What hardship is meant to teach believers
“Just hold fast to the one who was there for you at the time of difficulty.”
Human suffering is unavoidable, but Allah uses hardship to punish wrongdoing, bring people back to Him, expiate sins, prepare believers for higher purposes, or elevate their rank.
The khutbah in 6 steps
- Surah al-Balad establishes that human life is inherently marked by hardship.
- The speaker explains that suffering affects everyone, including prophets, and compares life to a school that develops us.
- Social media creates misleading comparisons because hidden pain often lies behind apparent happiness.
- The khutbah presents several purposes of affliction, including punishment, repentance, purification, preparation, and spiritual elevation.
- Examples from the Prophet, the Companions, Ayyub, and Maryam show that righteous people may suffer for higher purposes.
- The sermon concludes by urging patience, steadfastness, repentance, and remembrance of Allah in both hardship and ease.
In the khateeb's words
“Pain and suffering are universal. They come to the prophets, they come to the philosophers, they come to the youth, they come to the old people, to righteous, to sinful.”
“The question is how do we deal with those kind of challenges is going to determine the outcome of the pain and the outcome of the vigor of that suffering.”
“Just hold fast to the one who was there for you at the time of difficulty. If you hold fast to Him, He will carry you through your ease.”
For the dinner table
Dr. Zulfiqar Shah reminds us that everyone faces difficulties, including the prophets and the most righteous people. He shares his own experience of paralysis after an accident and the questions he asked during that painful time. He compares life to a school, explaining that hardships can teach us, bring us back to Allah, cleanse sins, and prepare us for greater responsibilities or higher ranks in Jannah. He also reminds us that happy pictures on social media may hide real pain. His closing encouragement is to face difficulties with patience and stay close to Allah during both hard and happy times.
- What difficult experience has helped you learn something valuable?
- How could you show kindness to someone who seems happy but might be struggling?
- What could our family do to remember Allah together on happy, ordinary days?
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