Everything
in this world is the test from Allah.
Health and sickness – Friendship
and enmity – Wealth and poverty – Wisdom and ignorance – Hope and despair – Prosperity
and loss – And so on…
None of these things are blessings or curses on their own.
As Muslims, we perceive all these elements in a very different light. We believe that anything that brings us closer
to Allah, that makes us more muttaqi,
and eventually more deserving of Jannah is a blessing. And anything that kills
the quality of our eemaan and actions and eventually exposes us to the
wrath of Allah on the day of Qayamah, is a curse.
So blessings may come our way disguised as curses and curses
as blessings.
Coming to a few
examples – It is said that poverty is a curse and yet it is possible that
poverty may bring a person very close to Allah and actually be a blessing. Another
example would be of education. Education makes man civil and yet it also has
the power to induce arrogance – one of the worst sins – in hearts.
We must note that there are some things that humans are more likely to make good and bad uses
of.
Like the Prophet (SAW) said,
"There are two blessings which many people lose: (They are) Health
and free time for doing good."
Hadith # 421, Book 76,
Sahih Bukari.
So in spite of health and free time inherently being
blessings, they turn into curses because of our lack of their use. They will be
liabilities for us on the day of Qayamah.
Similarly, while wealth is perceived as one of the greatest
assets for man, the Prophet (SAW) said,
“… I am afraid that
worldly wealth will be given to you in abundance as it was given to those
(nations) before you, and you will start competing each other for it as the
previous nations competed for it, and then it will divert you (from good) as it
diverted them."
Hadith # 433, Book 76,
Sahih Bukhari
The challenge in this world is to realize that things that
might make us feel utterly blessed,
may actually be curses because of the way we make use of them – such as wealth,
knowledge, power, friendship, etc. Because of how we will be answerable about
them in the Final day.
And losses, sorrows, pains and calamities which might be so unwelcome
might become a means of salvation simply because how close they brought us back
to the True Beloved.
