Abdullah's Result

For two weeks Abdullah studied every evening for his maths test. Before the test he made dua: "O Allah, make it easy for me."

When the results came, Abdullah's heart sank. He had not done as well as he hoped. "I worked so hard," he said to his father. "And I made dua. Why didn't it work?"

His father sat beside him. "Abdullah, you did two beautiful things. You worked hard, and you asked Allah for help. That is exactly what a Muslim should do. The result is in Allah's hands, and He knows what is best for us."

"But what good is a bad result?" asked Abdullah.

"Let's look," said his father. Together they checked the paper. Abdullah found that he kept making the same mistake with fractions. "If you had got full marks," his father said, "you would never have found this. Now you can fix it before the big exam."

Abdullah thought for a moment. Then he smiled a little. "So maybe this result is also a help from Allah."

"That," said his father, "is called tawakkul — doing your best, and trusting Allah with the rest."