The Hidden Blessings of Illness and Hardship

I'm glad and grateful that I am ill right now, and that times are
hard. Does that sound crazy?
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Messenger of
Allah (pbuh) said, "For any adversity a Muslim suffers, Allah erases
someof his sins, even though itmay be no more than a thorn pricking
him." (Related by Al-Bukhari).
Another version of this Hadith is also related by Al-Bukhari on the
authority of two of the Prophet's (pbuh) companions, namely, AbuSaeed
Al-Khudri and Abu Hurairah who quote him as saying: "Whatever befalls
a Muslim of exhaustion, illness, worry, grief, nuisance or trouble,
even though it may be no more than a prick of a thorn, earns him
forgiveness by Allah of some of his sins."
My father recently suffered a fall and broke his leg badly, and is now
in a rehab center. In my personal life, two moves and one divorce in
the last five years have made it hard to retain friendships, and I
find myself feeling isolated. I've been through some painful personal
experiences. And these are hard times economically as well. So there's
a lot of stress in the household.
I do my best to love my daughter more than ever, to play with her, hug
and kiss her, and always remind her of Allah's barakah. I try to make
her world full of happiness, learning, and talks about Allah. I try to
never let her see me sweat, as they say. But once she's sound asleep
in bed, I feel the weight of responsibility on my shoulders like a
sack of stones.
So if by patiently enduring this illness and these hard times in
general, I will earn Allah'sforgiveness for my sins, and maybe will be
blessed in ways that I do not see, then I am grateful.
One more hadith: Jabir ibn Abdullah narrated that Allah's Messenger
salallahu alayhi wasallamsaid, "On the Day of Resurrection, when
people who have suffered affliction are given their reward, thosewho
are healthy will wish their skins had beencut to pieces with
scissorswhen they were in the world." (Al-Tirmidhi, 1570)
In other words, when people see how much reward is given to those who
suffered in life, they will wish that they had suffered terribly, in
the worst possible ways, so that it might become a cause of
forgiveness for them in the Hereafter.
SubhanAllah, whatever pain we suffer in this life is not in vain. It
is not wasted. We may cry and wince and groan over small pains, but
Allah seesour suffering and will compensate us more than we can
imagine, as long as we are patient and keep faith in Him. Allah the
Most High has a plan for us, and He is the best of planners. We
musthave faith in Him and His plan for us.
Seeing the Good
Also, let us not be blind tothe good things that have happened. I
think this is very important. All too often we get caught up in our
losses and dismiss some of Allah's quiet gifts and blessings that have
budded and opened up when we were hardly looking.
For example, I have always thought of myself as a writer at heart and
have been happiest when I was pursuing thatcalling. When I was singleI
was obsessive about it. Even after a long day at work I would sit down
in front of the computer in my little San Francisco loft, and write.
After I gotmarried and the responsibilities of family life fell on my
shoulders I neglected my writing. Lately, however, I find myself
writing daily and expressing ideas that have been growing in myheart
for decades. The words flow as if they have been bottled under
pressure, waiting for release. What a blessing!
In my teens I studied martial arts for some years. Life carried me in
different directions and I stopped practicing but I still thought of
myself as a martial artist, and kept meaning to get back intoit.
Finally in my late thirties I realized that my dream was passing me
by. I got back into it and made a do-or-die commitment. Since then,
with the moves from the Bay Area to Panama City to El Valle to Fresno,
it's been a struggle to find teachers and training partners, but I
have persisted, in some cases creating my own traininggroup out of
scratch. For the last year and a half, partly as a way of dealingwith
loneliness and stress, I plunged myself into an intensive study ofthe
arts.
Now I suddenly find myself entering this phase when my understanding
of the artsis expanding like a tidal wave. I seem to have moved beyond
rote memorization of techniques and I am able to spontaneously create
combinations and visualize new possibilities. My balance is solid, my
form is good. Basically, I have grasped the underlying principles of
the arts and have moved beyond the 1-2-3 stage. I can finally call
myself a martial artist.
That's something I dreamed of all my life. And it came about because I
was stressed!
What other secret blessings await me? Whatother lifelong dreams
arequietly budding, getting ready to bloom?
Only Gratitude
That's why the Messengerof Allah (pbuh) said, "How amazing is the
caseof the believer; there is good for him in everything, and this is
only so for the believer. Ifhe experiences something pleasant, he
isthankful, and that is good for him; and if he comes across
adversity, he is patient, and that is good for him." [Muslim]
How amazing indeed! What a treasure trove of strength and mercy
thereis in this deen! Who can say that this is not a religion of hope?
Allah rewards the believer even for the pricking of a thorn. Who can
deny that this is the attitude of a Compassionate God, One who
understand us, sees our pain, cares about oursuffering, and wants
onlygood for us?
And what does Allah want in return? Only gratitude, and that our
actions manifest that gratitude. Nothing more.
Allah says, "And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, 'If you are
grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny,
indeed, My punishment is severe.'" [Surat Ibrahim 14:7]
Which brings us back to my opening statement. I am grateful and glad
even for the hardships. I am aware of all of Allah's favors, and when
He says, "Then which of the favors of your Lord will you deny?" my
response is, "I deny none of them, O Lord!" - - ▓███▓
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