In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
We want what pleases us and we dislike what displeases us. We don't want hardships. We don't want pain. We don't want sadness. We want bliss and happiness. But bliss and happiness must be earned. How do we earn it? This is what this life is for.
This life is a place of trials and tribulations, a place where we as humans will necessarily have to go through difficulties at many points of our lives
Anybody can say "I believe", but are you telling the truth? When that hardship comes, are you going to break?
أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ أَن يُتْرَكُوا أَن يَقُولُوا آمَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ ﴿٢﴾ وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ۖ فَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ اللَّـهُ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ الْكَاذِبِينَ ﴿٣[Qur'an, al-Ankabut 29:2-3]
Do the people think that they will be left to say, "We believe" and they will not be tried? (2) But We have certainly tried those before them, and Allah will surely make evident those who are truthful, and He will surely make evident the liars. (3)
Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqaas (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, who among the people are most sorely tested? He said: “The Prophets, then the next best and the next best. A man will be tested according to his level of religious commitment. If his religious commitment is solid, his test will be more severe, but if there is any weakness in his religious commitment, he will be tested according to his level of religious commitment. And calamity will continue to befall a person until he walks on the earth with no sin on him.”
Narrated by at-Tirmidhi (2398) who said: (It is) hasan saheeh.
One day the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) asked his Companions, "Do you see what I see?" They replied, "No". He said, "Verily I see fitan (trials) falling on your homes like rain."
Trials will continue to surge like the waves of the sea.
Calamities will keep befalling us every single day of our lives, both individually or collectively as an Ummah (a nation). However, the greatest test of the faith, wisdom and fortitude of a Muslim is how one handles this calamity or misfortune.
How then do we respond to these calamities as Muslims who profess to have believed in Allah, Exalted be He?
Say, Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un (Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return)
The immediate response is to remember who your Lord is-- Allah, and realize where you be returning-- Allah.
الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُم مُّصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّـهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ ﴿١٥٦[Qur'an, Al-Baqarah 2:156]
Who, when disaster strikes them, say, "Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return." (156)
Repentance
Then turn to your Lord, Exalted be He, in repentance. Why? Because Allah says,
وَلَنُذِيقَنَّهُم مِّنَ الْعَذَابِ الْأَدْنَىٰ دُونَ الْعَذَابِ الْأَكْبَرِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ ﴿٢١[Qur'an, As-Sajdah 32:21]
And we will surely let them taste the nearer punishment short of the greater punishment that perhaps they will repent. (21)
So when a calamity befalls us, it just might be that we are committing some sin that Allah, Exalted be He, wishes to jolt us into refraining from, so He sends a calamity our way.
Patience (Sabr)
Allah Almighty says,
وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُم بِشَيْءٍ مِّنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ ﴿١٥٥[Qur'an, Al-Baqarah 2:155]
And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient, (155)
"Be patient, for no time will come except that the one after it shall be worse than it until you meet your Lord." (hadith)
Our response to calamity should be sabr. If your response is anger and resentment towards Allah, then it is a sign that the calamity is a punishment for you rather than good for you.
Having sabr does not contradict the feeling of sadness or pain. We know in the stories of the Prophets, for example, Prophet Ya'qub alayhissalaam, when he lost his son, Yusuf, and how much he cried about this until he went blind. Obviously he had sabr and it doesn't mean he didn't feel sadness at the loss of his son.
Even if it is difficult to be patient, we are to strive to have patience. Sabr is a gift from Allah and the way to have it is to strive to have patience. When you strive to have patience, then Allah will give you patience. When we respond to calamity with sabr, our reward is that Allah removes our sins.
Any time any hardship a believer encounters, even from a prick of a thorn, his sins are removed like leaves falling from the tree.
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), according to which the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: “Nothing befalls a believer, a (prick of a) thorn or more than that, but Allah will raise him one degree in status thereby, or erase a bad deed.” [Bukhari 5641 and Muslim 2573]
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reported: I entered upon the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, while he was suffering from fever. I said, “O Messenger of Allah, you are suffering from a strong fever.” The Prophet said, “Yes. I suffer from fever as much as two men among you.” I said, “Is that because you will have a double reward?” The Prophet said, “Yes it is so. There is no Muslim who is afflicted with pain as much as the prick of a thorn or more except that Allah will expiate his sins just as leaves fall from a tree. [Bukhari 5324, Muslim 2571]
Al-Fadl ibn Sahl said: “There is a blessing in calamity that the wise man should not ignore, for it erases sins, gives one the opportunity to attain the reward for patience, dispels negligence, reminds one of blessings at the time of health, calls one to repent and encourages one to give charity.
However, in order for that calamity to have that effect we have to respond with sabr.
"...have patience until you meet me at the Pool." (hadith)
(where you will have a drink from after which you will never be thirsty again, followed by eternal bliss in Paradise.)
Contentment (Redha)
Beyond sabr, is the level of contentment (redha), which is not only that I feel patient, I am patient at what Allah brings me and I am actually content with what Allah gives to me. This is the highest level of response to calamity.
When we respond with sabr, our reward is that Allah removes our sins. With redha, it is beyond than just removal of the sin. When you respond with redha, it elevates your station in nearness to Allah. Redha is a level that we all should aspire for. It is not expected from everyone. Allah does not ask more than we can bear. But it should be the goal. But the very minimum our response is to restrain ourselves from complaining about Allah. People who respond with redha, their complain is not about Allah, but they complain to Allah in a way you go to a friend and you confide your weaknesses and pain. We should go to Allah and complain about our weaknesses and pain. And this does not contradict to sabr.
If you think someone in your life who you absolutely love and that person gives you a gift, which ordinarily is not something people will get excited about, and someone who you don't necessarily love and that person gives you a precious gift, which one has more value to you? Obviously, the gift that came from the person you love. If we really love Allah, then we would love anything He gives us. Redha can only come out from love, a high station of love of Allah. The idea is that because I love the source of this gift, I love the gift.
Redha is the most lofty response, the response by which the servant of Allah get higher to Allah. In every single moment that we live there is at least three options we can choose from-there is 1) a commandment from Allah that we need to obey, 2) a prohibition that we need to avoid, or 3) a decision of Allah (qadr of Allah) that we need to be patient about or at a higher level, be pleased or content with.
So, when you look at your life is constant worship of Allah. Allah says,
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ ﴿٥٦[Qur'an, adh-Dhariyyat 51:56]
And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me. (56)
If this is our purpose, that means it is something we could do in every moment of our lives. If it is just restricted to once a year, once in a lifetime, then it would not be the purpose of our existence as Allah intended it to be. Worship (ibadah) is not just a few religious rituals but ibadah must be something that we are in constant of, something that we can do throughout our lives, every moment of our lives.
If we look at these three options, the one we tend to fall short the most in is the third one, qadr of Allah. When Allah gave us some problems we don't even have patience for it.
Allah is the Lord of the worlds. He knows what He is doing. And we should take it like the dead person being washed--obedience to washer of his body. When we look at our relationship with Allah, do we really know Him? Do we really understand that He is Al-Hakim (the Most Wise), Al-Alim (the Most knowledgeable), that He has power to do anything and everything? He is Al-Wakeel, the ultimate Trustee, that no one is looking out for us and have our best interest more than Him.
The more we understand who Allah is and who we are, the easier it is for us to have patience and have redha with His decree. We can reach this station if we love Allah. The only way to love Allah is to know Him. When we truly love Allah, we will find that what befalls us is beautiful and good.
Remember the words of the Messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace): “How wonderful is the affair of the believer, for his affairs are all good, and this applies to no one but the believer. If something good happens to him, he is thankful for it and that is good for him. If something bad happens to him, he bears it with patience and that is good for him.” (Narrated by Muslim, 2999).
Remember,
لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّـهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا ۚ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا اكْتَسَبَتْ[Qur'an, Al-Baqarah 2:286]
Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity. It will have [the consequence of] what [good] it has gained, and it will bear [the consequence of] what [evil] it has earned...
فَإِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا ﴿٥﴾ إِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا ﴿٦﴾ فَإِذَا فَرَغْتَ فَانصَبْ ﴿٧﴾ وَإِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ فَارْغَب ﴿٨[Qur'an, Al-Bayyinah 94:5-8]
For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. (5) Indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. (6) So when you have finished [your duties], then stand up [for worship]. (7) And to your Lord direct [your] longing. (8)
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ فِتْنَةِ النَّارِ وَمِنْ عَذَابِ النَّارِ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ فِتْنَةِ الْقَبْرِ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ عَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ فِتْنَةِ الْغِنَى، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ فِتْنَةِ الْفَقْرِ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ فِتْنَةِ الْمَسِيحِ الدَّجَّالِ
O Allah! I seek refuge with You from the affliction of the Fire and from the punishment in the Fire, and seek refuge with You from the affliction of the grave, and I seek refuge with You from the affliction of wealth, and I seek refuge with You from the affliction of poverty, and seek refuge with You from the affliction of Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal.
Ameen
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.
And Allah knows best and He alone grant success.
Wassalaam
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