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A person's life in this
world is not stable. One passes through
alternating periods of happiness and dismay,
strength and weakness, wealth and poverty,
health and sickness, etc. True believers are
those who maintain a clear level of faith
throughout the worldly fluctuations. They
continue to remember Allah and ascribe the
bounties to Him, and they turns to Him in
submission, asking for relief from their
affliction. This is described by the Messenger
(peace and blessings be upon him), who said
the following:
Indeed amazing are the
affairs of a believer! They are all for
his benefit. If he is granted ease of
living he is thankful; and this is best
for him. And if he is afflicted with a
hardship, he perseveres; and this is best
or him. (Muslim)
And Allah says the following:
[Certainly,
We shall test you with fear, hunger, loss
of wealth, lives and fruits; but give glad
tidings to the patient—those who, when
afflicted with calamity say, "Truly
to Allah we belong, and truly to Him shall
we return." It is those who will be
awarded blessings and mercy from their
Lord; and it is those who are the guided
ones.]
(Al-Baqarah 2:155–157)
Thus, believers show gratitude
and thankfulness for all the wonderful
blessings that Allah grants them. And they
display patience and submission during
sickness, hardships, hunger, or other
afflictions.
Benefits of
Hardhsips
Allah has decreed that, in
this life, hardships and disasters strike both
believers and non-believers. For
non-believers, hardships and disasters are
inconveniences that hinder them from
proceeding with their normal involvement in
the worldly life. For believers, on the other
hand, hardships and disasters are instances of
rest and remembrance, tests that promise great
rewards, and indications of atonement and
expiation of sins. Regardless of how little is
the harm that strikes believers, it carries
with it good news of forgiveness and elevated
rank in Paradise. The Righteous Predecessors
used to be pleased when a hardship afflicted
them, seeing it as a token of Allah's
forgiveness and benevolence.
Expiation of Sins
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be
pleased with him) reported these words of the
Prophet:
Hardships continue to
befall a believing man and woman in their
body, family, and property, until they
meet Allah burdened with no sins.
(At-Tirmidhi)
Sign of Allah's
Love
Abu Hurairah reported that the
Prophet said this:
Whenever Allah wills
good for a person, He subjects him to
adversity. (Al-Bukhari and others)
Sign of Faith
Abu Hurairah and Ka`b ibn
Malik reported these words of the Prophet:
The parable of a
believer is that of a fresh and moist
plant; the wind tilts it this way and that
way; and so is the believer; he continues
to be subject to affliction. And the
parable of a hypocrite is that of a firm
cedar tree; it does not shake — until it
is uprooted all at once. (Al-Bukhari
and Muslim)
Sign of
Righteousness
The prophets and righteous
people are afflicted the most, and their
rewards are the highest. Sa`d reported that
the Prophet said this:
The most in their
suffering among the people are the
prophets, then the best, then the (next)
best. One is afflicted in accordance with
his faith. If his faith is firm, his
affliction is hard, and if his faith is
weak, his affliction is light. Indeed, one
would be so much subjected to adversity
until he walks among the people without
any sins. (Ahmad and At-Tirmidhi)
Early Punishment
Anas reported these words of
the Prophet:
When Allah wills good
for a servant of His, He expedites his
punishment in this life; and when He wills
retribution for a servant of His, He holds
his sins for Him to judge him by them on
the Day of Resurrection. (At-Tirmidhi)
Multiplication of
Rewards
Anas reported that the Prophet
said this:
The amount of reward is in
accordance with the amount of suffering.
When Allah loves some people, He tries
them (with affliction). He who then is
content (with Allah's decree) has achieved
the acceptance (of Allah), and he who is
dissatisfied (with Allah's decree) will
attain the anger (of Allah). (At-Tirmidhi)
Rewards for
Sickness
One should not look to
sickness as a gloomy episode, but should
remember the great good in it. It is one form
of affliction with which Allah tests His
servants, giving them a chance to acquire
rewards.
Removal of Sins
and Elevation in Ranks
Abu Hurairah reported these
words of the Prophet"
Whenever a Muslim is
afflicted by harm from sickness or other
matters, Allah will drop his sins because
of that, like a tree drops its leaves.
(Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri reported
that the Prophet said this:
A Muslim is not
afflicted by hardship, sickness, sadness,
worry, harm, or depression — even if
pricked by a thorn — but Allah expiates
his sins because of that. (Al-Bukhari
and Muslim)
Sa`id said, "I was with
Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) when he
visited a sick man in Kindah (in Persia), and
he said to him, 'Expect good because Allah
makes a believer's sickness an expiation (for
his sins) and a period of rest. However, when
a disbeliever falls sick, he is like a camel
whose owner ties it then lets it loose—it
does not understand why it was tied nor why it
was freed'" (Al-Bukhari).
`A'ishah (may Allah be pleased
with her) narrated that once some pain
afflicted the Prophet, causing him to suffer
and turn about in his bed. She said, "Had
one of us done this, you would have blamed
him." He (peace and blessings be upon
him) replied with these words:
An ailment is
intensified for the righteous. Whenever a
believer is afflicted by a hardship,
whether it is a thorn or more, a sin is
taken off from him because of it, and he
is elevated by one rank (in Paradise).
(Ahmad)
Retaining Rewards
for Deeds
Usually, when believers fall
sick, they are not able to do the same amount
of good (prayer, fasting, helping Muslims,
etc.) that they used to do when they were
well. But Allah, out of His great mercy,
continues to record for them the good deeds
that they were forced to stop because of their
sickness. Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari narrated these
words of the Prophet:
For a traveling or sick
person, his deeds will be recorded in
accordance with what he used to do when he
was resident or well. (Al-Bukhari)
`Abdullah ibn `Amr reported
this from the Prophet:
No (believing) person
gets sick, but (his deeds) will be
recorded for him in accordance with what
he used to do when he was well.
(Al-Bukhari)
Anas reported that the Prophet
said the following:
No Muslim body is
afflicted by Allah, but He will record
(his deeds) for him in accordance with
what he used to do when he was well — as
long as he is sick. Thus, if He takes his
life, He forgives him; and if He cures
him, He washes him (from sins).
(Al-Bukhari)
Reason for the
Reward
`Atta ibn Rabah reported that
Ibn `Abbas told him, "Do you want to see
a woman from the people of Paradise?" He
said, "Yes." He said, "It is
this black woman. She came to the Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him) saying, 'I
have (epileptic) seizures, and I get exposed,
so supplicate to Allah for me.' He (peace and
blessings be upon him) said, 'If you wish,
be patient and you will attain Paradise; or if
you wish, I will ask Allah to cure you.' She
replied, 'I will be patient! But my body gets
exposed (because of the fall), so supplicate
to Allah for me that I do not become exposed.'
And he (peace and blessings be upon him)
did" (Al-Bukhari and Muslim).
The scholars have differed in
opinion as to whether the sick will be
rewarded for the sickness itself or for being
patient during it. The correct opinion is that
if they are patient and submit to Allah's
will, as in the above hadith, they would be
rewarded for both the submission and the
sickness; otherwise, they would not be
rewarded at all because they resented Allah's
decree. This is what should be understood from
Ibn Hajar Al-`Asqalani's words: "The
authentic hadiths are clear in that the
rewards are recorded once affliction strikes a
Muslim. As for patience and acceptance, they
are virtues for which a person may get
additional rewards over those for the
affliction."
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