Why Me #21 Is Allah Testing Or Punishing Me
Date:
Channel: Omar Suleiman
Series: Omar Suleiman - Ramadan 2024 - Why Me
File Size: 11.78MB
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AI Generated Summary ©
The speaker discusses the consequences of actions taken against a man's wife, including punishment and negative consequences. He emphasizes the importance of testing one's actions to determine whether it is a matter of love or punishment and warns of potential consequences of satisfied goals. The speaker also emphasizes the importance of not giving things to people when crying and begging for them, and cautions of the potential consequences of lightened pain.AI Generated Transcript ©
Who told you this world would be fair
or perfect?
It wasn't Allah.
In fact, he promised that every last person
will face tests on earth.
We know that no trial will last forever,
but still, why is Allah testing you so
much?
Is this a sign of his punishment?
What response does he expect from him?
Al Imam ibn al Jazir Rahimullah tells the
story about a man in his lifetime
who used to pray in the Masjid for
80 years
every single salah.
And then this man's son died.
And instead of turning back to Allah, he
turns around and says it's no point for
anyone to make dua to Allah because Allah
does not listen to anyone's prayers.
He said at that moment, I realized that
this man was merely worshiping Allah out of
habit
but he didn't have a relationship based in
any knowledge or faith.
And this is what Allah meant when he
said, waminan nasima yabudullahha
alahaf That some people worship Allah on an
edge. It's like they're standing on a cliff.
And if something happens that they don't like,
they just jump off with their faith.
At the root of it is that their
relationship with Allah is conditional. It's circumstantial. And
it only sticks if he doesn't test you
the way that you don't want him to.
On the other hand, look at the prophet
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam in a moment that would
have broke any of us in Ta'if. Inlam
yakuon bikraddabun
aaliyahfalaubali.
As long as you are not angry with
me, I don't care.
Why is Allah testing me? When you're going
through a series of tests and trials, you
start to wonder, is this a test or
a
punishment?
The short answer is that you'll find out
as you live your life.
The long answer is
pay attention to what preceded the test and
then how you received the test.
As for what preceded the test,
if it came after you committed a sin
or in the capacity of that sin or
in the genre of that sin. So for
example, you took on a haram undertaking in
your wealth and then
Take your test as a wake up call
and an expiation for your sins if you
repent.
And if your test came when you were
getting complacent and comfortable in life,
take this as a sign that Allah is
waking you up to maintain your focus on
him and the hereafter by doing more good
deeds.
And if your test came when you were
doing good or as a result of your
good, take it as a sign of Allah's
love and that he's purifying those deeds so
that they're only for his sake and that
he's raising your rank in the process.
But the only way to really know if
this came as a manifestation
of Allah's love or punishment is entirely based
on your
response. Listen to what the prophet SallAllahu Alaihi
Wasallam said.
Idha aradallahu bi abdihil khayra adjalalahu luhubatafidunya
wa'idha aradallahu bi abdihilkhayraajallalahu
luhubatafidunya wa'idha aradallahu bi abdihisharamsaka'anhu bidhambihihaata
yawafabbihi
yomul qiyama
When Allah wants good for his slave, he
hastens his punishment in this world.
And when he wants bad for his slave,
he withholds his sins from him until he
appears before him on the day of judgment.
So the consequences of your sins being faced
here is actually a sign of Allah's wanting
good for you. Whereas if you're committing sins
and you're not facing the consequences, it's actually
a sign of Allah's wanting bad for you.
And he continued,
inna ilamaljaza
ma'ivamil bala. And indeed the greater reward comes
with the greater trial. So the more you're
tested, the more your potential reward. Wa inna
Allaha idahabbaqawmin
of tallahu faman radiya filahu riddha waman sakhita
filahusahkit
And indeed when Allah loves a people,
he subjects them to tests.
So whoever is content, then for him is
the pleasure of Allah. And whoever is angry,
then for him is Allah's wrath. So whether
or not your test is a manifestation of
Allah's love or punishment is entirely based on
whether you responded to that test with contentment
and humility
or anger and arrogance.
Allah tests those whom he loves with trials
to either bring them back or to bring
them up. In another hadith, the prophet SallAllahu
Alaihi Wasallam said, idha ahabballahu
abdanhamahu
dunya kamayalalu
ahadookum yahmi saqeemahulna
If Allah loves his slave, he protects him
from this dunya.
The way that one of you would hold
back water from your loved one when they
are sick. Now, what does this mean? It
means that if someone is sick and they
really want cold water to help them cope
with the symptoms of that sickness,
but you know that it will actually aggravate
the underlying cause of their sickness if they
drink that water.
You hold back that water out of love
for them. Now SubhanAllah, you're looking at them
crying and begging for it. But as much
as your heart breaks due to their crying,
you don't give it to them because you
care about them. This is how Allah is
with us when he loves us and holds
back something of this world that he knows
we so badly want.
And the increase of pain that is done
faced is merely the increase of reward. And
when Ibn Mas'ud radiAllahu ta'ala An who visited
the prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam when he was
dying
and he felt the fever of the prophet
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam and said, It was hotter
than anything I had ever felt.
The prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said that the
pain was doubled because the reward was doubled.
But how do you deal with the disappointment
of the moment? The prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
saw a dream of what he thought was
thought of receiving him but it was Madinah
later on instead.
We too can think that Allah is sending
us some much needed relief, maybe even as
a reward for a struggle we've already gone
through.
We start celebrating with those that we love,
and start imagining a new life altogether.
Because the same Lord who put mercy in
our hearts also put hopes in our minds.
So we start dreaming of all the ways
that our life is going to be filled
with joy.
Then just as quickly as we get our
hopes up,
Allah wills that our worst fears materialize,
And we're left feeling empty,
alone,
unheard,
or maybe even hated by Allah.
Because all we see is what was just
taken away from us, not what was given
to us.
And that's the key.
Ibn A'un radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu says, Irdabi
alamaqanaminursrin
wayustra
inna thalika aqalu lihammika
wa'ablahootheema
tattlubu
min akhiratika
Be content with the decree of Allah in
both times of hardship and ease. For reaching
the state of contentment will ease your worries
and is better for your hereafter.
And know that you cannot attain true contentment
until you are just as content in a
state of poverty or test
as you are in a state of wealth
and ease?
And how can you request from Allah abundance
in your affairs
and then get angry if you think his
decree conflicts with your desires?
Wathalikalikthillatiyaalmika
bil ghayb
Perhaps the only reason this happens is because
of your lack of knowledge
of the unseen.
If you could see the angels carrying your
miscarried child, naming it and situating it in
front of the gates of paradise where it
awaits you,
would you think for a moment that Allah
hates you? If you saw Ibrahim
and Sarah celebrating your newborn in Jannah, wouldn't
you feel joy?
If you could see the fresh construction of
the house of praise Allah was building for
you in paradise in return for your continued
hamd,
wouldn't you feel like your hard work or
your hardship
was worth it? Fa'mal insanoo ilaamabitalahu
rabbuhu faqramahu
wa na'amahu
fayaku lu rabi aqraman
wa amma ila mabutalahu
fakadara alayhi rizkahu fayaku lu rabi ahanan
And verily when man is tested with ease
and Allah honors him and gives him wealth,
he boasts saying, my Lord has honored me.
But when Allah tests him by restricting his
provision,
he turns around and says, my Lord has
humiliated me. But Yusuf Alayhi Salaam who had
everything taken away from him never said, rabbi
ahanan, my Lord has disgraced me.
Rather he said, Inna rabbi lathifunmi
mayashah
Indeed, my Lord is subtle in fulfilling what
He wills.
Let the pain of tribulation be lightened for
you by knowing that it is the most
glorious who is putting you through this trial?
For the one who has confronted you with
his blows of fate is the same one
who has accustomed you to his choosing well.
When the hardships in your life pile up
seeming like they may never end,
you must remember that the entirety of the
dunya is nothing more than a testing ground.
And if this test leads you to anger
and to hurt the people you love,
how then can you begin to appreciate that
it may be that Allah was calling you
back to his love?
You're not going to find Jannah on earth
and you don't need to. In the words
of the Quran, in moments of taqwa and
in connection with your Lord, you'll find that
ease is always lying in wait for its
turn to greet you.
But Allah knows exactly when to give you
that ease.
it's in your decree to handle more.
it's in your decree to handle more.