Dealing with Hardships & virtue of being patience in the life of a believer!! ( Part1 )

We give thanks to Allah سبحانه و تعالى and we testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that the Prophet ﷺ is His servant and Messenger sent to the world to guide us to the truth.

Today our topic on which we are are here to discuss is Dealing with Hardships & virtue of being patience in the life of a believer!!  (where most of us lack patience except those whom Allah has blessed). Now we are living in an era where we are surrounded by test , calamity & bunch of problems everyday. Hardship is an inevitable experience in our lives. Each one of us will encounter pain, loss, fear, anxiety, sadness, and grief in our journey to Allah. 

The prophets and righteous people are afflicted the most, and their rewards are the highest.

Abu Sa’id al-Khudri reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The most severely tested are the Prophets, and then the righteous. One of them would be tested with poverty until he could find nothing to cover himself but a cloak. One of them would rejoice in a trial just as one of you rejoices in prosperity.”Sunan Ibn Mājah 4024

But never forget this Ayah 

Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity.

(Surah Baqarah, Quran 2:286)

But do you know that Allah test us for a reason!! 

Let me mention a few reasons from the big list of reasons.

Allah is give us the opportunity to grow closer to Him through our good deeds and acts of worship.

It is He who created death and life to test which of you is best in deed.(67:2)

Sign of Faith

“Do people think they will not be tested because they say, ‘We have faith?’ We had certainly tried those who lived before them to make sure who were truthful in their faith and who were liars(29:2-3).”

Sign of Allah’s Love

Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whenever Allah wills good for a person, He subjects him to adversity”(Al-Bukhari and others)

Imam Ibn Qayyim Al Jawziyyah رحمه الله "Calamities, trials and tests are signs of love from Allah for the believers. They are comparable to a cure; although it may be bitter, you accept it because it is from the one whom you love; and to Allah belongs the best example."[Ighaathatul Lahfan” p. 286]

Expiations of Sins

Like a blacksmith who melts gold and silver in a furnace to remove its dross, Allah likewise puts us to trial in order to remove our spiritual defects such that only our best qualities remain.

The Prophet ﷺ said: Nothing afflicts a Muslim of hardship, nor illness, nor anxiety, nor sorrow, nor harm, nor distress, nor even the pricking of a thorn, but that Allah will expiate his sins by it(sahih al Buhari)

Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet said:“Hardships continue to befall a believing man and woman in their body, family, and property, until they meet Allah burdened with no sins” (At-Tirmidhi)

Ranks in Paradise elevated by hardship.

Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Verily, a man may have a rank with Allah that he does not achieve by his good deeds. Thus, Allah continues to put him to trial with what he hates until he reaches the rank destined for him.”Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān 575

How should a believer deal the hardship?

We must understand the truthfulness of this life, we Should know that if we are believers and sincere in our faith Allah will test us. So as a true believers we are supposed to remain patient in times of difficulty, think good of his lord regardless, put the trust upon him  and wait for relief. We should respond our trials with an optimistic spirit, having good thoughts and good assumptions about Allah, and striving to obey Allah inwardly and outwardly as we navigate such challenges in life.

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah, Glorified and Exalted, said: 'I am as My slave thinks of Me, and I am with him wherever he remembers Me.' By Allah, Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His servant than one of you would be upon finding his lost camel in a barren desert. 'Whoever draws nearer to Me by a hand span, I draw nearer to him by a cubit; and whoever draws nearer to Me by a cubit, I draw nearer to him by a fathom; and whoever comes towards Me walking, I go to him running'" [Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]

Al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Verily the believer thinks positively of his Lord, therefore he does righteous deeds, and the evildoer thinks negatively of his Lord, therefore he does evil deeds.

Some among us with weaker faith might think they are being punished unjustly and they do not deserve to be in such situations. Some others might blindly believe the advices of enemies of Islam and fall in the trap of shaithan away from their creator.  This is not the way and reasoning of true believers.

to be continued Insha Allah 

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