Did you ever experience a dark phase in your life? Lost a job or a loved one? Financial or health problems? Been through a divorce or a rough marriage? Did you find yourself looking towards the sky and asking “Why me?” while hoping and yearning for that perfect life?
If you answered ‘no’ to these questions then better you stop reading right now because this article won’t interest you. If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the above questions then read on….There’s good news and bad news…
The Bad News
I am going to be straight with you. If you waiting for that ‘perfect life’, you going to wait for a long time because that life doesn’t exist. If there was such a thing as a ‘perfect life’, Allah would have given it to His closest servants, the Prophets (Peace be upon them), but they lived lives stacked with difficulty. I won’t elaborate on their sacrifices for I fear this piece will be too long but understand one thing…from marriage to kids, finance to health, the Prophets of Allah (Peace be upon them) experienced an avalanche of trials, and of course, our beloved Muhammad (PBUH) seen the worst. Despite the fact that he was Allah’s most beloved creation, he was orphaned at a young age, lost all his male progeny while still infants and went for days without food just to mention a few.
I know what you thinking…”What about the rich and famous in today’s era?”. Well, truth be told, despite the wealth, there is no happiness. Drug scandals, love affairs, depression, jail -time, I don’t know about you but I don’t see happiness in Hollywood. I mean seriously, I could hold my breath longer than some celebrity marriages. These problems are common and experienced by everyone. The poet says it up beautifully…
“The healthy seek wealth..wealthy seek health..
husbands seek jobs.. employed seek wives..
these are the days of our lives.” @poetrypencil
The Good News
So why did the Prophets of Allah experience rough patches and why do YOU experience rough patches? Because Allah loves them and Allah loves…YOU.
A Hadeeth states:
“When Allah intends good for a person He puts him/her through a test.”(Bukhaari)
But why would Allah put you through difficulty? It doesn’t make sense. It goes against logic!
Well, ask yourself these questions…
1) How often do I read Tahaajud in good times?
2) How much Dhikr do I make in good times?
Very little?
Now ask yourself this…
1) How often do I make Dua in difficult times?
2) How often do I think of Allah in difficult times?
Quite a bit?
The above Hadith makes more sense now doesn’t it?
The point is Allah puts you through a test because He wants the best for you. He wants you to be closer to Him. We might not realize it but ‘happy times’ takes us further away from Allah. We only turn to Him in our days of darkness. With every rough patch we become His friend and He loves that…He loves YOU.
Also, good news, your sins are being forgiven…
“never a believer is stricken with discomfort, hardship, illness, grief or even with mental worry except that his/her sins are forgiven” (Bukhaari, Muslim)
“A Muslim male or female continues to remain under trial in respect of his/her life, property and offspring till he/she meets Allah in a condition that all of his/her sins are forgiven.” (Tirmidhi)
How to face a difficulty
Two qualities have been emphasised upon in the Ahadeeth:
1) Patience – Remember, your nagging, moaning and screaming can’t solve anything but your Dua can move mountains. Be patient and understand that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Allah wants to see your reaction, so act wisely. I would love to further explain ‘patience’ and ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ but let’s leave that for another day.
2) Hope for reward – Allah knows your thoughts and your feelings. If you doubt His mercy, He will ‘doubt’ showing His mercy. Be sure and convinced that His mercy will arrive, be sure that you will be rewarded for your trial and believe me, when it comes, it will pour.
