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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. A true believer is one who
maintains a clear level of faith throughout the worldly
fluctuations. He continues to remember Allah and ascribe the
bounties to Him, and he turns to Him in submission, asking for
relief from his affliction. This is described by the Messenger
(peace and blessings be upon him), who said
“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 said
[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,
a believer shows gratitude and thankfulness for all the wonderful
blessings that Allah grants him. And he displays patience and
submission during sickness and hardships, hunger, or other
afflictions.
Hardships
Benefit the Believer
Allah
has decreed that, in this life, hardships and disasters strike
both believers and non-believers. For a non-believer, they are
inconveniences that hinder him from proceeding with his normal
involvement in the worldly life. For a believer, on the other
hand, they 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 a
believer, 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.
Expiations
of Sins
Abu
Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet
said, ”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 (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Whenever Allah wills
good for a person, He subjects him to adversity” (Al-Bukhari
and others).
Sign
of Faith
Abu
Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) and Ka`b ibn Malik (may
Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) said,
“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 (may Allah be pleased with him)
reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said,
“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
(may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him) said,
“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
(may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him) said,
“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, as was explained above, as is further emphasized below.
Removal
of Sins and Elevation in Ranks
Abu
Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him) said, “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 (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “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 (peace and blessings be upon him) 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,
“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 Before Sickness
Usually,
when a believer falls sick, he would not be able to do the same
amount of good (prayer, fasting, helping Muslims, etc.) that he
used to do when he was well. But Allah, out of His great mercy,
continues to record for him the good deeds that he was forced to
stop because of his sickness. Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari narrated that
the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “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 that the Prophet said, “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
(may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him) said,
“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 Rabaah reported that Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with
him) 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 a sick person will
be rewarded for the sickness itself or for being patient during
it. The correct opinion is that if he is patient and submits to
Allah’s will, as in the above hadith, he would be rewarded for
both the submission and the sickness; otherwise, he would not be
rewarded at all because he 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.”
`Abdullah
ibn `Amr reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon
him) said, “If a Muslim is pricked by (as little as) a thorn
in the worldly life, and he seeks its reward from Allah, some of
his sins will be removed, because of it, on the Day of Judgment”
(Al-Bukhari).
*
Taken from The Inevitable Journey:
Sickness, Death, and the Grave, Quran and Sunnah Society of North
America.
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