Jonathan Brown – Why do bad things happen to good people

			Oh
		

			hello but a cattle akmola here for staying with us for the continuation of the econo Dawa
conference.
		

			Dr. Jonathan is an associate professor and sharer of Islamic civilization at Georgetown University.
He is the editor in chief of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and law and the author of several
books, including misquoting Muhammad Sallallahu sallam, the challenges and choices of interpreting
the prophets legacy. Mr. Mohammed Ibrahim in 100 years I've been studying salatu salam ala seven was
in Milan he was sacked BH Marine. I was asked to talk about why bad things happen to good people,
these tests what I remember reading, I hope that's the topic. Now that's a that's also the title of
a best multicam many
		

			1000s and millions of copies sold best seller, I think, by a Jewish author, if I'm not mistaken,
transmitted, translated in so many languages. I've never seen it sold in the Muslim world, which is
interesting. And I think it's because if there's one thing I've always been really impressed with,
with Muslims, ever since I became Muslim was that
		

			they don't seem to have this anxiety as much as other people do. They don't seem to be
		

			tried by this question, and afflicted by this question as much as other people. And I think that's
because the Quran is very clear. About
		

			the about about the fact in fact that this question is completely inappropriate, right?
		

			Why Good? First of all, when you said, Well, why bad things happen to good people, right? Things are
no things are bad or good in and of themselves. So the Quran talks about how, you know, our children
and beautiful things and our property and our lives and our health. I mean, think about children,
what's better than children? Right? Our children are both a blessing. And there are tests there are
fitna for us, right. So everything, everything that is good is that is pleasant and pleasing to us
is both a blessing and also a test to us. Right? How do we react to it? So and things that seemed
bad, like an injury or death or loss, right? They are
		

			a test for us, right? So there they are. And there's something that gives us a chance to, to succeed
and to gain not just to lose, right? So the first thing is that there's no such things as thing is
good or bad things in and of themselves. It's how we react to them. And the second is that whether
or not you're a good person or not, has nothing to do with you're getting tested, of course, good
people are going to be tested. And they're gonna be tested by losing things, right. So the client
says, you know, God says always My Job says, Hi, Shiva, NASA and your newest recruit and your Kulu.
And then now formula afternoon are people who will think that they're just gonna say, Oh, we
		

			believe. So we're wonderful people. We're believers now, and you're not going to be tested. You're
not going to have this fitna. So I mean, these two concepts are really important with the concept of
fitna and Bella, Rachel Fitna means it's a test it's a trial for you.
		

			And good things are test for you. And bad things are a test for you, or things that seem good or
test for you with things that seem bad or test for you. And similarly with Bella Bella is testing
something to see if it performs well. So it can be you can be tested and you can it can be an
opportunity to show that you can succeed if you can be tested and you can it's an opportunity for
you to fail. It's really how you react it's important and this is made very clear by last mile to
Allah in the Quran. The Quran says what anybody wanna come be shading mineral mineral healthy with
jewelry, why? Noxon? Minimal lmrda well enforced with a Murat Wabasha Saberi, right? So we shoot
		

			God's surely we're going to test you we're going to test you with
		

			fear with hunger, with loss of your property and of lives and the fruits of your labor, right.
		

			But then, so here's the second part that is important. Keep in mind, which is what is the second
half of the equal sign? Right? So the reason
		

			that the question of why bad things happen to good people is so so stressful, and almost
existentially critical for a lot of people in the world is that people don't take the idea of the
afterlife seriously at all right? So if you if you only have this world of this world is all that
exists. Then you look around you see, you know, a child die or you see an innocent person killed or
1000s of innocent people killed right by some dictator.
		

			I'm
		

			whereas if you believe in afterlife, there's another side of the equal sign, the equal sign, where
all these things are, are equaled out, right? Sort of differences a lot. So a lot has been a lot of
stuff and a lot have offered and I'm a younger little volume, right? So God, don't think that God is
unaware of what did oppressive people do. In the manual heater home, the yeoman, chess coach, Tasha
philosophy he'll absorb, right. So rather, God is delaying their punishment for a day when all the
i's are gonna be opened, everything will be revealed. And people will see what they've done and be
punished for what they've done, or be rewarded for what they've done. Right. So if you haven't, if
		

			you haven't another side of the equal sign, then the suffering of good people or the law, the death
or loss of innocent people that can be repaid, they those people who suffer get repaid out 1000
times 1000s of times with the rewards in the afterlife and those who committed those crimes get
punished. You know, this is a very important concept in inquire Mandela the Yoker doula Cobden
Hassan who's going to be the person who gives God a goodly loan, you give to God alone of struggling
with your life and your wealth and, and and being grateful and bearing loss with patience and this
life. And then you get that back multiple multiple times in the afterlife, right? So that that verse
		

			it says, Indeed, we are going to try you with fear and hunger and loss and your wealth and in
yourself and your lives. And your labor is right. But then it says that should have slavery
initiatives already give good tidings to those who are patient in Unversity, who bear loss and who
say in a law where in LA Roger, alright, so those the next verse, those people who say when
something bad happens to them, we belong to God to him returning, if you are sober, if you have
sober, then you pass the test. So the fitna is the test, whether it's if you get a good thing,
you're tested, what are you going to do with this good thing? Are you gonna think it came from you?
		

			Or do you think that you always remember that all blessings come from all smiles out? Are you going
to do good with this thing? Are you going to waste it and do bad with it? That's your test. If you
lose something, whether it's your health or property or a loved one, right? How are you going to
react to this, you're gonna get angry at God, angry and give up and say, God doesn't do anything for
me or stop believing or something? Or go and hurt other people? Are you going to say Alhamdulillah
that I had this thing I had my health I had I was given all these blessings. When I had them, I hope
I use them well. And now my job is to simply say, again, I'm so grateful to Allah subhanaw taala
		

			that he gave me anything in this world that I was given the blessing of existence, and I play for
mercy on those people who have died, right? And then that I'm given reward for all the, for what I
go through and bear in this world, right, so you don't fall into Coco Coco, which is fundamentally
in gratitude towards God, fundamentally in gratitude towards God. So this is the two things to mind
when you when we think about this, as I said, very false on an improper question. Why do bad things
happen to good people? Because good people get tested.
		

			Just like bad people get tested. And we're told we're gonna lose things in this world. And the
question is how to respond to that. Do we respond with gratitude to God and patience? Or do we
respond with despair, which is as the Prophet says, It's a tool of the of the devil, a tool of the
devil Despair is a tool of the devil. Okay, I think that was all that I was supposed to say.
		

			Just offer for an inspiring talk.
		

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