Trust the Author of Your Story, Your Rizq is Already Written

Assalamu Alaikum!

When you are chasing a dream like medicine, every rejection feels personal. I know, because I have lived it. Twice rejected at undergraduate level, and again at graduate entry. At times, it felt like the door to medicine was firmly, almost cruelly, slammed shut in my face.

But Allah had already written my path. I just could not see it yet.

Allah reminds us in the Qur’an,

“And in the heaven is your provision and whatever you are promised.” (Qur'an 51:22)

Your rizq, your opportunities, your success, your future, are not in the hands of admissions panels or interviewers. They are already decreed by Allah. No rejection, no delay, no circumstance could ever change what was destined for me.

After those rejections, I accepted a place to study Biomaterials Science at the University of Birmingham. At the time, it felt like a compromise, something to soften the blow of not making it into medicine. But subhanAllah, looking back now, I realise it was never a "Plan B." It was always "Plan A," carefully, lovingly designed by Allah for my growth and development.

Still holding onto the dream of becoming a doctor, I went on to pursue medicine in Ukraine. It felt like a fresh chapter, a new beginning. Yet again, uncertainty struck. War broke out, life was turned upside down, and everything I had spent years working towards suddenly felt like it was slipping through my fingers.

The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said,

“Know that what has passed you by was never going to befall you, and that what has befallen you was never going to pass you by.” (Tirmidhi)

Those words hit harder when you are standing in the middle of chaos. They remind you that even when it feels like everything is falling apart, it is actually falling into place, according to Allah’s perfect plan.

In the middle of that uncertainty, when nothing felt stable, I reapplied for Graduate Entry Medicine. And subhanAllah, it was at that very moment, when I had nothing but du’a and tawakkul, that Allah opened the door I had been knocking on for so long. Not just any door, but a place back at the University of Birmingham, the very place where my journey had once started.

Whenever people ask me if I regret not getting into medicine the first time, my answer is always, without hesitation,

Absolutely not.

If anything, I am deeply grateful for the path Allah chose for me. I entered medicine at the time that was right for me, not when I thought I was ready, but when Allah knew I was ready. I am older now, more mature, more experienced, and far more grounded. Had I entered earlier, I would not have been the person I am today. I would not have had the resilience, the patience, the deeper understanding of why I wanted to become a doctor in the first place. This timing was not a delay, it was a blessing.

Allah says,

“Perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you, and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. Allah knows, while you know not.” (Qur’an 2:216)

Every step of the journey, from the rejections, to the Biomaterials degree, to the move to Ukraine, and even the hardship of war, was a chapter that Allah had written to prepare me. When the right moment came, when my heart, my mind, and my character were ready, Allah opened the way.

Final thoughts:

If you are facing setbacks, uncertainty, or delays, remember, your rizq is already written. No one can block it, and it will come to you at exactly the right time. Keep striving, keep praying, and keep trusting in Allah’s plan, because it is not just better, it is perfect.

The One who wrote your story has not abandoned you. He is guiding you, every step of the way.

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- Haider Ali Medicine Yr 4 (GEC)