Overcoming Hardships With the Divine

Why am I tested?

How to Achieve Tranquility of the Heart Series: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IVPart VPart VI | Part VIIPart VIIIPart IXPart XPart XIPart XIIPart XIIIPart XIV | Part XV | Part XVIPart XVII Part XVIII Part XIXPart XX

Developing Our Relationship with Allah

In July 2006, I was watching the news report on Israel’s devastating attack on Lebanon. As I saw the images of severed bodies and heard the cries for help, the frustration and helplessness I felt was overwhelming. So I decided to pray while reciting from the mus’haf (hardcopy of the Qur’an, which is the word of God). As I was reading, I arrived at the verse:

“Or do you think that you will enter Paradise while such [trial] has not yet come to you as came to those who passed on before you? They were touched by poverty and hardship and were shaken until [even their] messenger and those who believed with him said, ‘When is the help of Allah?’ Unquestionably, the help of Allah is near.” [Qur’an, 2:214]

And that was the answer. As human beings, we will be tested. But this doesn’t mean that we are going to live our lives in perpetual hardship, because ‘unquestionably, the help of Allah is near.’ So what does it mean when we are going through hardship? Is Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He) angry with us? What if there is no way out?

Whenever we go through hardship, there are things we need to know with certainty. Allah (swt) tells us in the Qur’an:

65:7

“[…] Allah will bring about, after hardship, ease.” [Qur’an, 65:7]

Certain hardships are so consuming that we cannot focus on anything but the difficulty. But we have to remember that if we were to enumerate the blessings of Allah (swt), we would not be able to count them. Reminding ourselves of the other blessings in our lives helps us to see the test within the context of the grand scheme of things. Just the fact that you can make sajda (prostration), and call out, “O Allah!” is a blessing that surpasses all others.

But why?

There is a purpose behind the trial, and this purpose corresponds to our internal state and our relationship with Allah (swt). Allah (swt) has 99 Beautiful Names, and it should suffice us to know that He is the Most Merciful, the Most Just and the Most Wise. Your test is not being put upon you by a random being, but by the Almighty Allah, who is closer to us than our jugular vein.

Tests are a way to purify us. The Prophet ﷺ said, “No fatigue, nor disease, nor sorrow, nor sadness, nor hurt, nor distress befalls a Muslim, even if it were the prick he receives from a thorn, but that Allah expiates some of his sins for that,”  [Bukhari]. Our ultimate aim is to earn Allah’s pleasure and Jannah (paradise), and all of us fall short in truly worshiping Allah (swt) as He should be worshiped. Many of us fail to ask for forgiveness regularly, or to reflect on our state and return to Allah (swt). These tests, as burdensome as they are, ease our burden on the Day of Judgment, if we respond with patience.

Trials also have a way of reminding us of our purpose. If we are far from Allah (swt), the test is usually to bring us close to Him. Whatever heedlessness we are engaging in, the test should make us realize we have no one, no one at all, but Him.

Sheikh Ratib an-Nabulsi related a story about a man in Syria. This man would always mock Islam. He thought people who ‘wasted their time’ praying were silly. No matter how much da’wah (calling, used to refer to inviting people to learn about Islam) the sheikh gave him, the man remained in this state. He then had a daughter, and this daughter became very sick. He went to so many doctors, even traveling abroad to Europe, but no one could help him. After that, he started praying and turning to Allah (swt). Years later, his daughter was better and healthy. Both his dunya (this life) and akhira (the next life) were saved.

If we are close to Allah (swt), it is to test our resilience. Are we only close to Allah (swt) in times of ease, or does our trust extend to the times of hardship? When we are tested, do we leave the good deeds that we used to do? Allah (swt) describes such people in the following verse:

22:11

“And of the people is he who worships Allah on an edge. If he is touched by good, he is reassured by it; but if he is struck by trial, he turns on his face [to the other direction]. He has lost [this] world and the Hereafter. That is what is the manifest loss.” [Qur’an, 22:11]

This may seem counter-intuitive, but tests are also out of Allah’s love. The Prophet ﷺ said, “When Allah loves a servant, He tests him,” [Tirmidhi]. In a hadith qudsi (a hadith relating the words of Allah [swt]), Allah (swt) tells Jibreel to delay the response to the du`a’ of a servant because Allah (swt) loves hearing his voice [Tabarani]. Sometimes the answer to a test is that need for Allah (swt), those long hours spent in the night, and the tears of sincerity.

May Allah (swt) make us of those who constantly turn to Him, in hardship and ease.

About the author

Jinan Yousef

Jinan Yousef

Jinan's main interests within the field of Islamic Studies are the Names of Allah, the life and character of the Prophet ﷺ, tazkiya and Muslim personalities.

80 Comments

  • SubhanAllah very true. I love how you covered all types of situations from those who are far from Allah to those who are close to Him.
    Just wanted to add, I realized Allah tests out of His love in a way for example a mother would, who would wish no harm for her child, but for his or her benefit might have to push them to hardship. And Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala loves us beyond mothers… alhamdulillah

  • Allah knows best but when living through a test… May Allah forgive us for our trespasses. Allah give us easy tests… 1+1=X kind of tests, easy simple and that don’t hurt and with your Al Jabbar prevent us from forsaking your path with your Rehmat and Kermat. Allah Akbar = God is Great.

  • MashAllah May Allah Bless you for posting this. I cannot thank you enough for providing this article. It really helped me Allhumdulliah.

  • Ma’sha’allah dear Sr. Jinan! I really needed this – I think one can never get enough of a reminder of the way Allah (swt) tests us. I am currently going through a testing time and while I have gotten reminders from those close to me, it is always refreshing, reassuring and comforting to hear and read such a reminder.
    Jazak’Allahu Khairan as always for another beautiful piece.

  • I understand tests and trials are by Allah but we can some times NEVER understand the wisdom hidden in them. For Eg my father died in an accidental death while my mother was pregnant with me so I never came to know what fathers love is. My mother lived a life full of hardships. I cant understand the wisdom behind it.

    • May Allah ease your difficulties and those of your mother’s, and may He pave an easy path to Paradise for both of you. Ameen.

      In our limited human understanding, it’s true that we may sometimes never understand why we are tested with something. A beautiful statement of the Prophet (pbuh) is:

      “Look at those people who have less than you and never look at those who have more grants than you, this will ensure that you will not depreciate Allah’s favors” [Muslim]

      Umar (ra), whenever he was tested with something, would thank Allah for 4 things:

      1) that the test was not in his religion
      2) that the test was not greater than it was
      3) that he would be rewarded for his patience
      4) and that it reminded him of the greatest calamity of Allah- that of losing the Prophet (pbuh)

      SubhanAllah- the Prophet (pbuh) went through the same thing that you described. He never met his father, and he also lost his mother when he was six, lost his grandfather at eight and moved into his uncle’s household with than 10 other children. And yet he was the beloved of Allah.

      I can’t claim to provide an answer nor know of the trouble that you speak, but a comfort that I personally find is knowing that anything that hurts a believer, even a thorn that pricks his finger, is a means to expiate his sins and bring him closer to Allah. Those who suffered most in this dunya, and bore it with patience, are those who are closer to Paradise in the akhira.

      I pray that Allah alleviates your suffering and brings you closer to Him. Ameen.

    • 🙂 Salam

      I don’t have my dad too. My mom has 4 other children to support. But I haven’t thought of it the way you do. Nor do i want to think so later inshAllah.

      My dad passed away suddenly. Irony of the situation is, he was a doctor, was in the hospital on his duty call, passed away there because of heart failure. and yet no one could save him. How profound an example it is. It hurts me a lot but when i think about it, its as if, subhanAllah… How…

      It taught me a lot of things. Death comes without telling. You may not even get a chance to repent. It made my mom closer to Allah SWT. and inshAllah my dad got saved from this world of immense haughtiness. And perhaps, even saved us from extravagant wealth Allah hu Alem. Surah Kahf’s relation of Khizr pbuh inspires me a lot!

      Moreover, when i miss him a lot, it makes me closer to God. and then i pray for him and i crave all the more for life after!

      there are so many things, that have happened without him here, that I am sure there was much wisdom in his departure. I am a completely different person. Its been 10.5 years now and I know i am a different person. Not the bossy, ruined by a doting dad person! 🙂

      May Allah SWT bless our dads. and unite all of us in peace inshAllah!

      Just rethink your thoughts! and best wishes for whatever hurdles you and your mom have to face. May God be with you. Ameen.

    • I also dont understand why we are sent to this world we didnt apply to enter un this exam we r unwilliningly forced to enter in this world n give the hard ship exam. On top Some people r so Lucky they get every thing they want in this world. On top if they r obiedient to Allah they will get haven in both sides. And if someone who is poor n doing wrong things to survive in this world he will be sufferng both sides of the world. This is not fair.

      • Salaam Imtiaz,

        The scenario you described does not seem to be fair. Thankfully this is not the way things happen.

        Allah created us, and He is the Most Merciful towards us. Before He even asks us to do anything, He showers on us for more than a decade with unaccountability, love and protection. Only when we hit puberty are we obligated to do things. And even when we are obligated, He does not burden us more than we can bear. When a mother helps the child to walk, the child may not understand why she is doing that. Why doesn’t she just carry him? Why is she making him undergo hardship when he didn’t have a choice in that? And why does she take him to be injected with a needle to be vaccinated? We understand why a mother does this- for the child’s own good. It is hardship. But no one would say it is not fair. We know she does this out of love. The child does not understand, but the mother knows that good is waiting at the end.
        Allah is far above analogy, but this is just to show that sometimes we do not understand the wisdom of things, but when we know we have a Merciful and Wise Lord, those hardships cannot be but with a purpose.

        As the statement for some are so lucky and they get everything that they want, that is a very surface view of things. What is ‘everything’? Everyone goes through hardship and struggle to varying degrees. You have actors who have ‘everything’ but are living a life of depression and commit suicide. So we need to define, what is ‘everything’. The grass is always greener on the other side. Moreover, as Muslims, the more we have in this world, the more we will accountable for in the Hereafter.

        Allah is Just. If someone is doing ‘wrong things to survive’- truly to survive- then Allah will deal with him with His Mercy and Justice. Omar bin al-Khattab suspended the punishment for stealing during a famine, because the situation was so bad that people would be forced to steal. This is from the mercy of the shariah.

        What faith gives you is an internal strength that enables you to deal with external hardships. It does not mean that you will not feel the pinch. But you will be able to overcome it inshAllah.

        I hope this helps.

  • I made du’a for something for 5-6 years, and not only did it not happen, the worst possible outcome came out of it. I feel humiliated and forgotten. How can I say the help of God is near it never showed up?

    But how do I know that Allah is really listening to me and my du’as? How do I know there is a wisdom behind this? How do I know Du’a is more than just wishful thinking that doesn’t do anything? (ie, had i not made du’a, the situation would have been exactly the same)

    All of the answers I hear, to me they sound “cheap”. Apply them to any other deity. If we pray to a statue, nothing will happen. If I pray to Allah, nothing will happen. What makes Allah any different? If someone were to ask me “Have you found Allah’s promise to be true?” I would have to say no.

    The verse from Surah al-Hajj hit me pretty hard, it describes me in perfect detail. I’ll think about it.

    (And please don’t take this as trolling)

    • JazakAllah khair for your comment. I wrote something once concerning your point- it was about tawakul, but I think it applies to your situation to any of us that have felt abandoned even when we felt we did everything we were supposed to i.e. made dua, prayed etc:

      “We always talk about tawakul- have trust in Allah, and He will guide you. Don’t seek haraam, in whatever fashion, because that shows you don’t have trust. So you do all of that, and you believe with all your heart that it will, it must, work out.

      But what if it doesn’t? What if the worst thing you imagined came true? Even after you asked Allah to make you firm? You start to think, ‘If i had done things another way, it would have worked out’.

      Yet that is shaitan, making you question the path you took, that you thought would be most pleasing to Allah. The Prophet (pbuh) taught us:

      “if anything (in the form of trouble) comes to you, don’t say: If I had not done that, it would not have happened so and so, but say: Allah did that what He had ordained to do. Your ‘if’ opens the (gate) for the Satan.” [Muslim]

      Never forget, you have a Lord that is more Merciful towards you than your own mother. He would never test you with anything greater than you can bear. The effort you put in, your striving to do things for His sake and your contentment with the result is the sign of your reliance and trust in Him, that He knows.

      So that is tawakul- when you do something, or prevent yourself from doing something, as best you can for the sake of Allah, and still the worst scenario occurs- you still say alhamdillah. Even when you don’t understand why. Allah says in the Qur’an:

      وما كان ربك نسيا
      “…And never is your Lord forgetful” [Surat Mariam, 19:64]

      Your Lord does not forget- He does not forget the tears, He does not forget the du’as, He does not forget the hopes, the dreams, the intentions… He does not forget the prayers in the night, the stress or the pain. That those things you did, or didn’t do, for His sake alone are not a waste. It will return in a way He knows best. A hadith, which i don’t have the reference for right now, states that a person made so much du’a but hardly got any of them answered. So on the Day of Judgment, Allah answers all those du’as, so everything is multiplied and more amazing than that person ever imagined. After seeing that she exclaimed “I wish none of my dua’s were answered in the dunya!”

      So it’s not lost. Don’t ever think “if i had done this…”. If you did things right for Allah, Allah will never cause that to be lost.

      That is tawakul. When things don’t work out the way you hoped, remember it is ALLAH you have relied on. Not a human being. And He would never break that trust.”

      I hope this helps. Please don’t hesitate to follow up the conversation.

      • I’ve a friend in the midst of a great trial and tribulation of their life. And similar to Anonymous duas expectations not just gone unfulfilled but instead an outcome far from desired, my friend’s duas too have had a devastating effect. She prayed to Allah (SWT) to raise the status of All the children far above and beyond her own child’s as the blessings were bountiful. It was the sincerest dua from her heart and within few years later, her child’s destiny just shattered into pieces. So much so, the child’s hands have slipped from her grasp and other than duas, there is no other way to reach out to the soul and mind. I too ask why did this happen? Did her dua become the very test for her of how kind and sincere she was in her wish. She feels maybe her dua was wrong as she see her child suffering a terrible fate.

    • Allah loves when you nag him and when I say nag, I mean like keep and keep on asking Him. Subhnallah when you nag someone they get fustrated , but for Allah its different! You have to be patient with your duas and SUBHANALLAH the reason why sometimes Allah gives you what you want later than when you asked is so you can keep coming and coming to Him!He loves it when you ask Him and praise Him and come to Him only because that way he knows you believe in Him and go to Him for help.
      Hope this helped brother/sister
      Salaam

      • dear anonymous, there are three ways Allah will treat your dua…1. He will grant it to you, make it happen as you asked, 2. He will give you something else that is better for you since ALlah created you, He knows what is really in your heart, He knows what is better for you even if it does not look good to you, 3. He will detain answering your dua until the day of judgement, and give you the reward for detaining it. SubhanAllah, this will be a great reward because Allah withheld answering your dua in this world. SO perhaps, since your duas seem to be not answered, you may fall into one of the last two situations. Also, we must do our part, and not forget Allah, keep to our obligations to Him…this speeds the process of Allah accepting your dua, for if you remember Him, He is obligated to remember you (there is a hadith that states something of this type)…If we forget Him, He will forget us…Also one of the best times to ask from ALlah is in the last third of the night, say around 3AM or so, but not too close to the Fajr Prayer..ALlah is stationed at the lowest part of heavan ready to accept the duas of His servants(again, there is a hadith on this)…Also, think of it this way, when you were growing up, did your parents give you everything you asked for? What they probably did was give you something better in place of that to make you a better person…so is Allah like this..He wants us to be better Muslims each day so when we look back a year from now we have improved in our lives as Practicing Muslims…Have trust (tawwakkul) in Allah and ask for forgiveness first..truely humble yourself to Him…He is listening.

        • Anonymous and others:
          I think the issue here is a misconception about dua. Allah SWT will give us what He wants. Dua is meant to bring us closer to Allah SWT in the sense of enhancing our spirituality. Sometimes, Allah SWT gives us what we want, but the reality is He does not work that way, like a vending machine or a butler. I, too, have prrayed for over 10 years for something, and the worst possible outcome happened. I now know that I can pray and pray for something but IF ALLAH DOES NOT WANT IT, IT WILL NOT HAPPEN. Also, 90% of our destiny is created by us and our choices; Allah creates the roadmap and knows what will happen, but He leaves it to us to make our choices and decisions in life.

          Also, it is nice to know that our prayers will be answered in Paradise. But in the meantime, we do deserve some joy and happiness in this world. Please do not encourage those of us who are hurting to sit back and wait for death. That is not fair, and it is not entirely comforting. Just because my prayers for a happy life and a nice family were not answered does not mean that I must now wait for my death in order to achieve happiness.

    • I don’t have a pecific reference to this beautiful story but I got it in Byaan on Friday…
      This man was on his way to masjid at night on his way he tripped and feel(as it was dark he could not see clearly).He went home made whudu and made his way back to the Mosque and tripped for a second time.Patiently he got up and went home changed his garment and made whudu again.The third time he went he met the “Kind man” with a lamp,offering may I kindly accompany you with my lamp as it is quite dark.They walked got to mosque,he asked this stranger to join him in prayer?This man refused saying:”I am shaytaan,I tripped you the first time and when you went to wash with the intention to return to Mosque-Allah forgave all your sins.I tripped you the second time,you did not give up-Allah forgave all your families sins.The third time I helped you because I was scared Allah will finally forgive the world.The moral is all parise is due to Allah under all conditions,we just don’t let shaytaan use our guilt as a weapon against us and loose faith because Allah did not answer us the way we expexted.”How would you feel is your friends loved you for your money,it would hurt.You respect people more if they love you for you,like your mother.She might know your strengths and weaknesses but she loves you regardless.Allah is worthy of Praise regardless what He has to offer…If you love Allah with a price attached than your love and imaan is verylimited.allah know your heart.My life is messed-up but I won’t Insha-Allah let it blind me from the countless Bounties of Allah them I am currently enjoying.

  • JazakAllah sister Jinan for taking time to answer my post.you seem to have a vast knowledge of islam MashaAllah. I pray to Allah to increase my understanding of this beautiful deen islam without which I am nothing.

  • Mashallah, thank you so much for posting this Jinan. alhamdulillah! I finally know about why we are tested, this has increased my knowledge about Islam, and inshallah I will read more and more so I can one day teach this to others. alhamdulillah!

  • what if you panic in a test and turn the opposite direction? my iman has gone down completely
    i’m just thinking how things woulda been different if i’d done things right. i just blindly went along without even steadying myself and trusting allah
    now everything is so much worse.

    i was behind in my studies and i had a panic attack, thinking i’ll go to hell anyway, so i lied and deceived to try to retake the year and pretended to be mentally unwell for another chance.

    it doesn’t make sense. i have to see a therapist regularly and i’m even more behind in my studies, obviously. and i’ve lost my friends and the trust of everyone around me including my parents

    it wasn’t a well thought out mode of action

    now i really do need Allah to save me from hell and get me out of this mess. and heal me from regret. i can barely pray. and guide me back to islam. after failing a test so badly can you repent and turn back to allah? would he guide me back stronger? At only 17, in a good muslim family, i did such a stupid thing. subhanallah i really do want to be guided back.

    i read quotations about allah’s forgiveness and i keep wishing i could change the way i reacted on that day. allah loves people who turn back to him?
    my personality’s gone and i feel so corrupted and yet indifferent

    please help me and make dua for me.

    • Salaam alaikm

      May this test be a means for you to return to Allah in a more meaningful way and bring you closer to Him everyday.

      While I haven’t been through exactly the same thing, I somehow understand how you feel. When we are faced with and tests and feel that we failed miserably, it becomes harder to return to Allah because we feel that we weren’t able to overcome that hurdle. But that in itself is a test, and as long as Allah has given us life there is an opportunity to return to Him again and again and again. Allah says in the Qur’an:

      Say, “O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah . Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.”

      Those who have trangressed can be those who committed a particular sin, or who repeatedly commit the same sin, or those who have turned away. Allah is calling us, all those people, that He is there. There is a beautiful hadith that the Prophet (pbuh) told us:

      “Indeed, Allah extends His Hand in the night to forgive the one who sins in the day, and He extends His Hand in the day to forgive the one who sins at night, and this continues until the sun rises from the west.” [Bukhari]

      SubhanAllah, the fact that you want to be guided and you want to be forgiven is the first step! The danger is when we sin and become numb and just don’t care. Ibn Taymiyah was asked about sin: Is it good for someone? He said:

      “Yes, with the condition that it is followed by being remorseful and repentant, by seeking forgiveness, and by being sincerely moved (to submission) on the inside.”

      Please please don’t take this as empty words and statements. No one may know how you feel except yourself- and Allah. That broken feeling that you have- know that al-Jabbar (He who mends what is broken) can fix it. It requires steadfastness and patience. But by Allah, if you push yourself to wake up in the night and ask His forgiveness, and seek ways to be closer to Him, and ask Him to restore the trust that people had in you, and you recognize your wrong and know that He can forgive all of that and aid you, He will inshAllah. Because the Prophet (pbuh) taught us about Allah:

      “Indeed, Allah is Shy and Beneficent. His is Shy when His servant raises his hands to Him (in a du’a) to return them empty, disappointed” [Ahmad]

      It may take time and work, but Allah will not betray the good opinion you have of Him.

      Some practical steps are to find good friends and a community to support you, who remind you of Allah, and to always always to turn to Him.

      I really don’t know if this helped, but I will inshAllah be making du’a for you for Allah to help you.

      • As salaam alaykum my dear brothers and sisters in islam just finish reading the articles very touched,all praises and thanks to Allah The Exalted, The Lord of The Universe.. The first: Nothing before Him.. The last Nothing ss after Him . . The most High: Nothing is above Him.. The most near Nothing is bey on His reach… He begets not, Nor was He begotten.. The creator, provider and all rich… The all seer, The all knower.. He is One and self sufficient. . . He is not nature, or any part of it, He ascended above His throne, High above The seven skies, NO VISION CAN ENCOMPASS HIS GRASP IS OVER ALL VISION. . . . . MAY THE BLESSINGS AND PEACE OF ALLAH BE UPON THE LAST PROPHET MUHAMMAD SALLALLAHU ALAIHI WASALLAM….jazakumu’Allah kheiran katheeran my dear brothers and sisters in islam!

  • Here is a verse from the Quran that gives hope to all of us…

    “…and who, when they have committed a shameful deed or have [otherwise] sinned against themselves, remember God and pray that their sins be forgiven – for who but God could forgive sins? – and do not knowingly persist in doing whatever [wrong] they may have done. These it is who shall have as their reward forgiveness from their Sustainer, and gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide: and how excellent a reward for those who labour!” (Quran, 3:135-136)

    No matter how bad the sin, you can always turn to Allah to ask His forgiveness but your intention has to be to not do it again. There is a narration during the time of the Prophet, a man committed 99 murders. He knew he was destined for hell. He asked a wiseman how he can be saved. The wiseman told him he was doomed. So the man killed the wiseman too, putting it to 100 murders. (This shows that killing was easy for this man, like second nature). Now he was more scared then ever. He went to a Sheik and asked the same question. The Sheik said, he can change his ways by repenting to Allah, but he has to move to another place, another city, far away from his immediate environment as well as asking forgiveness of Allah. (This is because there was something around this man that made him behave this way, and if he truely asked forgiveness of ALlah then he has to show it in actions and the only way for this man to correct his actions was to move to a place that would remind him of Allah, being around those who reminded him of Allah, and it goes to show you have to try and ask Allah for help both hand in hand) So he did not get too far out his hometown, just past the border, when he died along the way to this new place he was going. Two angels came, one to take him to hell, and one to take him to heaven. They started debating who should take his soul. They asked ALlah. Allah said to measure the distance from where he died to the two cities(his hometown he left behind and the city he was going to. If the shortest distance was to the new city, then he was those among the inhabitants of heaven. If the shortest distance was from the hometown he left, then he goes to hell. Of course we know that he just died shortly after he left the boundaries of his hometown but by the mercy of Allah, He increased that measurement and shortened the measurement of the city he was traveling to so the man was to enter heavan. (Because the man’s intention when he set out to travel to the new city was to correct his ways and become pleaseing to ALlah so Allah forgave his sins of murders and turned them into great reward for him. There is much to learn in the many stories during the Prophet’s time. I encourage you to seek and learn these stories. There are many lessons to learn from them. AND it is time well spent.

    There is another verse in the Quran that states something like this: The worst sin in the eyes of Allah is that of SHIRK, associating partners with Allah. So this is the worst sin to Allah…to which even this Allah will accept forgiveness for if asked because the person has come to finally acknowledge Allah as One and Only. Ask Allah to help you to refrain from that sin, move away to keep from doing that, seek friends that help you practice Islam. Maybe the environment is not one that supports your practice of Islam to which you should move away or find inner strength to commit to the obligations of Islam. Islam teaches Self-control. Our praying 5 times a day is a control on our self desires of the day, to return back to rememberance of ALlah…keep our actions in check, and balanced. The month of fasting is not just refraining from eating but refraining from listening to our self desires that go against the tenants of Islam, even as simple as not lying is a self control. Just don’t lie.

    There is a narration from the times of Prophet Muhammad(S), a person kept on committing so many sins like lying, stealing, and many other bad acts. He wanted to change but couldn’t. He kept doing the same bad acts, even very awful acts, and just could not keep himself from it. He finally asked the Prophet to give him some advice that would be helpful. The Prophet said that at all times just speak the truth. Just do one thing and concentrate on that which is never to LIE..just speak the truth. So the man became very mindful of what he did because he was not to lie. SO slowly over time, his actions changed because when he wanted to steal, he remembered that he had to say that he did it, if someone asked. He stopped drinking and cursing and many other bad acts went away. Of course you could imagine, this took time and much determination. For someone to which lying was second nature to change to speaking the truth all the time takes a lot of determination but that is all he had to concentrate on changing in his bad habits. Everything else just fell into place.

    InshaALlah this helps. I did not mean to make it so long. May Allah (SWT) guide all of us to HIM.. to Jannah! (AMin)

  • […] to Achieve Tranquility of the Heart Series: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX The Prophet ﷺ said: […]

  • […] How to Achieve Tranquility of the Heart Series: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Part X | Part […]

  • Assalamu alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu,

    JazakAllahu khayran and ‘ameen’ to all the duas that are beneficial for us.

    SubhanAllahi wa behamdehi, SubhanAllahil Azeem.

  • Assalamu alaykum,
    Can I please print the article?

    Kindly let me soon ASAP, bi iznillah.

    Jazak Allahu khayran 🙂

  • Salam. If i can answer Anonymous’ question:

    See, he/she prayed for a thing for such a long time. Allah SWT never gave him/her that initially. however, when the person got so adamant/stubborn, He let it go and gave what he/she wanted.

    What was the outcome? Disaster! and I’m guessing he/she lost his/her faith… slowly and gradually.

    See He saw in him/her the shaky faith. It wasn’t that strong yet. He withheld the prayer, but in the end granted it. It was a test whether he/she will be thankful or see the wisdom in the withholding of it. I guess none happened. And here you are Anonymous, questioning things…

    I have been through this and I know, through withholding my prayer, He unveiled to me my materialistic side. and arrogance. He proved to me that my entire faith wasn’t what it is supposed to be. It was pretty ugly. My Nafs was quite strong on me all that time but I believe He wanted me to confront it this way. Things are not how we think they are. Deep inside us, we have despondency and shaky faith. We think we’re strong but the thing is we deceive ourselves. He has the meter of all that. He truly knows it!

    Now He has pictured you out for yourself. Its your call. Maybe its time you contacted Him?!?

    I still haven’t recovered. I’m still lost and struggling. My whole faith was in shatters. All of it. But the thing is I want Him to be here and there too! So, its for me to seek answers. He has done too much already and will inshAllah do more. The question is how much will i do for Him?

    • Assalaumualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

      Keep begging for mercy and you keep stacking mercy. Keep begging and INshaa Allah we will both find Him with us.

  • […] come to us in a myriad of ways. We have already discussed why tests happen in a previous post, so I will not discuss it too much here. We should just know that thinking well of Allah (swt) […]

  • i had suffered from schizophrenia..after recovered,i find i’m not the same person anymore…i’m not bubbly,friendly or outgoing as i used to be..i become reserved and shy away from others..and i lost some of my friends..but i thank Allah..because of that i spend most of time be able to think and reflect of all the bounties he grant to me..and wanting Him to love me..after all,to Him shall we return..

  • I READ ALL COMMENTS WITH GREAT HUMILITY AND SINCERITY. ALLAH SWT CAN MAKE ANHTING HAPPEN WITH JUST THE WORD , BE, AND IT IS DONE. TESTS ARE ONLY MEANT TO LEAD US TO A LOFTY PLACE IN THE HEREAFTER IF WE PASS THEM. ALLAH SWT SAYS IN QURAN SOMETHERE THAT ALL BELEIVERS WILL BE TESTED , LIKE THERE FOREFATHERS WERE TESTED, SO THAT TRUE BELIEVERS CAN BE SEPARATED FROM THE ONE WHO ONLY CLAIMS TO BE BELEIVERS.
    GREAT SITE, ITS THE FIRST TIME I HAVE BEEN HERE.
    SALAM ALE KUM.

  • I am ashamed of myself. I trust ALLAH more than anyone, but when he tests me or make me face hardships , i start fighting with ALLAH. I complain, i cry , i say things like he discriminates with me. I am a sinner ,the biggest sinner. Although he has given me enormous blessings, yet i am amazed when he doesnt’t give me something, why i behave like this. Right now i am having so many failures in my life. Don’t know how to react. Allah is still testing me. I believe him that he loves to hear me crying at his door. Unable to keep patience. May ALLAH bless me this time. And forgive my sins. Aameen

  • this year I.got.into a program out of state for helping the community. instead of using this opportunity to be an example to non muslims I became a people pleasing sinner and commited many wrong ful acts. I was misdiagnosed with a minir infection and given a very string antibiotic. since april.ive been trying to recover from this. I want to know if its a punishment ot wat it is I just wish I could know. im now back home the medicine even gave me anxiety

    • Salaam anonymous

      I hope you’re well. I’m really sorry to hear about your misdiagnosis. I pray that you recover and any discomfort you face is expiation for you and a raising of your station. Ameen.

      When things go wrong for us, it is natural to wonder whether it is a punishment or test from Allah. But in reality it doesn’t matter because there is no sure way of knowing. What matters is, if you know that you did wrong, is to return to Allah. Allah says in the Qur’an:

      “And those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves [by transgression], remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins – and who can forgive sins except Allah ? – and [who] do not persist in what they have done while they know.” [Qur’an, 3:135]

      Allah also tells us:

      “Say, “O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah . Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.” [Qur’an, 39:53]

      If the hardship you are facing is causing you to reflect and turn back to Allah, then that is good. Allah tells us in the Qur’an that He WANTS to accept our repentance- meaning all we have to do is repent.

      I hope this helps.

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