SABR
OR SHUKR - THE WORRY STOPS HERE
In
the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
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." ( 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 though 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 was
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 upto Him - either to punish me of
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
Dhurhr 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 loose 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 , 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
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
have to listen to music in the car." No you are commanded
by He who gave you those ears to not listen to those lullabies
of the Devil. And you 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'll 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 middele. The
Ulama' have suggested, Wa Allaahu a'lam, that in the hard
times that a person goes through they should not forget the
rememberance 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
There
is good news for those who intend to act on their Sabr. Allah
promised them three things: His prayer for them, His Mercy,
and their guidance. [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
says [And We made from among them leaders, giving guidance
under Our Command, when they were patient.]-asSajdah 32/24.
Sufyan
ibn Uyaynah commented, "i.e. When they took hold of the
leading issue, we made them leaders!"
Muhammad
Al-Shareef
Last modified:
July 19, 2007
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