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When calamity strikes us, we should take pride in the
fact that we are similar to the righteous servants of God, of whom were the
Prophets; all of them were put through trials and tests. Prophet Abraham and
his son, may God praise them both, were both tested in a most severe way. God
commanded Prophet Abraham to sacrifice his son, Ismail. This command no doubt
would have been very difficult for Prophet Abraham, and he no doubt would have
been very saddened by the thought of losing his loved one. But Prophet Abraham
patiently persevered and obeyed God. Not only this, but even Ismail, remained
steadfast and obedient and offered himself to be sacrificed.
This test that God put Prophet Abraham through was to
test his determination. If Prophet Abraham or his son had been weak in faith, they
would have both failed this severe test God rewarded them with a great reward
on account of their strong faith and obedience to Him; right before Prophet
Abraham struck his son, a ram appeared and God told him to sacrifice it instead.
As a reward, God promised to establish them as leaders on earth. God says of Prophet
Abraham and his son:
“So when they had both submitted their wills (to God), and he
(Abraham) had laid him (his son) down on his forehead (for sacrifice), We
called out unto him, saying: “O Abraham! You have indeed fulfilled the
vision.” Thus, indeed do we reward the doers of good. Most surely, this was a
clear test.” (Quran 37:103-106)
The Quran says:
“And remember that Abraham was tested by his Lord with certain
commands, which he fulfilled. He (God) said: ‘I will make you a leader to the
nations.’” (Quran 2:124)
No doubt when Prophet Abraham was instructed to
sacrifice his son, he might have been reluctant in that regard, but he did it
out of obedience to God Almighty. This goes to say that even if one may dislike
something there may be good in it. God says:
“And it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you
and that you like a thing which is bad for you. God knows and you do not know.”
(Quran 2:216)
Another example that comes to mind is that of Prophet
Joseph, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him. The Quran mentions many
details of the trials and tribulations he faced in his life. His father loved
him a great deal, which made his brothers very jealous of him. They conspired
against him, and finally dumped him in a deep well. A company of travelers
passed by the well, and one of them let down his bucket. He said, "Good
news! Here is a boy." And they took him as merchandise. With this, Prophet
Joseph was sent to the far off land of Egypt as a slave. An Egyptian governor
bought him, and Prophet Joseph dutifully toiled away. As he was in the service
of the governor, the test intensified, the governor’s wife, who was very
beautiful, tried to seduce Joseph. This was a great trial for Prophet Joseph,
and he resisted her advances with steadfast perseverance. One day, the
governor’s wife ran after Prophet Joseph, so to seduce him by force, and she
tore his shirt, whereupon her husband entered the room. She accused Prophet
Joseph of rape but Joseph denied it, and when the governor saw his shirt torn
from the back, he asked his wife to repent to God Almighty. She schemed and
came up with a plot to have Prophet Joseph; she gave him one of two choices, to
either approach her or to be thrown in prison. He chose the second and was put
in prison for a period of time.
When we are struck with calamities, we should think of
all the trials Prophet Joseph went through: years of slavery and imprisonment.
Yet, through it all, Prophet Joseph remained steadfast to God. He never
resented the calamities that had befallen him, but instead used the time to
invoke his Lord. It was then—finally, after many years—that God rewarded
Prophet Joseph for his steadfastness. It was in that same jail cell that he
met a man who had a dream; God gave Prophet Joseph the gift of being able to
interpret dreams. And so Prophet Joseph interpreted his cellmate’s dream,
telling him that he (the cellmate) would go free and work for the king.
Indeed, the prophecy came true and the man did go free to work for the king.
One day, the king had a dream. The story is narrated in
the Quran:
“And the king of Egypt said: ‘Verily, I saw in a dream seven
fat cows, whom seven lean cows were devouring, and seven green ears of corn and
seven others dry. O notables! Explain to me my dream if it be that you can
interpret dreams.’” (Quran 12:43)
Prophet Joseph’s ex-cellmate, who was now in the service
of the Egyptian king, immediately remembered Joseph. He informed the king
about Prophet Joseph, and so Joseph was asked to interpret the dream, which he
did. Prophet Joseph told the king that there would be seven years of good
harvest, after which would follow seven years of drought and famine. He
advised the king to store up food during the seven years of prosperity, which
could be used during the times of drought and famine.
The king was so pleased by Prophet Joseph that he not
only set him free but appointed him to a very high position in the government.
And so God established a great deal of good through adversity; had Prophet
Joseph never been abandoned in the well by his brothers, nor sold into slavery,
nor imprisoned wrongfully, he would never have been found by the king and
appointed to a position of such great authority. Indeed, Prophet Joseph had to
go through all that tribulation in order to attain that rank. Therefore, when
we go through difficult times in life, we should be positive. It may be that God
is propelling us to a greater good which may be unknown to us at that moment.
Prophet Solomon was also tested, although in a different
way. He was given immense wealth and power; history attests to the fact that
wealth and power corrupts. Yet, Prophet Solomon was one of the few kings who
remained pious and God-fearing. The Quran says:
“And certainly we tested Solomon…and he (Solomon) turned (to
God).” (Quran 38:34)
Indeed, all of God’s prophets were tested; this
shows that God bestows trials upon His righteous servants, and we should feel
proud to be in their company. We should also emulate their behavior, which was
to remain steadfast in times of tribulation.
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