Let's Read Surah Kahf Today (Friday) -- Wisdom in Calamities

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Nobody like losing anything nor doing things that they don't like. But there are many things that we do in life that we dislike, because of the benefits that they bring to us. If we did not do them we would be accused of being lacking in wisdom and reason. For example, a person may be putting excessive unpaid overtime for a company because he thinks that will provide him job or financial security. A student maybe forcing himself to stay up late at night to study for his exam because he does not want to fail his exam. If a person is sick and there is the fear that he may die, but it is known that he may be cured – by Allah’s leave – if he takes a certain medicine, then the wise thing for him to do is to take that medicine even if it is bitter; if he fails to take it, that is regarded as a shortcoming and lack of reason on his part.

For Allah is the highest description.

لِلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْآخِرَ‌ةِ مَثَلُ السَّوْءِ ۖ وَلِلَّـهِ الْمَثَلُ الْأَعْلَىٰ ۚ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ ﴿٦٠

For those who do not believe in the Hereafter is the description of evil; and for Allah is the highest attribute. And He is Exalted in Might, the Wise. (60) [Qur'an, al-Nahl 16:60]

There is no way that Allah can be compared to His creation. He allows some things to happen in His dominion that He hates, because they serve a greater wisdom which we, or most of us, cannot comprehend. Some of His wisdom may become clear to us, and that is by the mercy of Allah towards His believing slaves, as He shows them some of His wisdom in this world so that they might find peace of mind. For example, if we want to ask about the reasons for something we could understand, such as why Allah creates a child then causes him to die, perhaps if that child lived he would have committed major sins such as those that doom a person to Hell, and that would have condemned him to remain in Hell for eternity, or for a very long time, or he may have caused others such as his parents to deviate from the path of Allah – as mentioned in the story of the boy whom al-Khidr killed, as told in the story of al-Khidr and Musa (peace be upon them) in Surah al-Kahf.

فَانطَلَقَا حَتَّىٰ إِذَا لَقِيَا غُلَامًا فَقَتَلَهُ قَالَ أَقَتَلْتَ نَفْسًا زَكِيَّةً بِغَيْرِ‌ نَفْسٍ لَّقَدْ جِئْتَ شَيْئًا نُّكْرً‌ا ﴿٧٤

So they set out, until when they met a boy, al-Khidhr killed him. [Moses] said, "Have you killed a pure soul for other than [having killed] a soul? You have certainly done a deplorable thing." (74) [Qur'an, Al-Kahf 18:74]

Alternatively, if this child lives he may face such difficulties that in his case death is a mercy from Allah.

وَأَمَّا الْغُلَامُ فَكَانَ أَبَوَاهُ مُؤْمِنَيْنِ فَخَشِينَا أَن يُرْ‌هِقَهُمَا طُغْيَانًا وَكُفْرً‌ا ﴿٨٠﴾ فَأَرَ‌دْنَا أَن يُبْدِلَهُمَا رَ‌بُّهُمَا خَيْرً‌ا مِّنْهُ زَكَاةً وَأَقْرَ‌بَ رُ‌حْمًا ﴿٨١

And as for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared that he would overburden them by transgression and disbelief. (80) So we intended that their Lord should substitute for them one better than him in purity and nearer to mercy. (81) [Qur'an, Al-Kahf 18:80-81]

Moreover, if Allah creates him handicapped, perhaps this handicap will prevent him from committing many sins which, if he did them, would lead to his being punished on the Day of Resurrection.

Not every sickness or handicap is necessarily a punishment; rather it may be a test for the child’s parents, by which Allah will expiate for their bad deeds, or raise their status in Paradise if they bear this trial with patience. Then if the child grows up, the test will also include him, and if he bears it with patience and faith, then Allah has prepared for the patient a reward that cannot be enumerated. Allah says,

لْ يَا عِبَادِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا رَ‌بَّكُمْ ۚ لِلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا فِي هَـٰذِهِ الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةٌ ۗ وَأَرْ‌ضُ اللَّـهِ وَاسِعَةٌ ۗ إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّابِرُ‌ونَ أَجْرَ‌هُم بِغَيْرِ‌ حِسَابٍ ﴿١٠

Say, "O My servants who have believed, fear your Lord. For those who do good in this world is good, and the earth of Allah is spacious. Indeed, the patient will be given their reward without account." (10) [Qur'an, Al-Zumar 39:10]

For us Muslims, life does not end when we die, rather we believe that beyond death there is Paradise and Hell, in which is true life. Those who did good will find the reward for the good deeds that they did in this world, waiting for them with Allah, and those who did evil will find the punishment for their evil deeds waiting for them. Good and evil cannot be equal, and the patience of the one who was tested and bore it with patience will not be wasted with Alah. Indeed, those who were not tested in this world may wish that they had suffered similar calamities when they see the high status attained by those who bore calamities with patience. There is a great deal of evidence to this effect in the Qur’an and Sunnah, for example,

وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُم بِشَيْءٍ مِّنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَ‌اتِ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ‌ الصَّابِرِ‌ينَ ﴿١٥٥﴾ الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُم مُّصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّـهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَ‌اجِعُونَ ﴿١٥٦﴾

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) Who, when disaster strikes them, say, "Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return." (156) [Qur'an, al-Baqarah 2:155-156]

The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: “How wonderful is the affair of the believer, for all of it is good, and that applies to no one except the believer. If something good happens to him he gives thanks, and that is good for him, and if something bad befalls him he bears it with patience, and that is good for him.” (Narrated by Muslim, 2999).

From this it should be clear to you that the calamities that befall those who seem to us to be innocent, and indeed happen to all people, are not necessarily a punishment, rather they may be mercy from Allah, but our minds and reason are imperfect and are often unable to understand the wisdom of Allah in such matters. Either we believe that Allah is more just than us, and more wise, and more merciful towards His creation, so we submit to Him and accept (His will), whilst also acknowledging our inability to understand the true nature of our own selves; or we boast of our imperfect reason and feel proud of our weak selves and insist on calling Allah to account and objecting to His decree. Such thoughts can never cross the mind of anyone who believes in the existence of a wise Lord, Creator and Sovereign Who is perfect in all ways.

If we do that then we have exposed ourselves to the wrath and vengeance of Allah, but nothing can ever harm Allah.

Allah drew attention to this when He said,

لَا يُسْأَلُ عَمَّا يَفْعَلُ وَهُمْ يُسْأَلُونَ ﴿٢٣

He cannot be questioned about what He does, while they will be questioned. [Qur'an, al-Anbiya’ 21:23]

A sign of man’s weakness and shortsightedness, is that he focuses on the calamities without paying any attention to the benefits they may bring, and not looking at other blessings that he enjoys and sees around him. For Allah has blessed mankind in ways that do not compare with the calamities that may befall them. If there was a man who does a lot of good but occasionally does not do good, then forgetting the good things that he does would be regarded as ingratitude and denial. So how about when this is our attitude towards Allah, to Whom belongs the highest description, and all of Whose dealings with His creation are good and cannot be bad in any way?

Moreover, the Prophets and Messengers are the most beloved of creation to Allah, yet despite that they are the most severely tested of mankind and suffer the most calamities – why? It is not a punishment for them and it is not because of their insignificance before their Lord. Rather it is because Allah loves them and has stored for them a perfect reward which they will enjoy in Paradise, and He has decreed that these calamities should befall them so that He might raise them in status. He does whatever He wills, however He wills, whenever He wills; none can put back His judgement, none can repel His command and He is All-Wise, All-Knowing. And Allah is Most High, Most Knowledgeable and Most Wise.

May Allah grant us wisdom and patience to go through this life. Ameen.

And Allah knows best and He alone grant success.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.

Wassalaam