Verily, with hardship...

Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu,

All Praises and Thanks are due to Allah alone. We praise Him and we thank Him and we seek His aid. Whomsoever Allah guides none can misguide and whomsoever Allah misguides, none can guide straight. 
I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah alone and I bear witness that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is His last Messenger and Prophet. 

“Verily, with hardship, there is relief" (Qur'an 94:6).

I always thought what this verse meant was, 'that after the hardship will come the ease'. In other words, after we have a period of struggle and trial we will then have a period of ease and happiness. But the word used in the Qur'an it is not 'AFTER'  but 'WITH'. With hardship, within the hardship there will be ease. How possible is that I asked? 

Life is a test, not sometimes, during certain periods. Life is a test! Always! It is a test for those who believe, as it is a test for those who do not believe. It is a test for the rich and for the poor, the healthy or the unhealthy, for the married or the single...It is a TEST in any case. The ease is at the same time as the hardship because nothing in this life is all bad or all good. There is always something to be grateful for, a lesson to learn, an experience to gain and strength  to develop. 

The way I used to see each experience, was to live it to the max. So if for example it was a sad period I would become depressed, cry a lot and see nothing but dark. I would sit alone not wishing to see anyone. If it was a period of ease I would be smiling a lot, enjoying company and see every shades of colour! So I thought, that's it! That's what it meant in that verse of the Qur'an! After a period of hardship comes ease, all I have to do is wait during hardship because the ease will come. 

But then it struck me! 

During those period when hardship hit me, I focused on the problem itself without seeing the bigger picture. Whenever hardship entered my life, I quickly switched into a depressed mode and allowed the problem itself to become my main concern of every single minute of my day. I shifted my focus from Allah to the problem itself. I forgot that Allah is the Reliever of hardship. The problem started to consume me inside and outside and allowed it to be my main concern. 

Allah tests me not to break me, not to make me fail, not to hurt me. Allah tests me to increase me in status, increase me in strength, increase me in love for HIM, to cleanse my soul from sins. Allah tests me to wake me up! Where is my dependence? Who do I turn to first when I need help? Who do I ask help to, first? What's the cure to my hardship? 

And after asking help from friends and family and searching frantically a solution to my hardship, exhausting all the means in my hands, I realized that I was not asking help from the right source!

When we exhaust all our means and we cannot find any other help, who do we turn to? Who do we call upon? Who's there for us?  

In the state of extreme need, affliction and hardship, when everything else failed, when everyone else cannot help, Allah is there for us. Allah was always there for us but we were asking to the wrong source. So now we get down into prostration and beg for His help because 'There is no power nor strength except with Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'Ala'. 

"Truly, it is by the Remembrance of Allah that hearts find rest." [Qur'an, 13.28]  

But what happened when a period of ease comes by? 

As Muslims we are told to “Remember Allah during times of ease and He will remember you during times of difficulty” (Tirmidhi)

In those periods of ease, when we are so high we could touch the sky as they say, let's make sure we are grateful to our Maker for all His blessings. Thanking is recognizing and appreciating. By thanking Allah, we are recognizing He is al-Wahhab (the Giver of gifts), ar-Razzaq (the Sustainer), al-Wadud (the Most Loving). 

In those difficult moments when we feel it is all bad, nothing it is worth living for, Allah will be there for us. 

It is a win/win situation. Because amazing it is the situation of the believer, when something good happens to him, he is grateful and that is good for him. And when something bad happens to him, he is patient and that is good for him too. 

In each situation (ease or hardship) there is good in it. We just have to use the right tools. Remembering Allah in times of ease and be grateful to Him for everything He gave us. During times of hardship use patience and duas (supplications). 

We should know that if we are pleased with our Lord, He will be pleased with us. And if we are pleased with our Lord no matter what the situation is, then we will find that we have earned our Lord’s pleasure.

We should extract the honey without breaking the hive. In other words, extract goodness from every situation, and repel evil. The heart does not benefit through grief. The most beloved thing to the devil is to hinder the worshipper in the path of Allah.

Allah ta'Ala reminds in the Qur'an Chapter 31 verse 17: “…Bear with patience whatever befalls you….”  and Chapter 9 verse 40 “Be not sad, surely Allah is with us.”

So nothing is ever all black or all white, all good or all bad. So nothing is limitless, nothing is forever (except the life in the Hereafter). Everything will vanish but Allah. Everything will have an end but Allah, He has no beginning and not end.

“So do not become weak, nor be sad…” (Qur'an 3:139) “Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best Disposer of affairs. So they returned with Grace and Bounty from Allah. No harm touched them; and they followed the good Pleasure of Allah. And Allah is the owner of Great Bounty.” (Qur'an 3:173-174) By leaving our affairs to Allah, by depending on Him, by trusting in His promise, by being pleased with His decree, by thinking favourably of Him, and by waiting patiently for His help, we reap some of the greater benefits: peace, tranquility, ease, comfort, care, protection and victory with Allah. Because we will depend on our Lord for everything.

"Whoever Allah wishes good for, He inflicts him (with hardship).” (Bukhaari)

Wa 'Alaykum Assalam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu. 
Ayesha