ISLAM;

A PSYCHOLOGY OF EASE OR
DIFFICULTY ?
AbJelRobmon Husso
Publisheu by AbuelRahman Nussa
Copyiight 2u12 AbuelRahman Nussa
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Foiewoiu
Intiouuction
Eviuence That Seems to be Pio Ease
- With Baiuship Theie is Ease
- Wonuious Aie The Affaiis of A Believei
- Seek Belp Thiough Patience
- Be Always Chose The Easiest of Two Natteis
- Allah Wants Ease Foi You
- Allah Wants To Alleviate The Buiuen
Eviuence That Seems to be Pio Bifficulty
- We Shall Test You With Something 0f Feai
- Bell is Suiiounueu by Woiluly Besiie
- When Is The Belp of Allah Bue .
- Allah Tests What Is In Youi Bieasts
- So That They Night Retuin To Allah
The Nisunueistoou Bauith
Bifficulty oi Ease oi Something Else .
A woiu on Saciifice
A Piactical Example of Pio Bifficulty Thinking
Piactical Examples of Pio Ease Thinking
Bo You Beseive Punishment.
About The Authoi
-'.%/'.0
This small book aims to exploie the following questions:
Boes Islam piomote ease oi uifficulty.
Theie aie those in Islam who claim that the path to Allah is uifficulty. Is this
tiue.
In Islam we ueiive oui unueistanuings fiom two piimaiy souices: The Quian anu The
Sunnah of The Piophet, peace be upon him. Theie aie seconuaiy souices of-couise but
this book will only focus on the piimaiy - only because that's all that's neeueu.
This book is intenueu to be an easy ieau. Islam is not an acauemic uiscipline. Yes, it can
be stuuieu acauemically, but Islam is moie than that.
Also, the sunnah (way) of The Piophet, peace be upon him, is to use easy, shoit anu
unueistanuable woius.
Buiing my stuuies of Shaiiah (Islamic Law), my usul teachei, woulu impiess upon us
that we must look at as many of the ielevant souices within a context as possible
befoie making a iuling.
This isn't just the case foi fiqh, but foi aqeeua (cieeu) anu eveiy othei uiscipline -
Islamic oi otheiwise.
Bon't just look at one veise anu give a iuling. That woulu skew youi peiceptions anu
unueistanuing. It's like looking at a jigsaw piece anu claiming that you know what the
biggei pictuie is. You might fluke anu guess it coiiectly, but the chances aie veiy small.
I'll be piesenting uiffeient veises (Ayat) of The Quian anu uiffeient ahauith
(naiiations) about The Piophet, peace be upon him. anu looking at what each of them
tell us. Each of them is a piece foiming the final pictuie.
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The Piophet (saw) was biought up as an oiphan. As he giew up, he expeiienceu tiial
upon tiial upon tiial; he uiun't know his fathei, his mothei passes away also, then his
gianufathei passes away yeais latei.
Bow uo you expect a man who expeiienceu all of this uifficulty to be.
Bow about a boy who is thiown into a well by his biotheis, those whom he tiusteu the
most... left to iot anu uie.
Imagine being in the uepth of that well anu heaiing voices anu then seeing a iope anu
basket. You cling onto this iope foi ueai life thinking that you'ie not going to uie!
You expeiience a sense of oveiwhelming joy.
But just then you aie bounu anu gaggeu, taken into slaveiy! Bow ciuel!
That moment of ecstasy extinguisheu suuuenly. You expeiience uays anu weeks of
being tieu anu gaggeu en-ioute to an unknown lanu.
Neveitheless, you aie solu to a man who tieats you well, so you expeiience a iay of
light in youi uaik tunnel. Bowevei, the mistiess of the house tiies to seuuce you,
leauing you to commit sin. But you iesist anu iefiain.
But then the mistiess biings hei fiienus anu cieates an even biggei temptation, you
iesist but because of BER you get sent to piison. Innocently. The accusation being a
ciime that you uiu not commit.
Aie these not haiuships.
This was Piophet Yusuf (as).
Statistically speaking, what woulu you expect of someone who hau expeiienceu these
haiuships.
You woulu expect a bittei man in seaich of ievenge. A man out to haim society, most
likely a seiial killei!
But we know that he was uiffeient.
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Allah says:
So, verily witb TEF borJsbip tbere is eose
verily witb TEF borJsbip tbere is eose
{Surot lnsbirob; 94:S-6)
People take these veises alone as pioof of whatevei they'u like to believe.
0sing just the above veises, some claim that haiuship shoulu be oui goal because it
biings with it ease. In othei woius, that we shoulu cieate haiuship foi it biings with it
ease.
0theis claim that these veises ieminu us of ease anu that haiuship is a passing phase.
That ease is the goal that one shoulu stiive foi.
Let's look at some of what these veises teach us.
The use of the teim 'TBE haiuship' in this veise implies only 0NE haiuship.
Allah uoes not uefine ease oi confine it by a numbei; this means that foi eveiy
haiuship theie aie two eases.
If theie was just one haiuship anu one ease; they woulu neutialise each othei. But this
isn't the case.
The ieality is that Allah (swt) mentions ease at a iation of 2:1. Ease shoulu theiefoie
flush out haiuship!
So baseu on these veises, ielatively speaking, theie is N0 haiuship because theie is
twice as much ease as theie is haiuship!
So actually these veises uon't tell us what to focus on as much as they tell us that theie
exists (at least) twice as much ease as theie is haiuship.
Also some unueistanu the veises as if they saiu: IN the haiuship. as opposeu to with
the haiuship. That woulu stipulate that ease was nesteu in haiuship. almost that you
neeueu haiuship in oiuei to have ease.
The veise of couise uoesn't say "in haiuship", it says "with haiuship" so haiuship is not
neeueu in oiuei to have ease.
Let's take the beginning Ayaat of the same suiah, Suiat Al Inshiiah;
Eove We not exponJeJ your breost?
AnJ removeJ from you your burJen
Tbot wbicb JiJ blister you bock?
AnJ roiseJ biqb tbe esteem {in wbicb) tbouqb {ort belJ)?
{94; 1-4)
Beie it's obvious that ease is a bounty fiom Allah, that CAN come aftei haiuship. The
veises uon't in anu of themselves stipulate that ease 0NLY comes aftei haiuship.
These veises uesciibe peifectly what happens when a buiuen is iemoveu. The chest is
un-cloggeu. The constiiction is iemoveu. The weight that was buiuening one's
shoulueis anu back is alleviateu.
The way in which Allah asks: "Bave We not expanueu youi bieast anu iemoveu fiom
you youi buiuen" suggests that ease is a bounty anu that it is moie favouiable than
uifficulty.
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The Piophet (saw) saiu;
"WonJrous ore tbe believers offoirs.
Ior bim tbere is qooJ in oll bis offoirs, onJ tbis is so only for tbe believer.
Wben sometbinq pleosinq boppens to bim, be is qroteful, onJ tbot is qooJ for bim;
onJ wben sometbinq Jispleosinq boppens to bim, be is potient, onJ tbot is qooJ for bim."
{Huslim; 71S8)
What is the Piophet (saw) iefeiiing to when he says the final woius of the above
Bauith "...anu that is goou foi him".
Is 'it' iefeiiing to 'haiuship'.
. oi is 'it' iefeiiing to 'ease'.
The haiuship is N0T what is goou foi the believei, the ease is N0T what is goou foi the
believei, B0T how they ieact to it is - with patience oi giatituue.
Patience anuoi giatituue aieis what is iefeiieu to in the statement "is goou foi him".
0nueistanu that haiuship in anu of itself is not necessaiily beneficial. Noi is ease. In
meuical teims haiuship alone leaus to exhaustion anu ease alone leaus to atiophy.
Both in anu of themselves aie not necessaiily goou.
Shoulu we chase aftei haiuship oi ease.
Neithei.
The hauith says; IF it (haiushipease) BEFALLS him. The believei is passive with
iespects to what befalls him in this naiiation.
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"AnJ seek you belp tbrouqb potience onJ proyer; onJ most surely it is o borJ tbinq, sove
for tbose witb kusboo"
{Bokorob; 4S)
So Allah is commanuing us to seek iefuge (ie fiom uifficulty) with patience anu piayei.
This suggests that patience anu piayei aie a foim of ease. This falls in line with what
we unueistanu of The Piophet, peace be upon him, commanuing Bilal to biing iest
with piayei.
But then, Allah says that uoing this is uifficult foi those without kushoo'.
So is piayei easy oi uifficult.
It's cleai that patience anu piayei can be easy foi some anu can be uifficult foi otheis.
Bifficulty is theiefoie subjective anu as such it shoulun't be oui yaiustick. Bifficulty
cannot be the yaiustick if it is subjective. It woulu be like having moving goal posts!
Same is tiue of ease... except that Allah asks us to take iefuge fiom uifficulty with
patience anu piayei (implying that they'ie easy - foi those with khushoo').
So uifficulty isn't something that we go aftei because it's subjective. Ease is subjective
also so it shoulun't be oui goal eithei... but the veise suggests that we shoulu employ
what biings us ease when faceu with uifficulty, not as a goal in anu of itself, but as a
ielief fiom uifficulty.
As a siue note, tazkiyah is the piocess thiough which something uifficult oi uislikeu
can be tuineu into something easy anu likeu.
If you loop this ayahveise on itself then foi those that finu patience anu piayei
uifficult, you can use (seek iefuge in) patience anu piayei to make patience anu piayei
easy!
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Aysha (iaa) naiiates:
"Tbe Propbet of Allob, upon bim be peoce, olwoys cbose tbe eosiest of two motters, so
lonq os it wos not sinful."
{Bukbori)
If we aie to unueistanu the pievious haueeth mentioneu in eviuence #S to mean that
uifficulty is the path to heaven... was the Piophet (saw) choosing the path opposite to
heaven.
(Eviuence #S: "Bell is suiiounueu by woiluly uesiie, while Beaven is suiiounueu by
uifficulty anu haiuship.")
The Piophet (saw) chose the path of ease. Be is one of oui piimaiy souices of
ueiivation anu he was on the path to Allah, so by following him we aie by uefault also
on the path ofto Allah.
So ease is something that we neeu to choose when given the choice, not uifficulty. This
is the sunnah of The Piophet, peace be upon him.
But again, theie is a sense that the choosing of ease was ieactive oi seconuaiy to
something else. She (iaa) says that he (pbuh) chose ease when !"#$#%&#' with two
matteis to chose fiom. (this is how he ieacteu)
So again, the eviuence till now has suggesteu that ease isn't a goal that we shoulu seek.
(noi is uifficulty)
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Theie aie veises of The Quian that favoui ease ovei uifficulty.
"Allob wonts eose for you onJ Joes not wont Jifjiculty for you."
{Srob ol-Boqorob: 18S)
This veise comes in the context of obligatoiy fasting - which foi most is not easy.
Fasting in the beginning of Ramauan is uifficult, you'ie not useu to it. But as you
appioach the enu, it becomes easy anu maybe you piomise youiself to continue fasting
aftei Ramauan, but you uon't. 0nce Ramauan finishes, you miss fasting foi a while,
until you foiget about it.
Again uifficulty is S0B}ECTIvE anu you see with the example of fasting in Ramauan
how something that was haiu can tuin into something that is easy.
So Allah wants ease foi us not uifficulty. This ieaffiims that the path to Allah is not the
path of uifficulty. Alone it uoesn't piove that the path to Allah is ease eithei.
But this ayah biings anothei factoi to oui attention. I'll mention what it is with the
next eviuence.
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"Allob wonts to olleviote tbe burJen from you"
{Al-Niso: 28)
The new factoi biought to oui attention in the last veise is also biought to oui
attention heie. The factoi that Allah shoulu be oui goal. It's an implieu factoi.
I kept mentioning pieviously that uifficulty is not a goal anu that ease is not a goal
eithei. This ayah tells us that Allah is a goal. Be 'wants' fiom us something... meaning
that Be is in a position to be obeyeu.
Boes Be want ease FR0N us.
Not necessaiily anu again this uoesn't mean that Be wants uifficulty fiom us eithei...
But Be uoes want ease F0R us.
So how aie we to unueistanu ease. I have to put the answei to this question on holu
foi now.
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Thus fai, 7 eviuences that suggest that the path to Allah is not uifficulty have been
mentioneu, but this isn't a numbeis game. If theie's even 1 pioof that contextualises all
the pievious eviuences such that they point towaius uifficulty as the path to Allah then
we must submit to it.
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Boesn't Allah (swt) mention testing us with feai, hungei, loss of wealth anu othei
things.
Yes, Be uoes... anu we have to look at these veises too befoie we come to a conclusion
about anything.
AnJ certoinly, We sboll test you witb sometbinq of feor, bunqer, loss of weoltb, lives onJ
fruits, but qive qloJ tiJinqs to tbe potient ones.
{Al Boqorob: 1SS)
Wow. This seems to totally contiauict the veises about Allah wanting foi us ease.
We also know that Allah is testing us to see if we will succeeu oi fail. anu baseu upon
that eithei we go to heaven oi hell. so this implies that tests of uifficulty aie the path
to heaven.
Buge contiauictions it woulu seem. how can we unueistanu both veises without
nullifying oi negating eithei.
Well, fiistly. Allah uoesn't say: "We shall test you with feai." No Be says: "something
of", meaning a small poition of.
Also, Allah uoesn't say: We shall test you with feai." - no Be says: "of feai" - which
actually means "fiom feai". the Aiabic teim min is useu which means a small pait of
fiom.
So it's like saying: We shall test you with a bit of a poition of feai, {with a bit of a
poition of } hungei, {with a bit of a poition of} loss of wealth, {with a bit of a poition
of} lives anu {with a bit of a poition of} fiuits, but give glau tiuings to the patient ones.
Bo you see how uiffeient that is to just saying: "We shall test you with feai, hungei,
loss of wealth, lives anu fiuits, but give glau tiuings to the patient ones" ..
It's a huge uiffeience. You aie testeu with PART 0F A PART of something, insteau of
the whole thing !
So fiom afai oi at fiist glance, yes it uoes seem that this veise suppoits uifficulty as a
path to Allah, but at closei inspection it's cleai that it uoesn't.
All the veise is saying is that you'll be afflicteu with small amounts of uifficulty.
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"Eell is surrounJeJ by worlJly Jesire, wbile Eeoven is surrounJeJ by Jifjiculty onJ
borJsbip."
{Bukbori onJ Huslim)
In anothei veision of this naiiation the Piophet (saw) says that
"beoven is comoujloqeJ by borJsbips onJ tbot bell is comoujloqeJ by eose"
This Bauith seems to suggest that the path to heaven is haiuship anu the path to hell is
ease. Is that tiue .
So now we'ie looking into the question of what we shoulu aim to attain.
Let's exploie the mattei of piayei with ielevance to uifficulty oi ease.
We all know that Salahpiayei is a necessaiy act to attain Paiauise. Nany people finu
piayei uifficult. This woulu seem to suppoit the (above) unueistanuing of the above
hauith - that uifficulty is the path to Beaven.
But we also know that The Piophet, peace be upon him, useu to say to Bilal (iaa):
Aribno biboo yoo Bilol! 0 Bilol, qive us rest witb it {ie proyer) {Abu BowuJ)
The Piophet (saw) is saying that piayei is ease, it gives us iest, it soothes us.
Theie seems to be a contiauiction heie. The hauith mentions that heaven is
suiiounueu by uifficulty yet piayei, which is a necessaiy act to attain heaven, biings
(some people) ease.
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So up till now, the eviuence has swayeu away fiom the theoiy that uifficulty is the path
to Allah. But the following veise can change eveiything:
0r tbink you tbot you will enter PoroJise witbout tbe exomple of tbose wbo posseJ owoy
before you?
Tbey were ofjlicteJ witb severe poverty onJ oilments onJ were so sboken tbot even tbe
Hessenqer onJ tbose wbo believeJ olonq witb bim soiJ: "Wben is tbe Eelp of Allob Jue?"
lnJeeJ, Jejinitely, tbe Eelp of Allob is neor!
{Al Boqorob: 214)
So I won't entei paiauise till I've been shaken to the coie... like those befoie me. that's
petiifying!
This veise uoesn't facilitate foi us a change of unueistanuing about the pievious
eviuences, but alone it seems to point quite stiongly away fiom ease. To say the least!
Question: is Allah mentioning this veise to say that eveiy single believei will not entei
heaven except that they aie shaken to theii coie.
This can't be tiue because we know that this just uoesn't happen. not to EvERY single
believei.
Also "TBE messengei anu those who believeu with him saiu". but oui Nessengei
Nuhammeu, peace be upon him, uiun't say this noi uiu Nussa (pbuh), noi aie we tolu
that Isa}esus (pbuh) saiu this, noi Abiaham etc.
Noi uiu the companions of The Piophet, peace be upon him, say woius of a similai
tone, except veiy few like Ammai ibn Yassii when he was being toituieu anu his
mothei hau been killeu with a speai in between hei legs. 0nly a few weie shaken to
theii coie the way that the veise explains it.
So this veise isn't a conuition foi the entiy of each anu eveiy Nuslim into heaven.
Rathei it is a poetic way of saying that the highei youi goal, the moie the staiis anu the
effoit that is iequiieu to ieach that goal.
We know this to be tiue. uetting a uoctoiate is not the same as watching a
movie. The loftiei the goal, the gieatei the piice. That's noimal anu to be
expecteu.
So we will be testeu, but not because haiuship is the path to Allah. Insteau, it's
because the goal is lofty.
The Piophet, peace be upon him, says that:
lnJeeJ tbe commoJity of Allob is expensive, inJeeJ tbe commoJity of Allob is
jonnob
{tirmiJbi)
So it's not that the path to Allah is the path of uifficulty. No the path to Allah is
the path to Allah. 0n the way you will be afflicteu with uifficulty, but you'll also
be afflicteu with ease.
Remembei the hauith I piesenteu befoie: "if ease befalls him. if haiuship
befalls him"
It's not that eithei of them is a path oi goal that we chose, iathei they befall us
on oui paths, on oui way to oui goal(s).
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Theie aie a paii of veises that come sepaiately fiom one anothei but within close
pioximity that can also be misunueistoou to favoui uifficulty as a path to Allah.
These veises use the teim: "li yumahisa" which liteially means "to puiify".
AnJ tbot Allob moy purify tbe believers onJ eliminote tbe Jisbelievers
{Al lmron: 141)
. but tbot Allob tests wbot is in your breosts; onJ to purify tbot wbicb wos in your beorts
onJ Allob is All Knower of wbot is in your breosts.
{Al lmron: 1S4)
When ieauing The Quian, you have to ieau befoie anu aftei the paiticulai veise to see
if theie's a specific context that the veises aie iefeiiing to. In this case, the veises
suiiounuing these two veises aie talking about fighting anu }ihau.
In veise 141, the meaning of "puiify the believeis" is veiy closely ielateu to "eliminate
the uisbelieveis". In othei woius, Allah is puiifying the believeis BY eliminating the
powei of those who holu onto impuiity (the uisbelieveis).
When tiuth oveipoweis falsehoou, it cleanses it. What is left is only tiuth, puiity.
(oi that falsehoou is so weakeneu, such that it's as if theie is only tiuth)
You see the same meaning in veise 1S4.
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The following piece of eviuence can't ieally be useu as eviuence foi the claim that
uifficulty is the path to Allah, but I heaiu it quoteu by a speakei. So in the inteiests of
coveiing all bases:
AnJ We sent not o Propbet unto ony town but tbot We seizeJ its people witb sufferinq
from extreme poverty onJ loss of beoltb onJ colomities, so tbot tbey miqbt return to
Allob.
{Al Arof: 94)
It's veiy veiy vERY cleai fiom the veises befoie anu aftei this one that Allah is only
talking about towns that tuineu away fiom the tiuth, towns that weie aiiogant.
It's veiy cleai that Allah uoesn't senu with his messengeis affliction, couitesy of the
tiuth !
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Let us naiiate one of the most misunueistoou occuiiences anu Bauiths of the Piophet
(saw):
The Piophet (saw) is looking foi a tiibe oi city to accept Islam anu to piotection him
(pbuh), so he goes to Tai'if. It's a town wheie his mateinal ielatives iesiue anu he
(pbuh) invites them to the path of Allah.
They ieject him anu set theii slaves, the uowntiouuen anu the chiluien of theii town to
humiliate anu stone The Piophet, peace be upon him.
Bis injuiies weie such that his blesseu bouy was flowing with bloou anu by the time
The Piophet, peace be upon him, sat uown to iest aftei fleeing, his slippeis weie stuck
to his feet because of the extent of his wounus.
Was this an easy expeiience .
N0. Foi suie, this is the uefinition of uifficulty.
What uoes the Piophet (saw) uo. Be iaises his hanus to make Bua:
"0 my lorJ, to you l comploin of my weokness of strenqtb onJ my lock of resourcefulness
{tbot l coulJnt ottoin wbot l set out to qet).
0 most Herciful.
... if you ore not onqry witb me, tben l Jont core! {ie if tbe stoninq tbot l receiveJ wos
becouse of your onqer tben l Jo core yet if it wosnt tben l om content!)
. except tbot l woulJ prefer tbot you woulJ moke tbinqs smootber."
Nany woulu misunueistanu this hauith to show that the Piophet (saw) was feeling
soiiy foi himself.
Re-ieau the piayei he makes to Allah anu ask youiself: Is this a man wallowing in
soiiow anu self pitty .
"0 my lorJ, to you l comploin of my weokness onJ strenqtb onJ my lock of
resourcefulness {tbot l coulJnt ottoin wbot l set out to qet). 0 most Herciful.
When you complain of youi weakness, you aie asking foi moie stiength. 0ne
wallowing in self-pity woulun't ask foi that. 0ne puisuing uifficulty woulu not ask foi
stiength eithei, heshe woulu ask foi weakness, foi weakness woulu inciease the
uifficulty.
... if you aie not angiy with me, then I uon't caie!
0nueistanu this liteially. The Piophet, peace be upon him, actually uoesn't caie about
what happeneu, it's as if it uiun't happen. so long as it wasn't a sign of Allah's Wiath
upon him (pbuh).
. except that I woulu piefei that you woulu make things smoothei."
I uon't think that these can evei be the woius of a bioken man. I uon't think that these
can evei be the woius of a man wallowing in self-pity noi aie they the woius of one
who woulu piefei haiuship ovei ease !
In fact, veibatim, The Piophet, peace be upon him, says that he uoesn't caie so long as
this isn't inuicative of Allah's Wiath upon him. This isn't a man that is bioken.
I heaiu a speakei once say that this hauith teaches us that Allah gives us uifficulty to
bieak us so that we tuin back to Bim. Bow uoes this hauith teach us that .
That is to imply that The Piophet, peace be upon him, was looking away fiom Allah to
stait with ! Finu me one occuiience in his blesseu life wheie he stiayeu fiom Allah
(swt).
The 0NLY ieason this happeneu to him was because he went to Ta'if on the path of
uawah, calling to Allah !
Fiom the woius of The Piophet, peace be upon him, it's cleai that uifficulty wasn't
even on his RABAR !
Allah (swa) anu the angels caieu that this occuiieu to the Piophet (saw), so Allah
(swa) gave him the powei to avenge this tiibe. Allah sent the angel of the mountains:
". If you wish I will biing uown the two mountains suiiounuing the people of Ta'if
upon them.''
But Nessengei of Allah (PB0B) iesponueu:
"No, l bope tbot Allob will roise from omonqst tbeir JescenJonts people tbot will worsbip
Allob tbe 0ne, onJ will not oscribe portners to Eim {in worsbip).''
{Al-Bukbori onJ Huslim)
This stoiy illustiates many lessons:
To the untiaineu eye it woulu seem that The Piophet, peace be upon him, just went
thiough a haiiowing expeiience. But his woius iefute this.
Bow is it that The Piophet, peace be upon him, can say that he uoesn't caie .
Simply put: Allah is Bis only goal. Not ease anu not uifficulty. Anu with such a huge
goal, one uoesn't feel the nuances of pain oi uifficulty.
An example foi the puiposes of claiity: if you papei-cut youi fingei whilst being boieu
then you will instantly feel the pain.
Bowevei if you obtain a papei cut uoing something fascinating you will only iealise
latei that you sustaineu this injuiy. Why .
The goal nullifies the pain!
If you keep in minu why you aie uoing something then the so calleu uifficulties that
you come acioss will seem totally insignificant.
If you feel uifficulty it's because you aie chasing aftei ease oi chasing aftei uifficulty.
Nake youi goal Allah so that you will not feel uifficulty.
Realise that the biggei goal the gieatei the nullification of pain!
The biggei youi goal, the moie insignificant the challenges. Theie is nothing biggei
than Allah. We say Allahu Akbai - Allah is uieatei (than anything).
Yusuf (as) uiu not feel bittei in piison as people askeu him foi auvice!
Bau he focuseu on his 'haiuships' anu 'uifficulties', he woulu nevei have inteipieteu
the uieam foi the fellow piisoneis.
Bis biggei goal nullifieu any pain, challenge oi uifficulty faceu by him in his life - of
which theie weie many !
I7J32$+E '. 5",% '. 9':%+87*D 5$,% L

If you aie going thiough uifficulty then youi goal is not big enough anu the biggest goal
is Allah (swt).
Suiah Iklaas is the suiah of sinceiity. Allah, as uesciibeu in Suiah Ikhlaas, is the 'Ahau'
meaning the 0NE.
All of cieation is in paiis. If it is not Allah it is cieation anu it has a paii.
To achieve the outcome of a goal you neeu to set the goal anu fulfill the means to
attaining the goal. You'll notice that the means aie always uiffeient fiom the goal.
Foi example if 'getting to the uooi' is youi outcome then 'walking to' the uooi it is
uiffeient than 'being at' the uooi.
With Allah it is uiffeient; the means to getting to Allah is Allah. By iemembeiing Bim
(the means) you attain Bim. When you attain Bim, you aie iemembeiing Bim. Allah is
the goal anu the means.
Remembei that if the goal is big enough; you won't feel the papei cut. Realise also that
the easiest goal to attain is Allah, because the means equals the goal.
Finally the teims uifficulty anu ease aie useu by The Piophet, peace be upon him, in
the sense of them being tools. The Piophet, peace be upon him, useu to choose ease
ovei uifficulty when he hau a choice.
In othei woius he chose to uo things easily when that was an option.
The teims aie also useu as uesciiption of ciicumstance. that ease anu uifficulty befall
a believei.
Allah ieminus us that any pain felt in Bis way is insignificant:
...lf you ore in poin tben surely tbey too ore in poin, but you bove o bope from Allob tbot
tbey Jo not bove...
[Al Niso: 104]
It's impoitant to mention that this veise is in the context of wai. It's impoitant to
mention that because ease is the usual status quo. Pain anu uifficulty only come by
iaiely.
It's goou that pain anu uifficulty isn't the path to Allah, we woulun't have been
tiaveling much !
? /'.0 '* 9"3.7N3%
I mention this because saciifice is a foim of self inflicteu uifficulty.
The teim 'saciifice' is not even stateu once in the Quiaan. 'Bhabh' is stateu in the
Quian, which means 'to slaughtei', not to saciifice. Saciifice is a lossgiving-up of
something i.e. to give with no ietuin.
In Islam we aie askeu to INvEST. Not saciifice.
}ust think about Ibiaheem (as). Allah askeu him to slaughtei his son. (the English
tianslation is saciifice, it's inaccuiate)
Bow uoes he uo it. Aftei the thiiu night he tells his son about the commanu.
Why uoes he tell his son. Is it with the hope that Ismail will say 'no, I uo not wish to be
slaughteieu'. Is Ibiaheem (as) looking foi an excuse.
No. Ibiaheem (as) coulu have just ignoieu the uieam anu not tolu his son.
Why uiu Ibiaheem (as) tell him then . Why uiun't he just cut his thioat in the miuule of
the night, whilst his son was unawaie .
It is because Ibiaheem (as) wants his son to paitake in the investment. Be loves his
son so he wants to allow him to gain iewaiu thiough this act of woiship.
Ibiaheem (as) moves the knife on his son's kneck. The knife won't cut.
So Allah pieseives Ismail. Noieovei, Allah senus a iansom even though the paient
shoulu be the one paying the iansom, in the effoit to ieacquiie his son.
Biu Ibiaheem loose anything.
N0, he uiun't lose his son. Be uoesn't even have to pay a iansom!
Be actually uAINS so much fiom this. Allah senus him a iansom. Allah keeps foi him
his son. Allah asks that they B0TB builu Bis house (The Kaba) togethei foi Bim (swt).
Allah makes us iemembei theii act of submission till the uay of juugement.
Was theie any loss in this whatsoevei .
? ;."343"$ 5O":>$% '( ;.' I7J32$+E !87*C7*D
I'm giving this example so that you can begin to analyse what you see anu heai. So that
you can uistinguish.
0ne of the uisciplines I uo is hypnotheiapy. anu one of the most pievalent things I see
is people hypnotising each othei with woius anu sentences - without them being
awaie that this is what they'ie uoing.
The pioblem isn't that they'ie hypnotising one anothei, the pioblem is what they'ie
hypnotising one anothei to uo think believe !
So with that saiu, I want to show you how I analyse one of }all au-Bin Nuhammau
Rumi's statements that I uon't agiee with.
But fiist a woiu about what I think of Rumi. Be's veiy poetic. Nany of his saying aie
extiemely ambiguous. 0ut of context, many of his sayings can be misunueistoou.
Sometimes you'ie not actually suie who he's talking to, nevei minu what he means.
So I analyse his woius, not by what he meant because only Allah anu him woulu know
that. anu I can't ask him because he's ueau (moie than 7 centuiies ago).
. Anu just because I uisagiee with this paiticulai saying uoesn't mean that he's a bau
peison at all, oi that he uoesn't have othei sayings that aie goou. Naybe he meant by it
something completely uiffeient anu just wasn't able to convey that meaning.
Be says what I'm about to shaie with you. As you ieau it, imagine it was someone else
who was saying it, a noimal peison you just met anu uiun't know much about:
Bon't turn your beoJ.
Keep lookinq ot tbe bonJoqeJ wounJ.
Tbot's wbere tbe liqbt enters you.
AnJ Jon't believe for o moment tbot you're beolinq yourself.
What woulu you think if someone whom you hau just met tolu you that .
Bow woulu you feel .
Beaiing that saying anu assuming that the woiu light is useu to iefei to spiiituality oi
something goou. this leaus me to ask the following questions. Some of these
questions might sounu silly, but beai with me, they all come fiom what is implieu
within the above statement:
- Why aie you assuming that the light enteis thiough a wounu .
- So the light uoesn't entei except thiough the wounu .
- Can't the light entei thiough my eyes oi mouth oi my poies oi my nostiils. oi
any othei opening foi that mattei .
- Will the light only entei the wounu if I'm looking at the wounu .
- What if the wounu gets infecteu .
-What is the ielevance of telling me that I uon't heal myself aftei telling me not
to look away fiom the wounu .
-What if I uon't have any wounus, will the light not entei me .
-If I uon't have a wounu, shoulu I cieate a wounu so that the light can entei me .
-Bow is the light enteiing if theie's a banuage coveiing the wounu .
-Is the banuage tianspaient .
-If I have a wounu, shall I make moie wounus so that moie light can entei .
-If I have a wounu, shall I stop it fiom healing to ensuie that the light uoesn't
stop enteiing me .
-Is it wiong to seek-out healing .
Again, I'm not juuging Rumi. I'm juuging these woius. Theie aie many things that he
saiu that aie just fine. Nany.
In essence my uisagieement with this saying of Rumi's is that it implies that giowth
can only happen thiough pain. This isn't tiue.
It also assumes that pain shoulu be celebiateu; that's not iight. Pain shoulu be met
with patience, not jubilation. This is what The Piophet, peace be upon him, taught us:
". Wben sometbinq pleosinq boppens to bim, be is qroteful, onJ tbot is qooJ for bim;
onJ wben sometbinq Jispleosinq boppens to bim, be is potient, onJ tbot is qooJ for bim."
If we celebiate uifficulty then we flip things aiounu. This is opposite to the teachings of
The Piophet, peace be upon him.
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Again, these examples aie saying of Rumi - I uiu say that I agiee with some of his
sayings (!), but you'll notice a staik contiast. The following saying, foi example, is tiuly
upbeat:
"You were born witb winqs, wby prefer to crowl tbrouqb life?"
Anu this one is quite positive too:
"Bont qrieve. Anytbinq you lose comes rounJ in onotber form."
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(this is an aiticle of mine publisheu by SuhaibWebb.com)
In a tazkiyah (heait puiification) consultation meant to help change majoi
misconceptions helu by Nuslims touay anu suivey how people peiceive Islam anu
theii ielationship with Allah, the iesults weie telling.
With 16 questions anu ovei 1uu applicants, patteins emeigeu. The answeis foi two of
those questions ieally stanu out.
!"# %&'() *+#()&,-.
Bo you feel like you ueseive uifficulty oi punishment.
18% saiu haiuly. 72% ieplieu with eithei often oi sometimes.
!"# (#/,-0 *+#()&,-.
Bo you feel unueseiving of Allah's bounties upon you.
1S% ieplieu with haiuly. 7S% ieplieu with often oi sometimes.
This ieally is quite sau anu it points to an unueilying misunueistanuing of oui
ielationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalteu is Be). In fact, it's pioof that too
many people aie ignoiant of Allah (swt) anu what Be teaches us about Bimself.
Beseiving Bifficulty
In a hauith quusi, Allah (swt) says:
"l om os tbe perception,ossumption of Hy slove."
NorroteJ in Sobib Bukbori onJ Huslim.
This means that if you think that Allah (swt) is Neiciful, you will expeiience that
Neicy. If you think that Allah (swt) is only Wiathful, then youi outlook on life is uaik
anu you feel that Wiath.
Also, too much of this can leau to uepiession, which can leau to a total lack of hope,
which can leau to kufi (uisbelief). Allah (swt) says:
"Bespoir not of relief from Allob. lnJeeJ, no one Jespoirs of relief from Allob except tbe
Jisbelievinq people."
{uron 12:87)
This can also be a uooiway foi Shaytan (Satan) to leau you astiay.
Beaits come to iesent the ones that show them uifficulty anu punish them. In this case,
the peiception woulu be that Allah (swt) is uoing that. It woulu be veiy uangeious to
iesent Allah (swt), yet many people uo.
You will also iesent youiself if you uo this because, ultimately, it's youi peiception.
Beep uown you know this. This can then leau you to want to punish youiself moie (foi
uoing this to youiself). It theiefoie becomes a vicious self-peipetuating ciicle.
If ueep uown you feel that you ueseive uifficulty oi punishment, then you will uo that
which is ueseiving of uifficulty anu punishment. That's the piimaiy cause foi so many
people sinning. They aie fulfilling theii own self-initiateu piophecy.
0nueseiving of Allah (swt)'s Bounties:
Bon't get this confuseu with being thankful oi even oveiwhelmingly thankful foi Allah
(swt)'s bounties. It's the exact opposite.
Bow can you be tiuly giateful of something that you think you uon't ueseive. In fact,
you'll push it away oi mistieat it, which is the exact opposite of giatefulness.
Also, since you can't be satisfieu with that which you uon't think you ueseive, it means
that you'll continue to want moie. You'll nevei feel 'full'. Always that sense of being
incomplete, not goou enough, wanting to 'keep up with the }ones'though iionically,
when you get the next thing. you'll feel like you uon't ueseive it!
It's not that we aie ueseiving of Allah (swt)'s bounties. It is that Be has willeu it so. We
then become giateful. It woulu be a lack of giatituue to think that you ueseive what Be
has given.
So we uon't ueseive anu we uon't not ueseive. We aie, insteau, just plainly giateful. It
all happens with Bis Neicy. Same with enteiing }annah (Paiauise). We must woik anu
attain goou ueeus, but ultimately we uon't entei jannah because of oui ueeus.
Poveity vs uiace
Allah (swt) says:
"Soton tbreotens you witb poverty onJ orJers you to immorolity, wbile Allob promises
you forqiveness from Eim onJ bounty. AnJ Allob is oll-Fncompossinq onJ Knowinq."
{uron 2:268)
It's ieally inteiesting that Allah (swt) uoesn't mention the opposite of poveity fiist. It
woulu make sense that Allah (swt) woulu iesponu to Satan's piomisethieat of
poveity by ieassuiing us that Be piomises giace. Insteau, Allah (swt) staits with
foigiveness.
Theie aie two ieasons foi this that aie ielevant to oui uiscussion heie.
The fiist is that when one buys into the piemise of poveity anu scaicity, they
peipetiate sins. They steal, they sell themselves oi theii chiluien, they lie, they cheat.
Anu so Allah (swt) ieassuies us against the consequences of believing in poveity
(committing sins) anu not just against poveity itself. Be is inueeu the All-Neiciful.
Seconuly, it is a sin in-anu-of-itself to believe Satan. To believe that The Cieatoi anu
Sustainei is not geneious oi not able enough to pioviue foi eveiyone anu eveiything.
Anu so Allah (swt) mentions foigiveness fiist, so we unueistanu this point cleaily.
Pait of poveity is shunning Allah (swt)'s bounties. Pait of poveity is believing that you
neeu to be punisheu. Think about what punishment means: isn't it the stiipping away
of bounties. Isn't it that Allah (swt) iemoves the bounty of Bis Neicy fiom you.
In actuality, the two questions askeu above aie the opposite siues of the same coin.
Bow woulu you have answeieu them.
Spiiituality oi Bepiession.
Theie aie people who think that pain is a goou thing. They think that theii aching heait
is a sign of theii closeness to Allah (swt). They have taken the path of self-
impoveiishment as the methou foi getting closei to Allah (swt).
They believe that hating themselves anu feeling that they ueseive punishment is a way
of iepentance. Repentance is the exact opposite. They think they aie humbling
themselves to Allah (swt) by thinking that they aie unueseiving of Allah (swt)'s
bounties.
I ieau anu heai famous people say things like: "0 Allah (swt), my heait is buisting with
pain foi you." Baven't they heaiu the ayah (veise):
"Tbose wbo bove believeJ onJ wbose beorts ore ossureJ by tbe remembronce of Allob .
0nquestionobly, by tbe remembronce of Allob beorts ore ossureJ."
{uron 1S:28)
If you'ie feeling pain in youi heait, this is not tianquility. Bon't think it's coming fiom
youi love to Allah (swt), you'ie veiy wiong. You'ie veiy likely to be sinning as well.
Reau these veises:
"0 monkinJ, wbot bos JeceiveJ you concerninq your lorJ, tbe 6enerous, Wbo creoteJ
you, proportioneJ you, onJ bolonceJ you?."
{uron 82:6-7)
When you think that Allah (swt) neeus oi wants youi pain, you aie being luieu away
fiom the Nost ueneious. You have been ueceiveu into thinking that Be is not
ueneious.
Anu to concluue, Allah (swt) says:
"Wbot woulJ Allob Jo witb your punisbment if you ore qroteful onJ believe? AnJ ever is
Allob Appreciotive onJ Knowinq."
{uron 4:147)
Tazkiyah anu austeiity is the piocess of being so full anu tianquil on the insiue with
love foi Allah (swt) that you uon't caie what woiluly goou you have oi uo not have.
When uifficulty afflicts you, it feels like a bieeze on youi skin, it uoesn't shake you.
If you'u like youi fiee tazkiyah consultation, please go to http:
www.iPeisonalEniichment.com. The expeiience itself will change youi paiauigms
insha'Allah (uou willing).
Let's ietuin to the Nost Neiciful. Bo so now. Realize that Allah (swt) is the Nost
Neiciful. Submit youi heait to Bis caiing. Beciue to sheu youi pains to be ieplaceu
with the tianquility of love foi Allah. Beciue now. That's iepentance.
?#'2+ !8% ?2+8'.
AbuelRahman Nussa is both a theiapist anu a giauuate of Shaiia (sheikh). Be is
the founuei of the http:www.iPeisonalEniichment.com site that pioviues
piogiams foi Islamic spiiitual puiification.
Be is also the authoi of the book: "Puiification of the Beait anu Soul - What You
Neeu To Know Befoie You Reclaim Youi Beait"
Be hosts his own blog at http:www.AbuelRahmanNussa.com anu can also be
founu on twittei anu facebook.
Twittei: http:www.Twittei.comAbuelR_Nussa
Facebook: https:www.facebook.comabueliahman.mussa