Allah, Exalted is He, is able to prevent all harmful phenomena and obstacles, if He so wishes. The things which are not within the servantвЂ™s control, and which are entirely within the domain of AllahвЂ™s generosity, also play a part. So, the term hope only applies to waiting with longing and yearning for something to happen, after all the means which will assist in the realisation of this desire-that is, all those means which are within the servantвЂ™s power and choice-have been utilized. If, however, he sows the seeds in hard, barren soil which is too high up for water to reach it, and does nothing to care for the seedlings, and then sits waiting for a harvest-then his waiting can only be described as folly and stupidity, not hope. If anyone searches for fertile soil, sows it with good healthy seeds, supplies it with what it needs when it needs it, pulls out the weeds and anything else that might hinder or ruin the growth of the crop, and then sits waiting for AllahвЂ™s blessings in the form of His keeping unfavourable weather and destructive pests away until the crop has finished growing and is ripe-then his waiting can be described as hope. In the same way that seeds do not sprout in barren earth, so a servantвЂ™s hope for AllahвЂ™s forgiveness can be compared to the hope of a farmer. No seed other than the seed of belief can grow, and belief rarely brings forth any fruit if the heart is rotten and lacking morality. The Day of Resurrection is like the day of the harvest, and no one reaps what he did not sow. The heart which is in love with this world is like barren earth in which seeds cannot sprout. Those who study the heart have taught that this world is like land which is cultivated for its fruits in the next world: that the heart is like the earth, that belief is like the seeds, and that acts of obedience are like ploughing up the soil and clearing it for planting and digging channels to bring water to it. If, on the other hand, what it awaits is certain to happen, then neither can certain hope be the term to use in describing its state: one cannot say, вЂќI wish the sun would rise at sunriseвЂќ, but one can say, вЂњI wish it would rainвЂќ. If the means-by which what the heart awaits may come-are not present, then stupidity and folly would be more accurate descriptions of its state. This is the peaceful state of a heart that awaits what is dear to it.

In the manner of ala