Guidance Is With Allah

The issue of guidance is something in the hands of Allah; nobody can control it. Abū Ḥudhayfah is saying that his father was wise, a man of reason, a man of judgement, a man of goodness, and he had hoped these qualities would guide him to Islam, but things did not turn out as he had hoped — and that is the case with Abū Ṭālib also. Abū Ṭālib, the uncle of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), carried these same qualities; in fact he protected the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) for the entire period he spent in Makkah until he passed away, and Abū Ṭālib never became Muslim. So when it comes to the issue of guidance, one cannot really tell who will be guided and who will not: ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, who had been so severe in his persecution of the Muslims, became Muslim — one of the Muslims, seeing him speak gently to one of the women Companions and expecting ʿUmar to become Muslim because of it, was told that the donkey of ʿUmar's father would become Muslim before he did, meaning that such a person could never become Muslim — but he did, and he became one of the best of the Muslims. The issue of who is guided and who is not is something that cannot be controlled or even predicted. In the end, Abū Ṭālib died a kāfir and Abū Sufyān died a Muslim: Abū Ṭālib, who supported the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) all his life, ended up going to Hellfire, while Abū Sufyān, who fought the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) for most of his life, ended up becoming Muslim.

So such issues should be left in the hands of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, and that is why the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) says:^†

You do not guide whom you love, but it is Allah who guides whom He wills, and He knows best those who are rightly guided. This is a matter of qadar, the decree of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, left in His hands.

Abū Ḥudhayfah was upset and sad because his father did not become Muslim, and this also shows that one's loyalty should go to Allah entirely: even though he was sad that his father died a disbeliever, that did not make him forsake his own religion, or blame anyone or anything for it — he accepted it, saying, "O Messenger of Allah, I have no problem with my father's fate, I accept it" — that this is from Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, and he accepted it. This is called riḍā bi-l-qadar: being content with what Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, gives and with what happens. And this is said because there are brothers and sisters in the West who have embraced Islam, but their parents did not, and they are very eager to have their parents become Muslim, and they are giving them daʿwah. One should do one's best in daʿwah, but then leave the issue of hidāyah, and not become overwhelmed or upset if they do not die as Muslims, and accept it as the qadar of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic; and if they do become Muslim, then give credit to Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, leave it in His hands and say al-ḥamdu lillāh that Allah has guided them to His religion. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) tried very hard with his own uncle, but it did not work, while people from distant lands would come to him, like Salmān al-Fārisī and Abū Dharr.