How can suffering be a gift?

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In a particularly famous quote, the eminent scholar Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (1263-1328) — rahīmahullāh — once said,

“What can my enemies do to me?

“My paradise and my garden are in my chest wherever I go. They are with me and never leave me.

“If I am imprisoned, it is seclusion for worship. If I am killed, it is martyrdom. If they exile me from my land, it is [like being] a tourist.” [1]

I have been carrying these words with me for years.

They serve as a beautiful reminder of the reality of this worldly life, and how everything we go through — even the suffering — has goodness and rahma (mercy) in it.

Taking hardships as blessings

The shaykh reframed events that most people would consider great misfortunes (imprisonment, being killed, and exile), as hidden blessings and opportunities to draw closer to Allah (jalla jalāla).

The paradise and garden which he carried in his heart were īmān, knowledge, and yaqīn (certainty in faith). These three ingredients keep a person steadfast in all circumstances.

The knowledge he had acquired was the highest, most honourable knowledge: knowledge of Allah, the Qur’ān, and the Sunnah.

His heart was filled with the blessed words of the Creator, which none of his enemies could erase.

Internal fortress that couldn’t be defeated

Despite suffering many difficulties in his life, including being imprisoned on several occasions, Ibn Taymiyyah didn’t allow what was happening around him to affect his heart.

He had built an internal fortress that his enemies failed to destroy! And his heart was free from the shackles of this worldly life, and its many illusions.

Just as a doctor prepares his patient for major surgery by checking that his heart and body are healthy enough to undergo such a procedure, a person must also prepare his spiritual heart to withstand the tests and calamities he will experience in this life.

To paraphrase one of my teachers,

“If the heart is good and sound, it will be able to endure any hardship, and still be able to function optimally.” [2]

In this state, the person will have the highest moral values.

These values include taqwa, patience, steadfastness, gratitude, humility, truthfulness, justice, trust in Allah, acceptance of Qadr-Allah, being forgiving and merciful towards others, and helping others.

Ibn Taymiyyah’s heart was prepared to deal effectively with the tribulations he experienced.

This does not mean that he didn’t feel the pain of being physically and emotionally hurt; he suffered, but he didn’t allow his suffering to affect his mission and principles.

We reflect what is in our hearts

Whatever you hold inside your heart, it will manifest in your behaviour, speech, and actions.

The heart is a vessel, and as the Arabic proverb states,

“Every vessel drips that which it contains.” [3]

When A’isha (radiy Allahu ‘anha) was asked about Prophet Muhammad’s character (ﷺ), she replied,

“Verily, the character of the Prophet of Allah was the Qur’ān.” [4]

The Qur’ān was revealed to his heart, and his actions and character mirrored this divine revelation.

Palestinians plant life and truth; Israel plants lies and bombs

When I watch videos of my brothers and sisters in Palestine, I see the Qur’ān.

A young boy baking bread and reciting Qur’ān. Another young child sitting on rubble and reciting Qur’ān.

An elderly brother performing the Fajr prayer while trapped under the rubble of his home. Sisters gathering together to memorise the Qur’ān.

Children reciting Qur’ān whilst having limbs amputated without anaesthetic.

Brothers searching for family members in the rubble, calling out to Allah for help. Journalists and doctors comforting traumatised children.

Cats and dogs being rescued from the rubble and being comforted. Sisters wearing their prayer dresses at all times, in preparation of being killed at any moment.

Brothers and sisters frequently saying “alhamdulillāh” despite the pain and distress they are experiencing. Palestinians planting seeds, even though they are surrounded by destruction.

The Israeli occupation and its supporters plant lies and bombs, whilst the Palestinians plant life and the truth!

Those upon the truth will always be targeted

Ibn Taymiyyah didn’t expect to retire peacefully from public life; he was prepared to struggle until his death.

Those who have knowledge, and are on the truth, understand that people will try to harm them. Such people are often subjected to oppression and hardship.

After Prophet Muhammad’s first experience of receiving divine revelation (ﷺ), his wife Khadīja (radiy Allahu ‘anha) took him to see her cousin, Waraqa ibn Nawfal, who was knowledgeable in the Gospel.

Waraqa (radiy Allahu ‘anhu) warned the Prophet ﷺ that his people will drive him out of his land because,

“Anyone who came with something similar to what you have brought was treated with hostility, and if I should remain alive till the day when you will be turned out, then I would support you strongly.” [5]

Palestinians are seeking victory, martyrdom, or both

Abu Mūsa (radiy Allahu ‘anhu) reported that the Messenger ﷺ said,

“Whoever loves his worldly life will suffer in his Hereafter, and whoever loves his Hereafter will suffer in his worldly life. Thus, prefer what is everlasting over what will perish.” [6]

Abu Shujaa, a resistance fighter who was killed by the Israeli military, said in his last message to the people of Gaza,

“What the people of Gaza are enduring now, was also endured by the prophets.

“The patience, the resilience, their spirit. These are all things that we learn from Gaza’s people and its fighters.” [7]

Our brothers and sisters in Palestine view their struggle as ending either in victory, martyrdom, or both.

Their eyes see death and destruction, their bodies are wounded and bleeding, but their hearts are alive with the hope of attaining the greatest reward in the Hereafter: the Pleasure of Allah, and the eternal peace and bliss of Paradise.

And this is the true victory, which the Israeli occupation can never take away from them. No weapon can destroy their faith.