Sometimes we face trials due to our religion, or family problems, sometimes due to unnecessary interference, or money problems, car problems etc. Whatever the reason, during any trial it is important that we should remain calm and patient, putting our full trust in Allah and calling upon God constantly for strength and help. If so, then one can pass successfully through these trials as many have done before.
How we respond is vital. There are two ways to respond to these trials either:-
a) blame God or b) remain resigned to the decree of God
in other words, be steadfast and put your trust in Allah. It is easy to put the blame on others, even when it is not their fault but if we blame God, then we have failed the trial. The Holy Qur’an informs us:-
“And We will try you with something of fear and hunger, and loss of wealth and lives and fruits; but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere. Who, when a misfortune overtakes them, say, ‘Surely, to Allah we belong and to Him shall we return.’ It is these on whom descend blessings from their Lord and also mercy, and it is these who are rightly guided.” Holy Qur’an Chapter 2, verses 156-158
Many people blame God or question why God doesn’t intervene, why didn’t He prevent it? And feel that because Allah didn’t intervene, then He must be powerless or doesn’t care! This attitude stems from people who see this world as being very important, that is the constant message that we are being bombarded with, strive to improve yourself, your status; this is the way to have a good life; therefore if they lose something, whether it is a loved one, property etc. then they can’t bear it and lash out blaming others, trying to justify their loss.
For a believer, he should understand that this life is a preparation ground for the next life to come. A believer should remain steadfast and think about striving to please Allah. Things in this life are temporary, they come and go. A believer should understand this, that whatever we have, has come from Allah. It is not ours as such, whatever Allah gives, He can take away.
Therefore, for a true believer, they will understand why we are here? what is our purpose in life? and more importantly, what are we taking to the next life.
A believer should understand that winning Allah’s pleasure should be the most important thing and that these trials and tribulations are a form of a test. Allah wants to see how he reacts when faced with a trial. In fact, the trial will make us stronger in faith, if we remain steadfast. But can weaken our faith if we blame Allah.
The Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has said:
‘A believer who associates freely with the people and undergoes troubles patiently is better than a believer who neither associates freely with people nor undergoes troubles patiently’
So for a believer, then we must keep striving for Allah’s pleasure no matter what trial we are facing. We have to fully submit to the will of Allah, to being an obedient servant of Allah. We have to forget about our own needs and instead think, what does Allah expect from us?
If we do that, then we get so lost in the love of Allah, seeking to win His pleasure, that it brings peace and comfort, even through the hardest of times.
Of course, it is hard when we lose a loved one, or our business collapses or a tragedy happens that we can see no reason why it happened! But we must remain firm, turn to Allah and seek His pleasure and that will give us the inner strength to cope with our loss.
The Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has said:
‘For a Muslim, life is full of good, and nobody but a true believer finds himself in that position, for if he meets with success he is grateful to God and becomes the recipient of greater favours from Him. On the other hand, if he suffers pain and tribulation he endures it with patience and thus again makes himself deserving of God’s favours’
This hadith also reminds us how we react with good news. It is easy to forget about Allah when things are going well when your business is successful or you have had some good news. When we receive good news, then we should remember that it is due to Allah. We should show our gratitude to Allah.
It is easy to remember Allah when you need Him, when you are facing a huge trial, you are in dire straits etc. then we pray hard and seek Allah’s help, but it has to be in both conditions we must constantly remember Allah.
When we see that even the prophets of Allah and the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, faced so many trials, then we understand that everyone has to face these trials, they are for our betterment.
The Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, lost many children, he was persecuted, his followers were persecuted; even he was concerned about the punishment from Allah on his people – the Quraish!
It is related:
“once the Holy Prophet passed by a woman who was crying by the side of a grave. He said to her, ‘be mindful of your duty to Allah and be steadfast’. She did not recognise that it was the Holy Prophet and she replied:
‘leave me alone; you have not been afflicted like I have’
When she found out that it was the Holy Prophet she went to him. He said ‘steadfastness means to be resigned as the time of the first shock of grief’
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi has said:
“At the time of trials and misfortune, God Almighty causes a light to descend upon the hearts of those who are dear to Him, being strengthened by which they face misfortunes calmly and out of the sweetness of their faith, they kiss the chains that are put round their feet in His cause”
He means that at the time of trials, even death we should not ask God to protect us from such trials, instead, we should show complete submission to God and put our full trust in him.
Of course, people can advise and help you – but is it for your betterment? Who knows? We don’t know the future, we don’t really know if we are helping, only Allah knows, therefore, only Allah is in the best position to help us. So pray hard and know that Allah is listening and will help you.
Likewise, make it the habit to read the Holy Qur’an constantly and turn to it for guidance. It is not like an ordinary book it is the Word of Allah. It is the best guidance for you
As Muslims we are very fortunate to have the Holy Qur’an as guidance; also the example of the Holy Prophet & his companions, but to have guidance and to use it is two separate matters. Many Muslims have the Holy Qur’an with them and have been granted wisdom by Allah to use it but fail to do so.
The ultimate teaching of religion is to develop your relationship with Allah. We all have the means, the time and the ability, but we still neglect this basic duty. The only thing that really matters in life is your relationship with your Maker. The Holy Prophet knew this, but it is very difficult to instil it into others.
Sometimes, we need to be shocked to realise the truth that is in front of us. Sometimes we need to experience how fragile we are, how unprotected. Sometimes it is only the horrors of the world that jolt us to realise how precious life is, and how easy we can lose it!
We all need peace, but the only real way to attain it is if you put your full trust in God, always put Him first above all else, no matter what. If you rely on Him in all matters and seek His pleasure in whatever you do, then you can say you are a true Muslim, you have really submitted yourself to God.
We cannot fulfil our purpose in life so long as we do not observe the prayers regularly and live by the Qur’anic teachings. Prayer is vital, the whole religion evolves around it, so we should make every effort to attend the prayers and ensure that we are having a very live contact with Allah. If we achieve that, then the people of this Country will be able to see and understand why religion is so important.