SHAFAQNA | by Mohamed Alnajjar : The human being was created in hardship as Allah (SWT) confirms in the holy Quran:
We have certainly created man into hardship.[1]
To understand the reality of the creation of the human being we need to also accept the idea of hardship and begin to implement it in our thoughts which will eventually convert into our actions and manners. We need to begin to accept that Allah (SWT) did not create the human being so that he may live a life without any pain. In fact, he created this world so that we face problems, obstacles, pains and similar types of hardships so that Allah (SWT) may see which of us are the most sincere and loyal in our worship.
We often hear this saying: No pain no gain. What does this mean? This means that if we do not taste pain or in other words endure pain then well will never taste or feel its sweetness.
Holy Quran mentions what happens when we endure hardship:
For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. [2]
What is meant by sweetness? It doesn’t mean that we are referring to the taste of a natural sugar sweetener or any other type of sweetener. What we are referring here to is about that non materialistic non-tangible feeling that you get when you endure that hardship or that pain and then you see the light at the end of the tunnel, meaning that for example, after the long years of days and nights spent studying and passing exams at the end of these long years you finally graduated and attained that degree.
Is it possible to maintain a good healthy lifestyle with a nice physique without having a precise program? That will track the number of calories you burn, the number of calories you need to burn to lose weight, what to eat etc. Therefore, you must have a plan to attain that goal and complete your objective. When we want to understand why is Islam the best religion to follow? To answer this question precisely we can say that Islam is the best religion to follow not because it is the easiest religion to follow rather it is a program that we must follow because this program will give us the tools that we need to become successful in this materialistic world and the next.
Now, why is it that if Islam is the best religion to follow, why is it that everyone is not following this religion and applying its rules and guidelines? It is because not everyone seeks the best. Some are just content with what they have and what they believe in. Some may be content with going to a 9 to 5 job and coming back home. However, some over achievers seek to become the CEO of that company and some seek to own their own cooperation one day. Therefore, the classes of people in regards to reaching the ultimate sense of satisfaction are different. This is why when Imam Hussain (A.S.) chose his companions he made sure that they all had one thing in common and that was that they wanted the best they wanted to be with the representative of Allah (SWT) and that they were willing to sacrifice their breaths and lives for the truth. It was that the companions of Imam Hussain (A.S.) wanted the best and this is what enabled them to reach the highest levels of faith and they were able to taste the sweetness of their sacrifice and hardship alongside Imam Hussain (A.S.).
[1] Al-balad 90:4
[2] Ash-Sharh 94:5
Thinking in a precise way: How to live an Islamic lifestyle (Part 5)