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رَبِّ ٱشْرَحْ لِى صَدْرِى وَيَسِّرْ لِي أَمْرِي وَاحْلُلْ عُقْدَةً مِنْ لِسَانِي يَفْقَهُواقَوْلِي
My Lord, expand for me my breast [with assurance] and ease for me my task and untie the knot from my tongue that they may understand my speech. { Quran 20: 25-28 }
Often times when adversity falls upon us, we find ourselves sulking into negative thoughts and patterns, unable to get out of it for endless hours. Sometimes we don’t have enough energy to see the light at the end of the tunnel. That is how much lost, empty, and hopeless we become. However, have you ever thought at the time of adversity that this could be something where Allah is preparing you for the greater good? Or to unleash a better version of myself?
For you to only look back and realise that you came from an inescapable dark alley but it is only Allah that made it possible for you.
This is how much He, The Al-Wadud, Al-Rahman, Al-Rahim loves and bestows His mercy upon us, for it only takes a Kun for Him, yet we humans despair.
لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللّٰهُ نَفۡسًا اِلَّا وُسۡعَهَا
(2:286) On no soul does Allah place a burden greater than it can bear.
We get blind sighted when hardship befalls us. We think that nothing could get worse than our current situation but then something happens, and then something else happens until we give up or lose hope. To tell you, He hears you when the world goes deaf for you. He guides you through the darkness. He will test you but He will also help you pass His own test. Moreover, it is the beauty of His trials that are inflicted upon us, not to punish or harass us but to teach us. So that we can be a better version of ourselves and better Muslims. Indeed, Allah ﷻ never wishes to unleash His hellfire upon us. Trials and hardships aren’t a way to punish us but it is Allah ﷻ way to save us from hellfire.
The hard pill is until the time we don’t face our adversity, we don’t sit with it or we don’t feel it completely we won’t be able to overcome it, we won’t be able to unleash our potential to our next level. And once we overcome it, it is only then that we will look back and say “Alhamdulillah…. If it were not for that test, that challenge, I wouldn’t be who I am today.”
Allah ﷻ also tells us in the Qur’an in Surah Adh-Dhuha (Chapter 93, Verse no: 1 – 5):
بِسۡمِ اللهِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِيۡمِ
وَالضُّحٰىۙ (93:1) By the bright forenoon,1
وَالَّيۡلِ اِذَا سَجٰىۙ (93:2) and by the night when it covers the world with peace:2
مَا وَدَّعَكَ رَبُّكَ وَمَا قَلٰىؕ (93:3) (O Prophet), your Lord has neither forsaken you nor is He displeased.3
وَلَـلۡاٰخِرَةُ خَيۡرٌ لَّكَ مِنَ الۡاُوۡلٰىؕ (93:4) Indeed what is to come will be better for you than what has gone by.4
وَلَسَوۡفَ يُعۡطِيۡكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرۡضٰىؕ (93:5) Verily your Lord will soon give you so amply that you will be well-pleased.5
Allah ﷻ is nearer to us than our jugular vein. He does not test us to leave us alone. In fact, He never abandons us, especially a broken heart that is willing to turn to Him and not to this Duniya. If it weren’t for that adversity you wouldn’t have tasted the sweetness of Tahajjud and the contentment and stability of the heart that followed ever since. If it weren’t for that adversity you wouldn’t have become this humble & kind person towards His creation. If it weren’t for that adversity you wouldn’t have known the pain of someone else’s bleeding heart, if it weren’t for that adversity you would have never learned about His deen. If it weren’t for that adversity you wouldn’t have understood the difference between right and wrong. If it weren’t for that adversity you wouldn’t have come this close to your Rabb. If it weren’t for that adversity you wouldn’t have known about His Rahmabecause maybe… just maybe He wants to use you for His service in the future or maybe He wants to guide someone through you or maybe He wants to save you from some danger that you might put yourself in unknowingly; For He is Al-’Alim, Al-Hakim, Al-Khabir, ‘Alim Al-Ghayb Wa Al-Shahadah – The All-Knowing, The Wisest, The All-Aware, Knower Of The Unseen And The Witnessed, Al-Waliyy, Al-Mawla – The Guardian Ally.
He does what He wills.
There is Khayr in everything. When you pass your adversity and outgrow those difficult times, you’ll see that every situation that Allah ﷻ has put you through, has either changed you, helped you grow, made you stronger, taught you a lesson, or made you a better person. Everything He does has a purpose!
Allah ﷻ doesn’t ask for perfection from us rather He wants us to try, try our best till our last breath. He made us humans; full of flaws, weaknesses, and imperfections hence we will only think through our human minds and will only have human abilities.
Now, I want you to imagine these events:
• Imagine what pain Yusuf (A.S) must have endured when his older brothers threw him into the well out of jealousy, a kid, lost and all alone inside it. When he (A.S) was getting sold at the market, just for a few dinars, surrounded by numerous unknown faces staring at him, going through all this and more while being a kid. Whom did Yusuf (A.S) have with him all the time? Allah ﷻ
• Imagine what pain Maryam (A.S) must have endured when she had to go through the labor pain, alone with not a single human being taking care of her followed by the humiliation of people for bearing a child while being a virgin, all because she was fulfilling her Creator’s hukm and yet, who was with her all along? Allah ﷻ
• Imagine what pain Ayesha (R.A) must have endured when she (R.A) was falsely imputed for a month and even had her parents and her husband – Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) believing in the rumors and yet who protected Ayesha (R.A) honor by sending down revelations which are now Ayahs of theQur’an that we recite? Allah ﷻ
• Imagine what pain Prophet Muhammed (ﷺ) must have endured with Zayd ibn Harithah (R.A) from the traumatic attack at Taif, both men wounded by the pelted stones, their feet covered in blood. They walked for around 8 kilometers in a state of trauma from what had happened. It was more than just physical wounds, it was an emotionally and mentally painful experience too. Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) stated this day to be his worst and not only this incident butthat whole year was the year of grief for Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) as His wife Khadijah (R.A) and his uncle and protector Abu Talib (A.S) died and yet through all these heart-wrenching events He (ﷺ) believed in and called upon whom? Allah ﷻ
Our adversities are nothing compared to these events and every other mentioned by Allah ﷻ in the Qur’an. Sure you would think “But these were the Prophets and noble people of Allah ﷻ with high, stable, and consistent imaan and I am just a commoner with a fluctuating imaan” but what we often forget is that Allah ﷻ first and foremost, made them humans too. And If your current adversity is still a potentially fatal feeling for you, then have hope in Allah ﷻ that He will open new doors and opportunities for you even if it seems impossible. Part of the test is to think good of Allah ﷻ, to refuse to give up, to keep the hope alive in our hearts that Allah ﷻ will one day answer our supplications as this beautiful hadith mentions below:
“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘Allah laughs at the despair of His slaves although He soon changes it (relieve it).’ I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, does the Lord laugh?’ He said: ‘Yes.’ I said: ‘We shall never be deprived of good by a Lord Who laughs.” Reference: Sunan Ibn Majah 181
And if any of it benefits, here are some tips that might help you in your difficult times:
• Pray Tahajjud: Every heart heals at Tahajjud, nothing is as miraculous as Tahajjud. Pray your 5 daily Salah and on time! If you are someone who doesn’t pray at all, start with one Salah a day, then two a day, then three a day, and repeat until you pray all five a day. May Allah ﷻ make it easy for you, Ameen.
• Recite one Surah from the Qur’an every morning after fajr, if not one whole Surah then at least one Ayah a day.
• Dhikr: As Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said: “Let not your tongue cease to be moist with the remembrance of Allah.” Do your daily Morning and Evening Adhkars and keep your tongue moist with Dhikr.
• Charity: The left hand shouldn’t know what the right hand gives;
Prophet Muhammed (ﷺ) once said: “There are seven whom Allah will shade in His Shade on the Day when there is no shade except His Shade: a just ruler; a youth who grew up in the worship of Allah, the Mighty, and Majestic; a man whose heart is attached to the mosques; two men who love each other for Allah’s sake, meeting for that and parting upon that; a man who is called by a woman of beauty and position [for illegal intercourse], but he says: ‘I fear Allah’, a man who gives in charity and hides it, such that his left-hand does not know what his right hand gives in charity; and a man who remembered Allah in private and so his eyes shed tears.”
(Reference: Narrated by Abu Hurairah & collected in Saheeh al-Bukhari (English trans.) vol.1, p.356, no.629 & Saheeh Muslim (English trans.) vol.2, p.493, no.2248)
• Prophetic Lifestyle: Start inculcating Sunnahs and incorporate a Prophetic lifestyle in your life.
• The Power of Dua:
Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said, “Verily your Lord is Generous and Shy. If His servant raises his hands to Him (in supplication) He becomes shy to return them empty.” (Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi).
Dua is a condition of the heart and conversation with Allah ﷻ in the language of one’s choice. Continuously turning to Allah ﷻ in dua is a sign of one’s conviction in Him and the more one turns to Him, the more one’s faith increases and grows closer to Him. So Dua it as much as you can!
• Health is Wealth: Take good care of your health. Rest a good night’s sleep (approx 8 hours). Declutter your closet or anything you think is useless and hasn’t been used in years. Go out for a walk and take that natural Vitamin D in. Work out and meditate. Eat clean and have a healthy diet. Dress well even if you were to spend your entire day at home.
• Productivity: Keep your mind busy with work or do something productive as we all know “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop”.
• Share: Spend time with your loved ones. Talk to the one whom you find trustworthy. And if somehow you still find yourself alone and want to confide in someone without feeling judged, you can always join one of our MSS groups for some awesome sisterhood!
And last but not the least, here’s a little Du’a for your broken heart:
May Allah (ﷺ) heal your broken heart and bless it with contentment, tranquility, and stability. May Allah (ﷺ) make your scales heavy on the Day of Judgment for the pain you endure and yet show faith and sabr; for believing in Allah (ﷺ) for all His might. May Allah (ﷺ) bless you with His Noorin this life and in the next. May Allah (ﷺ) meet you smiling the day you meet Him, Ameen ya Rabbul Alamin.
Have faith in your Rabb. This is just a phase and it too shall pass.
Jazakumullahu Khairan.
With love and du’as,
Humaira, India
