"The best deeds are sometimes those which appeal to you the least."

“If you think that you have acquired the entire corpus of knowledge, do not read these words,” said Master Silver Birch once. We do believe that the more knowledge one acquires the more one inquires, ceaselessly. We want you, our reader, to share with us our inquiries as well as the guidance supplied by our Master, Ali Rafea.
Question: The Most Honorable Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib said, “The best deeds are sometimes those which appeal to you the least.” Practically speaking our best deeds are those which we do because we love to do. So the statement seems to be in contradiction with experiential reality . We need an explanation.

Does Praying God for Something Contradict With Our Trust that He Gives Us the Best?

• Translated by: Aisha Rafea
• Prepared for publishing by: Aliaa Rafea

Q: When I pray God, sometimes, to make things go the way I want. I cannot avoid feeling some contradiction; how come that I believe that God knows beforehand what I want, and does the best for me, and then I feel the need to pray Him to give me what I want?
A: The whole thing depends on how a person feels sincerely. It is very natural that when a person estimates something as “good”, he goes ahead in the way of fulfilling it. In that case when he prays God, the prayer is part of the practical action. When a person is faced by the fact that all what he has in hand is not enough to fulfill what he considers “good”, he directs his face to God seeking his support. On the level of the unseen, or the unknown, it is quite possible that what a person prays for is not really for his good. It might be better for him that things stay the way they are. From his part and from the standpoint of what is apparent, he cannot put the unseen dimension in his consideration. He should not start action from an unknown point. He has to start from what he sees as “good” according to evident criteria of judgement, and pray God for support. Then he has to be sure that what comes next is an affair of God.