Why Allah allows suffering

By Arshad Gamiet

To hear the Audio version of this khutbah, please click here:

AG why so much suffering

Why is there so much suffering?

Arshad Gamiet/Royal Holloway University of London 27 February 2015

 “A-úthu billáhi minash shaytánir rajeem. Bismilláhir rahmánir raheem

Al hamdu lillahi nahmaduhu wanasta’eenahu, wanastagh-firuhu, wanatoobu ilayhi, wana’oothu Billaahi min shuroori an-fusinaa, wamin sayyi aati a’maalinaa. May- Yah­dillahu fa huwal muhtad, wa may- yudlill falan tajidaa lahu waliyan murshida. Wa ash-hadu an Laa ilaaha ill-Alláh, wahdahoo laa shareeka lah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhoo warasooluh”

All Praise is due to Alláh, We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and our own bad deeds. Anyone who is guided by Alláh, he is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Alláh, the Only One

without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad, peace and blessings on him, is His servant, and His messenger.

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem! Ya Ay-yuhal-latheena ‘aamanut taqul-laaha, haqqa tuqaatihee wala tamu tun-na, il-la wa antum Muslimoon.”

O You who believe, – Be aware of Allah, with correct awareness, an awe-inspired awareness, and die not except as Muslims.

Ya Ay-yuhal-latheena ‘aamanut taqul-laaha, wa qooloo qawlan sadeedaa. Yuslih-lakum a’maalakum wa yaghfir lakum thunoobakum, wamay yu-til-laaha warasoolah, faqad faaza fawzan atheemaa.”

O You who believe, – Be aware of Allah, and speak a straightforward word. He will forgive your sins and repair your deeds. And whoever takes Allah and His Prophet as a guide, has already achieved a mighty victory.

In the opening verse of Sura An-Nisaa’, Allah says:

O mankind! Show reverence towards your Guardian-Lord Who created you from a single person, created, of like nature, his mate and from the two of them scattered (like seeds) countless men and women;― Be conscious of Allah, through Whom ye demand your mutual (rights) and (show reverence towards) the wombs (that bore you): for surely, Allah ever watches over you.

 

My Dear Sisters and Brothers,

In last week’s khutbah, Br Atif dealt with a common argument we hear from atheists: How can there be a God when there is so much suffering in the world? How can a merciful God allow so much pain and grief? These arguments say that because innocent people suffer pain and distress, that proves there no God. And some atheists say that if God does exist, He must be very cruel and therefore doesn’t deserve our obedience and worship. I’m sure that here at this university and elsewhere, we all have encountered such views. How do we answer them?

Firstly, we must determine whether we are having a serious exploration to uncover the truth, or just another point-scoring debate. People who make provocative public announcements to publicise their books or to massage their egos are not seriously interested in searching for Truth. They want to play intellectual games, using mental gymnastics to defend a closed mindset. My advice is, don’t waste your time with them.

In a serious discussion, however, we should say that pain and suffering is part of life. It doesn’t prove there is no God. On the contrary, it’s evidence of God’s wisdom. Allah, in His infinite Wisdom has created a world of complementary opposites. What do we mean by this? It means that opposites are necessary to for us to appreciate the world around us. There is life and death, there is good and bad, there is love and hate, light and darkness. The opposites need each other; it has to be that way. How can you appreciate comfort without knowing pain? How can you show courage without resisting cowardice? How can you appreciate beauty without knowing ugliness? How can you know anything before first being ignorant about it?

Believers know that the universe didn’t create itself, and it just didn’t happen by chance. “Kun, faya kuun!” “Be! And it is!” That’s how it all happened. Allah created everything with a purpose. “Laqad khalaqtul Jinni wal insa liya’budoon.” “I have not created jinn (subtle creatures) and human beings exept to worship Me.” Our purpose, as human beings, as children of Adam and Eve, as custodians, guardians, trustees of planet earth, is simply to know,  to love, adore and obey Allah.

When we do this, Allah lifts the veils of ignorance from our eyes. Allah gives the atheist ordinary sight, basar. But the Believer is given something more, baseerah, a penetrating inner sight, the ability to intuit the hidden meaning of things. This is the reward for taming the lower nafs, the selfish ego, and purifying the spiritual heart, constantly seeking to keep it healthy and sound, qalb saleem.

People who argue that pain and suffering in the world proves that there’s no God, are just looking at life superficially, and drawing conclusions from incomplete evidence. People of faith know that pain and suffering are necessary tools for building good character.

The mystical poet, Jalaluddin Rumi says that “Suffering is a gift. In it is a hidden mercy.” Suffering teaches us patience, sabr, and it also teaches us Ridhaa, which is total reliance on Allah, and a serene acceptance of whatever Allah decrees. It teaches us to persevere, to work hard to seek Allah’s good pleasure, his Ridwaan. It teaches us humility, it teaches compassion for those less fortunate than we are. Prophet Muhammad sws taught us, “How fortunate is the Believer, he endures hardship, and it is good for him [it teaches patience]; then he enjoys relief from hardship, and it is good for him [it allows us to be grateful to Allah]. Indeed, the true wali-Allah, the Friends of Allah are always overflowing with gratitude, in good times and in hard times…

There is really no ‘problem’ of suffering. The problem is our human ignorance. If we don’t know Allah, we won’t know His Plan. We won’t be able to accept His Decree. We won’t know our place in the vast cosmic scheme of things. We won’t know who we really are, why we’re here, where we’ve come from and where we’re going to, after our death. Prophet Muhammad, sws, reminded us about the vital importance of self-knowledge. “He who knows himself, knows his Lord.” [Hadith]

Brothers and Sisters let us be truly grateful to Allah, that we have this wonderful gift of Iman, this gift of Faith, to illuminate our way through life’s challenges. And through Faith, Allah also gave us the road map, the Quran and the Sunnah, so that we can navigate our way safely through this life, towards our destiny, which is everlasting joy in the next life. Say Ameen.

In many places the Holy Quran reminds us,

“Ala, inna awliya Allah, la khawfun alayhim wala hum yah-zanoon!”

“Behold, on the Friends of Allah, there is no fear, and no grief.”

No fear and no grief, and yet, if you study the Friends of Allah, and Prophet Abraham is the best example, you’ll find that their lives were filled with incredible hardship, pain and endurance. This wasn’t so because Allah hated them or wanted to punish them. Allah loves all His Prophets. The Friends of Allah taught us Ridha’, that wonderful and serene acceptance of Allah’s will. If we can be islands of calm in the oceans of turbulence; if we can show others a kind and helpful manner, in the midst of life’s problems, we will truly hold high that noble legacy of the Prophets and the Awliya, the Friends of Allah.

This is what our world needs today. Our friends and neighbours out there, indeed many of our fellow Muslims are in dire need of spiritual guidance. They need a gentle helping hand to show them how to cope with natural and manmade calamities, how to keep their own pain and personal grief in perspective. It won’t last forever, and Allah is only testing us all. Brothers and Sisters, let us set a good example, let us inspire our communities with our serenity, our dignity and our strength that come out of true faith in Allah, and total reliance on His Mercy, His Rahma.

Alhamdu lillahi Rabbil ‘Aalameen. Was-salaatu was-salaamu alaa Khairil mursaleen. Muhammadin-nabeey-yil Ummiy-yee, wa-‘alaa aalihee, wasah-bihee, aj-ma’een.

Ammaa ba’ad:

Innalláha wa malaaikata yusallúna alan nabi. Yá ay yuhal latheena ámanu sallú alayhi wasalli mú tas leema. Allahumma salli alá Muhammad, wa ala áli Muhammad, kama salayta ala Ibrahim, wa ala ali Ibrahim. Allahumma barik ala Muhammad, wa alaa áli Muhammad, kama barakta ala Ibrahim, wa ala ali ibrahim. Fil ála meen, innaka hameedun majeed.”

All praise is due to Alláh, the Lord of all the Worlds; may the greetings and peace be upon the best messenger, Muhammad, the unlettered prophet; and upon his family and upon all of his companions.    Amma ba’ad, And, after this, 

Behold, Alláh and his angels shower blessings on the Prophet. O you who believe! Ask for blessings on him, and salute him with a worthy greeting.

O Alláh! Send your greetings upon Muhammad and his family,  just as you sent your greetings on Abraham, and his family. O Alláh, send your blessings on Muhammad and his family, just as you blessed Abraham and his family. In both worlds, you are praiseworthy and exalted.”

Part Two:

Sub’ hanallahi wal hamdu lillah, wala hawla wala quwwata illah billah yu althi yual theem.

“All glory is for Allah, and all praise is for Allah; There is no power and no strength except with Allah.”

Brothers and Sisters,

Let us not be fooled by atheists with their clever-sounding arguments. Some are mere publicity seekers, Some are genuinely lost. Ignore the ignorant show-offs. Only give your time and attention to those who sincerely seek answers to life’s big questions: Why are we here? Where have we come from? Where do we go to after we die? In dealing with such topics, Always ask for Allah’s help: “Rabbi zidni ‘’ilma,” “O my Lord, grant me knowledge.”

“Rabbish rahli sadri wa yasirli amri wa ahlul uqdatum mil lisani yafqahu qauli”

“O My Lord, open my chest [with wisdom], make my task easy for me and remove the knot from my tongue so that they may understand me.”

This was the prayer of Prophet Moses, when he went to address Pharaoh.

Let us through a deeper understanding of our faith become like those whom Allah refers to as yatafak-karoon, ‘­people who contemplate,’ people who reflect, people who understand.

I ask Allah to send down on us His divine wisdom, His hikma, so that we can have a light to illuminate our way through the confusion in the world out there. O Allah help us and all our future generations to learn, to know and love Your beautiful Way of Islam. Let us all hold fast to the rope that Allah extends for us. Let us all become a good example for others. O Allah, let us become a justly balanced community, ummatan wasatan, and let each one of us become a witness to the nations [Quran 2:143]

My dear sisters and brothers,

Pleae remember that the khutbah is an essential part of the Jumu’ah. Prayers have been shortened to 2 raka’a to allow for the khutbah. If you miss the khutbah you’ve missed Jumu’ah. Please try to get here on time. All our khutbahs are on our website and you can get the address on the tables in front.

Rabbana taqabbal minna innaka antas Sameeaul Aleem

Our Lord! Accept (this service) from us: For You are the All-Hearing, the All-knowing

Rabbana Hablana min azwaajina wadhurriy-yatina, qurrata ‘ayioni wa-jalna lil-muttaqeena Imaama

O my Lord! Grant unto us wives and offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes, and give us (the grace) to lead the righteous [25:74]

Rabbana-ghfir lana wa li ‘ikhwani nalladhina sabaquna bil imani wa la taj’al fi qulubina ghillal-lilladhina amanu

Our Lord! Forgive us, and all those who came before us into the Faith, and leave not, in our hearts, any rancour (or sense of injury) against those who have believed.

Rabbana innaka Ra’ufur Rahim

Our Lord! You are indeed Full of Kindness, Most Merciful.

Rabbana ‘alayka tawakkalna wa-ilayka anabna wa-ilaykal masir

Our Lord! You alone do we trust, and to You alone do we turn in repentance: to You is (our) Final Goal!

Brothers and sisters, to conclude our khutbah:

InnaAllaha, Yamuru bil adel, wal ihsaan, wa eetaa-i zil qurba; wa yanha anil fuhshaa-i, wal munkari walbaghi; ya-idzukhum lallakum tathak-karoon. (Sura 16:90),

“Surely Allah commands justice, good deeds and generosity to others and to relatives; and He forbids all shameful deeds, and injustice and rebellion: He instructs you, so that you may be reminded.”

Fadth kuroonee adth kurkum, wash kuroolee walaa tak furoon [2:152].

“and remember Me: I will remember you. Be grateful to Me, and do not reject faith.”

wala thikrul-Laahi akbar, Wal-Laahu ya’lamu maa tasna’oon.” [29:45].

“and without doubt, Remembrance of Allah is the Greatest Thing in life, and Allah knows the deeds that you do.”        

 Ameen.    Aqeemus salaah