Arsalan Majeed

All praise is for Allah alone. We praise Him, we ask for His help, we beg for His forgiveness, and we ask for His help in all of our affairs. We beg for His forgiveness, and we seek refuge in Allah from the evil whispers within ourselves, and the evil consequences of our sins. Whomsoever Allah guides to the truth, there is no one that can misguide him. And whomsoever Allah misguides, there is no one that can guide him back to the truth.

I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship, glorification, except Allah alone. The one who does not have any partners, associates, or equals. And I bear witness that Muhammad ibn Abdullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is His most perfect worshipper, and final messenger and prophet.

The most truthful of speech is the book of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And the worst of affairs in the religion are those that have no basis, that are newly innovated. Every such innovation is a misguidance, and every misguidance is in the fire which we seek refuge in Allah from.

Introduction: Understanding Divine Wisdom in Difficulties

Dear brothers and sisters, the topic of my khutbah today is somewhat related to the tragedy that recently happened. However, it is not completely on that topic. Rather, there are some parallels that each one of us can draw. And that is a believer's response and attitude towards difficulties, trials, tribulations, and calamities in life. And the attitude a believer or a Muslim should have based on Islamic beliefs and understanding.

Before we delve into this topic, I want to address a question that many people have, and many people ask. And that is, why has Allah decreed difficulties, trials, and tribulations in this life? And to answer this question, it requires us to change our perspective a little bit.

And that is to understand that nothing that Allah has created in this life is absolutely pure evil. Rather, there is some aspect of goodness to everything that He has created. Even to the creation of satan, shaitaan, there is some aspect of goodness.

And this answer may come off as surprising to some of us. How can satan or shaitaan have goodness inside of him? It's not him, the creation himself. Rather, the creation of satan is good for the people around him. And an example that will clarify this is that through satan, through shaitaan, Allah raises the ranks of the believers. Through disobeying shaitaan, Allah distinguishes the people that submit to him and obey him, and the people that disobey him and disbelieve in him. And through the creation of satan, Allah forgives the sins of those who believe in him and raises their ranks in the hereafter.

Hence, everything that Allah created has some aspect of goodness inside of it. And there is some wisdom behind Allah's actions. Now whether we recognize that wisdom or not, that goes back to our understanding. If we recognize that wisdom behind Allah's actions, that is enlightenment from Allah. That is a blessing from Allah upon us. If we fail to recognize that wisdom behind Allah's actions, then that is not a deficiency in Allah's actions. That does not mean that wisdom does not exist. Because all of Allah's actions, they emanate from some wisdom. Rather, that is a deficiency in our understanding as human beings.

Five Wisdoms Behind Trials and Difficulties

Based on this question I want to clarify in the beginning, I want to share with you some wisdoms and difficulties, some wisdoms behind difficulties that people experience inside of this life.

Number One: Appreciating Goodness Through Contrast

Through difficulties, through trials and calamities, we recognize goodness when we see it. It is only through darkness that we appreciate light. It is only when there is cold that we appreciate heat and warmth. It is only through opposites, it is only the opposite thing through which the other opposite is known. Through darkness, light is known. Through a lack of heat, through cold, heat is known. And this is one of the wisdoms behind decreeing difficulties and trials and tribulations in this life.

Number Two: Bringing Out Human Goodness

During times of trials and difficulties, the goodness in human beings is brought out. Heroes emerge during times of danger and peril. When we see people in starvation, when we see people that are needy, we reach deep in our pockets and we give them sadaqah. So it is through these difficulties, through these calamities that Allah brings out and pulls out the goodness inside of human beings.

Number Three: Returning to Allah

The calamities and trials and difficulties that Muslims experience in this life, they pull the person back to Allah when he has drifted away from him. Allah mentions this even regarding the people that don't believe in him. He says regarding Quraysh, when they were in times of ease, when they were in times of enjoyment and luxury, they would forget Allah. However, when they travelled and they embarked upon their ships and during their sea voyage, the waves in the sea, they would toss the ships here and there.

And when they would fear drowning, Allah says:

At this point when they're in danger, they call out to Allah with wholehearted sincerity. And they say:

They say to Allah that, Oh Allah, if you save us in this moment, if you save us from this danger, if you save us from death at this time, we will surely be thankful to you when we return back to our families. But what does Allah say they do when they return back to their families and they go back to safety?

Allah says when they go back to luxury, when they go back to safety, they forget Allah and they go back to committing polytheism and idolatry. And this is regarding the people who don't believe in Him. So what about us as Muslims? We naturally sometimes we drift away from Allah. And that calamity or that difficulty in life is meant to pull us back to Allah and re-establish our connection with Him that we might have lost.

Number Four: Purifying Sins

Amongst the wisdoms behind calamities and difficulties in life is that it is a means of purifying a person's sins. It is a means of purifying a person's sins. Hence we learn from this that the calamity or difficulty is not the goal in itself. Rather there is a higher goal behind it that Allah is pulling us towards.

There is a hadith that I would like to share with you that Abu Bakr radiallahu anhu when he heard this ayah:

He said to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam and the meaning of the ayah is that whoever does an evil deed, whoever does a sin, then surely he will be punished or he will be rewarded or recompensed for it on the day of judgment or in this life. So when Abu Bakr radiallahu anhu he heard this ayah he said to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, he said, O Prophet of Allah, is it the case that whenever we do an evil deed, whenever we do a sin, we will surely be punished for it?

And so the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam he said to Abu Bakr, غَفَرَ اللَّهُ لَكَ يَا أَبَا بَكَرٍ He said, may Allah forgive you Abu Bakr. أَلَسْتَ تَمْرَضُ Do you not get sick? أَلَسْتَ تَحْزَنُ Do you not suffer sadness and depression? And then he said, don't financial difficulties afflict you?

And so Abu Bakr radiallahu anhu he said that yes. And notice that all the things that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam is mentioning in this hadith, they are all trials and tribulations that believers and in fact all human beings they face in their lives. And so the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said to Abu Bakr when Abu Bakr said yes, he said that these difficulties and these trials and tribulations are washing away the sins that a person has accumulated.

Number Five: Raising Ranks in the Hereafter

And finally the last wisdom that I would like to share with you before moving on to the next part of my khutbah is that that trials and tribulations in a believer's life they are a means of raising his rank in the hereafter. And listen to this hadith which is recorded by Abu Dawood, this hadith when I personally read it, it really changed my perspective on how to understand trials and tribulations.

(Sunan Abu Dawood, Hadith 3090)

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said that when Allah has decreed a certain station or a certain rank for his believing servant in the hereafter and he knows that this believing servant will not be able to reach this rank through his righteous deeds. Either he doesn't have enough righteous deeds or when he does do the righteous deeds they are deficient. Meaning he doesn't pray enough sunan for example, voluntary prayers. Or when he does pray them his mind is wandering.

So either he doesn't have enough good deeds or when he does them they are weak in sincerity and weak in perfection. So what does Allah do when he has written this rank for his believing servant in the hereafter? Then Allah puts him through some difficulty, some trial, some tribulation inside of regarding his children or regarding his wealth or regarding his health or regarding his family or some financial difficulty. And after Allah puts him through this difficulty what does Allah do? Allah inspires him with patience.

Allah grants him the fortitude to go through this difficulty while at the same time having his belief in Allah and expecting reward from Allah. And Allah continues to do this with his believing servant حَتَّى يُبَلِّغَهُ until Allah makes him reach the rank that he has written for him in the hereafter. This authentic hadith.

So this hadith teaches us a very important lesson and that lesson is that we should always think good about Allah. We should always think good about Allah. Even in troubling or difficult times there is some wisdom that Allah knows that we might not be cognizant of. And we should always have the best thoughts about Allah.

Universal Nature of Trials: Lessons from the Prophets

Moving on to the next part of my khutbah and that is that dear brothers and sisters all human beings they face difficulties and trials and tribulations in life. No human being is safe from this. And no one is exempt from this. Allah has decreed this in the Quran. He has said:

We have created mankind in kabad. What does kabad mean? Surah al-Balad. Kabad means that some difficulty in life will face him or the difficulties in hereafter will face him. And this afflicts every single human being.

And the people that face the most severest difficulties in their life, trials and tribulations were the prophets. Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, he says that I entered upon the Prophet ﷺ while he was suffering from a fever. And he had a blanket upon him. And I placed my hand on the blanket and I could feel the heat coming from the Prophet's ﷺ blessed body through the blanket to my hand. And so I said to the Prophet ﷺ, think how high his fever was. The Prophet's ﷺ fever.

So I said to the Prophet ﷺ how difficult it is for you, O Messenger of Allah. And so the Prophet ﷺ said to Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, we prophets are like that. Our trial and tribulation and difficulty is multiplied, so our reward is multiplied also.

And so Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, he asked the Prophet ﷺ, O Prophet of Allah, who amongst the people is most severely tested? Has the most difficult trials and tribulations? And so the Prophet ﷺ said to Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, he said, the prophets. They go through the most difficult times in life.

And then Abu Sa'id al-Khudri said, then who? He said, then the righteous. A person will be tested in religion according to the level of his iman. The level of his belief in Allah. The Prophet ﷺ is saying, the higher his belief, the higher the strength of his faith, the more severely he will be tested. Yet at the same time Allah will grant him the patience. And the weaker a person's faith is in the religion, then he will be tested in proportion to the weakness of faith he has.

And the Prophet ﷺ concluded by saying that a person will continue to go through tests and difficulties and trials and tribulations in life until Allah purifies him from all the sins that he's committed. And he's walking on this earth sinless. And this is a blessing from Allah.

Examples from the Lives of the Prophets

Now examples from the Prophet's lives, dear brothers and sisters. Adam ﷺ, he was in Jannah, he was in Paradise. He saw the blessings of Paradise. Yet he was taken out. And this was a trial and tribulation for him.

Nuh ﷺ, his own people rejected him after 950 years of preaching. And his own son was amongst the people and his own wife was amongst the people that rejected him. In fact his son was punished before his very own eyes.

Ibrahim ﷺ, Ibrahim ﷺ was ostracized by his father. He was kicked out of his own community after they tried to burn him alive. For 86 years, 85 years of his life he stayed childless. He did not have a child. Allah blessed him with a child after 85 years. And that very child that Allah blessed him with, he was tested with the dream he had to sacrifice his son for the sake of Allah. This is the trial and tribulation. And Allah granted him the patience to go through it.

Lut ﷺ, his own wife did not believe in his message. And she was amongst the people that Allah mentioned in the Qur'an that stayed behind her and were punished.

Ayyub ﷺ, Ayyub ﷺ is known as an example for sabr, for patience through trials and tribulations. Ayyub ﷺ was a person of massive wealth, good societal standing. He had many children. He had a large family, a great number of friends. Allah tested him with all the blessings such that all of this was lost. To the extent that even his own family left him except his wife. And to the extent that he developed sores in his body through which worms oozed out of. For 18 years he stayed like this. And then he called out to Allah with a beautiful adab that Allah teaches in the Qur'an.

He said, Ayyub called out to Allah and he said, مَسَّنِيَ الضُّرُّ He said, some harm, some affliction has touched me. He didn't even attribute that to Allah. He said, it simply touched me. وَأَنتَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ Oh Allah, You are the most merciful of those who show mercy. And Allah granted him all of that back, all of the blessings he had after the trial.

The Prophet ﷺ, where do we even begin regarding the Prophet ﷺ? So many trials and tribulations. The Prophet ﷺ was well known in his community. A person of great standing in his community for 40 years. When he started preaching his message, his own people, they pushed him out of Mecca. Multiple assassination attempts on the Prophet's ﷺ life. They publicly tried to humiliate him.

The Prophet ﷺ had seven children. Six of his children passed away in his lifetime. Three sons and four daughters. All three sons passed away in their infancy. The only one that survived after him lived for six months and that was Fatima. The Prophet ﷺ had two daughters that were divorced on the very same day. All of these trials and tribulations that faced the Prophet ﷺ. His wife was slandered in his community. Allah exonerated her.

And in the mention of these Prophets, there is a lesson for all of us that I ask Allah, He benefits us with.

A Believer's Response to Trials and Tribulations

Finally, my dear brothers and sisters, the last concluding part of my khutbah is that what response or what attitude should a believer have in regards to these trials and tribulations that come in his life.

Number One: Understanding Allah's Love Through Trials

A believer should know that when Allah tests him, it is not a sign of Allah's hatred for that person. The Prophet ﷺ mentioned in a beautiful hadith recorded by Imam al-Tirmidhi.

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2396)

He says, إِنَّ اللَّهَ إِذَا أَحَبَّ قَوْمًا When Allah loves a group of people, ابْتَلَاهُمْ He puts them through difficulty. Because it's through this difficulty that he is purified of his sins. It is through heat that gold is purified. So Allah is only purifying him and raising his rank in the hereafter. And this is the حُسْنُ الظَّنِّ or the good assumption or thought that a believer should have regarding Allah.

Number Two: Recognizing Universal Nature of Difficulties

A person should realize that no one in this life is safe from difficulties and trials and tribulations. Rather, everyone has some trial or difficulty that is different from the other person sitting next to him. Everyone goes through it. The grass may look greener on the other side. Yes, but realize that that person is also going through some trials and difficulties inside of his life. And if the best of all people, the Prophets ﷺ, they went through difficulties, then how about the rest of human beings?

Number Three: Embracing Divine Decree (Qadar)

Dear brothers and sisters, realize and embrace the concept of قَدَر, of divine decree. That Allah has destined these trials and tribulations inside of a person's life, and there is no running away from them. There is no running away from them. Allah says regarding the person who realizes this, when some difficulty approaches him, and he believes in Allah, and he submits to Allah's قَدَر, decree, and he's patient with what Allah has tested him with, then Allah says:

And whoever believes in Allah, realizes this trial and difficulties from Allah as a test, يَهْدِ قَلْبَهُ Allah will guide his heart. Allah will put tranquility, serenity and satisfaction inside of his heart, and help him move through the dark waves with iman and with sabr.

Practical Steps: Du'a and Tawakkul

Finally, dear brothers and sisters, with this I will conclude that simply that an approach to difficulties is not simply an approach of belief. Rather, there are practical steps that a person has to take to remove these difficulties from his life. Number one, that is to make du'a to Allah. The Prophet ﷺ said that Allah is حَيِيٌّ, meaning that when a person raises his hands to make du'a to Allah, Allah will not reject his du'a. Rather, He will give him something. Whether that trial or tribulation is immediately removed from him, or removed later on in his life, or he is rewarded inside of the hereafter.

Finally, a person should put tawakkul in Allah. And realize that whatever asbab, or whatever means he takes, that is only a means. Rather, at the end of the day, the final judgment is for Allah. And someone should completely submit, and someone should completely put his tawakkul in Allah.

Remember Allah the Great and He will remember you. Thank Him and He will increase you. Seek His forgiveness and He will forgive you. Fear Him and He will provide you a way out from your difficulties. And establish the prayer.