by Asma bint Shameem
Part of our belief as a Muslim is to believe that our Rabb, Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala is Most Loving, and Most Fair. Most Wise and Most Merciful.
It’s not enough to just believe that Allaah exists;
rather it is EQUALLY important to KNOW and TRULY BELIEVE that Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala would NEVER be unfair or punish a person UNJUSTLY.
We must know and truly believe that ALL His actions are FULL of ULTIMATE and PERFECT WISDOM, KNOWLEDGE, MERCY and JUSTICE.
Allaah will NEVER be ’unfair’ or unjust to ANY creation of His.
Rather He is Arhamur-Raahimeen, the MOST MERCIFUL of ALL that show mercy.
🍃The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:
"Allaah has one HUNDRED mercies, out of which He has sent down only ONE for jinn, mankind, animals and insects, through which they love one another and have compassion for one another; and through it, wild animals care for their young.
Allaah has retained NINETY-NINE mercies to DEAL KINDLY with His slaves on the DAY of RESURRECTION." (al-Bukhaari, Muslim)
And just as He is Most Merciful, at the same time, Allaah is also MOST JUST.
He’s NEVER unfair.
Many, many places in the Qur’aan, Allaah has mentioned that.
🍃For example Allaah says:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَظْلِمُ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ وَإِن تَكُ حَسَنَةً يُضَاعِفْهَا وَيُؤْتِ مِن لَّدُنْهُ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا
“Surely! Allaah wrongs not even of the weight of an atom (or a small ant), but if there is any good (done), He doubles it, and gives from Him a great reward.” (Surah an-Nisaa:40)
And out of His Wisdom, Allaah has also promised us that He will TEST us in different ways to see who is steadfast and patient and who is not.
And He will reward us accordingly.
And thus there will be suffering.
He will place us in situations that may seem hard. Or unfair.
But in reality they’re not.
They’re actually a form of MERCY from Allaah because if we’re patient, these calamities and tests are a means of EXPIATION of our SINS.
Or they may be a reason to RAISE our ranks.
Or they might be a REMINDER from our Rabb to humble ourselves and turn to Him.
Perhaps if we had it any different, maybe we would have gone astray or it would have been more harmful for us.
And so what may SEEM hard is not hard at all.
What may SEEM unfair is NOT unfair at all.
🍃Allaah says:
وَعَسَىٰ أَن تَكْرَهُوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ وَعَسَىٰ أَن تُحِبُّوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَّكُمْ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
“And it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing which is bad for you. Allah knows but you do not know.”
(Surah al-Baqarah:216)
So for some there will be poverty.
For some it will be a disease.
For some it will be hunger.
🍃 Shaikh Abd Al-Rahmaan Al-Barraak said:
“Allaah is al-Razzaaq (the Provider) and the best of those who give provision.
“And no moving (living) creature is there on earth but its provision is due from Allaah” [Hood 11:6].
The rizq of Allaah will not be brought by the carefulness of the miser, nor will it be prevented by the hostility of one who does not want it to come to another.
It is part of the Wisdom of Allaah that He differentiates between His slaves in their provision just as He differentiates between them in their physical creation and their attitudes.
So He gives in abundance to whomever He wills and gives little to whomever He wills.
He may give plenty to some people and little to others.
He is the One Who guarantees the provision of His slaves according to His prior knowledge and decree.
Allaah knows and decrees that some of His slaves will be given plenty and some will be given little;
He has reasons for that that are beyond our comprehension.
In His wisdom, He gives plenty or gives little as a test for His slaves, testing them with blessings or with calamities, as He says:
“and We shall make a trial of you with evil and with good” [al-Anbiya’ 21:35]
Allaah says:
“But when He tries him by straitening his means of life, he says: ‘My Lord has humiliated me!” [al-Fajr 89:16]
But then Allaah says: “Nay!” [al-Fajr 89:16], meaning, it is not as he thinks; Allaah blesses whoever he wills and makes things difficult for whomever He wills, and this is a test, not a sign of honor or humiliation.
By means of this test, it becomes apparent who is grateful and patient, and who is the opposite.
And Allaah is the Knower of all things.”
🍃 The scholars also said:
“Undoubtedly in Allaah’s allowing children to suffer there is great wisdom which may be hidden from some people, thus they object to the Divine decree and the Shaytaan takes advantage of this issue to turn him away from the truth and right guidance.
Among the reasons why Allaah allows children to suffer are the following:
1-It is a means to show that the child is sick or in pain; if it were not for that suffering it would not be known what sickness he is suffering from.
2-The crying that is caused by the pain brings great benefits to the child’s body.
3-Learning lessons: the family of this child may be committing haraam actions or neglecting obligatory duties, but when they see the suffering of their child, that prompts them to give up those haraam actions such as consuming riba, committing zina, not praying or smoking, especially if the child’s suffering is due to an illness that they caused, as happens in the case of some of the haraam things mentioned above.
4-Thinking about the Hereafter, for there is no true happiness and peace except in Paradise; there is no suffering and pain there, only good health, well-being and happiness.
And thinking about Hell, for that is the abode of eternal and never-ending pain and suffering.
So one will do that which will bring him nearer to Paradise and take him further away from Hell.”
(Islamqa Fatwa # 20785)
🍃 Ibn Qayyim said:
“Then think about the wisdom of Allaah in causing children to cry a lot, and the benefits that that brings to them. The doctors and naturalists have attested to the benefits of that and the wisdom behind it.
How greatly do children benefit from the crying and yelling that we hear from them.
If this is the wisdom with regard to crying that is caused by pain and the wisdom behind this never crossed your mind, the same applies to the suffering of children and its causes and good consequences.
There is a great deal of wisdom that may be hidden from most of the people and they are greatly confused about it.”
(Miftaah Daar al-Sa’aadah, 2/228)
🍃 Ibn al-Qayyim also said:
“These pains are one of the inherent features of man’s development from which no man or animal can be free. If man were free of pain he would not be a man, rather he would be an angel or some other creature.
Children’s pain is not more difficult than the pain experienced by grownups, but grownups have become accustomed to pain so it is no longer a big issue for them. What a great difference there is between what a child suffers and what a rational adult suffers.
All of that is one of the main aspects of the human condition. If man were not created like that he would be a different creature. What do you think if a child gets hungry or thirsty or cold or tired – is it something that he was singled out for and tested with that the grownups are not tested with? Man – and indeed animals – have been created on this basis.
They said: If someone were to ask: Why has man been created thus?
Why was he not created without this vulnerability to pain and suffering?
This is a flawed question, because Allaah has created him in a world of trials from a weak substance. So he is vulnerable to diseases and suffering, and Allaah has created him in such a way that he is vulnerable to all kinds of pain…
The fact that these pains and pleasures coexist is one of the signs of the Hereafter, for divine wisdom has decreed that there should be two abodes: an abode that is devoted fully to pleasure, in which there is no pain at all, and an abode that is devoted fully to pain in which there is no pleasure at all. The former abode is Paradise and the latter abode is Hell.”
(Miftaah Daar al-Sa’aadah, 2/230, 231)
So as Muslims, we SUBMIT to whatever our Creator and Master decrees for His creation WITHOUT questioning Him.
How can we question Him, when we have NO KNOWLEDGE of the Unseen, or the future or what’s better for us?
Rather, ALLAAH will question US on the Day we stand in front of Him.
Allaah says
“He cannot be questioned as to what He does, while they will be questioned.” (Surah al-Anbiya’ :23)
🍃Ibn Taymiyah said:
“Allaah is not to be questioned about what He does because of His perfect wisdom, mercy and justice, not just because of His subjugation of creation and His might.” [Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa (8/511)]
So leave His Decisions to Him.
TRUST Him and KNOW He has a purpose for everything.
And He will reward those who are patient with Jannah.
Isn’t Jannah worth it?
And Allaah knows best.
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