When God's command came to His Prophet Abraham to migrate his wife Hagar and their infant son Ishmael to Mecca, leaving them in the desert where there was neither vegetation nor water, our master Abraham took the means and executed his Lord's command. He prayed to his Lord to care for them: "Our Lord, I have settled some of my descendants in an uncultivated valley near Your sacred House. Our Lord, that they may establish prayer. So make hearts among the people incline toward them and provide for them from the fruits that they might be grateful."

The lady Hagar's only response was to submit to God's will. She and her son consumed the food and drink her husband had left for them, until they ran out of water and the thirst became intense. She started to run back and forth, seeking water or someone to seek refuge with. She climbed Mount Safa, looked over the valley, but found nothing. She descended and hurried to Mount Marwa, climbed up and down again and still found nothing. She repeated this seven times, under the blazing sun and over the scorching sand until God Almighty sent an angel to create a spring of water under Ishmael's feet, for him and his mother to drink.

God's favor then came as a result of her efforts. It honored her and her son and later commanded her son to build the sacred House of God with his father. Mecca became a destination that attracts people's hearts.

But if all this was predetermined by God Almighty, why didn't the angel descend directly after our master Abraham left her and her son?!

Why wasn't our master Abraham's prayer answered immediately?!

Why did God allow her to struggle and hurry back and forth until her efforts became a rite of the pilgrimage?!

Does God teach us to strive?!

In the Arabic language, the word "striving" means hastening to walk.

The word "striving" and its sources appear in the Holy Quran about 30 times.

The intended meaning was not just the literal meaning of the word, but also taking the means and working on something sincerely and diligently.

Striving can be praiseworthy or reprehensible.

Praiseworthy striving is striving for what God has commanded us to do, such as striving for the hereafter by doing acts of obedience, avoiding all that God has forbidden, doing good for oneself and others, advocating righteousness and avoiding sins. Seeking knowledge is also a form of praiseworthy striving because of the good it brings to the individual and his nation. As is the striving to build oneself, the family, and the whole society, striving to keep family ties, love people, and spread the concepts of justice and equality.

On the other hand, reprehensible striving is the opposite of all that has been said, such as striving after this world and its lusts and neglecting work for the hereafter. Striving to mislead others and block God's way. Striving to ruin oneself and destroy it, and avoiding everything beneficial. Striving for corruption on earth, hating good for others, and fighting success.

Since humans have free will, one must choose between the two types, determine their path and destination, and based on that, the reward from God Almighty will come. For God is just.

Whoever strives for good will receive good in this world and good in the hereafter. "And whoever desires the Hereafter and strives for it with the necessary effort being a believer; then such are the ones whose striving shall be appreciated, acknowledged and rewarded (by Allah)."

And whoever strives for evil will encounter evil in this world and the hereafter. "Say: Shall We tell you who the greatest losers in respect of (their) deeds? Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life while they thought that they were acquiring good by their deeds!"

So let everyone choose for their life and work for what they love and are pleased with.

"And that there is not for man except that [good] for which he strives."