Why does God decree hardship and adversity
on people, including the believers?
By: A. Mohamed
By: A. Mohamed
There are a number of reasons why God decrees hardship and adversity to befall people. Even genuine believers experience hardship and adversity at some stage in their lives in accordance with God's wisdom and divine plan.
1- It is God's design to subject people to various tests entailing hardship and adversity so as to test their faith, their resolve and their trust in God:
Did the people think that they would be left to say, "We believe", without them being tested? 29:2
We have tested those before them, and indeed, God knows the truthful ones and He knows the liars. 29:3
Also:
We will surely test you through some fear and hunger as well as shortage of money, lives and crops. So give good news to the patient ones. 2:155
Or did you think that you would enter Paradise without having come to you the same as what came to those who passed away before you? They were touched by misery and hardship and were so shaken up that the messenger and those who believed with him said, "When is God's victory?" Indeed, God's victory is imminent. 2:214
To pass the test, the human must maintain his belief in God, and also his conviction that only God can relieve his hardship. The believer will always maintain his prayer and call unto God:
Who is the One who responds to the distressed when he calls upon Him, removes the adversity and makes you successors on earth? Is there a god with God? Little do they take heed! 27:62
2- Hardship and adversity are also decreed by God to cleanse the people of sins they have already committed. Some of the bad things that happen to us are a direct result of sins we have committed:
Whatever disaster strikes you is but a consequence of what your own hands have earned, but He pardons much. 42:30
It can also be said that God, being the Most just, would not punish us twice for the same sin. This means that the punishment we are given in our worldly life cleanses us and no further punishment is due in the Hereafter.
The concept of cleansing the human from sins in this life is a Quranic truth. It can be achieved through experiencing hardship and adversity (as 42:30). It can also be achieved through the giving of 'sadaqa' (charity) for the specific reason of cleansing the soul from sins which have been committed:
Take a 'sadaqa' (charity) from their money to cleanse and purify them with it, and support them. Your support provides them with tranquillity. God is Hearer, Knowledgeable. 9:103
3- Suffering through hardship and adversity is also a reminder for people who tend to take God's blessings for granted. Despite all the blessings given by God to the human being, the human being is unappreciative. A little reminder in the shape of hardship or adversity may hopefully act as a reminder not to take God's blessings for granted:
If you were to count God's blessings, you could not encompass them all. The human being is indeed transgressing, ungrateful. 14:34
If We grant the human being a blessing, he turns away and distances himself, yet when adversity touches him, he implores profusely. 41:51
4- Adversity and hardship are also very effective reminders for those who are too absorbed in the worldly life. Those who are too distracted by the material world are not as devoted to God as they should be. Due to their being too preoccupied with this worldly life they do not seek God nor call on God as they should. Hardship and adversity are in such cases decreed in the hope that they will realise that there is more to their life than the illusive material pleasures:
The worldly life is no more than the enjoyment of an illusion. 3:185
5- Many people are either oblivious of or need to be reminded of God’s absolute authority and our true place in this huge universe. Hardship and adversity are reminders of just how weak and fragile the human being is. As such, they serve as reminders of how much we need God in every minute of our lives.
O people, you are the ones who are in dire need of God, whereas God is the Rich One, the Praiseworthy. 35:15
And do not walk arrogantly in the earth, for you cannot bore through the earth, nor can you be as tall as the mountains. 17:37
Sadly, when God relieves adversity, many people return to their old arrogance and vanity:
If any harm touches the human being, he implores Us on his side, sitting down or standing up. Then when We remove the harm from him, he carries on as if he had never implored Us about a hardship that had touched him! What the excessive ones used to do was thus adorned for them. 10:12
6- Hardship and adversity are decreed by God in order to serve as deterrents against sins and unrighteousness. Once the human being is touched by hardship, illness, or any kind of adversity, the human being has time to think of what befell him. It is hoped that the adversity a person suffers will act as a deterrent, not just for him who suffered it, but for those around him so as to deter them as well from committing sins and violating God's law:
We decreed this to be a deterrent punishment for their time and for what is to follow, and an advice for the reverent. 2:66
Nothing has prevented Us from sending the signs except that the earlier people denied them. We gave Thamoud the she-camel, a visible sign, but they transgressed against it. We do not send the signs except to provide a deterrent to be feared. 17:59
As mentioned, deterrents are for the purpose of further sinning and also are intended as signs for people to revert back to God and to His Straight Path:
We shall let them taste the lesser punishment before the greater punishment, so that hopefully they will revert. 32:21
7- Quite often, a hardship that befalls the human being can be a blessing in disguise. At the time the human being goes through such hardship he does not see the bigger picture and can only question why God inflicted such suffering upon him. This perception is due to the inability of the human being to see the divine purpose. God who can see the bigger picture may have decreed such suffering as a blessing in disguise.
It may be that you hate something when it is good for you, and you like something when it is bad for you. God knows while you do not know. 2:216
We have a number of examples in the Quran of events that entailed suffering and hardship to those upon whom they were decreed. However, it was shown subsequently that they were in fact blessings in disguise:
1- In the story of prophet Joseph we see a good example. Had the brothers of Joseph not thrown Joseph into the well, which at the time would have been a horrible experience and cause of suffering for Joseph, he would not have been bought and sold to a master in Egypt, leading to his imprisonment, then finally to him becoming the second man in power after the King of Egypt.
Many incidents happen to human beings that at their time entail hardship and misery. However, our failure to see the bigger picture prevents us from knowing that these events were indeed blessings in disguise:
2- In the early days of the Quranic revelation, prophet Muhammad was driven out of his hometown, leaving behind his people, his family and his possessions. Undoubtedly, these events caused the prophet great suffering. He was forced to flee to Medina in order to escape the persecution of the disbelievers:
If you do not support him, God has already supported him when those who disbelieved drove him (Muhammad) out. 9:40
How many a village that was more powerful than the village that evicted you have We annihilated and they had no supporter? 47:13
While he was still in Mecca, he and the small number of believers who followed him were harmed and persecuted by the disbelievers:
For those who have emigrated, and were evicted from their homes, and were harmed for striving in My cause, and have fought and got killed, I will surely wipe out their bad deeds and admit them into Gardens beneath which rivers flow; a reward from God. God has the best reward. 3:195
At the time this was happening it may have seemed like great hardship and adversity. However, being driven out of his hometown was the turning point in his life. In Medina, his followers increased manifold and so did his power. After a few years, he was able to form a powerful army, retake Mecca and destroy all the stone idols at the Kaaba.
3- The third Quranic example is found in the story of prophet Moses.
Around the time Moses was born, the Pharaoh had issued an edict to have all male newborns killed. The Quranic narration tells us that the mother of Moses was inspired by God to throw her newly born infant (Moses) into the river:
And We inspired Moses' mother: "Suckle him, then if you fear for him, throw him into the river and do not fear nor grieve. We will return him to you, and We will make him one of the messengers." 28:7
This incident must have brought great fear and grief to the mother of Moses. However, without this happening, the newly born Moses would have been slaughtered by Pharaoh's soldiers like all the other male infants. In addition, this incident which on the surface was a great hardship to his mother, was in fact a great blessing. From the river, Pharaoh's family took him in and raised him as their own son.
After the mother of Moses threw her baby into the river, she must have been filled with fear not knowing what happened to him. However, God blessed her again by arranging that her baby be returned to her and that she would suckle him. That was to make the mother of Moses know the following:
a- Her baby was safe and will be given a grand upbringing in the household of the Pharaoh.
b- God's promise "We will return him to you" was truthful.
We forbade him from accepting all the nursing mothers beforehand, so she said, "Shall I lead you to a household who would feed him for you and who would take good care of him?" And so We returned him to his mother so that she would be happy and not grieve, and that she would know that God's promise is truthful. However, most of them do not know. 28:12-13
8- Finally, hardship and adversity when treated correctly are indeed opportunities granted by God for the believers to multiply their reward in Paradise manifold. To demonstrate this matter let us imagine two persons (A and B) who suffered the same adversity of losing their sight.
Person A complained, moaned and protested as to why God inflicted such suffering on him when he used to observe the Salat, give the Zakat and fast during the month of Ramadan.
Person B also was sad but he accepted God's will. He continued praising God and was patient and persevered against his suffering. Most of all, he demonstrated his unwavering submission to God.
What would be the outcome of each of the two persons in the Hereafter?
To answer this question, we first need to acknowledge the deciding factors of this matter as given in the Quran:
1- All people are tested
One of the rules set by God for our worldly life is that all human beings are tested regardless of their faith or sincerity:
Did the people think that they would be left to say, "We believe," without them being tested? We have tested those before them, and indeed, God knows the truthful ones, and He knows the liars. 29:2-3
We will surely put you to the test until We know the ones who strive among you, and the patient ones, and We will test your affairs. 47:31
This rule immediately invalidates the question, "Why me?" that is often uttered by those who experience hardship. We should always be certain that all people are tested by God. This realization should help us cope with adversity when it is decreed on us.
2- The act of patience exercised only at times of hardship
The act of patience is required when the human is experiencing suffering. When the human being is happy and enjoying his life, there would be no meaning or requirement for patience. It is for that reason that God advocated patience from the believers at times of suffering:
We will surely test you through some fear and hunger as well as shortage of money, lives and crops. So give good news to the patient ones who, when stricken with a disaster, say, "We belong to God and to Him we will return." They are granted support and mercy from their Lord, and they are the guided ones. 2:155-157
The words above emphasize the value of patience in the face of any tests that entail suffering. It is the "patient ones" who are given "good news".The words also confirm that those who are patient are "the guided ones". The same meanings are found in the following verse:
And the ones who are patient through misery, hardship and during battle. These are the ones who have been truthful, and these are the reverent ones. 2:177
3- The reward of patience and submitting to God's will
The Quran speaks of great rewards for those who submit to God's will when they are tested with hardship. They show their submission by being patient.
But not so those who are patient and do good deeds. They shall have forgiveness and a great reward. 11:11
"Peace be upon you in return for how you were patient." Excellent indeed is the Abode for a homecoming. 13:24
What is with you runs out, but what is with God is everlasting. We will grant those who were patient their reward, to be equated to the best of what they used to do. 16:96
They will be given their reward twice over in return for being patient. 28:54
Excellent is the reward of the workers who are patient and in their Lord they trust. 29:58-59
Those who are patient will receive their reward without count. 39:10
Let us look at the following keywords in the six verses above:
- "great reward" 11:11
- "excellent abode" 13:24
- "(rewards) equated to the best of what they used to do"
- "reward twice over" 28:54
- "excellent is the reward" 29:58-59
- "reward without count" 39:10
All those words speak of rewards that are multiplied without count. In all six verses, the common receivers of such great rewards are the patient ones. Once again, the patient ones are those who submit to God's will when they are tested with hardship and suffering. It is not those who grumbled, questioned God's mercy and were shaken in their faith.
Now let us return to our earlier question: What would be the outcome of each of the two persons (A and B), both in the worldly life and also in the Hereafter?
Person A who complained, moaned and protested against God's decree will make the suffering of the hardship even greater on himself. That is because he will spend his time lamenting about what came upon him rather than having the comforting thought of a great reward that awaits him. He will also be deprived of the reward in the Hereafter that is reserved for the submitters who are patient and who are accepting of God's will.
In contrast, the patient submitters will be supported by God to better tolerate the hardship they are going through:
We will surely test you through some fear and hunger as well as shortage of money, lives and crops. So give good news to the patient ones who, when stricken with a disaster, say, "We belong to God and to Him we will return." They are granted support and mercy from their Lord, and they are the guided ones. 2:155-157
In addition, they will reap the great rewards promised by God in Paradise as per the six verses above.
In other words, the moaners against God's tests will lose twice, in their worldly life and also in their Hereafter. As for the patient submitters, they will win twice, in the worldly life and in Paradise.
Ultimately, all suffering and hardship ordained to test the human being can be turned into untold blessings and rewards in the Hereafter. All worldly tests of hardship are in fact blessings in disguise but they are only so for the believers who submit to God's will.
When we consider the fact that the worldly life is brief and transitory in comparison with the eternal Hereafter, any suffering endured in the worldly life is a very meagre price to pay to attain the eternal rewards of Paradise that are multiplied manifold.
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