Sabr or Shukr ~ The Worry Stops Here
Aasiyah, the wife of Fir'own. Her
Eeman in Allah thrived under the shadow of someone that said, "I am
your Lord, Most High!" When news reached Fir'own of his wife's Eeman
he beat her and commanded his guards to beat her. They took her out
in the scalding noon heat, tied her hands and feet and beat her
perpetually. Who did she turn to? She turned to Allah! She prayed,
"My lord, build for me a home with you in Paradise and save me from
Fir'own and his deeds and save me from the transgressive people."
It was narrated that when she said this, the sky opened for her and
she saw her home in Paradise. She smiled. The guards watched
astonished, she's being tortured and she smiles? Frustrated, Fir'own
commanded a boulder to be brought and dropped on Aasiyah, to crush
her to death. But Allah took her soul before the boulder was brought
and she became an example for all the believing men and women till
the end of time:
[And Allah has set forth an example for those who believe: the wife
of Fir'own (Pharaoh) - when she said, "My Lord, Build for me a home
with You in Paradise, and save me from Fir'own and his deeds, and
save me from the transgressive-disbelieving people.] -Tahreem 66/11
In the hadith of Jibreel, when he came to the Prophet (SAW) and
asked him about Islam, Eeman, and Ihasan, the Prophet SAW said about
Eeman, "Eeman is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His
Messengers, the Final Day, and the divine decree, the good and the
bad thereof." For the past few weeks we have been reflecting on this
hadith, only glimpses. Today we shall conclude with the last article
of Eeman: to believe in the Divine decree, the good and the bad
thereof.
As you and I travel though life we find ourselves in one of two
situations. Either something good is happening in our lives and in
which case - as Muslims- our role is to thank Allah for the
blessing. Or something bad is happening to us, something we dislike
and our role here is to be patient (Sabr). This is the formula for a
happy life, a life cruising towards the pleasure of Allah. Sabr or
Shukr, the worry stops here.
The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said, "Strange is the affair of the
Mu'min (the believer), verily all his affairs are good for him. If
something pleasing befalls him he thanks (Allah) and it becomes
better for him. And if something harmful befalls him he is patient (Saabir)
and it becomes better for him. And this is only for the Mu'mmin "
Ibn Al-Jowzee said, "If this Dunya was not a station of tests it
would not be filled with sicknesses and filth. If life were not
about hardship, then the Prophets and the pious would have lived the
most comfortable of lives. Nay, Adam suffered test after test until
he left the Dunya. Nuh cried for 300 years. Ibrahim was thrown into
a pit of fire and later told to slaughter his son. Ya'qub cried
until he became
blind. Musa challenged Fir'own and was tested by his people. Eeasa
had no provision except the morsels his disciples provided him with.
And Muhammad (SAW) met poverty with patience, his uncle - one of the
most beloved relatives to him - was slain and mutilated and his
people disbelieved in him ... and the list of Prophets and the pious
goes on and on."
What happens to us happens by the will of Allah. It is an article of
our Eeman in Qada' and Qadr that we are pleased with Allah's choice,
Good or seemingly bad it is all the test of this Dunya. How could we
imagine that we shall not be tested when those who were better than
us suffered what they suffered. They however came away with the
pleasure of Allah, Subhaanahu wa Ta'Aala.
Al Hasan ibn Arafah narrated, "I visited Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal after
he was whipped and tortured. I said to him, "O Abu Abdillaaah, you
have reached the station of the Prophets!" He said, "Keep quiet.
Verily, I saw nothing more than people selling their Deen. And I saw
scholars that were with me sell their Faith. So I said to myself,
'Who am I, what am I. What am I going to say to Allah tomorrow when
I stand in front of Him and He ask me, "Did you sell your Deen like
the others did?" So I looked at the whip and the sword and chose
them. And I said, "If I die I shall return to Allah and say: 'I was
told to say that one of Your Characteristics was something created
but I did not.' After that, it will be up to Him - either to punish
me of be Merciful on me."
Al-Hasan ibn Arafah then asked, "Did you feel pain when they whipped
you?" He said "Yes, I felt the pain up to 20 lashes then I lost all
feeling (They whipped him over eighty times). After it was over I
felt no pain and that day I prayed Dhuhr standing."
Al-Hasan ibn Arafah started weeping when he heard what had happened.
Imam Ahmad questioned him, "Why are you crying? I did not lose my
Eeman. After that why should I care if I lose my life?" They were
better than us but this was how they were tested.
Let us discuss some facts about these tests of life, the good and
the bad that befalls us:
§ Much of what befalls us - the hard times - is the direct result of
ourown sins. Allah Ta'aala says "And whatever misfortune
befalls you it is because of what your hands have earned. And He
pardons much." - Sura 42/30
Muhammad ibn Seereen used to say when his debts piled up and he felt
sad, "I know that the cause of this sadness is a sin I committed
over 40 years ago."
§ People understand that when something bad
happens it is a test from Allah. But dear Brothers and Sisters, the
good things that happen to us are also a test.
Allah ta'aala says [And we tested them with good (blessings) and
evil (calamities) in order that they might turn back] - A'raf 7/168
Abd alMalik ibn Ishaq said, "There is no one that is not tested with
health and prosperity to measure how thankful he is (Shukr)."
And the Companion - AbdurRahman ibn 'Awf (RA) said, "We were tested
with hardship and were patient. And then we were tested with
prosperity and we were not patient. Because of this Allah states:
[O ye who believe! Let not your wealth or your children divert you
from the remembrance of Allah. And whosoever does that, then they
are the losers.] - Munafiqun 63/9
§ Patience must happen from the
beginning, not three days later or one day later, at the first news
of the calamity, when it first happens. The Prophet (SAW) said,
"Verily patience (is only Sabr when practiced) at the first hit (of
news)."
§ There are things that contradict Sabr. Tearing
ones shirt, for example, slapping ones face, slapping hands, shaving
ones head, and cursing and wailing. Umm Salamah narrates: I heard
the Messenger of Allah (SAW) say, "Any Muslim that says when a
calamity befalls him that which Allah commanded him: To Allah we
belong and to him we return. O Allah reward me in this calamity and
give me better then it - (any Muslim that says this) Allah will
grant him better than (that which he lost)." - Muslim
§ These tests and hardships wash our sins. Aisha
(Ra) said, "Verily fever sheds sins like a tree sheds leaves."
§ The hardships that befall us distinguish the
believers from the insincere. Shumayt ibn Ajlaan said, "The pious
and the ungrateful are hidden by health. Yet when calamities befall
the two men are separated (by how they react)."
Allah says in the Quran "Alif/Laam/Meem..Do people think that
they will be left alone because they say, "We believe," and will not
be tested? Indeed We tested those who (lived) before them" Al-Ankaboot
29/1-3
Towards Sabr
Ali (RA) said, "Verily Sabr is to Eeman what the head is to the
body. When the head is cut off, the body falls. (He then raised his
voice) Verily there is no Eeman for he who has no Sabr (patience)."
There are three types of Sabr that the Muslim must have:
1. Sabr in the obedience of allah. For example, One
must be patient and perform their Fajr at it's time.
2. Sabr in not disobeying Allah. Like someone might
say, "I just have to insult him." No, we are command by He who gave
us our tongues to not follow the whispers of Shaytaan. And we must
have Sabr in not disobeying Allah.
3. Sabr in what Allah Decrees on us. For example, if
our child was to pass away we should be patient and seek the reward
of Allah in our patience and say only that which is pleasing to
Allah.
There are two keys. If we understand them we shall open the door to
Sabr in our lives:
The First Key: know that our souls, families and wealth do not
belong to us, they belong to Allah. He gave it to us as a loan to
see what we would do with it. And when he takes it back He is taking
back what belongs to Him. We had nothing before the blessing and
we'll have nothing after it. We did not create the blessing from
nothing, so how can we claim that it belongs to us.
The Second Key: We are on a journey and the destination is the
hereafter - Paradise or Hell. We shall be leaving the Dunya behind
us and we'll come back to Allah by ourselves. This is what needs our
focus. And if Allah is pleased with us then no worry. If He is not
pleased with us then all worry.
Let me draw your attention to a verse. Listen carefully. Allah
revealed: "Guard strictly the (five obligatory) prayers,
especially the middle Salah and stand before Allah in obedience."-
alBaqarah 2/238
The verses before this deal with divorce. The verses after it deal
with divorce. Why was this verse placed in the middle?
The Ulama' have suggested, Wa Allaahu a'lam, that in the hard times
that a person goes through (especially in a divorce) they should not
forget the remembrance of Allah, the Salah. And it is that Salah
coupled with Sabr that will pull them through.
"O you who believe! Seek Help in Patience and Salah. Truly,
Allah is with those that are patient."-Baqarah 2/153
In conclusion, Allah ta'ala wants us to give pass on the following
good news:
[And give good news to the patient who, when afflicted with calamity
say, "Truly, to Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall
return."/They are those on whom the Salawat (i.e. the blessing and
forgiveness) of their Lord is upon them, and who shall receive His
Mercy, and it is they who are the guided ones" -Baqarah
2/157
Allah promised anyone who wants to work on his or her patience three
things: Forgiveness, Mercy, and guidance. Who could ask for more? |
