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Sabr or Shukr
the worry stops here
by Muhammad Alshareef
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 <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
/><st1:time Minute="0" Hour="12">noon</st1:time>
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
<st1:place>Paradise </st1:place>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 <st1:place>Paradise</st1:place>.
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 (SAL ALLAHU ALAYHI WA
SALLAM) and asked him about Islam, Eeman, and Ihasan, the Prophet SAL ALLAHU
ALAYHI WA SALLAM 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 (SAL ALLAHU ALAYHI WA SALLAM) 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
(Sal Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam) 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 our own 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 (RADI ALLAHU ANHU)
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
(SAL ALLAHU ALAYHI WA SALLAM) 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 (SAL ALLAHU
ALAYHI WA SALLAM) 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 (RADI ALLAHU ANHA) 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
Part II: Towards Sabr
Ali (RADI ALLAHU ANHU) 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:
a. Sabr in the obedience of allah. For example, One must be patient and
perform their Fajr at it's time.
b. 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.
c. 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 - <st1:place>Paradise</st1:place>
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 middele?
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?
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