Picture yourself as the owner of a thriving company. After years of hard work, investment, and sleepless nights, you’ve built it into a successful enterprise. Now, you’re in search of a manager and conducting interviews. Two candidates appear, both equally qualified, boasting the same degrees, and displaying similar competencies. After careful deliberation, you hire one.

But then, the rejected candidate erupts in anger. He accuses you of bias, hurls insults, and threatens to destroy your office. He even gathers a group to intimidate you into reconsidering.

Pause for a moment. Who gave him the right to challenge your decision? It’s your company, your investment, your vision. You selected the person you deemed fit. Does he have any legitimate claim over your choice? Of course not! He’s free to be disappointed, but not to demand control over what is unequivocally yours.

Now, take the scenario further. What if you had decided not to hire either of them? Could either force you into changing your mind? Would their outrage alter the fact that it’s your company? Certainly not.

Ownership and the Bigger Picture

Let’s switch gears. That evening, exhausted from the day’s drama, you head home and decide to host a feast. Among the delicacies on the menu is a golden-fried chicken. You head to the coop, where two robust roosters strut about, oblivious to your intentions. You open the door, select one, and reach for it.

But the rooster resists. It flaps its wings, pecks aggressively, and clucks as if accusing you of injustice. To your surprise, the second rooster joins the fray, fiercely defending its companion. You wonder, amused, if the roosters believe they own the coop or have some inherent right to question your actions.

This moment, absurd as it seems, reveals a profound truth about ownership, entitlement, and authority.

Who Owns Us?

Now, reflect on yourself. Who owns you? How did you come to exist? Look in the mirror. Study your reflection closely. Did you design the alignment of your teeth? Did you determine the shape of your nose, the width of your forehead, or the texture of your hair? Did you choose your height, the strength of your muscles, or the span of your chest?

You control many aspects of your life: the clothes you wear, the car you drive, the food you eat. But did you have any say in the circumstances of your birth? Did you decide the era, the country, or the family into which you were born? Without your consent, you were brought into this world, placed in a context not of your choosing, to live, age, and eventually return to dust.

So, how much control do we truly have?

Recognizing the Creator’s Sovereignty

This is where the Creator enters the picture. When we admire the artistry of life, can we ignore the Artist? Allah, the Creator, declares: “I am the One who created you. I gave you hands and feet, eyes and ears, a mind to think, and a heart to feel. The air you breathe is from Me. The water you drink, the fruits you eat, the clothes you wear—these are all My provisions.”

Think deeply: Are we truly self-made? Or are we beneficiaries of a design and sustenance far beyond our comprehension?

The Illusion of Control

Even in our limited sense of ownership, we remain dependent on systems beyond our making. Consider your employees. While they are paid for their labor, they are independent beings with rights and autonomy. Cross ethical boundaries, and you’ll face consequences.

Now consider the chicken in your coop. Though it is your property, you didn’t design the intricate process by which it grows. You didn’t invent the mechanics of reproduction or the conditions necessary for an egg to hatch. That system was created and perfected by someone far greater—a Creator who set every detail in motion with precision.

The Reality of Absolute Power

The Creator owns not just the chickens, the employees, or the earth, but the entirety of existence. He decides what happens, when, and how. No one can challenge Him. When earthquakes strike, tsunamis rise, or pandemics spread, millions lose their lives. Where would you file a complaint? Which court could hold the Creator accountable?

Allah is the ultimate authority. His will is absolute. Look around—aren’t there people more beautiful, more powerful, and more fortunate than you? Why weren’t you given their wealth, their beauty, or their influence? Conversely, why weren’t you born blind, deaf, or disabled?

The Qur’an reminds us: “Mankind has been given but little knowledge.” It also states: “Above every knowledgeable person is One who knows more.”

These verses are a call to humility, a reminder that the Creator’s wisdom is vast, and His plan is beyond human comprehension.

Final Reflections

So, are we truly our own masters? Or are we caretakers of what the Creator has entrusted to us? The next time you feel entitled to control your life, consider this: Did you create the air you breathe or the water you drink? Did you orchestrate the complex symphony of your body, from the beating of your heart to the functioning of your mind?

We exist not by accident but by design. Every detail of our being is a testament to the Creator’s boundless mercy and mastery.

When calamities strike, they remind us of our fragility. Hurricanes, floods, pandemics, and earthquakes humble humanity, exposing the illusion of control. As Allah states in the Qur’an: “To Him belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth.”

Understanding our place in the Creator’s design is the first step to true humility. We must acknowledge that our existence is not self-made but granted by the One who owns all things. This recognition is not a limitation but a liberation—a chance to align with the purpose for which we were created.

Rather than questioning His decisions, embrace the wonder of His artistry, for it speaks of a wisdom far beyond human comprehension. Each intricate detail of creation, every facet of existence, bears testimony to a higher design. Submitting to His wisdom is not an act of surrender, but a pathway to liberation from the burden of control we were never meant to carry. In this act of submission, peace takes root—a peace that transcends the turbulence of life and anchors the soul. Within this peace lies the true fulfillment of purpose, a purpose that aligns with the harmony of creation and the ultimate will of its Creator. To marvel, to trust, and to submit is to truly live as part of the grand design.