The Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) is reported to have said:
'This
life is the dwelling of crookedness; not straightness, and the
residence of sadness; rather than happiness. Those who acquire
knowledge in its true reality will not feel joy in times of ease, nor
grieve in times of hardship.
Verily, Allah the Exalted has created
this life as a test and the Hereafter as the dwelling of recompense.
He made the test of this life a reason behind earning the reward of
the Hereafter and the reward in the Hereafter as compensation for the
test in this life. He takes so that He gives and tests so that He
recompenses.
The
life of this world vanishes rapidly and changes suddenly. Therefore,
beware of its sweetness so as to avoid the bitterness of its
depriving, and beware of its delights so as to avoid the pains they
lead too.
Do not excessively build a life that Allah has decided is
bound to destruction, and do not recline to (or like) it. Verily,
Allah has ordained on you that you should avoid its danger.
Otherwise, you will expose yourselves to His Anger and justifiably
earn His Punishment."
This
prophetic wisdom is, in many ways, also a summation of the Qur’anic
message on the fleeting nature of our fortunes in this world, and that everything is subject to a law of nature or the Divine Law. The
Holy Qur’an says, “No misfortune can happen, either in the earth
or in yourselves, that was not set down in writing before We brought
it into being- that is easy for God- so you need not grieve for what
you miss or gloat over what you gain.” (57: 23) Long ago, Luqman
the Wise counselled his son to endure with fortitude what befalls and the Qur’an notes: “Bear anything
that happens to you steadfastly” (31:17).
Our
Wishes and Divine Expectations
The
Qur’an alludes to the wisdom behind this balanced approach to our
earthly life’s contingent circumstances- fortunes and misfortunes;
situations that can and will evolve in the fullness of time in the
life of a believer. With a deeply flawed sense of the human self- "foolish and unjust", according to the Qur'an- man is inherently incapable of making the wise decision as regards what is harmful or beneficial for him without Divine guidance. Our wishes, desires and inclinations are to be tempered in accordance with Divine commandments and expectations wherever applicable, depending on the varied circumstances of one’s life.
Allah (swt) encourages the believers to trust in His better knowledge of how things will turn out to be in the end, and of what benefits a person in his present life and the Hereafter. Submission to God and adherence to Divine expectations would better serve and suffice the believer's larger interests, says the Qur’an in its own inimitable style:
“You may dislike something although it is good for you, or like something although it is bad for you: God knows and you do not.” (2: 216)
“Live with them (your wives) in a goodly manner: if you dislike them, it may well be that you dislike something which God might yet make a source of abundant good." (4:20)
One of the Divine revelations recieved by the Promised Messiah (as) in the previous era on the same theme is as follows:
"God will bestow your reward in full and will be pleased with you and will perfect your name. And it is possible that you hold something dear, yet in reality it is harmful for you; and it is possible that you dislike something , yet in reality it is beneficial for you. God Almighty knows the end results of things and you do not know." [Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Part IV, p. 391, UK: Islam Int'l Publications, (2016).
Imam
Ibn
al Qayyim al-Jawziyya
(691-751 AH; 1292-1350 CE), the medieval polymath and classical
commentator of the Holy Qur’an, has left behind a deeply
insightful exposition on this theme of the Qur’an, advising the
believing servants on how to profit from these profound
words of
the Book of God.
