How Can We Say Allah Loves Us, yet He Puts Us in Difficulty?

Answered by Ustadha Raidah Shah Idil

Question: Allah is putting me through test after test.
I understand that life is meant to be a test but what I don’t understand is how you can test someone that you love? Surely if Allah loves us, He should try and help us and ease our worries. I have done a lot of acts of worship but things are only getting worse…

Shouldn’t we just all hope to die?

Answer: Assalamualaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

I pray this finds you well. May Allah grant you tremendous relief after all of your heartache.

Tribulations

“I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, which people are most severely tested?’ He said: ‘The Prophets, then the next best and the next best. A person is tested according to his religious commitment. If he is steadfast in his religious commitment, he will be tested more severely, and if he is frail in his religious commitment, his test will be according to his commitment. Trials will continue to afflict a person until they leave him walking on the earth with no sin on him.’ [Ibn Majah]

Trials are an inevitable part of this life. Reflect on the stories of the Prophets (upon them be blessings and peace), and how much they were tested. Being in the dunya can be unbelievably painful. It can also contain tremendous joy. All this passes – the good of it, and the bad of it. I pray that Allah grants you a multitude of ways to cope, out of His Mercy. InshaAllah your heartache is expiation for you, and an elevation of your rank in Jannah.

Losing hope

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “None of you should wish for death because of a calamity that has afflicted him, but if he must do something he should say: O Allah, keep me alive so long as life is good for me and cause me to die if death is better for me.” [Sahih Bukhari]

“Verily, with the hardship, there is relief.” [Qur’an, 94:6]

Dear sister, please do not despair and wish for death. For as long as you are alive, the doors of repentance remain open. Trust that Allah’s promise is true. Verily after every hardship is ease. Although you might not feel this right now, take a deep breath, exhale, and reflect on the moments in your life where Allah granted you ease after difficulty. Have a good opinion of your Lord. Shaytan wants to trick you into despair, so safeguard yourself from his trap.

Purpose of Hardship

Please take the time to read this brilliant explanation on Suffering and Divine Wisdom, and take the time to reflect on the role of suffering in our journey towards Allah.

Creation

One of the realities of being a created being is accepting that we cannot place demands on our Creator. Allah does whatever He wills. At the same time, remember His Mercy.

Alhamdulilah, all of your acts of worship are praiseworthy, so please continue them, but shift your attitude. Surrender to His Decree, instead of holding onto this idea of a transaction: “If I do x then Allah will give me y.” Allah is under no obligation to answer our duas on our timeline, as painful as this can be for us. Seek comfort in the reality that there is always, always, always wisdom in what He withholds, and in what He gives us, as much as it can hurt.

Solutions

1.Perform the Prayer of Need during the last third of the night. Come to Allah, brokenhearted. Beg Him for relief.

2.Reflect on your contribution to your difficulty. Do you need to repent? Is there someone you have wronged? Seek to redress these immediately.

3.Continue to give in charity and make dua for ease.

4.When you perform these acts of worship, do so with an attitude of humility.

5.It sounds like you are overwhelmed and in need of help. Could you find a kind therapist, psychologist or life coach to speak to? Do you have good friends or family members who can give you a listening ear?

6.Exercise daily, eat nourishing foods and get enough sunshine.

Please refer to the following links:

A Reader on Patience and Reliance on Allah
What Are Some Prophetic Supplications That Can Help Me Deal With Trials in My Life?

Wassalam,
Raidah

Checked & Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani