By A Kasim

Many Muslims play the lottery hoping to win the jackpot, in spite of the clear prohibition against gambling in the Qur’an. For many, it would be a dream come true. A life of luxury in which one does not have to get up early to go to work or plan ahead for rainy days, as everything is taken care of.  With a massive amount of wealth, one could pay mortgages, purchase the latest luxury automobiles, take a tour around the world and help the poor and the needy.

This is how it appears from the outside. Winning the lottery is all about happiness, joy and a blissful life – but is it a real happiness, or only a mirage from a distance?

One might ask: why does Islam deny its followers what appears to be a life of joy that never ends, and wealth which can be used for good causes? I struggled with this issue for some time. Then a thought came to my mind, a form of inspiration which gave me clarity and peace of mind about why gambling is not good for me: Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He) knows what is best for me. He (swt) does not forbid me from something just to punish me. It is all in my best interests, even though I might not see the benefits.

A believer puts his or her trust in Allah (swt). They know that whatever the Creator forbids them from doing is harmful to them, even if it appears otherwise. Which one would you choose: $100,000,000 that comes with nothing but miseries, or a reasonable amount of money accompanied by happiness and peace of mind? What good would $100M do if it also came with liver cancer? Would you not rather have a small amount of money and be at peace – peace with your Lord, with yourself, with your family, and with everyone around you?

While winning the jackpot appears to bring a life of joy and happiness, the reality is otherwise. People who have won the jackpot have gone on to live a life of hell. Business Insider, an online magazine, carried stories of jackpot winners who lost everything, some of them even facing death threats from their own family members.

Michael Carroll was at his peak when he won Britain’s £9.7 million ($15 million) jackpot in 2002, but a penchant for life in the fast lane — cocaine, parties, prostitutes and cars — put him back at square one in five years. The ex-garbage man ended up hoping to get his old job back.

In 2002, West Virginia building contractor Andrew Jackson Whittaker Jr. walked away with $114 million from a multi-state Powerball draw – that was just about his last stroke of good fortune. In two separate instances, thieves ran off with $745,000 Whittaker had stashed in his car. Later on, he was sued by Caesar’s Atlantic City for allegedly bouncing $1.5 million in checks. Within four years, his fortune was gone.

Further, the chances of winning the jackpot are almost nil. As indicated by the CBC, the chances of winning are the same as being killed in a terrorist attack while travelling, dying of a flesh-eating disease, or being killed by lightning. Playing the lottery is therefore a waste of money, and that money is a trust for which you will be held accountable on the Day of Judgment.

Know that Allah (swt), the Almighty and the All-knowing, would never order His slave to do something unless the action has benefits for him or her. He, the Most Merciful, also does not forbid His slaves from something unless there is harm in it, even though it might appear otherwise to them.

Instead of pouring your money down the drain by playing the lottery, it is better to invest it in charity, where it will benefit you on the Day of Reckoning. Lottery money has no baraka (blessing) in it. To have little with baraka is better than to have the entire world without baraka.

By Ismail Shaikh

I cried after my first interview. It was June of 2011 and I had finally landed an interview after frantically sending out applications to prospective employers. Job-hunting had been a stressful experience as I began to feel increasingly desperate under both family and financial pressure. So when I received a call to interview on short-term notice, I happily obliged.

Without much time to prepare, I went into the interview feeling very anxious. It was a panel interview and for the first time I experienced what it was like to be “grilled” by management. The short of the long of it – it was a poor interview and the program manager scoffed at my level of preparation. I exited that interview feeling relieved it was over but terribly sad, embarrassed, and fruitlessly hopeless. Still, I adhered to interview protocol and sent a thank-you email to management, sincerely explaining to them what had happened.

Allah, the Most Exalted, is the Best of Planners.

The next week I received a call from human resources for a round two interview. Not wanting to repeat myself, I prepared well and felt relatively calm and confident. A week later, I got the job alhamdulillah (praise be to God).

Since then I have had many interviews in my attempt to climb up the career ladder. With each interview, I can sense myself feeling increasingly confident. This is vastly different than how I started out.

What have I learned from this experience? That there is growth in discomfort, uncertainty and unpredictability.

Of course there is a level of comfort in knowing; to be able to predict with certainty how life events will exactly pan out. But then life would lose purpose with no opportunities for personal, professional, and spiritual growth. I have realized that it is difficult to grow when we are in our comfort zone. Many of us prefer to stay here because we don’t want to experience the stress and anxiety of discomfort. But by doing so, we limit our potential for growth.

For many of us, the anxiety and stress is understandably unbearable. Sadly, too many of us have often been scarred in childhood—emotionally beaten down rather than being built up. Experiences in adulthood are a microcosm of this earlier life where we never truly learnt how to carry discomfort, to manage our anxiety and learn to soothe ourselves while moving through life. Consequently, we find safety in avoidance.

It is easy to forget that once upon a time, in our attempts to walk and run as toddlers, we had to embrace falling and bruising ourselves. Instead, the relationship many of us have with our discomforts, as a result of trials and tribulations, uncertainty and unpredictability, is negative. Rather than viewing them as windows for opportunity, we fall into hopelessness and despair.

However, the idea of growth through discomfort is not novel. Fourteen hundred years ago, the concept was revealed in the Qur’an, where Allah, the Most Exalted, says, “With difficulty comes ease,” (Qur’an 94:6). Hence, facing discomfort in this life is inevitable; what is important is how we view this discomfort and respond to it. If a moment of discomfort for a believer brings them closer to Allah, is that not a sign of growth? It is essential to also mention here that Allah will never burden you with more than you can handle, as taught to us in the Qur’an when Allah says, “Allah does not burden a soul beyond that it can bear…” (Qur’an 2:286).

The reality is that we need to embrace our healthy share of uncomfortable experiences in this life. A simple but effective way of doing this is finding one thing in life that makes us a little anxious and embracing it. For instance, maybe someone is socially anxious and has difficulty having conversations with people. If this is something they want to change, a starting point could be greeting at least one person at the local mosque or in the neighborhood. This is not done with the hope of having a positive outcome (as this may not happen). Rather, the idea is to embrace the discomfort that comes with stepping out of the comfort zone for a moment. With time, the discomfort faced will, God willing, pave the way for learning, reflection, and growth.

By AbdelRahman Mussa

This small series of articles aims to explore the following questions:

• Does Islam promote ease or difficulty?
• Does Islam state that the path to Allah is that of difficulty?

Previously we discussed:

• With Hardship There is Ease
• Wondrous Are The Believers’ Affairs
• Seek Help Through Patience
• He Always Chose The Easiest of Two Matters
• Allah Wants Ease For You
• Allah Wants To Alleviate The Burden
• We Shall Test You With Something of Fear
• Hell is Surrounded By Worldly Desire
• When Is The Help Of Allah Due ?
• Allah Tests What Is In Your Breasts
• So That They Might Return To Allah
• The Misunderstood Hadith

In this article, we will discuss what the goal is and there will be a small word about sacrifice.

Difficulty or Ease or Something Else?

If you are going through difficulty then your goal is not big enough and the biggest goal is Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He).

Surat al-Ikhlas is the surah of sincerity (Qur’an, 112). Allah, as described in Surat al-Ikhlas, is the ‘ahad,’ meaning the ONE.

All of creation is in pairs. If it is not Allah, then it is creation and it has a pair.

To achieve the outcome of a goal, you need to set the goal and fulfill the means to attaining the goal. You’ll notice that the means are always different from the goal. For example, if ‘getting to the door’ is your outcome, then ‘walking to’ the door is different than ‘being at’ the door.

With Allah, it is different; the means to getting to Allah is Allah. By remembering Him (the means), you attain Him. When you attain Him, you are remembering Him. Allah is the goal and the means.

Remember that if the goal is big enough, you won’t feel the paper-cut. Also realize that the easiest goal to attain is Allah, because the means equals the goal.

Finally, the terms ‘difficulty’ and ‘ease’ are used by the Prophet ﷺ (peace be upon him) as being tools. The Prophet ﷺ used to choose ease over difficulty when he had a choice. In other words, he chose to do things easily when that was an option.

The terms are also used as description of circumstance, such as when ease and difficulty befall a believer.

Allah reminds us that any pain felt in His way is insignificant:

“…If you are in pain then surely they too are in pain, but you have a hope from Allah that they do not have…”(Qur’an, 4:104)

It’s important to mention that this verse is in the context of war. It’s important to mention that because ease is the usual status quo. Pain and difficulty only come by rarely.

It’s good that pain and difficulty isn’t the path to Allah, because we wouldn’t have been traveling much.

A Word on Sacrifice

Sacrifice is a form of self-inflicted difficulty. The term ‘sacrifice’ is not even stated once in the Qur’an. ‘Dhabh’ is stated in the Qur’an, which means ‘to slaughter,’ not to sacrifice. Sacrifice is a loss/giving-up of something (i.e. to give with no return).

In Islam, we are asked to INVEST, not sacrifice. And when you hear the term sacrifice in an Islamic talk/presentation, you are to remember that what is meant is “investment.”

Just think about Ibrahim `alayhi assalam (peace be upon him). Allah asked him to slaughter his son. (Note: the English translation of ‘sacrifice’ is inaccurate.)

How does he do it? After the third night, he tells his son about the command. Why does he tell his son? Is it with the hope that Ismail will say ‘no, I do not wish to be slaughtered?’ Is Ibrahim (as) looking for an excuse?

No. Ibrahim (as) could have just ignored the dream and not told his son. Why did Ibrahim (as) tell him then? Why didn’t he just cut his throat in the middle of the night, whilst his son was unaware?

It is because Ibrahim (as) wants his son to partake in the investment. He loves his son so he wants him to gain reward through this act of worship.

Ibrahim (as) moves the knife on his son’s neck. But the knife won’t cut. So Allah preserves Ismail. Moreover, Allah sends a ransom even though the parent should be the one paying the ransom in the effort to reacquire his son.

Did Ibrahim lose anything?

No, He didn’t lose his son. He doesn’t even have to pay a ransom!

He actually GAINS so much from this. Allah sends him a ransom. Allah keeps for him his son. Allah asks that they BOTH build His house (the Ka`ba) together for Him. Allah makes us remember their act of submission till the Day of Judgment.

Was there any loss in this whatsoever?

The next article will discuss:

• A Practical Example of Pro Difficulty Thinking
• Practical Examples of Pro Ease Thinking

By AbdelRahman Mussa         

This small series of articles aims to explore the following questions:

• Does Islam promote ease or difficulty?
• Does Islam state that the path to Allah is that of difficulty?

Previously we discussed:

• With Hardship There is Ease
• Wondrous Are The Believers’ Affairs
• Seek Help Through Patience
• He Always Chose The Easiest of Two Matters
• Allah Wants Ease For You
• Allah Wants To Alleviate The Burden
• We Shall Test You With Something of Fear
• Hell is Surrounded By Worldly Desire
• When Is The Help Of Allah Due?

In this article we will discuss 3 additional evidences.

Allah Tests What Is In Your Breasts

There is a pair of verses that come separately from one another but within close proximity that can also be misunderstood to favor difficulty as a path to Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He). These verses use the term: “li yumahisa” which literally means “to purify.”

“And that Allah may purify the believers  [through trials] and destroy the disbelievers.” (Qur’an, 3:141)

“[It was] so that Allah might test what is in your breasts and purify what is in your hearts. And Allah is Knowing of that within the breasts.” (Qur’an, 3:154)

When reading the Qur’an, you have to read before and after the particular verse to see if there’s a specific context that the verses are referring to. In this case, the verses surrounding these two verses are talking about fighting and Jihad.

In verse 141, the meaning of “purify the believers” is very closely related to “eliminate the disbelievers.” In other words, Allah is purifying the believers BY eliminating the power of those who hold onto impurity (the disbelievers). When truth overpowers falsehood, it cleanses it. What is left is only truth (purity) or that falsehood is so weakened, such that it’s as if there is only truth.

You see the same meaning in verse 154.

So That They Might Return To Allah

The following piece of evidence can’t really be used as evidence for the claim that difficulty is the path to Allah, but I heard it quoted by a speaker. So in the interest of covering all bases:

“And We sent to no city a prophet [who was denied] except that We seized its people with poverty and hardship that they might humble themselves [to Allah].”(Qur’an, 7:94)

It’s very clear from the verses before and after this one that Allah is only talking about towns that turned away from the truth, towns that were arrogant.

It’s very clear that Allah doesn’t send with his messengers affliction, courtesy of the truth!

The Misunderstood Hadith

Let us narrate one of the most misunderstood occurrences and Hadiths of the Prophet ﷺ (peace be upon him).

The Prophet ﷺ is looking for a tribe or city to accept Islam and to protect him ﷺ so he goes to Ta’if. It’s a town where his maternal relatives reside and he ﷺ invites them to the path of Allah.

They reject him and set their slaves, the downtrodden, and the children of their town to humiliate and stone the Prophet ﷺ. His injuries were such that his blessed body was flowing with blood and by the time he sat down to rest after fleeing, his slippers were stuck to his feet because of the extent of his wounds.

Was this an easy experience? No; This is the definition of difficulty.

What does the Prophet ﷺ do? He raises his hands to make du`a’ (supplication):

“O my Lord, to you I complain of my weakness of strength and my lack of resourcefulness (that I couldn’t attain what I set out to get.) O most Merciful… If you are not angry with me, then I don’t care! [i.e.: If the stoning that I received was because of your anger, then I care. However if it wasn’t, then I am content]… Except that I would prefer that you would make things smoother/more-open.”

Many misunderstand this hadith to show that the Prophet ﷺ was feeling sorry for himself. Re-read the prayer he makes to Allah and ask yourself: Is this a man wallowing in sorrow and self pity?

“O my Lord, to you I complain of my weakness of strength and my lack of resourcefulness (that I couldn’t attain what I set out to get). O most Merciful.”

When you complain of your weakness, you are asking for more strength. A person wallowing in self-pity wouldn’t ask for that. A person pursuing difficulty would not ask for strength either; He/she would ask for weakness, for weakness would increase the difficulty.

“…If you are not angry with me, then I don’t care!”

Understand this literally. The Prophet ﷺ actually doesn’t care about what happened; It’s as if it didn’t happen, so long as it wasn’t a sign of Allah’s Wrath upon him ﷺ.

“…Except that I would prefer that you would make things smoother.”

I don’t think that these can ever be the words of a broken man. I don’t think that these can ever be the words of a man wallowing in self-pity nor are they the words of one who would prefer hardship over ease! In fact, verbatim, the Prophet ﷺ says that he doesn’t care so long as this isn’t indicative of Allah’s Wrath upon him. This isn’t a man broken.

I heard a speaker once say that this hadith teaches us that Allah gives us difficulty to break us so that we turn back to Him. How does this hadith teach us that?

In fact, saying that implies that the Prophet ﷺ was looking away from Allah to start with! Find me one occurrence in his blessed life where he strayed from Allah. The only reason this happened to him was because he went to Ta’if on the path of da`wah, calling to Allah! From the words of the Prophet ﷺ, it’s clear that difficulty wasn’t even on his RADAR!

Allah and the angels cared that this occurred to the Prophet ﷺ, so Allah gave him the power to avenge this tribe. Allah sent the angel of the mountains:

“…If you wish I will bring down the two mountains surrounding the people of Ta’if upon them.”

But Messenger of Allah ﷺ responded:

“No, I hope that Allah will raise from amongst their descendants people that will worship Allah the One, and will not ascribe partners to Him (in worship).” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

This story illustrates many lessons:

To the untrained eye, it would seem that the Prophet ﷺ went through a harrowing experience. But his words refute this.

How is it that the Prophet ﷺ can say that he doesn’t care?

Simply put: Allah is His only goal. Not ease and not difficulty. And with such a huge goal, one doesn’t feel the nuances of pain or difficulty.

For example, if you paper-cut your finger whilst being bored then you will instantly feel the pain. However if you obtain a paper-cut doing something fascinating, you will only realize later that you sustained this injury. Why?

The goal nullifies the pain! If you keep in mind why you are doing something, then the so-called difficulties that you come across will seem totally insignificant. If you feel difficulty, it’s because you are chasing after ease or chasing after difficulty. Make your goal Allah so that you will not feel difficulty. Realize that the bigger goal, the greater the nullification of pain and difficulty!

The bigger your goal, the more insignificant the challenges. There is nothing bigger than Allah. We say Allahu Akbar – Allah is Greater (than anything).

Yusuf `alayhi assalam (peace be upon him) did not feel bitter in prison as people asked him for advice! Had he focused on his ‘hardships’ and ‘difficulties,’ he would never have interpreted the dreams for the fellow prisoners. His bigger goal nullified any pain, challenge or difficulty faced by him in his life – of which there were many!

The next article will discuss:

• Difficulty or Ease or Something Else?
• A Word on Sacrifice

AbdelRahman Mussa, a graduate of sharia and a therapist, is the founder of ipersonalenrichment.com, a site specializing in practical tazkiyah (purification of the heart). To receive his free newsletter about tazkiyah, please visit the ipersonalenrichment.com website.

By AbdelRahman Mussa

This small series of articles aims to explore the following questions:

• Does Islam promote ease or difficulty?
• Does Islam state that the path to Allah is that of difficulty?

In Islam we derive our understandings from two primary sources: The Qur’an and the Sunnah (tradition) of the Prophet ﷺ (peace be upon him). There are secondary sources, of course, but these articles will focus exclusively on the primary sources, as that should be sufficient.

This series is intended to be an easy read. Islam is not an academic discipline. Yes, it can be studied academically, but Islam is more than that.

Also, the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ is to use easy, short and understandable words.

During my studies of Shariah (Islamic Law), my usul (jurisprudence) teacher would impress upon us that we must look at as many of the relevant sources within a context as possible before making a ruling.

This isn’t just the case for fiqh (jurisprudence), but for aqeeda (creed) and every other discipline—Islamic or otherwise.

Don’t just look at one verse and give a ruling. That would skew your perceptions and understanding. It’s like looking at a jigsaw piece and claiming that you know what the bigger picture is. You might fluke and guess it correctly, but the chances are very small.

I’ll be presenting different verses (ayat) of the Qur’an and different ahadith (narrations) about the Prophet ﷺ and looking at what each of them tells us, as each is a piece forming the final picture.

Introduction

The Prophet ﷺ was brought up as an orphan. As he grew up, he experienced trial upon trial upon trial; he didn’t know his father, his mother passed away while he was young, and his grandfather also passed away years later.

How do you expect a man who experienced all of this difficulty to be?

How about a boy who is thrown into a well by his brothers, those whom he trusted the most… left to rot and die?

Imagine being in the depth of that well, hearing voices and then seeing a rope and basket. You cling onto this rope for dear life thinking that you’re not going to die!

You experience a sense of overwhelming joy.

But just then you are bound and gagged, taken into slavery! How cruel!

That moment of ecstasy extinguished suddenly. You experience days and weeks of being tied and gagged en-route to an unknown land.

Nevertheless, you are sold to a man who treats you well, so you experience a ray of light in your dark tunnel. However, the mistress of the house tries to seduce you, leading you to commit sin. But you resist and refrain.

But then the mistress brings her friends and creates an even bigger temptation, you resist but because of HER you get sent to prison. Innocently. The accusation being a crime that you did not commit.

Are these not hardships? This was Prophet Yusuf alayhi as-salaam (peace be upon him).

Statistically speaking, what would you expect of someone who had experienced these hardships?

You would expect a bitter man in search of revenge. A man out to harm society, most likely a serial killer!

But we know that he was different.

With Hardship There is Ease

The first piece of evidence that I display before you is the verse:

“So, Verily with the hardship there is ease. Verily with the hardship there is ease.” (Surah Ash-Sharh 94:5-6) [Emphasis added.]

People take these verses alone as proof of whatever they’d like to believe.

Using just the above verse, some claim that hardship should be our goal because it brings with it ease. In other words, that we should create hardship for it brings with it ease.

Others claim that these verses remind us of ease and that hardship is a passing phase. That ease is the goal that one should strive for.

Let’s look at what this verse teaches us.

The use of the term ‘the hardship’ in this verse implies only one hardship.

Allah does not define ease or confine it by a number; this means that for every hardship there are two eases.

If there were just one instance of hardship and one of ease, they would neutralize each other. But this isn’t the case.

The reality is that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala (exalted is He) mentions ease at a ratio of 2:1. Ease should therefore flush out hardship!

So based on these verses, relatively speaking, there is no hardship because there is twice as much ease as there is hardship!

So actually these verses don’t tell us what to focus on as much as they tell us that there exists (at least) twice as much ease as there is hardship.

Some (mis)understand the verse as if it had said: in the hardship… as opposed to with the hardship. That would stipulate that ease was nested in hardship… almost that you needed hardship in order to have ease.

The verse of course doesn’t say “in hardship” and instead says “with hardship” so hardship is not needed in order to have ease.

Let’s take the beginning ayaat of the same surah, Surah Ash-Sharh:

Have We not expanded your breast?

And removed from you your burden

That which did blister you back?

And raised high the esteem (in which) though (art held)?

(Qur’an 94:1-4)

Here it is obvious that ease is a bounty from Allah that can come after hardship. The verses don’t in and of themselves stipulate that ease only comes after hardship.

These verses describe perfectly what happens when a burden is removed. The chest is un-clogged. The constriction is removed. The weight that was burdening one’s shoulders and back is alleviated.

The way in which Allah asks, “Have We not expanded your breast and removed from you your burden” suggests that ease is a bounty and that it is more favorable than difficulty.

The next articles will discuss:

• Wondrous Are The Believers’ Affairs
• Seek Help Through Patience
• He Always Chose The Easiest of Two Matters
• Allah Wants Ease For You
• Allah Wants To Alleviate The Burden

AbdelRahman Mussa, a graduate of sharia and a therapist, is the founder of ipersonalenrichment.com, a site specializing in practical tazkiyah (purification of the heart). To receive his free newsletter about tazkiyah, please visit the ipersonalenrichment.com website.

All-Encompassing Mercy

Her heart felt like it was being ripped apart. She looked around her and could not find him. She started breathing more heavily. Her eyes scanned her surroundings desperately, where she could see soldiers and captives, until suddenly, she caught a glimpse of his tiny body. She bolted towards and scooped him up as she wept, and then nursed him. Her whole body sighed in relief. Her baby was safe.

The Prophet ﷺ (peace be upon him) describes this scene in a famous hadith (narration) to give us a glimpse into God’s mercy. After witnessing this scene, the Prophet ﷺ asked the Companions, “Do you think that this woman would throw her child in the fire?” And they said, “No, by Allah she would not, if she is able not to.” He ﷺ then said, “Allah the Exalted is more merciful with His slave than this woman with her child.” (Bukhari)

This is a universal example, one that most people can understand- the mercy of a mother towards her child. And not just any mother, but a mother faced with that situation. Allah is more merciful to His creation than that mother.

Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem

The first words that begin the journey through the Qur’an are: “In the Name of God, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful (ar-Rahman, ar-Raheem),” (1:1). We begin the journey of knowing God through His Mercy. This is the way in which God introduces Himself to us—not with the names that indicate majesty and strength. So in this journey of understanding Allah’s Names, it is only fitting that we speak of His all-encompassing mercy.

Rahman and Raheem both come from the same root of ra-haa-meem (ر-ح-م), which means “ar-riqqa wal-ta’atuf”—a combination of tenderness and compassion.

Ar-Rahman is the Entirely Merciful whose “All-inclusive mercy gives to both the worthy and unworthy. The mercy of God is perfect and all-inclusive. It is perfect in the sense that He not only wills the satisfaction of the needs of the needy but actually satisfies them. It is all-inclusive in that it includes the worthy and the unworthy, this life and that which is to come and encompasses the essentials, needs and advantages which go beyond them. Thus He is in truth the Compassionate absolutely,” (al-Ghazali).

Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He) says in the Qur’an, “He who created the heavens and the earth and what is between them in six days and then established Himself above the Throne – the Most Merciful (ar-Rahman), so ask about Him one well informed.” (Qur’an, 25:59)

We are all recipients of Allah’s Mercy every single day. The plants, animals and humans. Men and women. Young and old. Muslim and non-Muslim. These mercies come in the form of all of the blessings in our lives, from the earth itself to our loved ones. Allah tells us, “And out of His mercy He made for you the night and the day that you may rest therein and [by day] seek from His bounty and [that] perhaps you will be grateful,” (Qur’an, 28:73). These are the things that we don’t even realize, but we all benefit from. A cool breeze on a warm day. Rain after drought. The trees that purify the air for us. We are all recipients of this mercy.

Ar-Raheem is a more specific mercy towards the believers. For example, the mercy that descends during Ramadan is one only Muslims who believe in Ramadan can enjoy. And Allah (swt) tells us in the Qur’an, “It is He who confers blessing upon you, and His angels [ask Him to do so] that He may bring you out from darknesses into the light. And ever is He, to the believers, Merciful (Raheema)” (Qur’an, 33:43).
In order to understand this amazing mercy in the grand scheme of things, the Prophet ﷺ informs us that, “Allah has divided mercy into 100 parts, and He retained with Him 99 parts, and sent down to earth one part. Through this one part creatures deal with one another with compassion, so much so that an animal lifts its hoof over its young lest it should hurt it,” (Al-Bukhari).

When your mom shows affection towards you, or when your spouse covers you with a blanket lest you feel cold, remember that this is only a fraction of the one mercy that Allah (swt) sent down to earth. So imagine the mercy He has saved for the Day of Judgment!

Ar-Ra’uf

Ar-Ra’uf is “the One who has pity (on others), and pity is the intensification of mercy. Therefore it has the same meaning as rahim though in an intensified form, and the discussion of ar-rahim has already been presented,” (al-Ghazali).

So if Ra’uf is simply a more intensified form of mercy, what is the difference between Rahma and Ra’fa? Scholars have said that if a calamity hits you, one who is Merciful—Raheem—has mercy on you after that calamity. But Ra’uf is one who is so merciful, that his mercy extends before the calamity hits, and involves him taking care of you and warning you so that a calamity does not hit. Sheikh Ratib an-Nabulsi gives an example of a father who is protective of his children, and especially during the winter when he dresses them in warm clothes so that they do not suffer from the cold. That is ra’fa. Whereas a father whose heart aches because his child has become sick, and does everything to get the medicine to ease his child’s pain, is merciful—raheem. Imam al-Qushayri states that ra’fa is the highest form of mercy, where Allah protects His servants by warning them of the deeds the necessitate punishment.

It’s almost like Allah does not want us to have an ounce of doubt about His mercy towards us. His mercy is not only all-encompassing, with a special kind reserved for the believers, but He is telling us that His warnings to us, and His withholding from us is from an intense mercy. He does not want us to go through the hurt and pain had He not warned us.

But I face so many difficulties in my life…

I have explored the issue of calamities in these two articles: Why am I tested? And Will you turn away? So I will be brief here.

The culmination of Allah’s mercy is in the Paradise that He created, which the Prophet ﷺ described as a place “no eye has seen and no ear has heard and neither has the thought occurred in any person’s heart” (Bukhari). It is this place that we strive to be, where we understand that this is what our struggle was for. Yet Allah (swt) says in the Qur’an, “But you prefer the worldly life, While the Hereafter is better and more enduring,” (Qur’an, 87:16-17).

We will face difficulties, and this does not contradict Allah’s mercy. Some difficulties are simply challenges we need to overcome. Others seem to have no explanation.

As to the first kind, these challenges are there to strengthen us. There are some lessons we would not have learned without them. An Olympic champion only reaches that level by being pushed by his trainer. A child might wonder why a mother forces him to go to school everyday. But it is only so we can become the best that we can be. There is light at the end of the tunnel. These challenges bring us closer to Allah (swt) because we then realize that He is the only One who can help us. And at the end of it all, we are not tested with more than we can bear.

As to the second kind, Allah’s ra’fa is in His instructing us on what is the best way to be in this world. When we are faced with things we cannot explain, or suffering that seems too great, it is our responsibility to act. And Allah tells us how to act as His vicegerents on this earth. Every suffering will have its end, as “Allah will bring about, after hardship, ease” (Qur’an, 65:7). We will only be asked about what we did in the face of it.

And in all cases of difficulty, remember that 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).

Living with this Name

Have Mercy on Others

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, “Those who show mercy to their fellow beings will be shown mercy by the Merciful Lord. So, show mercy to those on the earth, and He Who is in the heavens will show mercy to you,” (Tirmidhi). Be merciful in your interactions with people, and do not be harsh.

Learn the Things that Bring About Allah’s Mercy

There are some ahadeeth (sayings of the Prophet ﷺ) where the Prophet ﷺ tells us what brings about Allah’s mercy:

“May Allah have mercy on a man who is kind when he buys, when he sells, and when he makes a demand,” (Bukhari) and, “May Allah have mercy on the man who gets up at night to pray and wakes up his wife to pray, and if she refuses, he sprinkles water in her face. And may Allah have mercy on the woman who gets up at night to pray, and wakes her husband up to pray, and if he refuses, she sprinkles water in his face,” (Abu Dawud).

Do Things that Increase the Mercy in Your Heart

Sometimes we can become numb to the suffering around us. We get so caught up in our lives that we lose the connection to other people, and therefore cannot empathize with their struggle. So, volunteer at a soup kitchen. Get involved with an organization that provides housing for the homeless. Give some of your time, energy and money to stand with people.

Follow the One who was Sent as a Mercy to the Worlds ﷺ

The best way to become a manifestation of Allah’s rahma is to study the life of the Prophet ﷺ and follow his example. The battle of Uhud was the most difficult battle for the Muslims. It was the battle in which they thought that they lost the Prophet ﷺ. In their panic and desperation, the companions asked the bleeding Prophet ﷺ to supplicate against their enemy. But he refused and said, “O Allah! Guide my people for they do not know!” These are lessons that we need to learn from.

Look at the Manifestations of Allah’s Mercy in your life, in Times When He has Given, and in Times When He has Withheld

Reflection is considered one of the greatest acts of worship. We are the benefactors of so many mercies, every day of our lives. Moreover, there are many times when something that is perceived as ‘bad’ turns out to be something good for us. So take the time to reflect on Allah’s mercy in your life—the times He protected you, the times He gave to you, and even the times He withheld from you.

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I would often find myself worrying about things and draining my energy. Yes, it would lead me to prayers, but also depression. When prayer leads you to depression, it means that you are doing something wrong. Prayer is hope. Prayer is faith. Prayer is uplifting. Prayer is not constant worry.

I learned this after moving to this new city. The first couple of weeks were great, but right after that, my husband would come home upset. We had relocated, thinking that he had found the perfect job. However, in a couple of weeks, we were devastated. He began hating his job. He complained about his boss. He did not like the work. But here we were, and still are, bound by a long-term contract with the company.

He would text me from work to tell me how much he despised his job. He would come home stressed. Our happiness, our dreams, our tranquility in life had disappeared. Being the only person he could open up to, I felt helpless. I would cry for hours on my prayer mat. I did not know how I could help him. The kids were sensing our worries. It was difficult.

I prayed constantly for ease. I prayed and prayed. That is all I did. I would ignore my kids, I would ignore my house, I would ignore my chores, and prayed. This led me to constantly be thinking about the problem:

Prayer was leading me to worry.

One night, it occurred to me, prayer should not lead me to worry. Prayer means putting your trust in God, subhanahu wa ta’ala (exalted is He). Prayer means asking for goodness. Maybe there is goodness in this difficulty that we cannot see. I have to stop worrying about that over which I have no control. I should work on that over which I have control.

So, I changed my approach to prayers. I offered my five prayers, and even some optional ones, but instead of worrying constantly, I began thanking God (swt) for His blessings. I would pray for ease, but with the knowledge that there must be ease in this struggle. God (swt) is great. His wisdom, His sight, His reasons are beyond the human capability to grasp.

With my thankful attitude, I began to cheer the house up. I focused my energy on my kids. I started to learn how to make applications for Android. I started to cook regularly. I would feed my kids before my husband would come home tired, so he could have a quiet dinner to recollect his thoughts. I began to pour my heart out to God (swt) early in the morning, before the sunrise. I found my peace. Thanks to the Almighty (swt).

Peace comes from inside, not outside. Peace comes from working within your circle of influence. My husband is still unhappy at work. He still comes home upset. But I have found the way to charge my energy and be his support. I am embracing the experience, for God (swt) must have a reason that is beyond my wisdom.

اللهُمَّ لا سَهْلَ إلا مَا جَعَلتَهُ سَهْلا وَ أنتَ تَجْعَلُ الحزْنَ إذا شِئْتَ سَهْلا

Allahumma la sahla illa ma ja`altahu sahla wa anta taj`al ul-hazna idha shi’ta sahla.

“O Allah! There is nothing easy except that which You make easy; and You make the difficult, if You wish, easy.” ((Ibn Hibban in his Sahih (no. 2427) and Ibn As-Sunni (no. 351). Al-Hafidh (Ibn Hajar) said that this hadith is authentic. It was also declared authentic by Abdul-Qadir Al-Arna’ut in his checking of An-Nawawi’s Kitabul-Athkar p. 106.))

May God (swt) continue to strengthen our souls and ease our difficulties.  Ameen!

Ease. What a harmonious onomatopoeia – such a short, simple, relaxation-inducing… well …easy word! I have often had a recurring daydream as a child, that when things would go wrong, when life just wasn’t on my side, I would be able to curl up in a cave of goose-feathers and watch Spongebob Squarepants, all the while eating popcorn and sitting amidst a pile of Calvin and Hobbes comic books. But I now clearly know that that kind of ease is not tangible. I learned quickly that when life is hard, you just have to deal with it, right? At least, that’s what I thought, until I opened up the Quran one day and came upon this intriguing ayah: “God intends for you ease, and does not intend for you hardship” (2:185). And suddenly, just as I read that verse from Allah’s book, I became utterly confused.

Yusr (ease) seems perhaps too difficult a concept to think about. If you think about it, even thinking is hard to begin with! Thinking usually means reading a lot – books, Quran, and ahadith. Thinking means listening to the wise ones before us, watching the good and the bad from those who have experienced our plights beforehand. Thinking means restructuring our absorbed blips and bloops of knowledge into categorical data. And finally, thinking means exercising your mind to the highest epitome of performance, to systematically reflect upon those sacred (and non-sacred) texts themselves and critique the perceptions of others to arrive at our own conclusions. That is what thinking is, as Allah described: “Will they not, then, reflect on the Quran…” (4:82).

You can see from this philosophical rollercoaster that the thought of thought is crazy in itself. So how then can we think about ease? It seems that there is a contradiction; that it is so much easier not to try so hard to understand the concept of yusr, to relax our mind and literally settle in a pile of goose-feathers. So I ask you what I have asked myself, what those before me, with me, and after me question all the time – if the Creator himself wants us to live easily, why then is life so painfully, universally difficult for all of us, Muslims and non-Muslims, female and male, east and west, old and young, animal and human?

But wait, let’s stop for a minute. That can’t be all there is. Ease can’t be that hard. Call up the courage of an honest analysis. Could it be that life is so catastrophically tooth-pulling for the inhabitants of this Earth because we are doing something wrong? Did we ever obey Allah all the time, or better yet, do we even think about what He asked us to do and why? Do you?

I’m not here to preach to you how we must obey Allah and execute that obedience by performing mechanical acts that harbor no thoughts. I’m here to ask you to think with me, to try to find an answer.

Faith-communities before us confused faithfulness to the will of God with hardship. I always remember meeting two types of people that had this notion mixed up. You had the first kind of people that passionately, vehemently, zealously believed that the harder an action was, the more reward you got in the eyes of Allah, even if both actions got the same amount of good deeds! Their idea of ease was reserved in the Hereafter, and as for this life, they lived in it like Opposite-Land. And then, you had the second type of people. These people eliminated all “inconvenient” worship and severed all compulsory good deeds, reducing the pillars and consequences of belief to an airy feeling in the heart: “Love.” Basically all talk, no action. They pushed faith to the personal, banished the public soul, and lowered life to the purely sensory and egotistical level. Forget action then, if you just love Allah, right? Follow only your feelings. They really understand ease, but only for this life.…yippee! With that logic than, do these two “implementations” of ease really fill these two types of people with love and accomplishment? Did their lives grow easier? No, not really. I believe that these two compartmentalized ethics of yusr have exhaled the world of all remnants of compassion. Truly, we have idolized materialism and the cult of the “self” as the natural religion of ease for man, thus justifying all manner of viciousness and harm of the vulnerable. Do you see what I mean? Think about this: how many times a day have you thought of a sentence using the word “I?” What about the word “we?”

I looked up the definition of ease in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, and to be frank, I didn’t like what I got – the state of being comfortable, freedom from pain or discomfort. It seems like those guys have the same viewpoint on ease as the people I have described above. However, in the primordial understanding of man, ease always meant one thing – subduing selfishness because it destroys the self and others. Ease is accepting the responsibility of the spiritual AND worldly aspects of Islam that have been created, not evolved, by a single eternal God. If we go by that definition, things become so simple! Think about the prophets of Allah. The way they understood yusr was by executing their worshipful responsibilities in order for us to be blessed and disciplined for the benefit of the weak and the human community. It makes sense then that we learn in Surat al-Inshirah (94) that when the revelation of Islam seemingly brought the Prophet (ﷺ) from a state of ease in life to one of hardship, the reverse is actually true.

Hardship, in reality, is when you think you know and you don’t. It’s when your heart is constricted by recognition of evil and injustice plaguing the society around you. It’s when you finally realize the problems and not have the capacity or comprehension to train that heart to grow and love. It’s when you finally find the key, the true and wholesome Islam, to help that heart, but push it to sacrifice the mere things and immediate comfort. It’s when you forget yourself for the sake of others, and for the sake of seeking the Face of Allah. And finally, finally, when you get past all of that, your heart and soul are free, along with the countless human souls. Your true brothers and sisters. That is yusr.

This is why Allah twice stresses that only “with hardship comes ease.” We have to endure two types of difficulty to get two types of ease. First, we have to strive to deliver the message of truth, that God is One, so that we can depict this as an end to the inequality that gives unfair advantage to a few. Second, we ourselves must undergo privations in our strive to perform the ritual worship He has made obligatory upon the believers, so that we may prepare our hearts and souls to withstand the great pressure if they uphold Allah’s message and establish it in the world.

Ease is not easy. Hardship is not hard. It seems then that opposites attract. Yusr, the ethics of ease in Islam, is one of our religions’ greatest objectives. Allah has placed so much goodness and guidance for all, provided us Muslims own up to the apparent hardship. We can’t resort to our feelings or actions only. If we want to get somewhere in this world, we have to use both. Alhamdulillah (all praise be to Allah), we are at a stage in our lives where we can do so much. Let’s go beyond ourselves and our personal problems to help those around us. Let’s strive in our obedience to Allah and take the Prophets as an example. The time is up – forget goose-feathers. I pray that insha ‘Allah all of you  will push yourselves beyond the apparent limits of thought and really, just think dynamically and act. It won’t be easy to consider new ways to give back to your community and methods to enrich yourself, but it sure will pay off in this life and the next. Embrace then, this time to strive…for herein lies all the world’s ease.