Sabr or Shukr - The Worry Stops Here!

In the Name of Allh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

By Muhammad Alshareef
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Aasiyah, the wife of Fir'own. Her Eeman in Allah thrived under the shadow of
someone that said, "I am your Lord, Most High!" When news reached Fir'own of his
wife's Eeman he beat her and commanded his guards to beat her. They took her out
in the scalding noon heat, tied her hands and feet and beat her perpetually. Who did
she turn to? She turned to Allah! She prayed, "My lord, build for me a home with you
in Paradise and save me from Fir'own and his deeds and save me from the
transgressive people."
It was narrated that when she said this, the sky opened for her and she saw her
home in Paradise. She smiled. The guards watched astonished, she's being tortured
and she smiles? Frustrated, Fir'own commanded a boulder to be brought and
dropped on Aasiyah, to crush her to death. But Allah took her soul before the boulder
was brought and she became an example for all the believing men and women till
the end of time.
[And Allah has set forth an example for those who believe: the wife of Fir'own
(Pharaoh) - when she said, "My Lord, Build for me a home with You in Paradise, and
save me from Fir'own and his deeds, and save me from the transgressivedisbelieving people.] -Tahreem 66/11
In the hadith of Jibreel, when he came to the Prophet (SAL ALLAHU ALAYHI WA
SALLAM) and asked him about Islam, Eeman, and Ihasan, the Prophet SAL ALLAHU
ALAYHI WA SALLAM said about Eeman, "Eeman is to believe in Allah, His angels, His
books, His Messengers, the Final Day, and the divine decree, the good and the bad
thereof." For the past few weeks we have been reflecting on this hadith, only
glimpses. Today we shall conclude with the last article of Eeman: to believe in the
Divine decree, the good and the bad thereof.
As you and I travel though life we find ourselves in one of two situations. Either

something good is happening in our lives and in which case - as Muslims- our role is
to thank Allah for the blessing. Or something bad is happening to us, something we
dislike and our role here is to be patient (Sabr). This is the formula for a happy life, a
life cruising towards the pleasure of Allah. Sabr or Shukr, the worry stops here.
The Messenger of Allah (SAL ALLAHU ALAYHI WA SALLAM) said, "Strange is the affair
of the Mu'min (the believer), verily all his affairs are good for him. If something
pleasing befalls him he thanks (Allah) and it becomes better for him. And if
something harmful befalls him he is patient (Saabir) and it becomes better for him.
And this is only for the Mu'mmin "
Ibn Al-Jowzee said, "If this Dunya was not a station of tests it would not be filled with
sicknesses and filth. If life was not about hardship, then the Prophets and the pious
would have lived the most comfortable of lives. Nay, Adam suffered test after test
until he left the Dunya. Nuh cried for 300 years. Ibrahim was thrown into a pit of fire
and later told to slaughter his son. Ya'qub cried until he became blind. Musa
challenged Fir'own and was tested by his people. Eeasa had no provision except the
morsels his disciples provided him with. And Muhammad (Sal Allahu Alayhi wa
Sallam) met poverty with patience, his uncle - one of the most beloved relatives to
him - was slain and mutilated and his people disbelieved in him ... And the list of
Prophets and the pious goes on and on."
What happens to us happens by the will of Allah. It is an article of our Eeman in
Qada' and Qadr that we are pleased with Allah's choice, Good or seemingly bad it is
all the test of this Dunya. How could we imagine that we shall not be tested when
those who were better than us suffered what they suffered. They however came
away with the pleasure of Allah, Subhaanahu wa Ta'Aala.
Al Hasan ibn Arafah narrated, "I visited Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal after he was
whipped and tortured. I said to him, "O Abu Abdillaaah, you have reached the station
of the Prophets!" He said, "Keep quiet. Verily, I saw nothing more than people selling
their Deen. And I saw scholars that were with me sell their Faith. So I said to myself,
'Who am I, what am I. What am I going to say to Allah tomorrow when I stand in
front of Him and He ask me, "Did you sell your Deen like the others did?" So I looked
at the whip and the sword and chose them. And I said, "If I die I shall return to Allah
and say: 'I was told to say that one of Your Characteristics was something created
but I did not.' After that, it will be upto Him - either to punish me of be Merciful on
me."

Al-Hasan ibn Arafah then asked, "Did you feel pain when they whipped you?" He said
"Yes, I felt the pain up to 20 lashes then I lost all feeling (They whipped him over
eighty times). After it was over I felt no pain and that day I prayed Dhurhr standing."
Al-Hasan ibn Arafah started weeping when he heard what had happened. Imam
Ahmad questioned him, "Why are you crying? I did not lose my Eeman. After that
why should I care if I loose my life." They were better than us but this was how they
were tested.
Let us discuss some facts about these tests of life, the good and the bad that befalls
us:
Much of what befalls us - the hard times - is the direct result of our own sins. Allah
Ta'aala says [And whatever misfortune befalls you it is because of what your hands
have earned. And He pardons much.] - Sura 42/30
Muhammad ibn Seereen used to say when his depts piled up and he felt sad, "I know
that the cause of this sadness is a sin I committed over 40 years ago."
People understand that when something bad happens it is a test from Allah. But
dear Brothers and Sisters, the good things that happen to us are also a test.
Allah ta'aala says [And we tested them with good (blessings) and evil (calamities) in
order that they might turn back] - A'raf 7/168
Abd alMalik ibn Ishaq said, "There is no one that is not tested with health and
prosperity to measure how thankful he is (Shukr)."
And the Companion - AbdurRahman ibn 'Awf (RADI ALLAHU ANHU) said, "We were
tested with hardship and were patient. And then we were tested with prosperity and
we were not patient. Because of this Allah states:
[O ye who believe! Let not your wealth or your children divert you from the
remembrance of Allah. And whosoever does that, then they are the losers.] Munafiqun 63/9
Patience must happen from the beginning, not three days later or one day later, at

the first news of the calamity, when it first happens. The Prophet (SAL ALLAHU
ALAYHI WA SALLAM) said, "Verily patience (is only Sabr when practiced) at the first
hit (of news)."
There are things that contradict Sabr. Tearing ones shirt, for example, slapping
ones face, slapping hands, shaving ones head, and cursing and wailing. Umm
Salamah narrates: I heard the Messenger of Allah (SAL ALLAHU ALAYHI WA SALLAM)
say, "Any Muslim that says when a calamity befalls him that which Allah commanded
him: To Allah we belong and to him we return. O Allah reward me in this calamity
and give me better then it - (any Muslim that says this) Allah will grant him better
than (that which he lost)." - Muslim
These tests and hardships wash our sins. Aisha (RADI ALLAHU ANHA) said, "Verily
fever sheds sins like a tree sheds leaves."
The hardships that befall us distinguish the believers from the insincere. Shumayt
ibn Ajlaan said, "The pious and the ungrateful are hidden by health. Yet when
calamities befall the two men are separated (by how they react)."
Allah says in the Quran [Alif/Laam/Meem..Do people think that they will be left alone
because they say, "We believe," and will not be tested? Indeed We tested those who
(lived) before them] Al-Ankaboot 29/1-3
Part II: Towards Sabr
Ali (RADI ALLAHU ANHU) said, "Verily Sabr is to Eeman what the head is to the body.
When the head is cut off, the body falls. (He then raised his voice) Verily there is no
Eeman for he who has no Sabr (patience)."
There are three types of Sabr that the Muslim must have: a. Sabr in the obedience of
allah. For example, One must be patient and perform their Fajr at it's time.
b. Sabr in not disobeying Allah. Like someone might say, "I have to listen to music in
the car." No you are command by He who gave you those ears to not listen to those
lullabies of the Devil. And you must have Sabr in not disobeying Allah.
c. Sabr in what Allah Decrees on us. For example, if our child was to pass away we
should be patient and seek the reward of Allah in our patience and say only that

which is pleasing to Allah.

There are two keys. If we understand them we shall open the door to Sabr in our
lives:
The First Key: know that our souls, families and wealth do not belong to us, they
belong to Allah. He gave it to us as a loan to see what we would do with it. And when
he takes it back He is taking back what belongs to Him. We had nothing before the
blessing and we'll have nothing after it. We did not create the blessing from nothing,
so how can we claim that it belongs to us.
The Second Key: We are on a journey and the destination is the hereafter - Paradise
or Hell. We'll be leaving the Dunya behind us and we'll come back to Allah by
ourselves. This is what needs our focus. And if Allah is pleased with us then no
worry. If He is not pleased with us then all worry.
Let me draw your attention to a verse. Listen carefully. Allah revealed: [Guard
strictly the (five obligatory) prayers, especially the middle Salah and stand before
Allah in obedience.]- alBaqarah 2/238
The verses before this deal with divorce. The verses after it deal with divorce. Why
was this verse placed in the middele. The Ulama' have suggested, Wa Allaahu a'lam,
that in the hard times that a person goes through they should not forget the
rememberance of Allah, the Salah. And it is that Salah coupled with Sabr that will
pull them through.
[O you who believe! Seek Help in Patience and Salah. Truly, Allah is with those that
are patient.]-Baqarah 2/153
There is good news for those who intend to act on their Sabr. Allah promised them
three things: His prayer for them, His Mercy, and their guidance. [Who, when
afflicted with calamity say, "Truly, to Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall
return."/They are those on whom the Salawat (i.e. the blessing and forgiveness) of
their Lord is upon them, and who shall receive His Mercy, and it is they who are the
guided ones] -Baqarah 2/157
Allah says [And We made from among them leaders, giving guidance under Our
Command, when they were patient.]-asSajdah 32/24.

Sufyan ibn Uyaynah commented, "i.e. When they took hold of the leading issue, we
made them leaders!"
Courtesy Of: www.khutbah.com