Allaah says in Surah Al-Hajj (22:11) :
“And among mankind is he who worships
Allâh as it were, upon the very edge; if good befalls him, he is content
therewith; but if a trial befalls him, when fitnah comes to him, or a
hardship befalls him, if something that brings about grief comes his
way, if he is tested, if he is put to the test, when sadness comes his
way, if a hardship befalls him, what happens? He flips upon his face. He
loses both this world and the Hereafter. There is no doubt that this is
the clear loss.”
Walhamdulillah. The greater the test, the greater the reward, the
greater the hardship the greater the reward, the greater the difficulty,
the greater the reward from Allaah (tabarak wa ta’ala). And the Salaf
understood this.
Urwah Ibn Zubair, a well known from the Salaf had a problem with his
foot. So the doctors decided that they had to cut it off, cut the foot
off. When the doctors cut it off he didn’t say anything except these
words:
‘
O Allaah, for you are Full praise.
For if you have taken some, you have left some. And if you have tested,
and put through difficulty you have also put in good condition. If you
have tested and tried and put through difficulty you have also put good
health, good circumstances and good conditions.’
The next day his
son was riding a horse or mule and fell off of it and died. So they came
to Urwah with the information of the death of his son, he didn’t say
anything except :
‘
O Allaah, for you is
full praise. For if you have taken some, you have left some. And if you
have tested and tried you have also placed us in good situations and
good condition.’
So when he was asked about this he said: ‘I had 4
limbs (meaning 2 arms and 2 legs) and Allaah took some and left some.
‘I had 4 limbs 2 arms and 2 legs Allaah took one and left me three. I
had 7 sons, Allaah (tabrak wa tala) took one and left six. And he gave
me good condition, or good situation my whole life up until this time.
Then he tested me. Should I not praise Allaah for that? Should I not
praise Allaah for that?’
Read the full transcribed lecture here:
The Greater The Hardship The Greater The Reward - Abu Uwais Abdullaah Ali – Transcribed Lecture