Health is a crown [A stranger came and left]

I initially wrote this article prior to Brother Tehseen’s death, at the time when he was first diagnosed with the illness. I noted down a few lessons I myself had derived from his experience and his ailment. After a few edits, and brushing up, I thought I’d share it with you all, so that you may read and take benefit from it, InshaAllah...

Assalaamu Alaykum Waramatullahi Barakatuhu,

I pray you are all doing well and are in the best of health and Imaan.

Today I want to share with you some reflections I’ve been having over the past few days on the topic of health and hardship. I felt it would be relevant to talk about as many people around the world are being afflicted with it, and also many I know are going through this great test.

 Just last week I was informed that one of our family friends, Ameer of Al Kauthar Bradford, and manager of Little Explorers, had been diagnosed with a braintumor. At first, it was a shock to the system, as we had just recently witnessed the brother being very active, at the center of the Dawah in our recent Al Kauthar courses.

 MashaAllah, anyone you ask would say that he was a brother who was always on the go, inviting and pursuing the vision of rasulullah (Salallahu 'Alayhi Was Salam).  Hence, what struck me the most, and made me pause and ponder was that this brother was only young, he had three beautiful children and seemed very healthy, you would never think that he would be suffering from such a severe illness inside.

Alhamdulillah, his operation was successful and he is on the way to recovery.

 What I want to share with you though, are the lessons I took from this incident, and some reasons why we should appreciate the blessings of health and hardship.

There is a very profound quote I came across:

"Health is a crown that only the sick can see” (Dawud (as)

These wise words by Dawud (as) are so true and of such beauty and wisdom. He is comparing health to a ‘crown’, implicating that health is something that is precious and treasured and well appreciated. Except, not to everyone, rather only to the sick, for they have tasted both the sweetness of health and the bitterness of illness and have grown appreciative of those times they had where they were fit, well and healthy.

When a person falls sick he realizes and appreciates the blessing of health much more than the one who is already healthy, for the latter does not see it as a huge blessing and gift, rather he takes it for granted and shows that through his actions and the way he utilizes it.

We have all heard the quote ‘health is wealth.’ In essence it suggests that when you have health and you are physically, mentally and spiritually well, then you have, in actual fact, everything!  It is because you have the energy and strength to do what you can and you can accomplish much more than those who don’t have the energy or the ability to even prostrate their forehead to the ground in prayer. It is also because you can do more with you limbs, you are not limited to what you do, as your energy and enthusiasm is high. Therefore, my dearest brothers and sisters in Islam, always appreciate and use your health and your youth wisely, because if it was to be taken away from you, it would take away many other things with it.

The Prophet (Salallahu 'Alayhi Was Salam) states in a Hadith:

"There are two blessings in which most people are in great loss: 1) Good health and 2) Free time.”

Unfortunately, we fall prey to this and become unaware of these two great blessings, and go on living our lives thinking it will remain with us forever. The reality is, we have no guarantee! Today we’re here, and tomorrow we could be in a hospital bed.

The lessons I learnt from Br. Tehseen’s situation were many, although I knew of them already, I felt oblivious to them for too long and so personally it was awell needed reminder and a good wake up call.

Shukr (Thanks to Allah) - I have already mentioned health and how we should value it, but one thing I extracted from his illness was that we should always be grateful to Allah for our health.For the fact that we can place our forehead on the ground and make Sujood to Allah, whilst many can’t. That we’re not one of those thousands of people lyingin a hospital bed, not knowing when we will be able to walk or talk again; not knowing if we will be able to take our next breath.

One of the ways of being thankful to Allah for this blessing is by using our healthy limbs and body in the way and service of Allah. Meaning, that we use our healthiness to please Allah, for example, we could lend a helping hand to our brother or sister, or use our legs to walk to places which are good, the masjid, or a place of seeking knowledge. By doing this, we grow appreciative of our strong and healthy selves, and making Shukr to Allah for it.

Mercy of Allah – Through this encounter I also learnt that we should NEVER lose hope in the Mercy of Allah(swt). That of surety, Allah (swt)will shower his Mercy down on those who show patience and who remain steadfast even in times of extreme hardship.

“And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient, Who, when disaster strikes them, say, "Indeed we belong to Allah , and indeed to Him we willreturn."

(Surah Baqarah:155-156)

 The family of this brother, MashaAllah, are of those who show great patience, and they themselves never have lost hope in the Mercy of Allah throughout this hard time. Surely he Allah is Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim and is with the Sabiroon (those who are patient).

Allah is the Best of Planners – One should have yaqeen and trust in the plan and decree of Allah. It may be that you were planning to do something whilst Allah had a better plan. This brother may have had plans, but Allah replaced his plan with a better Plan, that would affect many, and hold many wisdoms behind it Subhan'Allah. Not everything we plan ourselves is good for us, Allah may have a better plan which would be a blessing in disguise. Also, not everything we perceive as bad Is bad. Many would say that Tehseen’s illness is bad for him and is a huge burden and calamity, yet it could be quite the opposite, for when Allah decrees something for us, we should have firm belief that it’s good for us, even though we may not think it. We should remember that “every cloud has a silver lining” :)

Let me tell you something that happened to me a few days back…

I actually already wrote half of this post a few days back, but whilst I was writing it and pouring my heart out, my laptop suddenly went all weird and my post just disappeared. Of course I was gutted, but surprisingly at that same time I was typing the bit about Allah being the Best of Planners, and so I thought to myself, “you know what, there has GOT to be some wisdom behind this, just got to be” ..And of course Allah never fails in his promise, and so there was… I posted what happened on my Facebook status and one of the sisters shared a hadith with me, telling me how Allah will replace you with something better, and that my work would come out better next time even though it got deleted the first time! So one positive was that I learnt a new hadith,also the next time I wrote my post it came out much better than before!

 So, basically, the end line is that you should always look at the positives of everything and remember always that you plan but Allah has a better plan. Have trust in His wisdom.

The Power of Dua- This one was also a huge reminder to me as well.  Dua’aa is the weapon of a believer. Just ask Allah! Wallahi, I cannot emphasise on this point enough! Always, always, turnback to Allah and ask Him for everything. He WILL respond, He does hear your call,so don’t become disheartened and lose hope. Whatever situation you’re in, tell Him about it, for He is the one that can resolve your situation and make things better. In my personal instance, I can remember so many times when things were really heard and I turned to Allah, and He always there for me. Always. Allah loves those who turn to him! So turn to Him and don’t relent on your Du’aas.

This family who are going through this hardship know that only Allah is the one whose help is sought, HE is the one who grants Shifaa, and so with that belief they call upon Him, asking them to cure their dear, son, brother, father and husband. SubhanAllah…

What was truly heartfelt was that hundreds, even thousands of people who  may have or may not have known this brother were making Du’aa for him, some haven't even met of him, yet because he was their brother in the deen they invoked Allah to make his operation easy.

“And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad],concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicantwhen he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly ]guided.” (2:186)

Unity – I can’t stress this point enough, it is so beautiful when you see one Ummah come together and  unite, and make Du’aa and help each other, those whom they don’t even know. Why? Because everyone is connected by “La ilaha IllaAllah”- This statement is what makes them family and THIS is the beauty of Islam; that when one part of the body hurts the whole body feels the pain, and that's how the Muslims are with one another…

When Syria is feeling all the pain, and sorrow, and tears, we also feel their pain, shed tears, and do ALL we can to help them. We sacrifice our own time to help our brothers in need. When our brother or sister is in need of something,we run to their aid, knowing that Allah will reward us for we helped another of His slaves!

On the authority of Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him)from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) who said, ” Whoever relieves a believer’s distress of the distressful aspects of this world, Allah will rescue him from a difficulty of the difficulties of the Hereafter. (Part of hadith narrated by Muslim)

I have seen many people who have helped this family.Whether that was babysitting the kids or cooking some food for them, the lesson I want you all to take away is, that we are all one Ummah, if our brother or sister is in need we should do all we can to help them, for Allah loves such acts of goodness, kindness and generosity, do it for His sake, and your reward will be immense.

Spend your youth worshipping Allah – Take advantage of your youth before you old age! Always remember the youth who spends his time serving Allah and worshipping him, will be granted Allah (swt)’s shade (HisThrone) on the day when there will be no shade except His (swt’s). This is again because the youth has health and energy to accomplish much more than those who are old and weak.Yet, you never know what is around the corner. This brother was young yet Allah willed for his health to deteriorate so make use of the seconds you have, your health may not last forever.

 Finally...

 After everyhardship is ease – You all must know this beautiful Ayah in the Quran, it’s for us to reflect upon this and know that Allah will bring ease after hardship,yes it’s the truth, and Allah never fails in his promise, so have certainty that happiness is to follow. Allah not only promises you one ease after every hardship, rather double. Always remember, after every storm comes a rainbow :)

So with that I end my post, and I ask you all to raise your hands and make Du’aa for this brother, his family and for the millions of Muslims suffering around the world; ask Allah, call upon him with His beautiful names, and invoke Him to cure them all and grant them ease after their hardship.

 Pray you benefited from this post.

May Allah elevate each and every one of you in rank.

Jazaakumullahu Khairan wa barakaAllahu Feekum

Wassalaamu Alaykum.

Madiyah Bint Mas'ood