'' Our Lord ! grant us good in this world and good in the hereafter and save us from the torment of the Fire '' [Ameen]
-
{in Arab} :->
Rabbanaa aatinaa fid-dunyaa hasanatan wafil aakhirati hasanatan waqinaa 'athaaban-naar/-
(Surah Al-Baqarah ,verse 201)
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who memorize Quran, study for advanced degrees, or perform other
difficult mental tasks know that it becomes easier with time. The
brain responds by building neural connections that, essentially, make
you smarter.
With the body it's obvious, right? A weightlifter lifts 100 pounds one
week, his muscles get stronger, andthe next week he can lift 105. As
long as he keeps challenging himself, his muscles continue growing, to
the limits of his genetic capacity. If hequits working out, his
muscles shrink.
As for the soul, it is exercised through hardship. There's no getting
around this. Our spiritual muscles are developed by confronting pain
and loss.
Allah says,
"And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a
loss of wealth and lives and fruits…" - Quran, Al-Baqarah, 2:155-157
My friend Bilal Mustapha comments on this verse,
"God has to test us with lost of life, property, love ones, health,
money, beauty, power, influence,prestige, ego, relationships,
knowledge…etc. to provethat we are who we say we are or claim to be,
and there's no shortcut or easy way around it. True Believers have to
be separated from the Fake Ones. With that said, LET'SGET READY TO
RUMMMMMBLLLLLE!!! (in my Michael Buffer voice)"
(Yes, Bilal is much more interesting than I am).
This is why the Prophet Muhammad (sws) said, "When Allah desires
goodfor someone, He tries himwith hardships." (Al-Bukhari)
A bodybuilder must lift huge weights in order to challenge himself. A
believer is tested more severely than the average person because he's
already powerful. A lesser test would be no test at all. It's got to
hit hard, it's got to be heavy.
Then why bother? Wouldn't it be easier to be a weak, apathetic
non-believer and not be afflicted with tests?
Let's read the rest of the ayah quoted above:
"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, "Indeedwe 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 thosewho are the
[rightly] guided." - Quran 2:155-157
Those tests bring blessings and mercy fromAllah, in ways we see
anddon't see. They help us lead lives of meaning, and if we are
patient then the results accrue for us in Jannah. From the moment we
die, we see the results of all the tests we suffered. We see light,
and ease, and comfort. I know this because I have been told so in the
Quran and by the Messenger of Allah (sws), and I believe it. It makes
sense to me, and it's confirmed by countless anecdotal near-death
experiences from cultures all over the world.
Don't be jealous when you see that those who commit evil on earth are
living in luxury. The tyrants of the world who steal billions, or the
capitalists who build wealth on the suffering of others, or any who
gain coin through haram means; and even those whose work is halal but
who hold their money back from the needy :- that wealth is an anvil
around their necks. It is their test, and most of them are failing
miserably.
Don't fear hardship. When the time comes to exercise your spiritual
muscles, stay firm in faith. This is how we grow into our potential,
how we prove ourselves. In the words of Helen Keller, who was blind
and deaf from childhood and yet became an author and women's rights
advocate, "We could never learn to be brave & patient, if there were
only joys in the world."
This is Allah's manhaj , His way, His methodology of life. It makes
perfect sense because it's rooted in the way things really work. So
let's welcome the opportunity to use our spiritual muscles.
This is not all theoretical for me. The day I wrote this article, I
was treated badly by someone close to me, I was stressed about the
future, and I was berating myself for not being as good a father as I
would like. Strangely enough it was also the day of the Eid picnic,
and amid the crowd of Muslim families I found myself feeling very
alone.
So I wrote this piece for all of you and as a reminder to myself,
because I do know the solution: Pray, meditate, contemplate Allah's
love and care for you. Enjoy what you have. Appreciate the small
things in life. Be brave. Dare to dream, and then make those dreams
happen. Lift that weight, move that rock, and forge ahead with a
straight back and clear sight.
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