Answer
Short Answer:
- We understand you are suffering and going through hardship brother, but know that this will not go unnoticed and this will not go unrewarded. Allah will reward you for every second of hardship if you’re patient and continue to seek Him.
- Things WILL get better here, and you will be compensated with no limits in the Hereafter. Yes, it is difficult. But Allah knows and He is The Most Knowing and Most Appreciative.
………….
Salam Alaykum Dear Brother,
Indeed, we are very happy to receive your message. Thank you so much for approaching us, and may Allah (swt) shower ease, peace, mercy, happiness and serenity upon your heart.
We completely understand your questions and the points you were raising. We highly appreciate you taking the time to explain all of this to us.
We noticed around 7 points or questions in your message. Let us discuss them together bit by bit.
What’s the Point of this World? Why Is There So Much Chaos?
5- There is so much chaos, even amongst the people who claim to be religious. There is no agreement. No peace.
First, let’s be careful not to make sweeping generalizations. This approach is not academic, fully accurate or fair.
Yes there is chaos, but there are beautiful people around the world who’re fighting this chaos. Yes, there are religious people who are corrupt. But just because you found a bad apple, doesn’t mean you should give up food entirely. That’s not fair or right. Just like there are bad religious people, there are also good and pure ones.
“There is no agreement and no peace,” then go and struggle towards agreement and peace. You be the change you want to see in the world. Allah gave us the power to struggle towards goodness.
You know, places like Palestine and Syria are among the most war-torn places around the world today. There is no agreement and no peace literally.
STILL, this didn’t prevent many people from having beautiful, pure, solid faith in Allah and His Justice and His Relief. It didn’t prevent them for continuing to call for truth, justice and peace. It didn’t prevent them for living and struggling for their cause.
It is not about the circumstances, it is about how you choose to deal with them that will bring you inner peace. You could be in a luxurious island, but have disturbing thoughts, so you remain unable to have a good time. And you could be in a war-torn zone, but your faith and perseverance make you feel empowered and over the moon.
It’s all about how we handle our circumstances.
6- [There are] people who don’t have [anyone to] love them. They don’t have adequate resources too.
Let’s not sit and wait for people to love us and help us. You go out and help someone, and then see how this will make you feel.
Again, you be the change you want to see around you. Love people unconditionally. Give someone a helping hand.
The hadith says:
{Whoever removes a worldly grief from a believer, Allah will remove from him one of the griefs of the Day of Resurrection. And whoever alleviates the need of a needy person, Allah will alleviate his needs in this world and the Hereafter. Whoever shields [or hides the misdeeds of] a Muslim, Allah will shield him in this world and the Hereafter. And Allah is engaged in helping His slave so long as His slave in engaged in helping his brother.} [40 Hadith Nawawi 36]
So, don’t feel helpless, instead go help someone. It doesn’t have to be a major act. If you even smile in someone’s face, you may be able to alleviate their sadness/stress, and you will get rewards for doing charity and good deeds.
Go help in the masjid of your area, feed a poor person (nothing fancy: water and bread even), volunteer in a charity organization. All of these activities will introduce you to new people. And you will find company, and you will find love and energy growing in your heart and you will have endearing relationships with others like you.
{Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds – the Most Merciful will appoint for them affection.} (Quran 19: 96)
There is so much to do and there is so much hope and so many ways to find love and meaning. Don’t give up, have a little bit of hope, make dua and Allah will definitely show you the best way.
7- What if there is no paradise?
Your question essentially poses the possibility that there is no Judgement Day, no Paradise and no Hellfire.
Alright, sure.
We can believe that there isn’t any of that. But, what if there is?
Think about that: someone comes and tells you there is a fire in the building that you’re in. As the fire is approaching, you need to evacuate. What’s the smartest choice here? To sit and argue whether there is fire or not, or actually evacuate and save yourself.
If you took the precaution and evacuate, in both cases, you will be a winner. If it’s true, you saved yourself. If it isn’t, there isn’t really any significant loss for you.
However, if you didn’t take the precaution and you didn’t evacuate, you take a huge risk of being burned and losing everything.
Now, you say, “what if there is no Paradise and Hell?”
Well, in essence, everything that Islam teaches, is for the sake of living a modest, humble life, connecting with the Creator, having hope, purifying the self, serving others, avoiding major sins that bring spiritual and physical damage to the self and others. Basically, a life of modesty, purity, uprightness, accountability, responsibility and honor.
So, if there IS Paradise, we get to live an honorable life here, every second of hardship we face will be rewarded, all we need to do is be patient, then we die and get an eternal pleasure, eternal happiness, and eternal rewards for unlimited time.
And if there isn’t, we won’t really lose anything!
Other Scenario
Now, the other scenario. If we didn’t believe, to be honest, there is actually no purpose in life? Why should there be any hope? Morals and understandings of what’s acceptable and what isn’t change every day.
There is no stability, we will be under the mercy of a bunch of people in power who impose their own vision of what’s right and wrong on us. Then we die, and we find there is eternal Paradise created for us which we have lost by denying the message, and there is Hell waiting, as we’ve been warned but chose not to be cautious.
It is like the student who warns his classmates that there is a final exam at the end of the week. Some students take precautions and study, while others don’t. Those who took precautions will be ready and succeed.
They won’t really lose anything if there was no exam. Those who didn’t take precaution, on the other hand, will end up wasting an opportunity of learning, and end up failing miserably.
Now, which is the smarter group in this scenario?
We understand you are suffering and going through hardship brother, but know that this will not go unnoticed and this will not go unrewarded.
The Reward of Allah
Allah will reward you for every second of hardship if you’re patient and continue to seek Him. Things WILL get better here, and you will be compensated with no limits in the Hereafter.
Yes, it is difficult. But Allah knows and He is The Most Knowing and Most Appreciative.
{And whoever commits a good deed – We will increase for him good therein. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Appreciative.} (Quran 42: 23)
{And when you look there [in Paradise], you will see pleasure and great dominion.Upon the inhabitants will be green garments of fine silk and brocade. And they will be adorned with bracelets of silver, and their Lord will give them a purifying drink. [And it will be said], “Indeed, this is for you a reward, and your effort has been appreciated.” Indeed, it is We who have sent down to you, [O Muhammad], the Quran progressively.So be patient for the decision of your Lord and do not obey from among them a sinner or ungrateful [disbeliever].} (Quran 76: 20-24)
We pray that we meet on Judgement Day, remember those questions, and the answers that Allah inspired us with. And we say:
{Praise to Allah, who has removed from us [all] sorrow. Indeed, our Lord is Forgiving and Appreciative – He who has settled us in the home of duration out of His bounty. There touches us not in it any fatigue, and there touches us not in it weariness [of mind].} (Quran 35: 34-35)
Ameen.
Please continue to update us, send us any more questions you have and ask us for whatever you need.
We look forward to hear from you again.
(From Ask About Islam archives)
Please continue feeding your curiosity, and find more info in the following links:
https://aboutislam.net/counseling/ask-about-islam/what-is-the-failure-of-political-islam/
https://aboutislam.net/reading-islam/living-islam/man-created-love/
https://aboutislam.net/counseling/ask-about-islam/everyones-wishes-granted-paradise/