Pain, Heartbreak, and Hardship - A Path To Allah | by Navaid Aziz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e342DlpoLT4

You can either deal with the pain, right now, and get closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Or you can delay dealing with the pain. Seeking the pity of others, seeking help from others and prolonging the pain without any recourse.

And it's very important to understand the cycles that individuals go through when they go through pain. When they lose someone that they love, when they feel betrayed by another individual, the very first reaction they have is to isolate themselves. They want to be alone..

And this is the first thing you need to regocnize - that this is NOT what you want to do. This is not a natural reaction. But rather it is shaythan telling you, that you will feel better when you are alone. Because you are the one that understands what you are going through. It is a deception from shaythan!

So while you mau need to be alone for a little while, prolonged isolation is very harmful & detrimental to your situation. What you want to do at that time, in that short period of time.. Once you've gotten over that initial rage, that initial pain. Then after that, you need to get around the believers. You need to get around people who are going to remind you of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

There was a friend -a brother to me- who I studied with in The University of Madinah. He got married, and this was like his life long mission. He was a convert and it was extremely difficult for him to get married. He would go from house to house, propose from sister to sister.. The father would see his skin colour and say, "sorry, you know.. you don't have enough money" or "your family isn't good enough". Or they would say it straight out "I'm sorry but you're black and my daughter isn't", and he would be rejected.

The day that he got married was one of the most beautiful experiences for him. Because that's what he was striving for. He was chaste and he protected that chastity and that's what he wanted. Then imagine the day that his wife finally becomes pregnant. His wife becomes pregnant and their joy is together now. That they're about to give birth to a beautiful baby.

Nine months pass by, the sister is taken to the hospital. The brother says to his neighbor, "Look, take her to the hospital. I need to sort some stuff out in my house and I'll meet you in the hospital". The pregnant sister goes to the hospital, and this brother packs up the stuff that the sister will need in the hospital and he heads to the hospital. He gets to the hospital... Both his wife and his child had passed away...

And that is why when it comes to pain and suffering.. Pain and suffering only becomes negative if it creates a barrier between you and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But it becomes positive, pain becomes positive, a motivation for you, when it brings you back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And this is what every individual who's going through pain and suffering needs to realize. That this point of pain and suffering is not that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants to punish you. But rather this is a calling from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, "O My slave, come back to your Lord. O My slave, this is a reminder for you, that I want to bring you back to Me". And this is one of the wisdom of trials and tribulations.

That while we call each other on the phone, while we text message each other.. The calling of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala comes through trials and tribulations. And you can react in one of two ways. Either you can deal with the pain at that moment and decide to get closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Or you can decide to just restrict that pain to yourself, not do anything about it, and then you'll see what it does to your deen (faith).

And this is the last stage of the cycle of isolation. That once you're isolated, you will see that eventually, your deen starts to disappear. The content of your salah, the khusu in your salah, it disappears. Your ability to recite the Quran is no longer there. Your ability to fast during the day, it gets taken away. What did you do differently? What you did differently was you gave yourself into shaythan, and syahthan promise is that he will lead you astray, he will lead you away from the path of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

So in times of trials and tribulations, you need to seek out the believers, you need to seek out the righteous, and let them be your guide and help to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

There is actually a blessing inside trials that we don't perceive. The simplest trial that an individual will go through is that he's walking on the road and he gets pricked by a thorn. He gets pricked by something that goes through his skin and causes him to say "ouch". But it's only for a split second.. The prophet shalallahu 'alaihi wasalam said, "No individual is pricked by a thorn except that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala purifies him from a sin for it" (Bukhari Muslim).

Trials and tribulations are a means of purification. They are a means of purifying you, so you can go to the purest of places. The punishment of Allah is not out of anger and wrath. The punishment of Allah is a means of cleansing you of your sins. The punishment of Allah is a preparation, so that you can go into the noblest and purest of places, AL Firdaus Al A'la. And this is why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sends trials and tribulations.

Point number six, is that in this world, you will never truly be happy. No matter what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives you, you will never truly be content. You can have the most amount of money in the world. You can have the biggest house. You can have the most beautiful spouse. You can have everything that you desire, and you'll never be happy. True contentment and satisfaction comes in the akhirah (hereafter) alone. It comes when we are in paradise.

All of this is about perspective and how you deal with the situation. And that is why it's very important that an individual who goes through a trial, he changes his perspective of the trial. It's not a punishment from Allah, it's a means to get closer. It's not a punishment from Allah, it's a calling from Allah, that He wants you to come back to Him.

Why is patience such an important thing when it comes to trials? Because the prophet Muhammad shalallahu 'alaihi wasalam said, "An individual who is patient during the time of adversity incurs the pleasure of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And the individual who is not patient, he incurs the wrath of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala".

Now the situation is already as difficult as it is, you're going through a trial. Why make it worse by not being patient? Because you're only incurring the wrath of Allah. And an individual who's patient and remembers Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, they get the salawat of Allah. The remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala upon them. They get the rahma (mercy) of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala upon them. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala ends the verse (QS 2:157) by saying, "They are the ones who are truly guided".

In times of trials and tribulations, you have a decision to make. Either you can get closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and that is your way to paradise. Or you can decide to live with your pain, seek the pity of people, and let the pain get worse and create your own destruction.

Jazakumullah khair. Wassalamu'alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.