Be grateful for the calamities

 “Your life is nothing more than a love story. Between you and God. Nothing more. Every person, every experience, every gift, every loss, every pain is sent to your path for one reason and one reason only: To bring you back to HIM” [Yasmin Mogahed. Love & Happiness, p.87]

Each one of us have experienced a moment of sadness, a hardship, or a tragedy at some point in our lives. In our state of turmoil, it’s easy to question Allah(GOD) SWT as to why this calamity has befallen upon us. It is within our nature as Insaan(Human being) to want to be in a constant state of happiness; we seek it out through material things or our achievements and acquisitions. Hence, when something happens that turns that state of happiness upside down we become overwhelmed and overtaken by our emotions. The truth is that this world is only a ‘deceiving enjoyment’ as Allah SWT has stated in the Qur’an [57:20]. In this Ayah, Allah SWT very beautifully describes the life in this world and how temporary things are:

“Know that the life of this world is only play and amusement, pomp and mutual boasting among you, and rivalry in respect of wealth and children, as the likeness of vegetation after rain, thereof the growth is pleasing to the tiller; afterwards it dries up and you see it turning yellow; then it becomes straw. But in the Hereafter (there is) a severe torment (for the disbelievers, evil-doers), and (there is) Forgiveness from Allah and (His) Good Pleasure (for the believers, good-doers), whereas this life of this world is only a deceiving enjoyment.” [Qur’an 57:20]

When calamity befalls us we need to remain cognisant of the fact that this life is but temporary, and that we will be tested. We as the slaves of Allah SWT are on this Dunya to worship Him and strive toward being amongst the righteous in our eternal abode in shaa Allah. In comparison to the temporary happiness on this Dunya; “perfect and eternal happiness is reserved for the after-life…Allah did not plan for Heaven to be on Earth” [Safiya Hussain. Happiness Every Day, p.1].

Why does Allah tests us through calamities?

“And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient. Who, when disaster strikes them, say, “Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return. “Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is those who are the [rightly] guided”. [Qur’an 2:155-157]

As Insaan we easily forget. We become accustomed to the everyday blessings bestowed upon us by our Creator, that it is often overlooked and sometimes not appreciated. We only appreciate it once it has been taken from us, may Allah forgive us for our ingratitude.

A simple blessing that comes to mind is the beautiful rain SubhanAllah(All praise to be GOD)  . Living in Cape Town we were always blessed with bountiful rains. Capetonians never foresaw the day where they would be faced with a drought; with strict water restrictions enforced upon the Cape Town citizens, many resorted to collecting water from Mountain Springs – which we never knew existed before. Don’t get me started on when you find that the pressure is so low that you can barely take ghusl(Bath). SubhanAllah, look at how Allah reminds us and teaches us by means of this hardship. Through this drought we were reminded of the hadith(Saying of Prophet Muhammad SAW) regarding the wastage of water and through this we have become more aware of how wasteful we have been in the past. We were reminded that the rain is a blessing from Allah SWT, consequently, children and adults alike learnt the dua and salaah(Pray) for rain. Allah hu Akbar(God is the Greatest) . The key and most important lesson for me was that this hardship caused us to turn to our Creator for help – Muslims and non-Muslims alike. SubhanAllah!

“And if you are grateful, I will certainly grant you more (favours)…” Qur’an 14:7

May we be ever aware and grateful for the many blessings Allah SWT has bestowed upon us through His Mercy. May we be grateful during the good times and during they difficult times, and may we always meet difficulty with patience and contentment, Ameen.

For more information on Happiness Every Day by Safiya Hussain, contact @muslimahinthecity.za on Instagram or visit www.muslimahinthecity.com