For those who believe And work righteousness, is (every) blessedness, and a beautiful place of (final) return” (Qs 13:26-29).

My questions were:

• Does Allah restrict his blessings to me? Why would he do that?
• Would Allah intentionally lead me astray?
• What happens if I can’t fulfill the religious requirements for having joy?

The ustad patiently answered my questions. He said that as humans we ought to do our best and submit.

I appreciated his answer. But I often felt like I was unworthy and was still anxious. 

Inspiration from a Friend Who Persevered

Through this confusion, I reconnected with a former colleague of mine. He quit his job at that company to start his own business.

It was going smoothly. Until the financial crisis occurred, and his business struggled and eventually went bankrupt. He lost a lot of money and sadly had to cancel his wedding as a result.

He was very devastated in the beginning. But he managed to get back up pretty quickly. He started a new career and found a new woman who loves him dearly.

How to Experience True Inner Peace

I asked him “What comforted you? And how did you recover in such a short time?”

He answered, “I accepted Isa Al-Masih’s invitation, and He gave me strength.”

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

He said, “When we put our faith in Isa Al-Masih, Allah comforts us. I felt a completely different joy in my heart. This peace and strength allowed me to overcome my difficulties.”

I was shocked by his answer and asked, “Was it that easy? What if we have made a lot of mistakes? Will He still comfort us?”

My friend explained, “Of course! He gives us peace because of His love for us. Even those who have badly sinned can experience it too!” 

Trusting Isa Al-Masih to Experience Divine Peace

After that, my friend shared Isa Al-Masih’s teaching on how people mainly focus on earthly wealth, something very temporary. “Isa Al-Masih said, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions’” (Luke 12:15).

My friend invited me to trust in Isa and follow Him. He said this is the only way for me to experience true peace.

Though I was introduced to Isa Al-Masih recently, I was intrigued. For the first time I’ve seen God’s love for people through Isa Al-Masih. That is why I shared this story with you. 

How about you, reader? Do you also long to experience peace? If so, I invite you to believe and follow Isa Al-Masih. Through Him, you will experience Allah’s comfort and peace. 

 

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SOME QUESTIONS FOR THE COMMENT SECTION BELOW

We encourage our readers to comment on the article above. Comments that don’t directly relate to the topic will be removed. Please start a dialogue with us by focusing on one of the following questions:

1. How do you find peace in the middle of difficult circumstances? 
2. How do you feel about the verses that promise joy and comfort only after fulfilling religious requirements? Are you able to fulfill them all?
3. What do you think about Allah’s offer of comfort to people through Isa Al-Masih?

 

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