"Things happen for many reasons. One of them is to make us strong: emotionally, spiritually and physically."
Assalamualaikum.
This is my first attempt writing this segment in English because I want to talk about my own experiences.
Wise men said, you cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your reactions to them. Nobody is perfect, sometimes we feel so happy, like we are on top of the world and sometimes we feel so sad that we wonder and up to a point, blame Him for all our troubles and worries.
But, we must remember one thing: a calamity that brings you closer to Allah is better than a blessing that takes you away from Allah. - Islamic Thinking.
I think, everything in this life is relative. I mean, when I was a teacher trainee in Penang, someone broke into our dorm and stole our belongings. I felt violated. I mean, someone was in our dorm while we were sleeping, and what if it was a guy? What was he thinking while he was going through our things? I felt very scared after that, for quite some time.
The second time someone broke into my house was when I was teaching in Bukit Besi. I was not there at that time, since it was the school holiday. Yet, I still felt afraid that the thief would attempt to break in again.
And that brings us to the third break-in, today. Of course, I was surprised. This time the thief broke into my home. My home. Not a dorm, not a rented house. My home. The place that felt sacred to me. I mean, that had never happened before.
My first reaction? Oh man, not now, not when I am juggling elephants as it is now! I was hopping mad, and of course, feeling like I want to form a posse and hunt for the criminal myself, so I could make him, or them, clean up the mess that they did! Or maybe go on a witch hunt, erk. Ok, I think all of you get the picture!
Then, all of a sudden, I remembered that I had read or maybe listened to a story. And this was the story:
"Once Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud (ra) went to the market. He had his companions with him. He picked up something to buy. He began searching for his money to make the payment. He had actually placed the money in a small bag in his Imamah (turban), at the back. So he began fumbling around for it and he discovered that his bag had disappeared and there was no money. So Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud (ra) said to his companions who were there, “By Allah, I remember that when I came here I had my money with me.” (i.e. someone has stolen it). So his companions began cursing the thief. Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud (ra) said, “Do not curse him. Rather, I pray for him. Oh Allah! If he stole because he was in need, then oh Allah, bless this money for him. And if he stole not because he was in need, but out of sin and transgression, then oh Allah, make this his last sin.” This was the noble character of Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud (radiallahu anh), and indeed all of the Sahabah (radiallahu anhum). They would pray even for those who had wronged them."
I was taken aback. It is very easy to curse when things don't go our way, or when we feel like we are the victims in that situation. But are we god to sentence people to hell?
Everything happen for a reason. And Allah knows best for us. Let us pray that we are kept on the right path, the blessed path. When we no longer feel like a victim, only then we would emerge from ojr cocoons, much more beautiful like the butterflies, learning the way to fly in this world. What He takes away from us, would be given back in another form, much better than before, Insya Allah.
Wassalam.
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