CHAPTER 3: THOSE UNDERGOING DISASTERS AND AFFLICTIONS : PART 1
The Dealings of the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, with those undergoing disasters and afflictions
The wisdom of Allah dictates that this life will not be void of grief and distress. Whoever wishes to remain healthy and safe at all times without facing any afflictions has not known the meaning of “being held accountable” and has not understood the meaning of submission, for humankind in this life will no doubt be tested, either in their wealth, body, or family.
One of the most beneficial means to put the fire of trials is by following in the footsteps of others who have been tested (and persevered), and to know that there are disasters in every household. If one were to search, he would not find a person that has not been tested; either that test would be that they lost a loved one, or that something undesirable happened to that individual.
This is why it is important to analyze how the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, dealt with people going through disasters and afflictions.
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, clarified that Allah tests those for whom He wants good:
Abu Hurayrah (a Companion) narrated: “The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘If Allah wants good for a person, He tests him with afflictions.’” (Reported by Al-Bukhari (5645).)
Al-Baaji (a scholar) said: “This means that they will be tested with sickness that affects their health, having their wealth taken which affects their riches, being sad which affects their happiness, and having distress which affects the overall wellbeing of their state (of mind, health and so on), and if that person is patient hoping for the reward with Allah in return (for his patience), then that would be a means that ends with reaching the good that Allah wanted for them.” (Al-Muntaqaa Sharh Al-Muwatta’ (4/357).)
Anas ibn Maalik narrated that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “The greatness of reward depends on the greatness of the affliction, and if Allah loves a people, He tests them, so whoever is happy with that, then Allah will be happy with them, and whoever is angered by that, then Allah will be angry with them.” (Reported by At-Tirmidhi (2396) and ibn Maajah (4031).)
Al-Mubaarakpoori (a scholar) said: “Meaning, whoever is pleased with what Allah The Almighty has tested them with will attain Allah’s pleasure and will receive plentiful reward, and whoever is angered by Allah’s test, panics because of it, and is not pleased with His decree, then such a person earns Allah’s anger and severe punishment, for anyone who does anything evil will be accounted for it. The meaning of this narration is to commend patience in the wake of trials.” (Tuhfat Al-Ahwathi (7/66).)
Al-Harawi (a scholar) said: “Among the pearls of righteousness is to keep afflictions a secret, to the point that others think that you have not been afflicted by anything.” (Tasliyatu Ahl Al-Masaa’ib (pg. 17) by Muhammad ibn Muhammad Al-Manbaji.)
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, called on those undergoing disasters to be patient and expect the reward with Allah, and he would be sad at their sadness, and would even cry at times:
Usaamah ibn Zayd (a Companion) said:
“The daughter of the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, sent to him saying: ‘A son of mine is on the verge of passing away, so come to our house.’
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, sent back, beginning with greetings of peace, then saying: ‘To Allah belongs what He has taken, and to Him belongs what He has given, and everything with Him has a fixed term, so be patient and expect Allah’s reward.’
Then she sent for him again, adjuring him by Allah that he should come to her, so he stood up, and with him were Sa’d ibn `Ubaadah, Mu’adh ibn Jabal, Ubayy ibn Ka’b, Zayd ibn Thaabit, and other men. The child was brought to the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and a rattling sound came from the child’s chest, upon which the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, shed tears.
Sa`d said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, what is this?’ (Sa’d thought that all types of crying are prohibited and that when the eye sheds tears, it is prohibited, and he thought that the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, forgot, and was reminding him. However, the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, taught him that mere crying and tearing
of eyes is not forbidden or even disliked, but actually, is mercy and is a virtue. What is forbidden, however, is wailing, lamenting, and crying that is joined with one of those two things.)
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘It is mercy that Allah The Almighty puts in the hearts of His slaves; Allah The Almighty has mercy on his merciful slaves.’” (Reported by Al-Bukhari (1284) and Muslim (923).)
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, taught them how to be patient:
Anas ibn Maalik said:
“The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, passed by a woman who was crying by the grave of one of her children, so the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said to her: ‘Be conscious of Allah and practice patience.’ (In the narration of Abu Nu`aym: “O female slave of Allah, fear Allah.” Al-Qurtubi said: “It is apparent that her crying had too much wailing or something else [forbidden], which is why the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, ordered her to fear Allah.” Fat-h Al-Baari (3/149). ) She responded by saying: ‘Go away from me, you have not been through what I have been through,’ but she did not know that she was speaking to the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.
Afterwards, the woman was told: ‘That was the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, (that was speaking to you).’ (In another narration that Al-Bukhaari reported (7154), it states, “A man passed by her and said: ‘That was Allah’s Messenger,’ she said back, ‘I did not know it was him.’” Muslim’s version adds, “She was stricken as one would be at the calamity of death.” Meaning, when she knew that it was the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, she had said that to, out of shyness from and awe towards him.)
So she went to the house of the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and did not see any guards at his door (The benefit of this sentence is that when she was told it was the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, she felt fear and awe in her heart, and she pictured that he was like other kings and had a doorkeeper who prevented people from reaching him. However, she found that the reality was the complete opposite of what she had initially pictured. Fat-h Al-Baari (3/149). ), and she said to him: ‘I did not know it was you.’ The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, replied: ‘Patience is at the first shock of the calamity.’” (Reported by Al-Bukhari (1283) and Muslim (926).)
Al-Khattaabi (a scholar) said: “The meaning is that the patience for which an individual is commended is that which occurs at the shock of the exact moment that the calamity befalls, and not after that, because an individual forgets with the passing of days.” (Fat-h Al-Baari (3/150).)
That is why it is said that everything begins small and then grows except a calamity, for it starts out large, then gets smaller with the progression of time.
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, clarified the reward of the calamity and expecting the reward for it:
Qurrah ibn Iyaas (a scholar) said:
“Allah’s Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was sitting with some of his companions and there was a man with a small son of his, who came from behind his father, and so the man took the boy and sat him before him.
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said to the man: ‘Do you love him?’
The man said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, may Allah The Almighty love you as much as I love him.’
The boy then died, the man abstained from attending gatherings, remembering his son and being sad over him.
So the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, noticed his absence, and said: ‘Why do I not see so-and-so?’
They said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, his son whom you saw has passed away.’
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, met the man and asked him about his son, and he was informed that he had passed away, so the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, consoled the man, then said: ‘O so-and-so, what is more beloved to you, to live your whole life enjoying him, or that in the Hereafter, there is not a door of Paradise that you approach except that you find that he has preceded you there, and is opening the door for you?’
The man said: ‘O Allah, rather, it is more beloved to me that he precedes me to the doors of Paradise, and opens them for me.’
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said to him: ‘Then that will be for you.’
A man said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, for him alone, or for all of us?’
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘No, rather for all of you.’” (Reported by an-Nasa’i (2088) and Ahmad (15168).)
Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Allah Says: ‘If My slave is stricken with the death of a very close loved one and then (perseveres) hoping for the reward, there is no reward with Me (for him) except Paradise.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari (6224).)
Ibn Hajar said: “The term “Then (perseveres) hoping for the reward,” means that the individual is patient with their loss, and hope for the reward with Allah for that; it means to seek the reward from Allah with sincerity.” (Fat-h Al-Baari (11/242).)
`Abdullaah ibn `Amr ibn Al-`Aas (a Companion) said: “The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Allah is not satisfied with anything lesser than Paradise as a reward for the one who has been afflicted with the loss of their loved one on earth, then is patient and seeks the reward from Allah.’” (Reported by an-Nasa’i (1871).)
Mu`aath ibn Jabal (a Companion) reported that the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “By Him in Whose hand is my soul, a woman who has a miscarriage will be dragged by the fetus by its umbilical cord to Paradise, so long as she seeks reward for it [by patiently persevering the affliction].” (Reported by ibn Maajah (1609).)
Shurayh (a scholar) said: “When I am afflicted with a trial, I thank Allah for it four times. I thank Him that it was not greater than it was; I thank Him if He grants me patience in dealing with it; I thank Him if He enables me to say, ‘To Allah we belong, and to Him we shall return,’ in hope of the great reward it has; and I thank Him for not making that calamity in my religion.” (Reported by Al-Bayhaqi in his book Shu`ab Al-Eemaan (9980).)
By Muhammad Saalih Al-Munajjid
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