Every hardship has a positive outcome if…
Allah has put character on priority while on the front line for a Muslim whenever an issue needs to be dealt with. There are two perspectives to see an issue from. It could be seen from either a positive or a negative angle. In other words every issue can be related to goodness or evil. The teachings of Islam keeps a Believer focused on goodness on every issue that he faces no matter how hard and difficult it appears and he keeps on expecting a good outcome. This positive attitude also happens to be the strongest source of our mutual love and affection that binds us together.
Man is created to undergo hardships
Allah has already declared that 'Man has been created to be in hardship, ' which indicates a lot of hardships, difficulties and crises a human being undergoes. With regards to the believers Allah has already said, "We will surely test you with something of fear, hunger, loss in wealth, health and profit." The verse goes further assuring a glad tidings to those who bear such crises with patience and it says, When a calamity befalls them they say, "Indeed we are from Allah and to Him we shall be returning. Those are the ones upon whom are the Blessings from their Lord and His Mercy and those are the ones who are on the guidance. "
The strongest precaution and preparation to survive a crisis is to purify one's Nafs.
Allah has given the capacity to each soul to look at each crises from two perspectives, hoping a good outcome and waiting patiently for it or giving up all the hope and look at the crises as a huge disaster. This is exactly what the Qur'an means when it says, We have put both the inclinations in your nafs but he who purifies his soul from the evil inclination will be successful.
Purification of souls is correcting your character and improving your behaviour
Imam Qatadah, who is well known as the Imam of Tafseerul Qur'an, explains the methodology of purifying the soul. He says, purification of soul means to hold on to obedience to Allah and His Messenger and wipe away the bad traits that you have in your character and behaviour. Successful out come from a crises is possible only if one purifies his soul as Allah declares, "And successful is he who purifies his soul and one who submits himself to the mischief of his soul will be doomed." There are certain negative traits in a personality which needs to get rid off and Allah Himself says, " Whoever gets his soul cleansed off miserliness and stinginess will be successful." This verse shows that not spending at the right place at the right time upon the right people is a negative trait and a cause for submission to the mischief of the soul. Not reining one's Nafs and allowing it to wander behind desires and temptation cannot lead a person to success.
A clean soul brings up a clean heart.
Surah Shu'ara says that person who will bring a clean heart will be successful on the day of Qiyamah. On the day of Qiyamah, a person cannot be benefitted by his children or his wealth but person who comes with a clean nafs will be saved. The Arabic term is 'Qalb e Saleem' which means that a person will struggle against the temptation of his Nafs and make it agree and follow the commands of Allah in all circumstances. People who never let go their nafs to take charge of them but set their eyes on Allah in every situation, will be possessing Qalb e Muneer. This paradise is for him who brings Qalb e Muneer, a bright heart.
Always seize opportunities to do good till your last breath
Each teachings of the Prophet (peace be upon him) about handling each situation of life is full of lessons that motivate us to look very positively at life. The Prophet (peace be upon him) taught, “ If you see the day of Qiyamah or your own death arriving, and you have a piece of date in your possession then sow that seed.” This shows how positively one should see the life and seizing opportunities of doing good. There should not no hopeless thought about, “ What and why should I do if my death is so close.” In the above hadith we come to know that even when we are close to our death we should leave behind good legacy that is beneficial for others. Never let go any opportunity of doing good.
Never demoralise people by thumping pessimist views
The Prophet (peace be upon him) has severely reprimanded one who injects negativity in others and despairs them from hoping good. He said, “If you see a person who demoralises others through his pessimist words and despairing others from hoping good then he will the one who will be the biggest loser among the lot.”
Always expect a good outcome from hardships and difficulties
If one sees a person from among his subordinates, his close aids, his relatives some one who is a victim of ignorance or sins then he may have two options, first is to boycott him and the second is to check his good traits and encourage him to correct him and teach him to be good. Abu Dawood, narrates a hadith in his Sunan, “Abbas bin Shurhadi (Allah be pleased with him). He was from Yemen but had a desire to go to Madinah and meet the Prophet (peace be upon him). When he announced to leave for Madinah, all his woman folk also insisted to go with him and meet the Prophet (peace be upon him). The man agreed and they all proceeded towards Madinah.
On the way their food was over and the journey was getting harder. At the outskirts of Madinah he spotted a garden of date palms full of ripe dates. He asked his womenfolk to wait and went to the garden to bring some dates for them. He thought that it was allowed for a traveller to eat from garden so first he ate full then he spread his sheet to collect more dates to carry them to his hungry folk. The good part is that he was not selfish but he thought about his relatives too. He picked up the best of dates and thought that it was enough for even for his return journey. But the moment he got up, the owner of the date palm arrived there and he started beating him and asked him to lift the entire dates that he had collected. “ I will take you to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and get your hands chopped off for stealing,” He threatened.
Upon reaching the masjid e nabwi, the matter was reported to the Messenger of Allah and he asked the reason for his taking dates from his garden without his permission. Abbas ibn Shurhadi (Allah be pleased with him) narrated the whole incident and how he was tired of a long journey and how hungry his entire troupe was. Upon hearing the whole incident the Prophet (peace be upon him) first called upon the owner of the garden and corrected him, “What you did was not right, if you saw him hungry it was your duty to offer them food. This man was traveling all the way from Yemen and he was carrying for his woman folk who was hungry and if he was ignorant of the the law that one must take prior permission before using anyone’s goods then your duty was not to slap him but to teach him.” Then he looked at the traveler and politely taught him not to pick up anyone’s things without taking his permission. The Prophet (peace be upon him) drew the attention towards two positive opportunities that the owner of the garden missed, firstly he should have fed the travelers, and secondly he should have taught him the ruling about seeking permission before using someone’s goods. This is how instead of taking a rigid stand and rushing to punish people, positive outcome should be looked upto. In two sentences the prophet of mercy (Peace be upon him) taught the rights of people who make mistakes and how to deal with their situations.
Talking good is also charity
The Prophet instructed, Always talk good, (motivating and positive) with people ( Do not demoralise them with grief and pessimism). Such good words are also a charity.” Why is is sadaqah? Because sadaqah means to help a person who is in a real need and it can be anything, even good motivating words. The way a generous charity in terms of money can make someone happy, similarly even someone with good words can also make others happy. That is why the Qur’an instructs us to be excellent to our relatives and also any needy if he approaches us help them but if you cannot help them with money then convey to them good words “Qualummaisura.” Polite refusal is better than driving away someone harshly.
How did the Prophet (peace be upon him) reacted when someone spoke ill about others in his presence
A man was very regularly visiting the Prophet (peace be upon him). Once he was not seen for four to five days. He inquired from the people about him but nobody knew about him. One man got up and said, “ He is a hypocrite who does not love Allah or His Messenger.” The Prophet (peace be upon him promptly replied, “Do not talk such things. He has said, I bear witness that there is no deity besides Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. ” The lesson is that whenever someone inquires about your brother then do speak good about him and hides his errors and weaknesses. The Prophet not only spoke ill about the man who was absent but also stopped someone else to speak that way. No one has a right to speak ill about someone who has good and bad things in him. A man came to Hasan bin abi Talib (Allah be pleased with them both) and said, “Do you know so and so person speaks bad about you?” Hassan discouraged him to speak ill about someone and said, “Did not shaytan find anyone else besides you to send me such information?” The man repented immediately.
Always take stand through good and positive words
The Prophet (peace be upon him) once visited a sick man and asked about his health. He replied about the severity of his illness. He told him, “ Are you sick for many days? Mashallah, this fever is a part of the hellfire and if Allah loves his worshipper he gives him some fever in this world so that he may not have to undergo any punishment of fire after he dies.” The man heard this and was happy with the motivating words from the Prophet (peace be upon him).
Thus we learn that positive words are really great motivator and de-stressing for others who are undergoing crises