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 noon 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 Paradise 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
Paradise. 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
through 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 or 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 commanded 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 - Paradise 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 middle?
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?
p.s. calamity dua:
Innaa Lillahi wa innaa ilayhi raji'oon, Allaahumma ujurni fi museebati w'ukhuluf li khayran minha
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