by - Dr Shaikh Abdulrahman al Sudais
Translated by - Shaikh Hamadi Alaslani
Noted by Ibn Abee Bakr
All praise is due to Allaah, and peace and blessings be upon him, the last Prophet. I bear witness that there is no god but Allaah, and I bear witness that Prophet Muhammed peace and blessings be upon him is the last prophet and messenger. The best advice of Allaah to humanity is to fear Allaah, is to have taqwa (piety).
Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah says: And whosoever fears Allaah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty). And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. At-Talaq 65:2:3
This is the advice of Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah to have the taqwa. In this life we may face so many things, good or bad. From these things we may face in this life, some calamities that may come to people, and Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah has created us in this life to be tested, to be under certain examination.
Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah says: Do people think that they will be left alone because they say: "We believe," and will not be tested. Al-Ankaboot 29:2
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Absolutely they will be tested! Their eeman will be tested and examined, to check the eeman and the belief of this person, and we have the best example in the prophet Mohammed (peace and blessing be upon him). He, Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessing be upon him) faced a lot of calamities and problems in this life and he did pass the exam. This life is an exam and a test for us. Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessing be upon him) faced so many problems and calamities in order to deliver the message to people. In Makkah, he faced problems and was neglected even from his own family; nobody embraced Islam right away, only a few people. The rest accused him as a liar; until they reached the level that they chased him out of Makkah. All these calamities faced by the Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessing be upon him). But the Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessing be upon him) was very strong with this test.
Same thing for the Prophets of Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah before the Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessing be upon him). If we take the example of Prophet Ibrahim (alaihi salaatu wasalam) Prophet Ibrahim, when he came to people to guide them to Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah, people did not accept the message straight away. People right away, were attacking him, they even made a big fire and threw him inside the fire. It was a very big test for Prophet Ibrahim (alaihi salaatu wasalam), but because he was very patient with that, he knew that it is a test of Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah, to test his eeman (faith). He entered that big fire made for him by the people, by the enemies. They threw him in and because he was a very strong believer, Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah commanded and ordered the fire to be peace and cool on him. Allaah ordered the fire to be 'Burdun wa salaamah', to be cool and peace on him, and not to be only cool because if it is very cool and cold it may kill him, but it was cool and 'peace' (salaamah) as well. So Prophet Ibrahim (alaihi salaatu wasalam) was thrown there in the fire but it was cool and peace. So it did not hurt him because of his faith because he was believer. He was just walking out of the fire; very normally this was amazing for people who were present at that moment. This was the examination of Prophet Ibrahim (alaihi salaatu wasalam).
Also look at the other prophets. Prophet Younus (May the peace and blessing be upon him), he was thrown in the ocean and he was swallowed by the big fish and it was big test for him. What did he says when he was thrown inside the big whale/fish? He was making tasbeeh inside; he was zikr Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah inside. He used to say 'La'illaha illa ant, subhanaka ini quntu minaz zalimeen' . He did not cry, he did not scream, he did not say 'why Allaah, you have thrown me here? Why you enter me in such a calamity?' No! He was the Believer, he was the Prophet, he was the Muslim at that time that had very big faith, had a very big heart and very big patience. When he was thrown inside the ocean number one, number two he was swallowed by the big whale or fish, he that it is a test from Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah. He was pleased with that test, and he just said right away, while inside, 'La'illaha illa ant, subhanaka ini quntu minaz zalimeen' (Oh Allaah there is no God but you. Glory to you I was an oppressor, I was mistaken). So he was blaming himself! For his weakness, for his shortage in remembrance of Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah. So he was repeating this statement inside the stomach of the whale! 'La'illaha illa ant, subhanaka ini quntu minaz zalimeen'. And as a result of that Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah ordered the whale to go to the beach, go to the coast and spew him out. Throw him out! And he was out of the whale because of his zikr Allaah, because of his patience.
So there is a key to use, there is a solution to go to whenever in calamity. This solution is to remember Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah, and to mention his name and to seek refuge in Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah, then Allaah will save you,
Another prophet who also faced calamities, prophet Yakoob (alaihi salaatu wasalam) (Jacob) and his son Yusuf (Joseph). They have faced a problem as mentione din the Quraan, Surah Yusuf! Read this Surah in the Quraan! Yusuf was taken from his father, it was a trick, they took Yusuf and threw him in the well and then he was taken to Egypt. the children went back to the father and said to the father "your son Yusuf was eaten by the wolf". So again, the father Yakoob was in calamity, he missed his son, he was crying but he believed this was a test from Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah to him. Yusuf also, the son thrown in the water well, he also knew it was test for him. So both of them must be patient. So it was a long time until they met back. It was so many years until they met back, to see each other again, but during the period none of them failed in their test in their examination of this life, which is the destiny of Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah to test everyone's beliefs.
So this is again a test from Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah. All prophets of Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah were under a test look at, again Prophet Ayoub (alaihi salaatu wasalam), he lost his wife, lost his kids and he got sick. He was even thrown outside of the city, with a sickness all over his body, he could not move. But he did not say 'Oh Allaah, why do you give me this sickness', 'why do you destroy my body'. No! He did not say this because he is a real believer of Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah. He said only one dua, he said "Rabbi ini nasanee'ud dur wa' ant ar hamar rahimeen" (Oh Allaah, sickness touched my body and you are the merciful). He did not even say 'Oh Allaah cure me'. He was very polite, he said 'Oh Allaah I am sick and you my situation and you are 'ar hamar rahimeen' , you are the most Merciful.
These are the prophets of Allaah (peace and blessings be upon them). They are our examples. We have to take a lesson from that and again brothers and sisters! People in this life are of two types in facing calamities or problems, or even facing good things. The first type will face a good thing and say 'Alhumdulilah' and they will do good things to praise Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah. And if they face certain bad things or calamities or hardship, again they say 'Alhumdulilah ala kulli haal', they say 'Praise be to Allaah in all cases'. In good we say 'Alhumdulilah' , in bad we also say 'Alhumdulilah' because that is a test for us. Again we go back, so those people who say 'Alhumdulilah' even in times of calamity they have passed the exam or the test of their faith, as Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah said in the Quraan:
"Do people think that they will be left alone because they say: "We believe," and will not be tested". Al-Ankaboot 29:2
You can't say I am a believer without a test, you have to prove your faith, you have to prove your belief in Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah and to prove is your patience! If you fail that means you don't have that much of the eeman that you may claim. It is easy for people to say I am a believer, to claim Islaam, to claim faith. But it is hard to prove with practice. When you say 'Alhumdulilah', whatever happened for me, whatever Allaah sent down to me, it is absolutely from Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah and I have to be patient enough with this and I have to pass the examination from Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah. So people who say 'Alhumdulilah ala kulli haal', and praise Allaah with that, they have strong 'yakeen', they have strong faith, they have strong eeman, they have strong trust and 'tawakkul' in Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah.
The second type of people, who whenever faced calamity and hardship, they scream right away. They don't say 'Alhumdulilah' but they say 'why?', and they protest the judgement of Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah and they protest the destiny of Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah, and this is a very big defect in their eeman. They have failed the examination. And we ask them here, when they scream when every small problem happens, because in this life as we have said you may face examination, you may get sick, you may lose your money, you may lose a family member or you may lose your job, you may lose whatsoever and that is a test for you. If your turn patient then that is a requirement and if you do not become patient, you have to double check your eeman! So we have to say to those people who scream and shout whenever a small problem faces them. We say to them where is your eeman? Where is your faith? Where is your Aqeedah? Where is your Sabr? Where is your trust in Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah?
So again my brothers and sisters, believers! You cannot taste the sweetness of this life if we don't taste both the good and bad of this life. You have to try, you have taste, you have to accept whatever from Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah. And also again according to the Quraan and according to the hadeeth of Rasulullah (sallulahu alaihi wasalam) all calamities all hardship will be relieved sooner or later, it just takes a test; it is an exam for you. And again it is a matter of time and yet always, always it's about your calamity, and your problem? Look at the other problems of people. Now you say I am sick. I lost my job, I lost one of my family members, Okay! Look at the other people in the Muslim world. Look at people in Palestine, who are being killed everyday, look at people in Iraq, look at people in the world, who have no food, no money, they are sick, they are in bed in hospital. Compare yourself to them. Do not always look at people above you, but look at people lower than you,
Alhumdulilah! If you compare yourself to others you will find yourself in a better situation.
So again brothers and sisters! This life not always, one type, you will face so many things in this life, good or bad, because this life is a test and from here in Makkah al Mukaramah, from here next to the Kabbah, from the Masjid al – Haram, from the mosque, the greatest mosque in the world. We say to those people who are under calamities and hardship, we say to them Sabrun Sabra!
We say to them be patient enough, be patient enough and the reward of patience from Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah is so big, just be patient, be with Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah.
And keep in mind Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah is with you. Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah says in the Quraan: "Is not Allaah sufficient for His slave?" Az-Zumar 39:36
Yes! Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah will give sufficient protection and safety for his slave. But we must be patient and we must not expedite things, and we look for results as soon as possible. As for the hadeeth of Rasulullah (sallulahu alaihi wasalam), even the thorn gets to your body, the small thorn, a small needle a small thing, will come to your body, you will be rewarded for that. Even small thorn, a small needle a small nail would hurt you and you would be rewarded. So what about a calamity, when you get a big calamity, a sickness, missing one of the family, losing your job, losing your money. These are big things; you will get bigger reward from Allaah Subhanuhu Wa'tallah.
The flag that the Muslim always raises up is patience and patience for ever! And the Muslim will find sweetness in patience.
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