By Asma bint Shameem
When my daughter was 2 years old, she loved to play with the water in the toilet bowl. Yes, that's right....the toilet bowl!!.
Yuck!!
That's nasty...you would say!!
But to *her*, that was the delight of the day!
Splish...splash!
To her innocent mind, there was nothing like it!
And so when I would prevent her from playing with it, she would scream and cry and wouldn't want to stop.
She didn't understand how harmful that was for her.
In her little brain, I took away something that she really enjoyed.
And when I would take her to the doctor to have her immunization shots, she wouldn't understand that either.
She would *howl* at the top of her lungs at the first sight of the needle and would run the other way.
It would take two of us just to hold her down!
To her, frankly, it was plain torture!
Her innocent little mind simply could not even begin to understand how, on earth, could being tortured by a needle, be good for you?!!
She didn't realize that through this 'needle', Allaah will Insha Allaah protect her from certain illnesses and harm that is much more severe than the prick of this little needle.
*So what's the point here?*
The point I am trying to make is that we, as parents sometimes do things for our kids, out of our great love and concern for them, which they may not understand.
They do not see the wisdom behind it, although *we DO*, and so we carry out those things because we KNOW it will be better for them.
“And for Allaah is the Highest example.” (Surah Nahl:60)
Similarly, when Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'ala , in His Infinite Wisdom, tests us with a situation that we think is difficult or takes away something that *in our mind* was good for us, we need to remember that perhaps it may not be so.
Perhaps if we had continued in our way, it might have been harmful for us
So KNOW and BELIEVE that whatever Allaah decreed for us is actually BETTER for us, for He is All-Wise and All-Knowing.
Allaah says:
"...and it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing which is bad for you. Allaah knows but you do not know." (Surah Baqarah: 216)
Al-Hasan al-Basri said:
"Do not resent the calamities that come and the disasters that occur, for perhaps in something that you dislike will be your salvation, and perhaps in something that you prefer will be your doom."
The moment we realize that everything happens by the will of Allaah, all our worries begin to fade away.
Remember that we are dealing with the One who is Arham ar-Raahimeen, the Most Merciful of all that show mercy.
All the mercy that we have in this world from Adam (Alaiyhi Salaam) to the Day of Judgment is only *one hundredth* of the Mercy of the Most Merciful. And He is Most Wise.
He knows and we don't know.
So have faith in Him and trust in Him and although, sometimes we may not understand the reason behind certain things, KNOW that as long as you obey Him, whatever He will do for you is, in fact for your betterment.
So if Allaah didn't give you that big house, or that nice car you wanted or that big raise you were hoping for, know in your mind and believe in your heart that it is actually better for you.
Who knows.....maybe that big house, that car or that money would have become a source of 'fitnah' for you....
Perhaps you would have become arrogant and conceited because of it, and Allaah saved you from it.
Because, you know that the Prophet (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:
"Any one in whose heart is even a mustard seed's worth of pride will not enter Paradise." (Muslim)
And if you have been sick and suffering, surely it is not easy.
But again, know in your mind and believe in your heart that it is indeed better for you.
For, if you bear patiently, it will be a means of expiation for your sins and a source of great reward.
The Prophet (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:
"There is nothing that befalls a believer, not even a thorn that pricks him, but Allaah will record one good deed for him and will remove one bad deed from him." (Muslim)
Andhevsaid:
"On the Day of Resurrection, when people who had suffered affliction are given their reward, those who were healthy will wish their skins had been cut to pieces with scissors when they were in the world (when they see the immense rewards for the afflictions they suffered)."
(at-Tirmidhi-Saheeh by al-Albaani)
If Allaah took away a dear, loved one, believe, from the bottom of your heart, that surely this was for the better.
For, you never know, had the one who passed away lived longer, may be his life would have been one of sins and disobedience and Allaah, out of His Mercy, took him before that....in a state of Imaan.
And if life has been difficult, worries surround you and calamities after calamities befall you, hear the good news from the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam):
He said:
"Trials will continue to befall the believing man and woman, with regard to themselves, their children and their wealth, until they meet Allaah with no sin on them." (Tirmidhi-- saheeh by al-Albaani)
Subhaan Allaah!
No sin?!
And what is it from this world that we wouldn't give up, just to meet Allaah with no sin??!!
Remember that the One Who is testing you is the Most Wise, the Most Merciful and the Most Loving.....and that He did not send this calamity in order to destroy you....or cause you pain or finish you off.
Rather, He is *checking* on you, testing your patience, acceptance and faith; it is so that He may hear your duaas and supplication, so that He may see you standing before Him....seeking His protection....filled with humility and complaining to Him, alone.
The difficulties you face is a REMINDER for you to return to Allaah and ask for forgiveness from Him.
Ibn Taymiyah said:
“A *calamity* that makes you *turn to Allaah* is *BETTER* for you than a *blessing* which makes you *forget* the remembrance of Allaah."
Thus in our times of trouble, when we go through pain and suffering and in our times of loss, we need to trust Allaah.
We need to keep in mind that as long as we fear Him and try our best to obey Him, He will never do us wrong.
He will protect us and guide us and do the best for us, no matter what the situation *_apparently_* looks like.
You must convince your heart that whatever Allaah has decreed is Most appropriate and most beneficial for you.
As I look back on my life, I realize that every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being re-directed to something better.
All I have seen teaches me to TRUST my Creator for all that I have NOT seen.
Allaah says in a hadeeth Qudsi:
"I am as my slave thinks of me and I am with him whenever he remembers me."(Agreed Upon).
When problems are so big and your strength is no longer enough to carry them, don’t give up!
Because where your strength ends, the Mercy and Grace of Allaah begins.
Yes, Allaah knows you’re tired.
Allaah knows it’s difficult for you.
But you must also know that Allaah would NEVER place you in a situation that you can’t handle.
It is actually a sign of *our* weakness and shortsightedness, that we tend to focus on the calamities themselves, without paying much attention to the benefits that they may bring.
We also forget to look at all other innumerable blessings that we enjoy and see around us.
Our minds, our logic and our senses cannot even begin to fathom the Wisdom, the Knowledge and the Hikmah behind Allaah's decisions and verdicts.
It is HE who is the Wise....it is HE who is the Just and it is HE who is the Most Loving, the Knower of the Unseen.
If we trust in Allaah, He will suffice and it is He who will grant us goodness in any situation and under any circumstances.
Allaah says:
"And when someone puts all his trust in Allah, He will be enough for him." (Surah at-Talaaq:3)
The Prophet (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:
"If you put your trust completely in Allah, He will arrange for your sustenance in the same way as He provides for the birds. They go out in the morning with their stomachs empty and return filled in the evening." (Tirmidhi-saheeh).
Imaam ash-Shafi’i said:
“My heart is at ease knowing that what was meant for me will never miss me, and that what misses me was never meant for me.”
So trust Him....for, there is much reward in trusting Him.....it is Jannah.
And there is SIN in distrusting Him.
Calamities and disasters are a test, and they are a sign of Allaah's love for a person.
So don't despair if you're going through tough times...Allaah wants to test your sincerity.
These tough times are like medicine: even though it is bitter, yet, in spite of its bitterness you still give it to the one whom you love....
As a final note....read the hadeeth below.
And REFLECT....
"The greatest reward comes with the greatest trial.
When Allaah loves a people He tests them.
Whoever accepts that wins His pleasure but whoever is discontent with that earns His wrath." (at-Tirmidhi -saheeh by al-Albaani)
And Allaah knows best
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