You cannot escape pain, but you can turn it into a paradise. In this life, you'll feel
grief, loss and agony. At times you'll carry so much pain that you might believe that you
just can't take it anymore. But it may be that Allah is delivering you through that pain to a place where your piety alone would have never been able to reach.
And I said, yes. So he replied and he said, Ta'maluna wa la ta'lamuna You do deeds without knowledge of their significance. Wa nahnu na'lamu wa la na'mal
And we the dead know how significant they are, yet we are unable to act upon them anymore. And he said, to perform a prayer similar to yours would be more beloved to me than the world and
all that it contains. So I asked the man, who's in this graveyard? And he said, everyone here is Muslim and has done well for themselves. Then I asked him, so who is the best one here? And so
he says, he pointed towards a grave. So I made du'a in my dream. Allahumma akhrijhu ilayya li ukallimahu O Allah, let him rise so that I may speak to him. So this young man then emerges
from the grave and he was completely unknown to me. So I asked, anta afdalu man haa huna? Are you the most virtuous of all of those who are here? So he replies and he says, qalu thalik
He said, that's what they say. And I asked him, how did you get that rank? Was it through your qiyam? Was it through your hajj? Was it through your jihad? And he said, none of that. He said, qudibtu
bi'l-masa'ib, faruziqtu sabran 'alayha. He said, I was tried with difficulty and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala granted me patience. So with that, Allah has given me superiority over all of
them. You see, sometimes Allah tests you so that He can raise you to a place that you otherwise would not have been able to achieve. And the moment you die, He will show you how He kept His
promise to you. And there's this story that I always come back to, but it's never been more visual than it is right now. And Imam al-Awza'i narrates from Abdullah ibn Muhammad that he said,
I went out to the shore as a patrolman and our patrol at the time was in al-Arish in Egypt. He said, when I arrived at the shore, I came upon an open area with a tent on it.
In that tent, I found a man who had no arms, no legs, and he had impaired hearing and sight. Now I want you to think about how many people in Gaza that you have seen that are missing all of
their limbs. And then think about the sight of this man. Abdullah says the only thing that was working was his tongue. And he was saying, Oh Allah, grant me the ability to praise you in a way
that sufficiently thanks you for all the favors you have bestowed upon me, and to thank you as you have preferred me over many of your creatures with a great preference. So I approached the man
and I greeted him and I said, I heard you making this du'a, but what's this favor from the favors of Allah that you're praising Him for? I mean, you don't look like a person who's living in that much
blessing. And in what way did He prefer you over others so that you need to thank Him for it? So the man says, I'll tell you, but in exchange for a favor. And Abdullah says, okay. He said,
isn't it such that some people can't hear, but I can hear? And isn't it such that some people can't
think, but I can think? And isn't it such that some people can't speak, but I can speak? So he said, for that alone, I will continue to praise Allah for just the tongue that He gave me to praise Him.
And Abdullah bin Muhammad was shocked. And he said, what is that favor I can do for you? The man says, I had a young son who used to come to me at the time of prayer, and he would help me
do my wudu. And when I was hungry, he would feed me. And when I was thirsty, he would provide me with a drink, but I've missed him for the last three days. So can you please look for him on my
behalf? So he said, so I set out looking for the young boy and I hadn't gone far before I saw a valley that the crows were descending upon. So I went and I found the body of the boy being eaten
by them. And I said, how am I supposed to be able to face this man and tell him that his son is now dead too? So he said, I went back to the man. I left the boy at the door and I said to him,
oh, so-and-so, are you more honorable in the sight of Allah or was Ayyub? He said, of course, Ayyub. I said, do you know what his Lord did with him? Did He not test him in his wealth,
in his health, in his family and his children? He said, yes. I said, and how did Allah find him? He said, He found him always patient and grateful, praising Him, saying, Alhamdulillah.
So I said, be patient, old man, for Allah has now taken your son away. And the old man says, Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un. And then he starts to cry heavily until even then he praised
Allah by saying, Alhamdulillah, Allah did not give me a descendant who would disobey Him. But eventually he cries himself not to sleep, but he cries himself to death.
So Abdullah says, I covered him in a cloak and then I took his body and I sat at his head crying and I was sitting along the main route waiting for someone to come. And then four men came by
and they said, O slave of Allah, what is your situation? What's your story? So I told them my story and his and they said, uncover his face for us so that maybe we can
recognize him. And so as soon as I uncovered his face, the men fell down and they began kissing his eyes and his hands and crying. I said, who is this? May Allah have mercy on you.
They said, this is Abu Qilaba al-Jurmi, the companion of Ibn Abbas (رضي الله عنهما). He had tremendous love for Allah and the Prophet (ﷺ). So he says, we then took his body and
the body of his son. We washed them and we shrouded them with the clothing that we had. And then we prayed janazah over them and we buried them. The men left and I went back to my station.
And then when night fell, I put my head down and I saw him in a dream, strolling in a garden from the gardens of paradise, wearing two garments from the
garments of paradise. And he was reciting while he was strolling, peace be upon you
for what you patiently endured and what an excellent final abode this is. So I said to him, aren't you the person that I was with? And he said, yes. I said, how did you receive all of this? And he said,
He said, verily with Allah, there are levels that cannot be attained except with patience at times of trial and gratitude at times of prosperity. Patience and hardship is the key to levels in
Jannah that ease could never unlock. Every trial you bear and every hardship you meet with sabr is drawing you closer to a reward that you couldn't have earned in comfort.
So as you reflect on what you've been through, have you thanked Allah for both the good and the bitter times? And have you thanked the people you gave the hardest time to when you were still growing up?
And from behind them is a barrier until the Day they are resurrected.
