"And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient, Who, when disaster strikes them, say, "Indeed we belong to Allah , and indeed to Him we will return." Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is those who are the [rightly] guided" (Surah al Baqarah)
The above three verses are from Surah al Baqarah, in which Allah has covered most of our issues and why they happen to us and what is what way out. Just because many of us remain ignorant about these issues we damage our happiness and also our akhera along with. Some people lose their patience and commit suicide.
Allah Almighty tests each and every individual and it is a part of life. Allah has already announced, “ Do you think that you will enter Jannah without undergoing those hardships like your previous generations underwent?” Is entering Jannah so easy that you just recite Kalima and walk through the gates of Paradise. The previous generations underwent severe tests so that, “Allah would see who are truthful believers and who are false believers.” These tests are to distinguish between the truthful ones and the false ones.
What should your attitude be during hardships?
The tests come the form of poverty as well as prosperity, pain and happiness. In a verse, Allah declares, “We tested the people of the village through fear and loss”. Even in today’s circumstances we see markets go up and down bringing huge losses and fortunes to people. Every believer should realise that he is undergoing a test. “ The Prophets undergo the most severe tests.” said the Prophet (peace be upon him). In another Hadith we are told, “ a Believer is tested according to the strength of his Deen.” The stronger your faith, the harder your test. The Qur’an puts it, “We test you through goodness as well through evil.”
In the title verse above, the Believers are addressed collectively and the Arabic term is “Kum” which means “you all” The verse predicts that each one of us will be tested by four types of tests, Fear and hunger, loss of wealth and lives and fruits. These can be considered as four broad categories and from it we see various tests springing up. It can be fear of enemy or other fears, it can be hunger due to high price or shortage of food. It can be a loss in business or death of a relative. We see in our times that people’s profit as well as capital too being wiped out due to financial crisis.
For those who accomplish the tests they undergo perfectly
Allah gives an example about those who accomplish the tests they undergo, “When your Lord tested Ibrahim with some commands, he accomplished it perfectly.” So When Ibrahim( peace be upon him) fulfilled the commands perfectly, Allah awarded him with, “I will indeed make you a leader of mankind.” A man’s prosperity begins after he undergoes trials and hardships.
How virtuous is Patience!
We are in an age where we face different fears. Fear of losses in business, fear of enemy, fear of severe illness, fear of financial meltdown are some fears in our time that breaks our morale or confidence. But those who survive through patience and perseverance, “Give glad tidings to those who are patient” .Some even rush to forbidden things and acts in order to get out of it. Those who lose patience they are actually losers.
Patient is at the first stroke of calamity
When people are given prosperity they are grateful and when they undergo test they bear it with patience instead of nagging and complaining. One should not get impatient or haste for a sudden recovery in case of a hardship. There are two types of people in the category of patience. The first one are those who try other means including Un-Islamic, and finally when they cannot find a way out they opt for patience under compulsion, the other are those who impart patience upon themselves the moment they meet a calamity, and they respond with, “When a calamity befalls them, they say, “Indeed we are from Allah and unto Him we shall return.” The verse refers to even a small calamity.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) was once passing by and he saw an old woman sitting by a gave and weeping aloud over her dead relative. He was told that her son had died and she visited his grave regularly and wept over his grave. So the Prophet (peace be upon him) went to her and said, “ Have patience.” She did not recognise the Prophet (peace be upon him) so she replied back harshly, “Had it been your son you would have known how painful it is to lose a son to death.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) was already instructed by Allah not to argue with the ignorant so he walked away. Later, the people told her about her mistake and she rushed to Masjid e Nabwi to apologise for her hard words. She reached his house and apologised for her harshness and said that she would observe patience henceforth. The Prophet (peace be upon him) responded, “ Indeed Patience is at the first stroke of calamity.”
Thus patience has to implemented immediately at the stroke of calamity no matter how small is the calamity. For instance, if you are passing by and get hurt by a piece of broken glass, then instead of cursing the person who threw the glass piece, your immediate response should be, ‘Inna Lillahi wa Innna ilaihi Rajeoon’ and grab the opportunity to earn reward by observing patience at the first stroke of injury.
How Umm Salamah got compensated for her loss because of her supplication
‘Inna Lillahi wa Innna ilaihi Rajeoon’ is a supplication and is called, ‘Istirja’. Umme Salamah (Allah be pleased with her) says, “One day my husband (p previous husband) offered prayers behind the Prophet (peace be upon him) and returned home and said, I heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) say such a thing that made my heart full of joy. His wife requested him to share with her too. He said, “ Whenever a Muslim faces a hardship and he recites the supplication that is taught by Allah ‘Inna Lillahi wa Innna ilaihi Rajeoon’) and adds one more supplication, “Allahumma ajirni fi musibati wakhluf li khayran minha." The meaning of this supplication is wonder, “O Allah! Recompense me for my affliction and replace for me with that which is better.”
Umma Salamah (Allah be pleased with her) said, “I memorised the supplication. One day my husband died and it was a very difficult period for me and I used to recite the same dua and kept wondering who can be better than Abu Salamah. Thus my iddat was over while I used to recite the dua .” One narration says that “the Prophet (peace be upon him) came to my house, I cleaned my mat and offered him water. He then proposed me to marry” The other narration says that “sent a proposal through some one.” The moment I got the proposal from the Prophet (peace be upon him) I requested him to take back the proposal because of three reasons;
- My husband Abu Salamah was a man of Gheerat and I do not want to hurt his gheerah by remarrying
- I have cross over my age so better drop me
- I have kids, and my kids may come and disturb you when you are resting which is not good. My kids may need me when I am serving you and that can be little complicated for me. I fear I am not be able to do justice towards service you
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “ Inshallah Allah will remove the hesitation from your heart about remarrying. With regards to your age, I am older than you are. Thirdly, your kids will be treated like I treat my own kids.” The nikah took place and Umm Salamah said, “ How truthful were the words of the Prophet (peace be upon him)! I was wondering as to how can I get a man like Abu Salamah whom I consider the best. Yet I recited those supplication to get reward from Allah and Allah got me married to the man better than him.”
Praising Allah even in Hardship
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “A man gets a child after a long time and the child dies. When the angel of death reports to Allah, He says, “You have snatched away the most beloved one from my worshipper. How did his parents react?” The angel will says, “They praised you and said, ‘Inna Lillahi wa Innna ilaihi Rajeoon’. Allah will command the angels, “Whoever from my worshippers praises me and recites ‘Inna Lillahi wa Innna ilaihi Rajeoon’ on mmeeting a calamity, then build a house for them in paradise and call it Baitul Hamd.”
It was a routine of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to praise Allah even when he met a difficulty, “Alhamdulillahi al kulli haal” and added ‘Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi rajeoon’ On the other hand consider how do we react during a sudden crisis? If your car his hit by someone else’s car there erupts an abusive arguments. Instead of abusive reaction, better recite the above dua immediately and praise Allah that the loss was limited. It could have been bigger with serious injury or loss of a life.
Most of us do not even know that ‘Inna Lillahi wa Innna ilaihi Rajeoon’ has to be recited at every loss. Some people think that it has to be recited only when we get the news of someone’s death.
When the Prophet (peace be upon him) was returning from Me’raj he met Ibrahim (peace be upon him) on the way. Ibrahim (peace be upon him) conveyed messages to the Ummah of the Prophet Mohamed (peace be upon him)
- Convey my salams to your Ummah
- Tell your Ummah to recite ‘La Hawla wala quwwata illabillah’ as much as they can.
What are the rewards for Patience?
The Qur’an gives us the information about the reward that one gets when he recites ‘Inna Lillahi wa Inna ilaihi Rajeoon’and praises Allah during calamity.
These are the ones upon whom are Blessings from their Lord and Mercy and they are the ones who are rightly guided. There are three benefits upon showing patience and reciting ‘Inna Lillahi wa Inna ilaihi Rajeoon’ along with praising Allah.
- Blessings from Allah
- Mercy of Allah
- Guidance from Allah
Umar bin Khattab (Allah be pleased with him)commented on the above Hadith and said, “ How perfectly has Allah balanced his bounties, Blessings, Mercy and Guidance.” For whole life a Muslim keeps on invoking for Guidance and Allah gives it.
Therefore everyone of us should learn all Masnoon Supplications as Allah assures, “Remember me and I will remember you”