"Benefits of Tribulation"

From a Hamza Yusuf Lecture, discussing "The Book of Calamities, Tribulations, Hardships and Disasters", or "Benefit of Tribulations and Test".
Hamza Yusuf attempts here to convey the Seventeen Benefits discussed in this book and to try to explain other key important concepts and ideas therein.

I shall first outline the seventeen benefits and then have more to say afterwards.
These are my notes and my interpretations. Forgive me for my shortcomings.

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FIRST BENEFIT.
To you remind you the power of Lordship over you. Allah is RABB, rabbil-nas and rabbil-al-amin. Calamity frees you from the illusion of freedom and independence. It thus also reminds you of your Lord, to bring you closer to Him, when you have gone astray, or to just reward you with the fruits of such a harse experience. Keep in mind, some miracle recoveries from some deadly diseases and illnesses. Miracle escapes and survivals, etc, etc. Allah sends you tribulations as a blessing, to put you back on the most blessed path.

Lee Atwater - (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/badboy.htm) - , who was the republican head of election committee, destroyed Dukakis, which allowed Bush Senior to become President of America. Lee Atwater, made a living from destroying peoples lives, through manipulation of the mass media. He was a genious, devilishly so. However, when he got a brain tumour and realise his life was at an end. He wrote saying how sorry he was for all the people he had destroyed, whose lives he had ruined, and how he begged for forgiveness.

"He said in his letter to me that "my illness has taught me something about the nature of humanity, love, brotherhood and relationships that I never understood, and probably never would have. So, from that standpoint, there is some truth and good in everything." - http://www.turnipseed.net/atwaterart.htm

SECOND BENEFIT.
Realise your abject servanthood and your complete state of resignation and brokeness in front of the Will of Allah.
The quality of property is that the owner has complete will over it. This dunya (world and life) is Allah's.

When you realise this and swallow this fully. You realise, that whatever happens to Allah's Property, whatever Allah does with His Property, its upto Allah. Allah knows Best, Allah knows what we know not. Be thankful, that he gave you what you did not, for you came from a state of non-existence, to state of existence. Even in that existence, you are really in abject poverty, impotence, weakness and always in a state of need. Dont claim things as your own property, otherwise the True Owner may have to teach you whose in charge here, for your own good!

THIRD BENEFIT.
Sincerity to Allah. It puts you in a state of sincerly calling to Allah. After having that true sincerity, you learn about sincerity. You get to have a better understanding of what is sincere and insincere, also the different levels of sincerity.
The root word of God, in Greek and Latin, means "that which is left after all else is gone". This means, that there is no defence to calamity, but in God.
The greatest name, is the one that has no partner, to call out to.

Cat Stevens, look at his example. Two times in his life, he came close to death, and he had miraculous escapes. The second time, he had almost drowned out in sea, with no one there to witness it, but God. No one there to be able to save him, not even a dolphin. In that state, he begged to God with utmost sincerity, saying that if God saves him, he would devote his life to the Will of God. Then, a miraculous huge wave came out of no where (athiests answer to things to do with God) and brought him all the way back to the shores, onto the beach. Then, he discovered Islam, which became his Deen, his keeping up his end of the Bargain with Allah.

When you go through suffering and hardships, thats when your calling to Allah is most sincere. Thats when you can not deny your abject need, weakness, poverty and impotence! The child is rebellious to his/her parents once they have what they want and need. Once thats gone or missing, they cry to their parents and run to them in a state of absolute need.

FOURTH BENEFIT.
You return to Allah and become fervent in your Deen. Which in itself, will bring about countless benefits.

It was hardship and suffering that this Ummah was given birth to and grew through. It was the easy life that made it fall! Made the people in general complacent.

FIFTH BENEFIT.
Humbled state to Allah, bringing about prayer and worship to Allah. A closer connection to Allah, which is the greatest benefit of all.
There is a haddith that reads, "Allah afflicts people cause he loves them", and their beautiful du'as; John the Baptist said his prayers never got answered. When coming face to face with his Lord, he asked him why he never answered them. Allah said to him, that He loved hearing his prayers. John The Baptist found that to be the greatest answer to his prayers.

The Most Afflicted are the Prophets(pbuh), then the Saints (also Disciples) and the RIghteous and those that follow them, and those that follow them. Look at what they had to go through! The Sacrifices they made!

SIXTH BENEFIT.
Forebearing towards the one who has afflicted you. In the Koran Ibrahim (Abraham) is described as someone who had compassion for others. Forebearance.
There is a difference in the ranking of forebearance, based on the scale of calamity. Ability to forebear things, is a gift from Allah. Otherwise you could not forebear anything, which surely would be a more torturous state than anything you may be going through.

SEVENTH BENEFIT.
Forgiveness. The Greatest rewards are for those who forgive. Allah Loves forgiving people. To forbear someone is one level, to forgive them is a higher level. There is a haddith, of a man that was destined for Heaven, just cause he kept forgiving everyone, every single night. Will you still ask Allah for forgiveness, when you can not ever forgive anyone yourself?

EIGHT BENEFIT.
Patience whilst in calamity. Allah is with the patient. If you know Allah is always with you, and can always appreciate that without forgetting it, how can you ever be in a state of impatience? Patience is trust in time and in fate (qadr), all of which is Allah's; so in turn its ultimately about trust in Allah. Sabr(patience) is based on understanding, not forebearance. You understand the Love and Wisdom of Allah and trust in that. You await Allah's reward in patience, even if it may mean being patient all the way till the Afterlife.

NINTH BENEFIT.
You become HAPPY with calamities, because of the benefits. Poverty and death in Dunya, means Wealth and Life in Afterlife. The Haddith, that a rich man would have a harder time getting into Heaven than a camel would have going through the eye of a needle. You drink the bitter remedy, but know that beyond the sour bitter taste, there is cure.
No one likes a whiner, not even a whiner.

TENTH BENEFIT.
To be grateful for it; of the benefits. You thank the surgeon for sawing off your leg, cause you understand the gangrine would have killed you, or the spread of it may have meant losing more than just that leg. You may have lost something, or not got something, but because of it, it saved you from a greater calamity that you did not at first see.

ELEVENTH BENEFIT.
Purification. Know that the affliction is less than what you deserve. Also, afflictions removes sins. Allah is All Compassionate, All Merciful, Forgiving and Just. So dont complain, it could always be worse. Allah's Mercy is above His Wrath. Most Merciful Most Compassionate/Most Beneficient, these are the Names and Attributes that Allah raise above all others in the Koran.

TWELVE BENEFIT.
Allah allows you to feel compassion towards other people in tribulation. Everyone has suffered some form of injustice and oppression; in Dunya terms. So there is room for 'Universal Compassion'. A great blessing. If you remove calamity from someone, Allah will remove calamity from you; esp on Judgement Day.
Imam Muhammad Al-Hasan's commentary on Madhara said two conditions people have
1. Your fine, but dealing with problems of other people.
2. You have those problems.
If you dont help people with those problems, Allah will give you those problems. So you're either tested by others or by yourself.

THIRTEENTH BENEFIT.
Tribulation of others is a blessing. Its an opportunity for Amaal, an opportunity for you to get close with others, and with Allah.

If you didnt ever go through something difficult, then how can you expect to be able to relate to those around you who go through such things? It makes you more Compassionate.

FOURTEENTH BENEFIT.
Let you appreciate the blessings of well-being. You only really appreciate and value things, when you miss them, when they are gone.
Evil is just misunderstood Goodness. The darkness is neccessary for light to known. Evil is there to Highlight the Good, its the alternatives to Good, without which you would not have that choice to choose Good!

FIFTEENTH BENEFIT.
Allah has prepared rewards for forebearance, gratefulness and emaan in calamity; based on different ranks, ie levels of calamity and levels of people's spirit. Hidden reward, think of every test, as an opportunity to pass it and get that reward, or to learn from it. Heaven is surrounded by undesirable things (ie commitment and responsibility) , and Hell is surrounded by desirable things (ie promiscuity). Allah may put much goodness, blessings and reward in something you dislike, hate, fear, mistrust, or can not see.

SIXTEENTH BENEFIT.
Prevent you from pride, arrogance, evil, heedlessness, ignorance, etc. Many tyrants and evil people, are examples of people who abuse their blessings. If they were disabled, it would be a different story, they would not have committed such sins.

SEVENTEENTH BENEFIT.
Contentment. As tribulation afflicts Good and Bad. Believers get to Heaven, on sometimes just the sole basis of being content with them. We should learn to see God in everything, for He is all-encompassing. Read History, these times are not so bad. This age, the calamity for Muslims is spiritual, not material.

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Attribute of Will (of an All-Willing)

A will, is generally seen as something that initiates something. For a living intelligent thing for instance, there is a will in its actions, that it preforms.

Of course, not all actions, of a creature, are of its own will. For instance, our heart beats, and our continuous breathing. The energy synapses and nerve impulses throughout our bodies.

So 'will', is really the initiaiting factor behind things.

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the power or faculty of choosing or determining; the act of using this power; volition; choice or determination; pleasure, wish or desire; inclination, preference; lust; command; arbitrary disposal;
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Now... with regards to Power and Knowledge. An All-Powerful, All-Knowing, can not be separate from a state of All-Willing. Can any Will, be separate from the Will of such a God?

You see, its hard to think. How can, my own individual Will? Be within the Will of another?
How about.. if I knew you. I knew how to do something, to make you willing do something? Now its still your own individual will. But I had the knowledge, and power, and will, to do something. Which in turn, I know would result in your willingly doing something that I wanted to happen.
See how two such wills are thus connected?
Is it really mind boggling then, to think of something having all the power, and knowledge and all the will? Whilst you still having your individual Will, power and knowledge. Are you in any way, separate from such an original source?