Yesterday Sumayyah and Sakeenah competed in their first karate competition. Both of them competed in the same category. Despite having better skills and strength, fate has it that Sumayyah had a difficult draw in her bouts that she ended up winning bronze while Sakeenah won silver. Sumayyah went against the champion very early in the competition while Sakeenah met him in the finals.
Clearly, she was conflicted; between being happy for her sister's achievement and her 'losing' to her younger sister.
Ayah (Dad): Sumayyah, are you sad that your sister won?
Sumayyah: I'm happy that she won. But I'm sad that I didn't win. And I don't know why. My kata was definitely better than hers.
A: Yes, your kata is better than hers. Even the judges admitted that. But you didn't go against her. You went against Max. It was a split decision 2-1. It was just fate that you went against him in the earlier rounds. At the same time, Sakeenah had easier opponents until she met Max in the finals.
S: But how is that fair?
A: From the way we look at it, it may not seem fair. But do you remember our lessons on Qadr?
S: Yes, divine decree.
A: Do you recall what Saiduna Ali said about Qadr?
S: Yes. He asked one man to lift his right leg. Then he told the man to lift his left leg without putting his right leg down.
A: What can we learn from that?
S: There are certain things that we can control and certain other things that are just beyond our control.
A: Exactly. We have no control over the bout chart in today's competition — who we go against in the rounds. We can't control what our competitors do. However, we can control our training and our performance in the ring. Having faith in the divine decree or iman in Qadr is to do the best with things that we can control and be content with the things we have no control over.
So we do the best in our training and when we perform in the ring. But we leave the results to Allah as He knows what is best for us.
Now, cheer up and be happy for your sister and yourself. Let's have something nice to celebrate.
S: Okay...
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She smiled. But I'm not sure is it because of her understanding of Qadr or it's the Bubbletea doing its job :)
Link to video of Sumayyah vs Max
https://www.instagram.com/p/CSnz1OPnRK0/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link