The Du’ā of a Beautiful Ending

What makes this du’ā so different is when Yūsuf عليه السلام made it.

He had already been through so much.

He had been separated from his family.

He had been betrayed by his brothers.

He had been thrown into a well.

He had been taken away from his home.

He had experienced imprisonment.

And eventually, Allah elevated him.

He was given authority, knowledge and a position of influence.

Yet when he looked back at his life, he did not make his success the ending of his story.

He turned back to Allah.

And his greatest request was not:

“Allah, give me more.”

It was:

“Let me die as one who submits to You and join me with the righteous.”

There is something incredibly humbling about that.

We spend so much of our lives asking Allah to help us arrive somewhere.

To get married.

To build a career.

To become financially secure.

To heal.

To achieve something.

To reach a particular stage of life.

But Yūsuf عليه السلام reminds us that reaching the destination is not the ultimate goal.

The real goal is to reach Allah.

You can have everything you once prayed for and still be in need of Allah.

You can finally get the relationship you wanted and still need Allah.

You can become successful and still need Allah.

You can experience ease after years of difficulty and still need Allah.

Because the greatest blessing is not simply what Allah gives you in this dunya.

It is that whatever He gives you does not take you away from Him.

And perhaps this is something worth reflecting on today.

What if we started asking Allah not only for a beautiful life, but for a beautiful ending?

Not only:

“Ya Allah, let me experience happiness.”

But:

“Ya Allah, let me remain Yours through my happiness.”

Not only:

“Give me success.”

But:

“Let my success increase me in gratitude.”

Not only:

“Give me love.”

But:

“Let the love in my life bring me closer to You.”

Not only:

“Remove my difficulties.”

But:

“Do not let my difficulties take me away from You.”

Because we do not know how our story will unfold.

Yūsuf عليه السلام could not have imagined, when he was sitting in that well, the position Allah would eventually give him.

And we cannot see the entirety of our own story either.

There will be chapters we do not understand.

Chapters we wish we could skip.

Chapters we never expected.

And perhaps chapters that will surprise us with how beautifully Allah brings everything together.

But whatever our story contains, there is one thing we can keep asking for:

“Ya Allah, let me remain Yours.”

That is the prayer.

Not simply for a beautiful beginning.

Not simply for a beautiful middle.

But for a beautiful ending.

May Allah bless us with goodness in this world, protect our īmān through every season, make us grateful when He gives and patient when He withholds, and allow our final moments to be moments of complete submission to Him. Ameen 🤍