Assalam Aleikum wa rahmatu Allah wa barakatuhu
As I was sitting on my prayer matt feeling slightly down, thinking about my life and my challanges, a series of thoughts were running in my head . I could not stop my tears . I asked myself so many questions and found the answers flowing down my head one by one Subhana Allah! as if someone was talking to me. Each answer put me to shame and reminded me how small my problems were. I am here to ask the same questions my dear sister and brother and help you find answers in shaa Allah.
Right now you might be sad or depressed or unhappy because of a certain thing or things in your life. What is it that is making you sad and depressed and is it affecting your imaan (faith)?
Let’s explore some of the problems you might be going through right now…
Are you looking for a job or suffering poverty? And maybe you feel you have tried many things find the solution but nothing is working and you are asking yourself why me?
Hold that thought my dear sister and brother and take a moment to think of your beloved Prophet peace be upon him. He suffered extreme poverty to the limit he used to tie a rock on his stomach out of hanger. Have you ever experienced that in your life?
If the answer is No then be sure that you are in a great blessing and if you are patient and continue to strive and make dua you will be very happy soon in shaa Allah. And if the answer is yes which I really doubt then be super happy because you have a share in the legacy of your Prophet peace be upon him.
Are you sad because you lost a loved one and you really miss them?
Let’s look at our beloved Prophet peace be upon him and how he lost both his parents by the age of six. Can you even comprehend how he was feeling!? If you have a young son or daughter, look at them and picture the situation. And in his adolescent age he also lost his uncle who used to defend him and protect him (who was a father to him) and his beloved wife in the same year when he needed them most as everyone was against him. Allah sometimes takes people and things away from us not to torture us but because we need to grow a thicker skin to survive what is coming.
Are you having a problem with your family or friends for any reason or are they cutting you off because of Islam?
No matter how hard it is, it will not be harder than what he went through peace be upon him. Imagine your family and community plotting and planning each day on how they are going to kill you and torture you and your loved ones!!
Are you sad because you wish to get married and have children and that hasn’t happened yet?
The Prophet peace be upon him got married to the woman he loved but she died and left him. He had three boys but he lost them all and he had to start life all over again. Don’t despair my dear sister and brother, anything which Allah decrees on you is what is good for you no matter how bad it looks or feels. And these are not my words but the words of Allah and the Prophet peace be upon him, so hang in there and wait for the khair (good) as it is coming soon in shaa Allah.
Allah says what can be translated as: But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not. 2:216
Are you sad because you lost a child or lost someone dear to you?
The Prophet peace be upon him lost his three boys and not just that, his own family had no sympathy for him. As he was crying out of pain and sadness for his own baby, they were out making fun of him and mocking him, calling him abtar (the one who is crippled because he did not have boys). How would you feel if you were in his situation?!
Remember the story of Musa and Al Khidr in surat Al Kahf. Allah might have taken that child to replace him with another pious child, just rest assured that Allah gives you only good and Allah gives only khair.
Are you feeling lonely or feeling unloved?
Think of him peace be upon him in his late fifties beaten up with rocks, running and trying to find a safe place to hide. His feet bleeding to the limit they were sticking to his sandals and he was the Prophet of Allah peace be upon him!! Sitting in a secluded area alone crying to Allah for what they did to him! But the question did Allah leave him?! Why are you despairing my dear sister and brother? Go back to Allah, you will find Him. Allah never leaves a sincere caller.
If you are sad for any reason my dear sister and brother think of the following and remind yourself that it could have been worse and that your beloved Prophet peace be upon him had it worse than you and he was the messenger of Allah. He had it worse than you and he was the chosen one. He had it worse than you and he used to spend the night in prayer. He had it worse than you and he never mistreated a human being or a living thing. He had it worse than you and he never gave up. .He had it worse than you and he never stopped praying and making dua!!
But why do you think he had it worse than you?
Simply to teach you that Allah will never give you more than you can handle, Allah says what can be translated as: (Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity. It will have [the consequence of] what [good] it has gained, and it will bear [the consequence of] what [evil] it has earned. 2:286
He had it worse than you to teach you that these trials are to strengthen you, to give you a better status in the eyes of Allah and to grant you Jannah which you can never attain with your own deeds. So remember that promise.
When the Prophet peace be upon him was praying at the Ka’bah while his enemies were watching his every move and action, one of his uncles put on his back the intestine and filrth of a slaughtered camel during his prostration. The Prophet did not react and stayed in the position of sujoud. His daughter, Fatimah, rushed to take the filth off his back and cleaned him up while crying. The Prophet peace be upon him said to her: Don’t cry ya Fatimah your father is on the haqq (The truth)
In the battle of Uhud, when his Makkan enemies attacked the Muslims, Prophet Muhammad suffered head injury and his front teeth got smashed and blood started to seep from his head.
Despite all this and more, he prevailed. They tried to humiliate him and they still try until this day but Allah honored him and promised to honor him until the day of Judgement. Allah says what can be translated as (Indeed, We are sufficient for you against the mockers) 15:95
The door of heaven will not open to anyone before our beloved Prophet Mohammed peace be upon him as an honor to him.
Muslim also reported from Anas that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: "I will come to the gates of paradise and ask for it to be opened. The gatekeeper will ask, "Who are you?" I will say, "Muhammad". The gatekeeper will say, "I was ordered not to open the gate for anyone else before you"". [Saheeh Muslim]
The result for all his struggles was for you to have this complete beautiful religion to practice it at ease. A religion of haqq (truth) which gives you peace and tranquility in this trying life and will give you eternal happiness where you will have and find everyone and everything you want and more. This deen which will bring you honor among all nations in shaa Allah.
Bukhaari, Muslim and an-Nasaa'ee report from Abu Hurayrah (ra) that the Prophet (saw) said: "We are the last, but we will be the first on the Day of Resurrection. We will be the first of mankind to enter Paradise".
Now my dear sister and brother ask yourself! How bad is it compared to what your beloved Prophet peace be upon him went through? Let’s learn from him to be better believers. Let’s always remember his sufferings and compare them to ours. Let’s have strong faith and know that if Allah tested him peace be upon him then He will for sure test us also but not because He wants us to suffer but because He wants us to be better believers and have what it takes to survive this world and attain that level in Jannah.
Remember as long as the problem is not in your deen then you are good to go. If the trial is in your deen then that is when you should be sad and depressed because that is dangerous and may lead you to hell fire but if the trial is in the matters of this dunia, then let it be as the matters of dunia are always changing and Allah will guide you through them. Just hang in there and hold tight on to your deen and you will be minal faizeen (the winners) in shaa Allah.
Allahum Sall’I wa sall’im Ala Sayydina Mohammad
