Just wanted to share this beautiful text.
For all those who have gone through difficult times (that's all of us! ) - this ones for you!
I have highlighted those parts that moved me the most......
Does it Return? By: Children of Jannah
There’s something amazing about this life. The very same worldly attribute that causes us pain is also what gives us relief: Nothing here lasts.
What does that mean?
It means that the breathtakingly beautiful rose in my vase will wither tomorrow.
It means that my youth will neglect me.
But it also means that the sadness I feel today will change tomorrow. My pain will die. My laughter won’t last forever—but neither will my tears.
We say this life isn’t perfect. And it isn’t. It isn’t perfectly good. But, it also isn’t perfectly bad, either.
Allah (glorified is He) tells us in a very profound ayah (verse): “Verily with hardship comes ease.” (Qur’an, 94:5).
Growing up I think I understood this ayah wrongly. I used to think it meant: after hardship comes ease.
In other words, I thought life was made up of good times and bad times. After the bad times, come the good times. I thought this as if life was either all good or all bad.
But that is not what the ayah is saying. The ayah is saying WITH hardship comes ease.
The ease is at the same time as the hardship. This means that nothing in this life is ever all bad (or all good). In every bad situation we’re in, there is always something to be grateful for.
With hardship, Allah also gives us the strength and patience to bear it.
If we study the difficult times in our lives, we will see that they were also filled with much good.
The question is – which do we chose to focus on?
I think the trap we fall into is rooted in this false belief that this life can be perfect—perfectly good or perfectly bad.
But that’s not the nature of dunya (this life). That’s the nature of the hereafter. The hereafter is saved for the perfection of things. Jannah (paradise) is perfectly and completely good. There is no bad in it. And Jahannam (hell – may Allah protect us) is perfectly and completely bad. There is no good in it.
But, the true realization that nothing is complete in this life transforms our experience of it. We suddenly stop being consumed by moments. In the understanding that nothing is limitless here, that nothing here is kamil (perfect, complete), Allah enables us to step outside of moments and see them for what they are: not universes, not Reality, past and present, just that—a single moment in a string of infinite moments…and that they too shall pass.
When I cry or lose or bruise, so long as I am still alive, nothing is ultimate.
So long as there is still a tomorrow, a next moment, there is hope, there is change, there is redemption.
What is lost, is not lost forever. Sometimes Allah takes in order to give.
But, it’s crucial to understand that His giving is not always in the form we think we want.
He knows best what is best.
Allah says: “… But it is possible that you dislike a thing which is good for you, and that you love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knows, and you know not.” (Qur’an, 2:216)
So to the question, ‘once something is lost, does it return?’ the answer is yes. It returns.
Sometimes here, sometime there, sometimes in a different, better form. But the greatest gift lies beneath the taking and the returning.
Allah tells us: “Say, ‘In the bounty of Allah and in His mercy – in that let them rejoice; it is better than what they hoard.’” (Quran, 10:58)
A story is told about a certain King in Africa who had a close friend that he grew up with. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life (positive or negative) by remarking, "This is good, Allah Almighty knows best"
One day the King and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the King. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the King fired it and his thumb was blown off. Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, "This is good! Allah Almighty knows best." To which the King replied, "No, this is NOT good!" and ordered his soldiers to put his friend into jail.
About a year later, the King was hunting in an area that he should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured the King and took him to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake.
As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the King was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone who was less than whole. So after untying the King, they chased him out of the village. When the King reached his palace, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend.
"You were right" the King said, "It was good that my thumb was blown off." And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened. "I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this."
"No," his friend replied, "this is good...Allah Almighty knows best"
"What do you mean, 'this is good'! How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?"
The King's friend replied: "Remember that the Almighty knows best and if I had NOT been in jail, I would have been with you on that hunting trip!"
As Muslims, we should never question the decision of Allah in anything, and we should bear our afflictions with patience.
Allah says: "He knows what is before them and what is behind them: And to Allah go back all questions (for decision)" (Surah Al Hajj 22:76)
Do Not Judge Things or Events by its Immediate Outcome!
Almighty, the Most High is the All-Knowledgeable, the All-Knower. He chooses to show us things, but sometimes we are not shown the wisdom behind some things. When we are confronted by circumstances that are not very pleasing and we are quick to say: "This is not good..." but is it really? We might not know the purpose behind it.
Thus, when we are faced with any situation, we should not be too quick to judge and always remember that this life is a test and there is nothing that happens for no reason.
A good lesson for me to learn. I have recently questioned certain events in my life, trying to sort out the reason behind them. I lost my house, but my life was spared, and I have at times questioned God over this.
But, I am beginning to understand why my life was spared. I sense that there may be some greater purpose at stake here, and it's up to me to figure out what it is...
There was a couple who took a trip to England to shop in a beautiful antique store to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. They both liked antiques and pottery, and especially teacups. Spotting an exceptional cup, they asked "May we see that? We've never seen a cup quite so beautiful."
As the lady handed it to them, suddenly the teacup spoke, "You don't understand. I have not always been a teacup. There was a time when I was just a lump of red clay. My master took me and rolled me pounded and patted me over and over and I yelled out, 'Don't do that. I don't like it! Let me alone.' But he only smiled, and gently said; 'Not yet!'"
"Then. WHAM! I was placed on a spinning wheel and suddenly I was spun around and around and around. 'Stop it! I'm getting so dizzy! I'm going to be sick,' I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, quietly; 'Not yet.' "He spun me and poked and prodded and bent me out of shape to suit himself and then…
Then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I yelled and knocked and pounded at the door. Help! Get me out of here! I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as he shook his head from side to side, 'Not yet'." "When I thought I couldn't bear it another minute, the door opened.
He carefully took me out and put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. Oh, that felt so good! Ah, this is much better, I thought. But, after I cooled he picked me up and he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. 'Oh, please; Stop it, Stop it!' I cried. He only shook his head and said. 'Not yet!'."
"Then suddenly he put me back in to the oven. Only it was not like the first one. This was twice as hot and I just knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. I was convinced I would never make it. I was ready to give up. Just then the door opened and he took me out and again placed me on the shelf, where I cooled and waited ------- and waited, wondering "What's he going to do to me next?
An hour later he handed me a mirror and said 'Look at yourself.'" "And I did. I said, 'That's not me; that couldn't be me. It's beautiful. I'm beautiful!'
Quietly he spoke: 'I want you to remember, then,' he said, 'I know it hurt to be rolled and pounded and patted, but had I just left you alone, you'd have dried up.
I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled.
I know it hurt and it was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have cracked.
I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened.
You would not have had any color in your life.
If I hadn't put you back in that second oven, you wouldn't have survived for long because the hardness would not have held.
Now you are a finished product. Now you are what I had in mind when I first began with you."
The moral of this story is this:
Allah knows what He's doing for each of us. He is the 'potter', and we are His clay. He will mold us and make us, and expose us to just enough pressures of just the right kinds that we may be made into a flawless piece of work to fulfill His good, pleasing and perfect will.
So when life seems hard, and you are being pounded and patted and pushed almost beyond endurance; when your world seems to be spinning out of control; when you feel like you are in a fiery furnace of trials, try this.... Brew a cup of your favorite tea in your prettiest teacup, sit down and think on this story.
Adapted, Source unknown
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The Prophet ﷺ said, “When Allah loves a servant, He tests him,” [Tirmidhi].
A man just got married and was returning home with his wife. They were crossing a lake in a boat, when suddenly a great storm arose.
The man was a warrior, but the woman became very much afraid because it seemed almost hopeless:
The boat was small and the storm was really huge, and any moment they were going to be drowned. But the man sat silently, calm and quiet, as if nothing was happening.
The woman was trembling and she said: “Are you not afraid? This may be our last moment of life! It doesn’t seem that we will be able to reach the other shore. Only some miracle can save us; otherwise death is certain. Are you not afraid? Are you mad or something? Are you a stone or something?"
The man laughed and took the sword out of its sheath.
The woman was even more puzzled: What he was doing?
Then he brought the naked sword close to the woman’s neck, so close that just a small gap was there, it was almost touching her neck.
He said, "Are you afraid?”
She started to laugh and said:” Why should I be afraid? If the sword is in your hands, why I should be afraid? I know you love me."
He put the sword back and said: "This is my answer. I know Allah Loves me, and the storm is in His hands SO WHATSOEVER IS GOING TO HAPPEN IS GOING TO BE GOOD.
If we survive, good; if we don’t survive, good, because everything is in His hands and He WILL NOT do anything wrong."
Indeed, we are told:
“But it may happen that ye hate a thing which is good for you, and it may happen that ye love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knoweth, ye know not” (Translation of the meaning of part of the verse, 2:216).
Make a habit of saying Alhamdulillah and acknowledge Allah in everything you do. It’s very easy to forget and to neglect this. Acknowledging Allah as often as possible will save you from becoming selfish, self-centered and proud.
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May we never, ever, ever get despondent by any trials that we may face, or despaired because 'our plans' are not being realised.
Allah (subhanawataála) KNOWS better than we do!
And He truly LOVES each and every one of us!
Never despair.
Its ALL GOOD.....even when outwardly something may appear to be a catastrophe.
Plead to Him, and trust in His plans.......He only wants the best for His Creation.
And whatever you are denied here in this dunya, you will surely be rewarded multi-fold in the Aakhira......if we adopt sabr (patience) and shukr (gratitude) during this short test called LIFE.
Allah (glorified is He) tells us in a very profound ayah (verse): “Verily with hardship comes ease.” (Qur’an, 94:5).
Growing up I think I understood this ayah wrongly. I used to think it meant: after hardship comes ease.
In other words, I thought life was made up of good times and bad times. After the bad times, come the good times. I thought this as if life was either all good or all bad.
But that is not what the ayah is saying. The ayah is saying WITH hardship comes ease.
The ease is at the same time as the hardship. This means that nothing in this life is ever all bad (or all good). In every bad situation we’re in, there is always something to be grateful for.
With hardship, Allah also gives us the strength and patience to bear it.
Jazakallah! Honestly, I never thought of this Ayah this way. I have read how Sufis explained the meaning of suffering Fitnah but being content with it at the same time. To accept every difficulty in the way of Allah as a source of pleasure is a form of Jannah in this life. My guess is this Ayah deals with that issue succinctly in these few words. You have shown me that. Again, Jazakallah for posting this. It was an eye-opener for me.
In recent years, I’ve adopted a technique that has helped me overcome many difficult situations and strong emotions. I call it The Fast Forward Technique.
It’s a simple technique, though it requires a strong command of your emotions and a strong imagination, but nothing that can’t be learnt or practiced.
Here’s how it works: If you’re in any situation where you have strong emotions attached to it (fear, anger, excitement, jealousy, etc.) try to fast-forward yourself to 1 year from now, and see how you feel. Make sure you fast-forward your mind whilst you’re going through that emotion.
Repeat this for 5 years, 10 years, 20 years, and finally for the Akhira when you can envision standing in front of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala). You’ll be amazed how you feel.
It’s amazing how much your perspective changes with this simple technique; we realise that matters which we think are important are actually trivial, and matters which we think are trivial become important.
Let me give you one example:
You’re really nervous as you’re about to have the most important meeting in your career, which you presume will determine your fate. You go into the meeting and you really mess it up big time. You feel ashamed, embarrassed, feel like you can’t show your face. Apply the fast forward technique and see how you feel. You’d realise people will soon forget about this moment, and your life would move on perhaps to much better things. You fast forward to the Akhira and realise that this meeting will not be important on that Day and you should focus more on developing your imaan and your character as a Muslim. Perhaps you missed Salah to prepare for this meeting, and should feel sad that you left what’s important to you in the eternal sense to what you thought was important in this temporary world.
Final comments:
The beauty of the fast forward technique is that it lifts you up when you go through intense negative emotions because it doesn’t allow you to get caught up with immediate and overwhelming emotions.
Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) says in the Quran: ”In order that you may not grieve at the things that you fail to get, nor rejoice over that which has been given to you. And Allah likes not prideful boasters. [Surah Al-Hadid, Chapter #57, Verse #23]
I can honestly say the fast forward technique sets you free. You'll feel what you'll feel but with a lesser impact.
Set yourself free.
Via Productive Muslim (with some changes - via FB).
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SubhanAllah, it really does work.....give it a try!
Just imagining oneself, standing on the Day of Qiyamat, with billions and billions of others in the most intense heat we have ever felt, facing our Rabb.....our eyes downcast, hoping for His mercy......Wallahi, every problem that you may be facing right here and now, will seem most insignificant.
Dont let yourself sweat the small stuff in life!
There is a MUCH bigger and insha Allah, better life that awaits us!
Put on your telescopic lenses, and dont let your eyes set from the ultimate goal - Al Aakhirah.
Its just a few decades of life that we face here on earth.
Whatever you are going through, be strong and adopt sabr (patience)......and remember, the eternal life is worth far more!
The problems you face will either defeat you or develop you – depending on how you respond to them. Unfortunately, most people fail to see how Allah wants to use problems for good in their lives. They react foolishly and resent their problems rather than pausing to consider what benefit they might bring.
Here are five ways Allah wants to use the problems in your life:
1. Allah uses problems to DIRECT you.
Sometimes Allah must light a fire under you to get you moving. Problems often point us in a new direction and motivate us to change. Is Allah trying to get your attention? “Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways.”
2. Allah uses problems to INSPECT you.
People are like tea bags…if you want to know what’s inside them, just drop them into hot water! Has Allah tested your faith with a problem?
What do problems reveal about you? “When you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience.”
3. Allah uses problems to CORRECT you.
Some lessons we learn only through pain and failure. It’s likely that as a child your parents told you not to touch a hot stove…. But you probably learned by being burned. Sometimes we only learn the value of something… health, money, a relationship.. .. by losing it.
“It was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me to pay attention to your laws.”
4. Allah uses problems to PROTECT you.
A problem can be a blessing in disguise if it prevents you from being harmed by something more serious.. Last year a friend was fired for refusing to do something unethical that his boss had asked him to do. His unemployment was a problem – but it saved him from being convicted and sent to prison a year later when management’s actions were eventually discovered.
“You intended to harm me, but Allah intended it for good…”
5. Allah uses problems to PERFECT you.
Problems, when responded to correctly, are character builders. Allah is far more interested in your character than your comfort. Your relationship to Allah and your character are the only two things you’re going to take with you into eternity. “We can rejoice when we run into problems…they help us learn to be patient.. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust Allah more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady.”
Here’s the point:
Allah is at work in your life – even when you do not recognize it or understand it.
But it’s much easier and profitable when you cooperate with Him.
the fast forward technique works.. except i don't do it by years.. i imagine myself standing in front of Allah and trying to explain why i did things if i am asked.
Pain is not always a negative force and it is not something that you should always hate. At times a person benefits when he feels pain.
You might remember that, at times when you felt a lot of pain, you sincerely supplicated and remembered Allah. When he is studying, the student often feels the pangs of heavy burden, sometimes perhaps the burden of monotony, yet he eventually leaves this stage of life as a scholar. He felt burdened with pain at the beginning but he shined at the end.
More worthy and relevant examples are the lives of the early believers, who lived during the period of revelation and who took part in the most important religious revolution that mankind has ever seen. Indeed, they had greater faith, nobler hearts, more truthful tongues, and deeper knowledge than those that came after them: they had all of these because they lived through pain and suffering, both of which are necessary concomitants to great revolutions. They felt the pains of hunger, of poverty, of rejection, of abuse, of banishment from home and country, of abandonment of all pleasures, of the pains of wounds, and of death and torture.
Therefore. do not become excessively anxious when you think of pain, and do not fear suffering. It might well be that through pain and suffering you will become stronger.
And furthermore, for you to live with a burning and passionate heart that has been stung, is purer and nobler than to live the dispassionate existence of a person who has a cold heart and a shortsighted outlook...
"But when We send down water [rain} on it, it is stirred [to life}, it swells and puts forth every lovely kind [of growth}." (Qur 'an 22: 5)
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