The Believer's Unique Perspective On Trials And Suffering

Navigating Trials and Tribulations as a Believer

Throughout his time in Mecca, where the people who accepted Islam were constantly tortured and asked to renounce their faith. And Nabi ﷺ was kicked out of his hometown by his own people, by his own family. And they persevered throughout these tests.

And they came out with a stronger faith, stronger iman in Allah. But in our day and age, our tests and our tribulations are different. And Nabi ﷺ has forewarned us of these things in the hadith.

He's told us that towards the end of time, things will get much, much more difficult. People will find it much, much more difficult to hold on to their faith. The tests will be more difficult. So much so that there's a hadith where he mentions that towards the end of time, someone who even says لا إله إلا الله, this person is in jannah. Because it's so hard at that time to remember Allah. It's so hard that the actions have required great sincerity and they show a great iman in Allah.

Now, what's important is navigating these trials and these tribulations with patience, with perseverance, with tawakkul in Allah. Navigating them through the lens of shari'a — that's what's important. Because the mu'min is different than everyone else. The mu'min has something that everyone else doesn't have. He has belief, he has faith, he has someone to depend on, he has his Lord to depend on.

The Believer's Unique Perspective on Pain and Suffering

So the concept of fitna, the concept of pain and suffering — many people incorrectly assume that there is no benefit to suffering. There is no reason for suffering. That's what they assume. They think pain and suffering are just inherently bad things. They have no benefit, there is no reason to them. But as mu'mineen, we have a different view. We have to have a different view. Because Allah has told us in the Qur'an that He will test us, He will test us. And those who pass these tests will receive a great reward.

Many ahadith — Nabi ﷺ, in a hadith, he mentions:

If Allah loves the people, if He loves the nation, He tests them. (Sunan Ibn Mājah, Hadith 4031)

And in the hadith that I read in the beginning, Nabi ﷺ is clearly telling us that for a mu'min:

How wonderful is the affair of the believer! All of his affairs are good, and this is not the case for anyone except the believer. If something good happens to him, he gives thanks, and that is good for him. If something bad happens to him, he bears it with patience, and that is good for him. (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2999)

Nabi ﷺ is showing surprise at the matter, at the condition of a believer. He's telling us that all of his matters — everything, everything that happens to him — is good. Whether that thing is something we perceive as bad or we perceive it as good, Nabi ﷺ is saying that all of it is good. And he's saying that this is not for anyone except the believer.

Normal people — pain and suffering, those things are bad for them. Because they don't understand how to take benefit from these things. They don't understand how to go through it and come out as a better person, a better believer. They don't understand this. But we do.

So Nabi ﷺ is telling us that this is not for anyone else but a believer. For a believer, everything is good for him. Everything can be good for him depending on how he reacts, depending on how he perceives these things.

So he says that if something good happens to a believer, he thanks Allah, and that's what's good for him. A promotion, an increase in anything, increase in salary — all of these things are good things. But for a believer, they can go one of two ways. Either the believer thanks Allah, he realizes that this is not from his own doing, he realizes that this is from Allah, and he receives benefit. Even though something good happened to him, he's receiving more benefit on top of that by thanking Allah.

Isn't our deen just amazing? Allah has made it so easy for us. Even if something good happens to you, you can get more and more reward from that good, just by thanking Allah, by realizing that that blessing is not anything from your own doing — it's only from Allah.

And the second part of the hadith tells us that if any harm afflicts the believer, if anything bad happens to him at all, all he has to do is remain patient. Remain patient and have tawakkul in Allah. And through that misfortune, through that harm that he persevered through, he gets reward.

So Nabi ﷺ is telling us that the condition of a believer is perfect. He has nothing to worry about. As long as that person navigates through his life — whether anything good happens to him or anything bad — he navigates it through the lens of shari'a, he navigates it with Allah as his Lord, he understands that Allah is behind everything, then everything that happens to him can be a source of good for him.

Ways to Navigate Trials the Islamic Way

1. Sabr — Patience

Now, there are ways we can navigate trials and tribulations in an Islamic way. The first I'm going to mention is sabr — patience. We have to understand the significance of patience in Islam. Allah mentions it countless times throughout the Qur'an. Patience throughout harm. Patience throughout anything that happens in your life. Allah highlights the significance of this in the Qur'an so many times.

In the ayah that I read in the beginning, Allah is telling us:

Allah is telling us — We will test you with fear and hunger. Things we experience, things people are experiencing now throughout the world. Hunger. A decrease in wealth. These are things that we perceive as harmful. These are things that harm us in our daily lives. But Allah says, loss of life, loss of all of these fruits of this dunya — and then: وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ — glad tidings be to those who have patience. Glad tidings be to those who are patient in times of difficulty, in times of strife.

And the ulama tell us that so many people go through these hardships, so many people go through these trials. And later on, you'll hear them say — after this happened to me, I had patience in Allah, I just had tawakkul in Allah, anything that happens I have tawakkul. But you'll see that many of these people, in the time of strife, in the time when they first received the news of this hardship, the first thing they thought was: how could this happen to me? Why is Allah doing this to me? What did I do that was so wrong that I deserve this?

And the ulama tell us that sabr afterwards — sabr after the initial reaction — has very little benefit. Once you've already gone through the initial reaction, then you pretend to have sabr in Allah, tawakkul in Allah. These things have little benefit. What we need to do is train ourselves so that the first reaction in times of strife, the first reaction to any harm is: Allah is my Lord, I'm not going to say anything that will displease Him.

Now, a hadith comes to mind right now of Nabi ﷺ. We all know, throughout his life he went through so much. He went through what none of us could bear to ever go through. He lived a life where before he was born, his father passed away. At a young age, his mother passed away, his grandfather passed away, his uncle passed away, his first wife passed away. Every single one of his children besides Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) passed away during his lifetime. And not even that — she passed away six months later.

So he went through so much — nothing that we could ever imagine. Parents losing their children is not something that's natural. It's unnatural. Children are supposed to outlive their parents. But Nabi ﷺ went through this. All of his children passed away besides Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her), and she passed away six months after him.

Now, when his son Ibrahim passed away, we all know the story — that a solar eclipse happened the same day. The same day his son passed away, the solar eclipse happened. The Sahabah (may Allah be pleased with them) immediately assumed that a great person passed away, a great child, a child of a prophet — that's why Allah is showing these signs. Nabi ﷺ immediately quashed any rumors and said that the sun and the moon don't set for anybody. Allah controls all of this.

But what's important is his reaction when his son passed away. The gist of it is that he said, as soon as he heard the news of his son passing away: "O Ibrahim, we are sad for your passing — إِنَّا لَمَحْزُونُونَ — but we will not say anything that will go against Allah's wishes. We are not going to say anything that will contradict Allah's will, His irada, His rada. We're sad, but we cannot do anything about it, so we have tawakkul on Allah."

This is the reaction. This is the optimal reaction. This is the perfect reaction. This is the reaction that the ulama tell us is what وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ is referring to. The person whose immediate reaction in any time of harm, any strife, is tawakkul on Allah, sabr in Allah. That's what it is.

Also in the Qur'an, Allah tells us more ayat of sabr. So many ayat. One more is:

O believers, have patience, and be steadfast in patience, and stand firm. Fear Allah — indeed you will be successful. Allah tells us the benefits of patience here again.

2. Tawakkul — Reliance on Allah

Now, patience is one thing. Tawakkul in Allah — these two things go together, but they're different. Allah tells us also to have tawakkul on Him in times of difficulty. We depend on Him. So many things we depend on in our daily life — we depend on others for so many things. But what is better than depending on the Lord? Depending on the Creator. Depending on the one being that will not disappoint.

Humans — they disappoint. We disappoint constantly. Relying on humans will always lead to disappointment either now or in the future. But relying on Allah — there is nothing greater than this. Because He will never, ever cause you harm through your reliance on Him. Allah is the one being that is always dependable.

Allah tells us:

Indeed We have created man, and We know what his soul whispers to him, and We are closer to him than his jugular vein. This is what Allah is telling us. He's telling us that reliance on Allah is the most important thing. He is closest to you, He knows what's inside. The people around you don't know, the people around you don't understand what you're going through unless you tell them. Allah always knows. Allah always knows what you're going through. And Allah gives you the cure for these things, gives you the cure for anything that ails you.

Sabr in Allah, tawakkul in Allah — these are what give comfort to a believer. Because unlike the kuffar, we have something to look forward to. We have jannah to look forward to. We have a reckoning that will happen. Those who wronged us will receive their due. All the good that we did, we will receive a reward for that in the eyes of Allah, on the Day of Judgment.

So we know that everything that happens is through Allah's will. Everything that happens, Allah knows what's happening. And the way we react to it, there may be some benefit in it for us — in everything. Any hardship, there may be benefit for us in it, if we react the way Allah has commanded us to react.

3. Du'a — Supplication

Now, another thing obviously is du'a. Du'a is the gift that Allah has given to the believer. Allah has given us a way to contact Him directly. He has given us a way to reach Him directly. To tell Him what ails us. He has given us this through du'a. We can reach Allah directly. We can talk to our Lord and tell Him all of our issues, all of our problems, and ask Him to help us throughout these things.

Du'a is so important for a believer. And many of us take it for granted. After salah we'll do du'a with the imam for a few minutes here and there. Maybe we'll do du'a after fajr for a few minutes here and there. But the believer — he should want to strike a conversation with his Lord. That should be an important part of a believer's life. That time where he talks to his Lord. That time where he tells Allah all of his issues. Anything that he wants, anything that he wishes for. And he asks Allah to grant these things for him. This is what is so important for a believer.

Examples of Perseverance from Islamic History

Now, there are examples throughout Islamic history of many people who've gone through strife, who've gone through so much persecution — especially in the lives of the Sahabah.

We have stories of people like Bilal ibn Rabah. He went through so much torture and persecution — literal torture where he was laid on the ground in the hot sand in Mecca, and stones were put on his stomach. And still throughout all of these things, he had one thing to say, one thing on his mind: he will never, ever renounce the deen. That's what he told them. He stood firm in his conviction, in his resolution. He knew that Allah was the truth. And he would not, no matter what happened to him, say anything to show that he does not believe this — even just to please the people.

Even though Allah tells us that in a time like this it is permissible to say words of kufr, still in that time Bilal ibn Rabah shows us that he did not do that. And for his perseverance, he was rewarded. He was given so many rewards throughout Islam. He was respected throughout Islam. He was the first mu'adhdhin of Islam. So for his perseverance, he was given so many rewards.

We have the story of Sumayyah, who was the first martyr in Islam. Her story was the same. Her masters wanted her to renounce the deen. She did not do that. And the story of her death is so gruesome — the way she was killed. She was tied to two camels, her hands tied to two camels on both sides, and both camels were forced to run in opposite directions. That's extremely horrible. But throughout this entire time she persevered. She stood fast. She stood firm in her deen.

Closing

Now these are all stories just to tell us that everyone goes through difficulty. Everyone goes through strife. We're going through it now in this time. These things that we're going through are a lot more difficult in some ways than the things that happened in the past. But also, the reward for sabr, the reward for tawakkul in Allah in these times is much greater than it was before as well.

And I pray that Allah gives us all the tawfiq to have sabr in every aspect of our life. To have shukr when anything good happens to us. And to have tawakkul in Allah. To be steadfast in deen. And our first reaction in any time of strife or any harm to be that reaction that pleases Allah. Ameen.

Announcements

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InshaAllah we will have our candlelight conversation, The AI Revolution and What It Means for Us All, on Wednesday, May 8th after Maghrib with Mufti Ateemuddin.

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Join us for our weekly programs. Team Fajr will resume tomorrow — Fajr iqamat at 5am. InshaAllah Tuesday Tafsir will continue after Maghrib salah — we will continue with Surah al-Mumtahanah. And weekly salawat and khatira every Thursday after Maghrib salah.

InshaAllah the University of Chicago MSA will be having their annual Qur'an night — a benefit recitation for the Muslims of Gaza. The speakers and reciters will include Shaykh Hassan Salih, Shaykh Hassan Kassi, Qari Adib Bari, and Qari Abraj Jamaluddin. Tafsir will be given by Mufti Minhajuddin Ahmad. This is on Saturday, May 4th at 4pm at the Rockefeller Memorial Chapel.

Du'a Requests

We make du'a for the people of Palestine — for them to have sabr and for them to be rewarded for all of their hardships. Ameen.

Sister Shamim Begum, mother of Sayyid Ajuddin, is in a coma in the ICU. Please make du'a for a speedy recovery for her. InshaAllah.