, peace be upon him, and how his circumstances brought him to ever higher stations. Allah showed subtle kindness to him and on his behalf through the circumstances He decreed for him, which ultimately brought him a good outcome in this world and the Hereafter. Likewise, He tests His close servants with what they dislike so that He may grant them what they love. How abundant are Allah’s subtle kindness and generosity, beyond the grasp of understanding or imagination! How often a servant eagerly pursues some worldly goal—public office, leadership, or another desirable opportunity—only for Allah to turn him away from it and turn it away from him, out of mercy for him, lest it harm his religion. Yet the servant remains sorrowful because of his ignorance and lack of knowledge of his Lord. If he knew what was stored up for him in the unseen and the good intended for him, he would praise Allah and thank Him for it. Indeed, Allah is Most Compassionate and Most Merciful towards His servants, showing subtle kindness to those close to Him.
A transmitted supplication says: “O Allah, whatever You grant me of what I love, make it a source of strength for me in doing what You love; and whatever You withhold from me of what I love, make its absence free me to pursue what You love.”1 O Allah, show us subtle kindness in Your decree and grant us blessing through Your power, so that we do not wish to hasten what You have delayed or delay what You have hastened2.
Know that the subtle kindness which servants seek from Allah, both through their words and through their circumstances, is a form of mercy—indeed, a special mercy. Mercy that reaches a servant without his perceiving it, or without his perceiving its causes, is subtle kindness. Thus, when a servant says, “O Most Subtle, show subtle kindness to me or on my behalf; I ask You for Your subtle kindness,” he means: “Take me into Your special care, through which my outward and inward states are set right, and through which all harm, whether internal or external, is averted from me.”
Internal matters concern subtle kindness shown to the servant himself.
External matters concern subtle kindness shown on the servant’s behalf. Thus, when Allah grants His servant ease, makes the path of goodness easy for him, and helps him follow it, He has shown subtle kindness to him. And when Allah arranges external means for him that lie beyond the servant’s power