Reflections

An intelligent and skillful person transforms losses into profits; whereas, the unskilled person aggravates his own predicament, often making two disasters out of one.


The Prophet (Pbuh) was compelled to leave Makkah, but rather than quit his mission, he continued it in Madinah - the city that took its place in history with lightning speed.


Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal was severely tortured and flogged, and yet he emerged triumphant from that ordeal, becoming the Imam of the Sunnah. Imam Ibn Taymiyah was put into prison; he later came out an even more accomplished scholar than he was before. Imam As-Sarakhsi was held as a prisoner, kept at the bottom of an unused well, but he managed therein to produce twenty volumes on Islamic jurisprudence. Ibn Atheer became crippled, after which he wrote Jamey al-Usool and An-Nihayah, two of the most famous books in the Science of Hadith. Imam Ibn al-Jawzi was banished from Baghdad. Then, through his travels, he became proficient in the seven recitations of the Qur’an. Maalik ibn ar-Rayb was on his deathbed when he recited his most famous and beautiful poem, which is appreciated until this day. When Abi Dhu’aib al-Hadhali’s children died before him, he eulogized them with a poem that the world listened to and admired.


Therefore, if you are afflicted with a misfortune, look on the bright side. If someone were to hand you a glass full of squeezed lemons, add to it a handful of sugar. And if someone gives you a snake as a gift, keep its precious skin and leave the rest. “And it may be that you dislike a thing that is good for you” (Quran: 2: 216).


Before its violent revolution, France imprisoned two brilliant poets: one an optimist, the other a pessimist. They both squeezed their heads through the bars of their cell windows. The optimist then stared at the stars and laughed, while the pessimist looked at the dirt of a neighbouring road and wept. Look at the other side of a tragedy - a circumstance of pure evil does not exist, and in all situations one can find goodness and profit and rewards from Allah.

From childhood until now, I can recall a number of occasions in which it was clear that help comes only from Allah. Approximately ten years ago, I was on a flight from Abha to Riyadh. Shortly after take-off, an announcement was made that the plane was returning to Abha due to a mechanical problem. They then claimed to have fixed the problem and we took off for a second time. Upon approaching the runway in Riyadh, the landing wheels would not open. We circled the city of Riyadh for a whole hour. The pilot made ten attempts to land, but on each occasion the landing gear did not respond. Many people in the plane panicked and tears were flowing profusely as we waited in the sky for death. At that moment, we saw how insignificant and fleeting this life is, and our hearts became attached to the Hereafter. We began to repeat, “There is none worthy of worship except Allah alone and He has no partners. The kingdom belongs to Him; all praise is due to Him and He is upon all things capable.”


We invoked the One Who answers the prayer of the one who is in distress. On the eleventh attempt, we descended safely, and when we landed, it was as if we were returning from our graves. Tears dried, smiles appeared, and our peace of mind returned. How merciful and kind is Allah!


(Source: Don’t Be Sad)