Free Will and Patience: The Measure of Our Intentions

Denial and free will are two of the main reasons Allah tests us. Denial is usually the thing that sets us back—from learning, from progressing, or even just from starting. It comes in many forms, and we often find ways to keep entertaining it without even realizing. It’s much easier to be negative than it is to stay positive, which is why patience takes time. It’s something we have to learn and train ourselves in—internally—before we can handle it outwardly.

But what’s important to remember is that Allah already instills the truth within us. It’s centered deep at our core, where our decisions, behavior, and actions come from. It’s just on us to balance out the denial, the doubts, and the vague thoughts that cloud that inner core and block our ability to reason intuitively.

This is very similar to how we carry our morals and values. We protect them, and we often act on them right away in decision making. But when it comes to that deeper intuition—the one connected to Allah—it takes time to fully recognize and trust it. That’s because intention isn’t a one-time, set-in-stone decision. It shifts. We shift. Our circumstances change, our hearts change, and with that, our intentions need constant checking. That’s why Allah asks us to practice patience—not just with the world, but with ourselves. It’s a way to measure how consistent and sincere we are with what we claim to intend.

So, to simplify the denial we experience in matters of faith, we have to first be willing to do the actual work required to meet the level of sincerity and presence it takes to even begin validating—or rejecting—what we’re being shown. Intention is everything. Without it, we’re not fully good, and we’re not fully bad—we’re just stuck somewhere in the middle, unable to move forward.

And Allah already tells us that we have limited knowledge of the unseen. That reminder isn’t to belittle us—it’s to teach us that His plan is protection. His prescription is exactly what we need to move through life in a way that protects the soul, the heart, and the mind.