The Qur’ān (18: 23-24) says: “Never say about anything, ‘I shall do this tomorrow,’ without adding, ‘if Allah so wills.’ Should you forget, then call your Lord to mind and say, ‘I pray that my Lord will guide me even closer than this to what is right.’”
Here Allah shows His Messenger ﷺ the correct etiquette when determining to do something in the future; this should always be referred to the will of Allah, the Knower of the Unseen, Who knows what was and what is yet to be and what is not to be, and how it will be if it is to be.
Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said: Sulayman bin Dawud said: “Tonight I will go around to seventy women”; according to some reports, it was ninety or one hundred women “so that each one of them will give birth to a son who will fight for the sake of Allah.” It was said to him, “Say: If Allah wills”, but he did not say it. He went around to the women but none of them gave birth except for one who gave birth to a half-formed child. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “By the One in Whose hand is my soul, had he said, “If Allah wills” he would not have broken his oath, and that would have helped him attain what he wanted.”
“Never say about anything, ‘I shall do this tomorrow.’” Through this instruction we have been told never to make a positive assertion like this: I will do this thing tomorrow, for we do not know whether we will be able to do that thing or not: we have neither the knowledge of the unknown nor have full powers to do what we like. If ever inadvertently we utter anything like this, we should at once remember our Lord and say, In Sha Allah. Besides we do not know whether there will be any good for us in the thing about which we say: I will do this. It is possible that we may do another thing better than that. Therefore, we should trust in Allah, the Exalted, and say: I hope that my Lord will guide me in this matter with that thing which is nearer to the right way for me.
It is impossible for us to know what may happen in the future. Hence, we should not give any definite judgement of it. Every action a human being does or omits to do, indeed every breath a human being takes, is subject to Allah’s will. The curtains hiding the future are stretched in full so as to hide everything beyond the present moment. Our eyes cannot discern what is behind that curtain, and our minds are finite, no matter how advanced our knowledge may be. Hence we must never say that we are definitely doing something tomorrow unless we attach our intention to Allah’s will. This is because tomorrow belongs to the realm that lies beyond the reach of human perception. As such, it is known only to Allah, the Exalted. Hence, we do not make any assertion about it.
This does not mean that we should be fatalistic, giving no thought to the future and making no plans for it. We should not live for the present moment, cutting ourselves off from our past and future. No, this is not what the directive implies. Rather, what is implied is that every human being must make an allowance for what Allah, the Exalted, may will in his case. He may intend to do whatever he wants, always seeking Allah’s help, feeling that His will is in full control of everything. It may well be however that Allah, the Exalted, may decide something different to what he intends. Should Allah, the Exalted, help him to put into effect what he intends, then all well and good. But if Allah’s will moves in a different direction, he should not despair or be sad. All matters belong to Allah, the Exalted, at the beginning and at the end.
What this means in practice is that every person should think and plan as they wish, but they must always remember to rely on Allah’s help and guidance. They should realise that they only have the faculties of thinking and deliberation Allah, the Exalted, has given them. This should not lead to laziness or disinterestedness. On the contrary, it should give us more strength, confidence, reassurance and resolve. Should events reveal that Allah’s will has moved in a direction different to what we planned, we should accept this with contentedness and reassurance. We submit to Allah’s will, because it is beyond our knowledge until Allah, the Exalted, makes it known.
This is the method Islam instils into our minds. Hence a Muslim does not feel alone when he plans or thinks of the future. Nor does he show any conceit or arrogance when he succeeds, nor is he overtaken by depression and despair when he fails. In all situations, he remembers Allah, the Exalted, feeling stronger for relying on Him, expressing gratitude to Him for his success, resigned for whatever Allah’s will may determine.
“Should you forget, then call your Lord to mind.” This is what a Muslim should do when he forgets to relate his intentions to Allah’s will. He should remember Allah, the Exalted, and renew his reliance on Him. He should also hope to remain always conscious of Allah, the Exalted, turning to Him in all situations and all future actions, always saying: “I pray that my Lord will guide me even closer than this to what is right.” This short prayer indicates that it is not so easy to always turn to Allah, the Exalted, in all affairs. Hence, the prayer to try always to maintain it and improve on one’s situation.