In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
People tend to be consumed by their immediate condition and puts all concerns of the past and future out of their minds. They take the present as everything, don't bother to refer to the past or show concern for the future. Therefore, a suffering after a blessing makes the person lose hope and slide into ungratefulness. They never think that Allah who blessed them before could bless them again.
Similarly, if one gets comfort after suffering, then he, rather than recall his past suffering, turn to Allah and be grateful to Him, starts waxing more proud and arrogant. He forgets his past and goes about thinking that Allah's blessings were his right, that he has to have these, and that he remains under the impression that this was how he would continue for the rest of his life. It just doesn't occur to him that the way the days of suffering did not continue any more, the same thing could happen to the days of comfort and they too could vanish.
Allah Almighty says,
[Qur'an, Hud 11:9-11]
وَلَئِنْ أَذَقْنَا ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ مِنَّا رَحْمَةً ثُمَّ نَزَعْنَـٰهَا مِنْهُ إِنَّهُۥ لَيَـُٔوسٌ كَفُورٌۭ ﴿٩﴾ وَلَئِنْ أَذَقْنَـٰهُ نَعْمَآءَ بَعْدَ ضَرَّآءَ مَسَّتْهُ لَيَقُولَنَّ ذَهَبَ ٱلسَّيِّـَٔاتُ عَنِّىٓ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَفَرِحٌ فَخُورٌ ﴿١٠﴾ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ صَبَرُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةٌ وَأَجْرٌۭ كَبِيرٌۭ ﴿١١
And if We give man a taste of mercy from Us and then We withdraw it from him, indeed, he is despairing and ungrateful. (9) But if We give him a taste of favor after hardship has touched him, he will surely say, "Bad times have left me." Indeed, he is exultant and boastful - (10) Except for those who are patient and do righteous deeds; those will have forgiveness and great reward. (11)
The real blessing and suffering is in the Hereafter. Neither is the comfort of the mortal world the whole of it, nor is its suffering the whole of it. They should be taken at the level of tasting and sampling so that human beings could have some idea of the blessings and sufferings of the Hereafter. So, neither are the comforts of this world something to be happy about unnecessarily, nor are its sufferings something to grieve about too much. This whole world is only a showroom of the Hereafter with sample displays of comfort and suffering.
The Qur'an brings lesson-oriented events of the past into sharp focus for heedless person to see things in this perspective and have a little concern for what would happen to them in the future. The lesson they teach is: Ponder over the changing conditions of the universe you are in and get to know the power working behind these.
A perfect human being is one who is able to perceive the hidden Power behind every change, revolution, sorrow and comfort, ignore their transitory phases, dismiss their material causes as the sole explanation. The mark of an intelligent person is that he looks at the originator or causer of causes more than he would look at causes, and it is with Him alone that he would relate to as firmly as possible.
People who are not affected by common human frailty have two qualities: Sabr (patience) and al-'Amal as-Salih (good deeds).
The word: (sabr) is used to convey a much wider range of meanings in the Arabic language, much wider than conveyed by its translation as 'patience' in English. The real meaning of sabr is to tie, check, stop or hold back. In the terminology of the Qur'an and Sunnah, to hold the desiring human self back from going for the impermissible is Sabr. Therefore, the sense of Sabr (patience) includes abstention from all sins and doings counter to the dictates of the Shari'ah and al-'Amal as-Salih (good deeds) covers all that is obligatory (fard), necessary (wajib), Sunnah and recommended (mustahabb).
People who are not affected by common human weaknesses are those who have faith in Allah and fear the reckoning of the Day of Judgment. They are those who abstain from everything disliked by Allah and His Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wassallam) and race towards every deed that brings the pleasure of Allah and nearness to Him.
This Ramadhan, avoid sins and anything that could lead to them. Put aside a big chunk of your time daily with the Qur'an -- recite it, teach it and keep learning it.
May Allah increase us in iman and grant us sabr. Ameen.
And Allah alone grant success.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
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