Where There Is No Struggle — There Is No Strength:

The First thing to understand is Allah’s justice — “Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity.” This verse describes that Allah never burdens anyone beyond their capacity.

If you are in a state of difficulty or hardship, know that Allah has made you powerful enough to endure that pain.

If there is no struggle, there is no progress— Those who profess to Favor Freedom and yet deprecate agitation are men who want crops without plowing the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the roar of its mighty waters.

Hardship is an inevitable experience in life. Each one of us will encounter pain, loss, Fear, anxiety, sadness, and grief at some point in our journey to the Hereafter. Islam equips us with the spiritual resources to be able to overcome any trial in this world, as long as we maintain trust in Allah’s plan and decree.

It is important to draw on these resources whenever we Face adversity, such that we respond with the type of ‘beautiful patience’ practiced by Prophet Muhammad (saw) and the other prophets before him.

The theology of Islam and the contents of its sacred scriptures, the Qur’an and authentic Hadith, contain what psychologists call beneficial cognitions, or thought patterns, that are conducive to a believer’s sound mental health and well-being. These cognitions have even been integrated into psychotherapy and counseling specifically for Muslims.

Islam provides us with a worldview that considers the creation to be a temporal abode of testing, in which Allah puts His servants to trial in order to turn them back to Faith when they Forget, to expiate their sins, and to bring out the best in them.

“Allah is He Who created you from a state of weakness then He gave strength after weakness, then ordained weakness and hoary hair after strength; He creates what He pleases, and He is the Knowing, the Powerful”.(30.54)

The life of this World is not the end of the story, as many among humanity wrongly assume — There is another life, an eternal and infinitely more important life after this one, in which we will be judged For the deeds we are doing now. Allah’s purpose in making the creation is to give us the opportunity to grow closer to Him through our good deeds and acts of Worship.

Part of the test in this life is to endure trials in many Forms, most obviously as pain and suffering that we might be patient, but even pleasure and happiness that we might be grateful.

There are two words For ‘trial’ in the Qur’an:

First, al-balā’ means “to test… that the reality of what has been done is known.”

Second, al-Fitnah has a similar but broader meaning, adding dimensions of seduction, temptation, misguidance, or trial by Fire.

According to classical lexicographer of the Qur’an, Al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, the word originally means “to place gold in the Fire to sift out its valuables From its impurities.”

He adds that “al-fitnah is like al-balā’ in that they are both used to mean what is driven towards the human being, whether prosperity or adversity, but both of them usually mean adversity.” So each word carries the sense that Allah tests us with hardship or ease to make known who we really are — Like a blacksmith who melts gold and silver in a Furnace to remove its dross, Allah likewise puts us to trial in order to remove our spiritual defects such that only our best qualities remain.

All human beings can notice this dynamic in their lives. Crises can bring out the best in people, just as they can bring out the worst in people. Firefighters, For instance, show great courage by putting themselves at risk as they rush into burning buildings to save total strangers. If we reflect deeply upon our own experiences, we can Find many times we may have been in a difficult situation but eventually grew stronger From it, or in the end it worked out better than we thought it would. This is the nature of trials; they are opportunities For advancement.

Allah promises us that we will indeed be put to trial with many forms of hardship. We might lose our job, witness the death of a loved one, or suffer in our health, all of which will provoke a natural response of anxiety or grief in us. These tests are definitely going to happen whether we like it or not, whether we respond in a positive way or not.

Allah (swt) said: “We will surely test you with something of Fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives, and Fruits, but give glad tidings to the patient, those who, when afflicted by calamity, say, ‘Indeed, to Allah we belong and to Him, we will return’.” (Qur’an 2:155–56).

So, the point is that — this Worldly life is a Test and if we want to please our Creator, we will be successful only by obeying Him. It is the responsibility of every Muslim to Struggle and work hard day and night to bring the Ummah together.

In this way Intellectual Revival will come because the True Success of a Muslim lies in the support and exaltation of the Religion of Allah.

May Allah(swt) include us among His obedient servants. (Ameen).

JazakAllah (May Allah Reward You [with] Goodness)For Reading.

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