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Shaykh 'Abdul 'Azeez Ibn 'Abdillah ar-Rajihee said,
"When a person experiences a calamity, he should be patient. This entails that he withold himself from despairing, restrain his tongue from complaining, and prevent his limbs from angering Allah سبحانه و تعالى. A person who is patient must withold himself from despair by not losing hope."
"And no calamity befalls, but with the leave of Allah. And whoever believes in Allah, He guides his heart. And Allah is All-Knowing about every thing."(64:11)
Mufti Muhammad Shafi رحمه الله writes,
"In other words, it is a reality that not even a particle can move without the Divine will. Without the will of Allah سبحانه و تعالى no one can harm or benefit anyone. If a person does not believe in Allah سبحانه و تعالى and the Divine destination, he would not have any means of comforting himself when a calamity befalls him. He receives it with despair, and gropes for means of alleviating it. A believer, on the other hand, who reposes his faith in Divine will and destination is guided by Allah سبحانه و تعالى, and his heart is filled with peace and tranquility. Allah سبحانه و تعالى will guide his heart to certainty of faith.
Therefore, he will know with certainty that whatever difficulty afflicts him could never have missed him, and whatever adversity has missed him could never have afflicted him. As a result of this belief, he is promised a reward in the Hereafter, which he keeps in view all the time. This strong belief in the promise of a reward in the Hereafter alleviates the worst calamity of this world."
"No calamity befalls the earth or your own selves, but it is (pre-destined) in a Book before We bring it into being, Indeed it is easy for Allah. So that you may neither grieve on what has escaped you, nor over-exult on what He has given you. And Allah does not love any self-admirer, over-proud,"(57:22-23)
Mufti Muhammad Shafi رحمه الله writes,
Factors Affecting Mankind are Duly Measured and Destined
There are two sets of factors that make man unmindful of Allah and the Hereafter: [1] wealth, comfort and other luxuries of this world; one's over-involvement in such luxuries makes him neglectful of Allah سبحانه و تعالى. The previous verses have warned against it. [2] calamities, problems and other hardships that cause one to be hopeless and in turn neglectful towards Allah سبحانه و تعالى. The current set of verses deal with this second cause of negligence.
"No calamity befalls the earth or your own selves, but it is [pre-destined] in a Book before We bring it into being..." The expression 'Book' refers to the 'Preserved Tablet [lawh mahfuz] and the verse means that Allah had measured and decided the destiny of all things even before He created them. The expression 'No affliction befalls in the earth' refers to famine, earthquake, destruction of crops, loss in business, loss of wealth and property and loss of friends and loved ones. The expression 'in yourselves' refers to illnesses of all sorts, all kinds of wounds, hurt and injury.
Patience and Gratitude
"So that you may neither grieve on what has escaped you, nor over-exult on what He has given you..." This means that Allah سبحانه و تعالى has informed us of His encompassing knowledge, recording all things before they occur and creating all things in due measure known to Him, so that we may know that what has met us would never have missed us, and what has missed us would never have met us. Therefore, we are commanded not to over-grieve on the good things we have missed, nor to over-exult on the comforts or wealth we enjoyed in this life, and in turn be neglectful about Allah سبحانه و تعالى and the Hereafter.
Sayyidna 'Abdullah Ibn 'Abbas رضي الله عنهما says that it is man's natural disposition that certain things cheer him up and other things make him miserable, whereas the true position should have been as follows: When any misery befalls him, he should endure it with patience and earn reward in the Hereafter, and when he experiences joy, he should experience it with gratitude to Allah سبحانه و تعالى and earn reward in the Hereafter. [Reported by Hakim who rates it as sahih. See Ruh]
"...And Allah does not love any self-admirer, over-proud." The expression "does not love" in fact implies that Allah سبحانه و تعالى 'hates' those who become proud of the bounties they enjoy in this world. But instead of using the word 'hates' the expression 'does not love' is perhaps an indication that an intelligent person should consider about all his actions whether or not the intended act is dear to Allah سبحانه و تعالى. This is the reason why the verse uses the phrase 'does not love'.
Once a person came to Hazrat Thanwi رحمه الله and said, "Hazrat, I have so many problems and difficulties that if suicide were permissible, I would have killed myself by now."
Hazrat Thanwi رحمه الله replied, "If problems and difficulties were something bad then surely Allah سبحانه و تعالى would not have had His prophets عليهم الصلاة والسلام go through them. The thing to do undoubtedly is to ask Allah سبحانه و تعالى for 'aafiyah, but if some difficulty arises, then be patient and pleased with the decree of Allah سبحانه و تعالى. Always keep in mind that Allah سبحانه و تعالى is Hakam and Hakeem and be focused on Him."
The great Tabi'ee, al-Waleed Ibn 'Ubaadah رحمه الله says:
"I went to my father, 'Ubaadah Ibn as-Saamit رضي الله عنه, when he was on his death bed. I said to him: 'O my beloved father! Give me some advice and endeavour in this regard for my sake.' He said: 'Make me sit up.' He then said: 'O my beloved son! You will never experience the taste of eemaan and you will never reach the essence of knowledge about Allaah سبحانه و تعالى until you believe in predestination - the good thereof and the bad thereof.'
I said: 'O my beloved father! How can I know what the good and bad predestination is?' He replied: 'You should know that what misses you would never have been able to befall you, and that whatever comes to you would never have been able to avoid you. O my beloved son! I heard the Messenger of Allaah صلى الله عليه وسلم saying: "The first thing that Allaah سبحانه و تعالى created was the Pen. He then said [to it]: 'Write!' And so, whatever is going to happen from that time till the Day of Resurrection would certainly take place." O my beloved son! If you pass away without believing in this, you will enter the Hell-fire.'"
[Imam Ahmad رحمه الله: al-Musnad, vol 5, p 317; Imam Abu Da'ud رحمه الله: as-Sunan, vol 4, p 225]
Allah سبحانه و تعالى says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And beware of a fitnah (punishment/affliction/trial, etc.) which shall not fall on the wrongdoers only (but it may afflict all the good and the bad people), and be sure that Allaah is severe in punishment."(8:25)
Mufti Muhammad Shafi رحمه الله writes,
"(This) first verse (25) carries an instruction to stay safe from a sin particularly, a sin the severe punishment of which does not remain restricted to only those who commit sins in a society. In fact, people who have committed no sin also get afflicted by it.
Which sin is that? The answers given by commentators vary. Some say: This sin is the forsaking of the struggle to Bid the Fair and Forbid the Unfair (amr bi 'l-ma'ruf and nahy 'ani 'l-munkar). Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas رضي الله عنهما said: Allah Ta'ala has commanded Muslims that they should not allow any crime or sin to take roots in their social environment because, if they failed to do so, that is, did not forbid it despite seeing such crimes and sins and despite having the ability or capacity to stop it or to forbid it, then, Allah Ta'ala will universalize His punishment for all of them which will spare neither the sinners nor the sinless.
The sinless mentioned here are people who are no accomplices of sinners in their initial sin, but they have certainly committed the sin of avoiding or abandoning the Divinely ordained duty of Bidding the Fair. Therefore, let there be no doubt here about the statement made. For example, here it is not valid to say that the passing on of the punishment of a sin committed by someone else to another person is injustice and that it is contrary to the Qur'anic injunction:(No bearer of burden shall bear the burden of another person- 35:18) - because, here the sinners have been seized for the initial sin they themselves had committed while the sinless were seized for the sin of having abandoned the obligation of Bidding the Fair. Thus, no one's sin was placed on the shoulders of someone else.
According to a narration of Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud رضي الله عنه and Sayyidah 'A'ishah رضي الله عنها appearing in Sharh al-Sunnah and Ma'alim of Imam al-Baghawi رحمه الله, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has been reported to have said: Allah Ta'ala does not subject common people with the punishment of some sin committed by a particular group among them - unless there emerges a situation in which they see sin being committed around them and have the ability to stop it as well, yet, if they did not stop it, then, at that time, the punishment from Allah surrounds all of them.
Also reported authentically in Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and elsewhere is that Sayyidna Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه with him said in one of his sermons: I have heard the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم say: When people see an oppressor and do not step forward and hold his hand from inflicting injustice, then, the time is near that Allah Ta'ala makes His punishment fall on all of them alike.
According to a narration from Sayyidna Nu'man ibn Bashir رضي الله عنه reported in the Sahih of al-Bukhari, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: Those who commit the sin of transgressing the limits set by Allah and those who ignore them knowingly or accomodate them psychophantly, that is, they do not try to stop them from that sin, are like passengers on two decks of a ship, the upper and the lower. People on the lower deck come up to procure water from the upper deck which causes discomfort for people there. Keeping this in view, the people of the lower deck opt for making a hole in the bottom of the boat and get their supply of water from there. Now, if the people of the upper deck see this misconduct and elect not to check and stop them from doing something like that, then, it is obvious, the water will fill into the whole boat and when the people of the lower deck will drown in it, those on the upper deck will not remain safe either, for they too will drown with the others.
It is on the basis of these narrations that many commentators have declared that the word: (fitnah) in this verse refers to this very sin, that is, the forsaking of the obligation of Bidding the Fair and Forbidding the Unfair.
It appears in Tafsir Mazhari that this sin means the sin of the abandonment of Jihad specially at a time when a general call for Jihad is given to common Muslims from their Amir, a call on which depends the security and defence of Islamic hallmarks. The reason is that this is a time when the curse of forsaking Jihad does not fall only on those who forsake Jihad but it also falls on the whole body of Muslims. Because Kuffar run over Muslim areas, women and children and old people and many innocent Muslims become victims of their killing and plunder. Their lives and properties are endangered. If that be the situation, 'punishment' would mean worldly distress and hardships.
The factual evidence of this explanation is that those who forsake Jihad have been condemned in the previous verses as well. Previous verses, such as:(while a group from the believers were averse to it- 8:5) and:(O those who believe, when you face the disbelievers marching to battle, then do not turn your backs on them- 8:15) have appeared in support of this approach to the problem.
The same thing happened at the battle of Badr when some Muslims wavered with their choice of suitable conduct. They left their security post on the hills and came down. When this happened, the ill effects of their action did not remain restricted to those who had made the error, in fact, they hit the entire Muslim army, so much so that the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was himself injured in this battle."
"Both pleasures and pains of this life are nothing but a passing illusion that will soon be replaced by the eternality of the Hereafter. Sayyiduna Anas رضي الله عنه reported that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
'On the Day of Resurrection, he who deserves the Hellfire and had lived most luxuriously in the first life will be brought (before Allah سبحانه وتعالى). He will be given a taste of Hell, and will then be asked, "O son of Aadam! Have you ever witnessed good or enjoyed pleasure?" He will reply, "No, by Your glory my Lord! I have never witnessed good or enjoyed satisfaction!"
And he who deserves Jannah and had been most afflicted in the first life will be brought (before Allah سبحانه وتعالى). He will be given a taste of Jannah, and will then be asked, "O son of Aadam! Have you ever witnessed misery or suffered from affliction?" He will reply, "No, by Your glory my Lord! I have never suffered from misery or witnessed affliction!"'
[Recorded by Imam Muslim رحمه الله; Imam Ahmad رحمه الله; and others]
Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Salih al-'Uthaymeen رحمه الله said,
"People, when afflicted by a calamity, are of four levels:
The first, showing discontentment, and it is either in his heart that he feels discontentment with his Lord and is angry with what He has decreed for him, and this could reach the level of being disbelief.
Allaah, the Most High, says:
"And among mankind is he who worships Allah upon the very edge; if good befalls him, he is content therewith; but if a trial befalls him, he turns back on his face (i.e. reverts back to disbelief after embracing Islam). He loses both this world and the Hereafter. That is the evident loss."(22:11)
And it could be the case that it is with the tongue, like making Du'aa' for destruction and what is similar to that. And it could be with the limbs, like striking the cheeks, tearing the cloths and pulling out the hair, and the like.
The second, patience, and this is as the poet said: 'Patience is like its name, its taste is bitter, but the end results of it are sweeter than honey.' So he considers this burden heavy, yet he bears it, even though he hates that it should occur, but he bears it and has patience. Its occurrence or non-occurrence is not the same to him, rather he hates it but his faith protects him from discontentment.
The third level is contentment, and it is higher (than level two), and it is the same whether the misfortune is present or absent. Its presence is not hard on him, and he does not bear a heavy burden due to it, and this is highly preferred, although not obligatory, according to the most authoritative opinion. The difference between it and the last level is clear, because the presence of misfortune and its absence are the same in the acceptance of this person, whereas in the level before it, misfortune is difficult for him, yet he bears it.
The fourth level is gratitude, and this is the highest level. It is by him thanking Allah سبحانه و تعالى for the misfortune which has befallen him, because he is of the view that affliction in worldly matters is better than having affliction in his Deen, and that being punished in this world is better than being punished in the next life, and that this misfortune is a cause of his sins being remitted, and it might also be a cause of his reward being increased."
"Trials and tribulations are like feeling the heat and cold, when one knows that they cannot be avoided, he will not feel anger at their onset, nor will he be distressed or disheartened."
"The du'a of my brother Dhun-Noon (Prophet Yoonus عليه السلام), 'There is none worthy of worship save You (O Allaah)! Glory be to You, far removed are You from any imperfection; I have been among the wrongdoers,' [1] none who is experiencing difficulty employs it except that Allaah would relieve him of his difficulty." [2]
Notes:
[1] As mentioned in the Qur'an:
"And (remember) Dhan-Nun (Jonah), when he went off in anger and thought that We would not decree [anything] upon him. And he called out within the darknesses: La ilaha illa Anta [none has the right to be worshipped but You (O Allah)], Glorified (and Exalted) are You [above all that (evil) they associate with You]. Truly, I have been of the wrong-doers."(21:87)
The Shaykh, the Imam, the Proof of Islaam, Abu Muhammad 'Abdul-'Azeez Ibn 'Abdus-Salaam Ibn Abul-Qaasim as-Sulamee ash-Shaafi'ee, may Allaah benefit the Muslims through him and forgive him, us and all of the Muslims, said:
"In tribulations, trials, misfortunes and calamities lie a number of benefits; these benefits have differing degrees of relevance, differing in accordance to the various ranks of the people.
1) Realising the greatness of Allaah's Lordship and His all-encompassing power.
2) Realising the humility and dejection of servitude. It is to this that the saying of Allaah, Exalted is he, points to,
"Those who, when disaster strikes them, say, 'We belong to Allaah and to Him we will return.'" (Surah al-Baqarah, 2:156)
They acknowledge that they belong to Him, that they are but lowly servants of His, that they will return to Him for judgement and are subject to His decree and regulation. They know that they have nowhere to flee from Him and no way to escape Him."
3) Actualising sincerity for Allaah, Exalted is He. This is because there is no way to repress hardship except by recoursing to Him and there is no one that one can depend on to remove it except Him,
"If Allaah touches you with harm, none can remove it but Him. And if He touches you with good, then He is Able to do all things." (Surah al-An'aam, 6:17)
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
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