“And certainly, We shall test you with
something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits, but give glad
tidings to As-Sâbirin (the patient ones, etc.). Who, when afflicted with
calamity, say: “Truly! To Allâh we belong and truly, to Him we shall return. They
are those on whom are the Salawât (i.e. blessings, etc.) (i.e. who are blessed
and will be forgiven) from their Lord, and (they are those who) receive His
Mercy, and it is they who are the guided-ones.”
(Al-Baqarah 2:155-157)
Then he (i.e. Ibn Al-Qayyim) mentioned
the Hadeeth of Al-Istirja‘ (1) and then he said: This expression is one of the
most effective and most beneficial treatments for one who is afflicted by
calamities, because it contains two fundamental principles, which if they are
realized, the slave will be consoled thereby from his calamity.
The first of them is that the slave and his wealth belong to Allaah and He has given it to him as a loan.
The second of them is that the return
is to Allaah and it is inevitable that he will leave the life of this world
behind; so if this is his beginning and his end, then his thinking about them
is one of the greatest treatments for this illness and a part of his treatment
is that he knows that what was ordained to afflict him cannot miss him and what
was ordained to miss him cannot afflict him.
And a part of it is that his Lord has set aside for him the like of that which he missed or better and He has stored up for him that which is many times better than the calamity and that if He willed, He could have made the calamity greater than it was.
Another part of it is His extinguishing
the fire of his misfortune by the coolness of comfort and consolation, so he
should look to his right and to his left (i.e. at the world around him) and he
should know that the pleasures of this life are an illusion, though they may
cause him to laugh a little, they will cause him to weep much.
Also a part of it is the knowledge that
discontent does not alleviate the misfortune; indeed, it increases it.
And another part of it is the knowledge
that losing the reward which Allaah has guaranteed for patience and istirja’ is
greater than it.
And another part of the treatment is
the knowledge that discontent causes his enemy to take pleasure and grieves his
friend and makes his Lord Angry.
Still another part of it is the
knowledge that the pleasure which follows patient perseverance and the
expectation of Allaah’s Reward is many times greater than that which he would
have experienced from the thing which he lost, if it had remained with him.
Another part of it is that he should
soothe his heart by seeking recompense for it from Allaah.
And a part of it is the knowledge that
his reaction to the calamity will determine what happens to him, for whoever
accepts (Allaah’s Qadar), Allaah will be pleased with him and whoever is angry
at it, Allaah will be Angry with him.
Also a part of the treasure is the
knowledge that even if he was patient sometime after the calamity struck, that
being the patience of one who is resigned, that is not praiseworthy and it is
not rewarded.
And another part of it is the knowledge
that one of the most effective medicines is the success granted by Allaah in
attaining that which He loves and which is pleasing to Him and that it is the
essence of love.
Another part of it is for him to
compare between the greater and the lesser of the two pleasures: between the
pleasure which he enjoys due to (his acceptance of) the calamity which befell
him and the pleasure which he enjoys due to the reward of Allaah (which he
receives due to his acceptance and patient perseverance).
And a part of it is the knowledge that
the One Who puts him to trial is the Best of judges and the Most Merciful of
those who show mercy and that He has not subjected him to misfortune in order to
destroy him, but in order to test him and to hear entreaties and see him
prostrating at His door.
Another part of it is the knowledge
that misfortunes are a means of preventing sickness which will cause his
destruction, such as pride, arrogance, and hardness of heart.
Still another part of it is the
knowledge that the bitterness of this life is the sweetness of the afterlife
and vice versa. And if this is not apparent to you, examine the words of the
truthful one, whose words are believed:
“Paradise is surrounded by hardships
and the Hell-Fire is surrounded by temptations.” (2)
And in this matter, the minds of
mankind are at fault and the reality of men is made clear (i.e. that they
prefer the temporary pleasures of this world to the everlasting pleasures of
the Hereafter).
Footnotes:
(1) Al-Istirja’: Saying the
words: “Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilayhi Raji’oon” (Verily, we are for Allaah
and to Him we shall return). This Hadeeth was narrated by Muslim and Ahmad, on
the authority of Umm Salamah radiAllaahu ‘anha
(2) Narrated Muslim, At-Tirmidhi,
Ahmad and Ad-Darimi, on the authority of Anas Ibn Malik radiAllaahu ‘anhu
- Transcribed from: Provisions for the Hereafter (Mukhtasar Zad Al-Ma’ad) – Ibnul Qayyim Al Jawziyyah | Summarized by: Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab At-Tamimi
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