Prof. Dr. Faid Mohammed Said
Introduction: Creatures in Search of Comfort in a World Designed for Trial
We live in a world that never truly empties of suffering, no matter how much power, knowledge, or status we attain. Deep within, we all long for a serene life — clear, untroubled, untouched by pain. Yet the Qur’an confronts us from the very beginning with an uncompromising truth:
{Laqad khalaqnā al-insāna fī kabad} — “We have certainly created man in hardship.” (Qur’an 90:4)
Hardship, then, is not a temporary malfunction in existence; it is part of the design of life itself.
We may try to escape this fact, but reality confirms it to us again and again. We want a life that resembles Paradise, while the very law that governs this world is the law of trial and endurance. A poet once captured this human paradox with remarkable eloquence:
“Life was moulded in distress — yet you demand from it
A purity devoid of pain or stain.
You force the days against their very nature,
As one who seeks a spark of fire in water.”
In our depths, we resist the notion of pain. We quarrel with fatigue. We are bewildered when loss, illness, confusion, betrayal, anxiety, or fear befall us — for we had hoped that life would simply go our way. But again, the Qur’an lays down its principle:
{Alladhī khalaqa al-mawta wa al-ḥayāta li-yabluwakum} — “He who created death and life to test you.” (Qur’an 67:2)
This is not a call to despair — it is a call to understanding.
If life has been established upon the foundation of trial, then the real question becomes:
What is the way out?
And here begins the core of this reflection.
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The Human Instinct for a Higher Refuge: Why Do We Seek a Solution Beyond Ourselves?
Whether we acknowledge it or not, there is within us a constant awareness of our limitations. No matter how powerful we appear, there comes a moment when the illusion of control collapses.
When all doors close, we do not merely ask, “What should I do?” — we ask, “Where do I go?”
Even those who do not profess faith in God can feel, in moments of utter vulnerability, a pull toward something greater than themselves. Some call it “cosmic energy,” others “fate,” others “hidden mercy.”
But the Qur’an names it plainly: Allah.
In those moments, the human being is not searching for a theory or a philosophy — he is searching for support. For someone — or something — to say:
“I am here for you.”
And so the Qur’an declares:
{Amman yujeebu al-muḍṭarra idhā da‘āh} — “Who is it that responds to the distressed one when he calls upon Him?” (Qur’an 27:62)
Notice: it does not say “responds to the believer,” but “to the distressed” — for distress is an existential condition before it is a spiritual one.
It is the moment when all masks fall, and the heart — naked of its pride — speaks with rare honesty:
“O Lord… save me.”
The Story of the Three Who Were Left Behind: When All Means Collapse, Divine Relief Begins
We often read the story of the three companions who stayed behind during the Expedition of Tabuk as a mere historical anecdote. Yet in truth, it is a perfect psychological portrait of an experience that every human being undergoes at some point:
To be besieged from the outside, suffocated from within, and left with no choice but to raise one’s hands toward the sky.
Allah describes their condition with meticulous precision:
{Ḍāqat ‘alayhimu al-arḍu bimā raḥubat, wa ḍāqat ‘alayhim anfusuhum, wa ẓannū allā malja’a mina Allāhi illā ilayh; thumma tāba ‘alayhim}
“The earth, vast as it is, became constricted for them, and their own souls became constricted, until they came to realize that there is no refuge from Allah except toward Him — then He turned to them in mercy.” (Qur’an 9:118)
Let us contemplate the precision:
• “The earth became constricted” — they could find no escape among worldly means.
• “Their own souls became constricted” — an even deeper torment, for one may flee people — but how can one flee oneself?
• “Until they realized that there is no refuge from Allah except toward Him” — this is the moment of existential awakening.
And then — as always — came the divine response:
“Then He turned to them in mercy.”
This Qur’anic paradigm teaches that the end of human striving is the beginning of divine granting — and that Allah does not abandon the one who returns to Him sincerely, even if late.
The Woman Whose Complaint Was Heard by Heaven: When Earthly Justice Fails, Divine Justice Responds
We may encounter injustice and search for someone among people to understand us — but very few truly hear the depth of our pain.
Take the story of Khawla bint Tha‘labah. She came to the Prophet ﷺ seeking resolution to a cruel statement from her husband — a pre-Islamic form of injury. She argued, repeated, and wept.
But the decisive moment was not when she complained to the Prophet — it was when she complained to Allah.
Allah immortalized her plea in Revelation:
{Qad sami‘a Allāhu qawla allatī tujādiluka fī zawjihā watashtakī ilā Allāh}
“Allah has indeed heard the words of the woman who argued with you concerning her husband and took her complaint to Allah.” (Qur’an 58:1)
Her case moved from being a social grievance on earth to being a matter acknowledged in the heavens.
From this, a monumental principle emerges:
People hear our words — but Allah hears our hearts.
And this is the essence of “Allah is the only way out” — for any solution that fails to see the heart remains incomplete, even if it fixes the surface.
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The Qur’anic Method of Deliverance: How Do We Reach the State of “Spiritual Necessity”?
One may ask: If Allah is the ultimate solution, why do we not turn to Him from the beginning? Why do we exhaust all human avenues before remembering Him?
The Qur’an answers with clarity: the human being is naturally inclined to rely on visible means first. It is part of our constitution. Allah says:
{Kallā inna al-insāna la-yaṭghā, an ra’āhu istaghnā}
“No indeed! Man transgresses when he sees himself self-sufficient.” (Qur’an 96:6–7)
When we believe — even subconsciously — that our wealth, intellect, status, or connections are enough, we delay our turning to Allah until all doors are shut.
Yet the Qur’an does not condemn this human inclination entirely — instead, it reorients it. Allah does not say, “Abandon all causes,” but rather:
{Fa-idhā ‘azamta fatawakkal ‘alā Allāh}
“When you have resolved, then put your trust in Allah.” (Qur’an 3:159)
Meaning: Use the means with your hands — but do not attach your heart to them. Attach it to Allah.
Faith, then, is not a mere theological theory — it is an existential stance:
To say, in the depths of one’s being:
“My Lord, I will do what I can — but I know that success comes only from You.”
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“Allah Is the Only Way Out” — Not a Slogan, but a Philosophy of Existence
For some, the phrase “Allah is the only way out” may sound like an emotional expression reserved for moments of despair. Yet in truth, it encapsulates the Qur’anic paradigm of reality.
• We are tested — not as a failure of existence, but as a function of it.
• We search for solutions — not as a flaw in our design, but as part of our innate nature.
• But ultimately — every solution reaches a limit: reason stops at a limit, medicine stops at a limit, wealth stops at a limit…
And then the Qur’an declares:
{Alā ilā Allāhi taṣīru al-umūr}
“Surely to Allah all matters return.” (Qur’an 42:53)
Every affair — no matter how complex — ends up in His hands.
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The Moment of Rebirth
There comes a moment in every sincere life when one realizes that Allah was never one option among many — He was the only true refuge all along.
It is not a moment of weakness — it is a moment of clarity.
It is not an escape from reality — it is facing it with a higher framework.
Such is the moment described in the Qur’anic expression:
{Wa ẓannū allā malja’a mina Allāhi illā ilayh}
“Until they became certain that there is no refuge from Allah except toward Him.” (Qur’an 9:118)
A refuge not from Allah — but to Him.
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From Complaint to Serenity: The True Beginning of Life
We are not required to live without problems — for life itself was built upon the principle of trial. But we are required to know the right direction toward deliverance.
The path is not in denial, nor in pretending that we are always in control — it is in the honesty of turning inward and saying:
“O Allah, there is no shelter and no escape from You except to You.”
Only then — does true life begin.
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A Supplication for the Seeker of Refuge
O Lord, You who created this heart to be a dwelling for Your nearness — not to be lost in confusion…
O You who made hardship a pathway to refinement, and weakness a doorway to strength, and tears a bridge to mercy…
We ask You — O Refuge of the distressed and Haven of the bewildered — do not leave us to ourselves, even for the blink of an eye.
Teach us to take up the means without forgetting the One who grants them. Let us strive upon the earth without forgetting that all affairs belong to You.
O Allah — when the earth grows narrow upon us, open the gates of the heavens. And when our own souls constrict, open the gates of Your mercy. Make us among those who return to You — not only when our strength collapses, but even when we are at our strongest, acknowledging our need before You.
O Allah…
We do not ask You for a life free of trial — we ask You for a heart that knows the way back to You through every trial.
For You alone are the Way Out. You alone are the Refuge. And from You alone springs Peace.
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