Going Through Tough Times – Bilal Assad
Ayub alaihis salam He had 14 children and he had great health and wealth, everybody loved him. One day, after 80 years, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala took a way all of his 14 children. one by one, then he took away his wealth then he took away his health until the narration says
that his skin used to fall of his body until you could see his muscles and his bones, and he is still alive, breathing.
not only that, the people began to say if this man was a good person, Allah wouldn’t have done this to him, and so he lost his close friends.
One day, his Wife came and said ya Ayub alaihis salam!
isn’t it enough now?!
can’t you ask allah to get rid of this? it’s enough we’ve gone through too much!”
Ayub alaihis salam then said: my wife, how long did allah give me blessings for?
she said: 80 years or so he said: I’m too shy to ask allah to cure me, yet, until 80 years of this time has gone as well. he has given me so much. it was after 7 years, however, when he saw his wife resorted to taking from her hair and selling it.
that he said:
“رَبَّهُ أَنِّي مَسَّنِيَ الضُّرُّ وَأَنتَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ “
Rabbu inni massani-yadh-urru wa ‘anta arhamur-Raahimeen
O my Rob, Surely, distress has touched me, and You are the most Merciful of the merciful ones.
[surah al-Anbiya; 21:83]
Even look at the way the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, He asked allah to cure him, he didn’t say, o allah! cure me! O allah! you have harmed me! O Allah! you brought the sickness! take it away from me! No!
He Said: O my Lord! Harm has afflicted me. He didn’t even attribute it to allah subhanahu wa ta’ala because when harm comes to a muslim, and allah subhanahu wa ta’ala afflicts you with some kind of hardship, it’s actually good for you
I’m gonna say the hadith in a minute
وَأَنتَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ
wa ‘anta arhamur-Raahimeen!
and you are the most merciful!
allah says,
فَكَشَفْنَا مَا بِهِ مِن ضُرٍّ ۖ وَآتَيْنَاهُ أَهْلَهُ وَمِثْلَهُم مَّعَهُمْ
we took away all the harm away from him we gave him his family back and his children back, and doubled their amount.
[surah al-Anbiya; 21:84]
We gave him wealth grasshoppers, like the shape of grasshopers, of gold began to rain onto Ayub alaihis salam.
He used to pick them up and he used to, more than what he had.
in a hadith it says, he would go aroung, picking as much as he can so quickly and then allah subhanahu wa ta’ala sent jibreel alaihis salam and said to him.
Ya Ayub! Are you not already being given enough Blessings?
Why are you trying to hog everything up, yaa’ni, in other words?
Don’t worry, we are giving you blessings! why are you so quick and wanting to gather it all?
He said: Ya rabb! who is there that can take enough of your na’maa?
Enough of your blessings
I’m gathering your Blessing Ya Rabb!
So a Muslim, Allah loves to see his servant taking from His Blessing. He Loves it.
and thanking allah for his blessing, if when in a hardship, they also thank allah and they are Patient.
The prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam said: Strange is the matter of the believer, for anything that happens to him or her is good.
Subhan Allah!
