Main Topic
This lecture explains how difficulties, illnesses, and afflictions faced by a Muslim are manifestations of Allah's love and mercy, serving to expiate sins, elevate rewards, and draw the believer closer to Jannah.
Key Lessons
- Every hardship faced by a believer, even as minor as the prick of a thorn or a flat tire, expiates sins.
- Allah tests believers not to cause arbitrary suffering, but to grant them better outcomes in this life or immense rewards in the Hereafter.
- Sicknesses like fever cleanse the believer's sins just as a furnace purifies iron from rust.
- Losing one's sight and remaining patient guarantees Jannah for the believer.
- When illness prevents a believer from performing their usual good deeds, angels continue to record the good deeds they used to perform while healthy.
Quranic/Hadith References
- Hadith: A Muslim's hardships, even a thorn's prick, serve as an atonement for sins.
- Hadith (Jabir bin Abdillah r.a.): Rasulullah (s.a.w.) told Umm Sa'ib (r.a.) not to curse fever, as it removes sins like a furnace removes rust from iron.
- Hadith (Anas bin Malik r.a.): Allah stated that if He takes away a servant's two beloved things (eyesight) and they practice patience, He grants them Jannah.
- Hadith (Anas bin Malik r.a.): When a Muslim falls ill, the angel writing good deeds is instructed to keep recording the good deeds they performed during good health.
Practical Advice
- Avoid complaining or cursing illnesses like fever, recognizing them as spiritual purifiers.
- Exercise Sabr (patience) during times of job loss, bodily pain, or loss of abilities, trusting Allah's superior plan.
- Comfort elderly or sick relatives who struggle to perform acts of worship, reassuring them that their past good habits continue to yield reward.
Hazrat Moulana Dawood Seedat Saheb