Why do bad things happen
WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN?
QURAN’S PERSPECTIVE
General observation says that the average Muslim is confused so much about this particular issue that has to do with our faith because it comes up in our casual conversation quite frequently. And it is something that a lot of people get hurt by because they don’t understand it properly.
“WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN ? ”
If we don’t understand it properly then as a matter of faith, sometimes we say things to other people who are already suffering from bad things and we end up saying things that can really mess them up.
In our general conversation, we say things that are very hurtful. For instance, “You know why is it happening to you? Because Allah is angry with you.” And even parents say it to their children, “Do you know why you fell down the stairs? Because yesterday you didn’t listen to me, Allah punished you.” Husbands and wives use statements like this against each other. And these are matters of Eeman.
Bad things don’t just mean small things, even big things like loss of life, wealth, health and even calamities on community level like floods, earthquakes, civil war, etc. But we’ll discuss about individual level here. It is a complex issue.
Let’s understand Al-Musibah. Musibah refers to something that hits you exactly where it is supposed to hit you. How bad, how deep, where, when, EVERYTHING is pre-determined.
IT WAS ALLAH’S DECREE. THAT’S WHY IT COULD HARM YOU.
There are people who go through same things as you but their impacts are different. And ALLAH said: “CONGRATULATE THOSE WHO HAVE SAB’R.”
You’re supposed to have SAB’R when you’re upset, in problems. Just focus on this point.
You don’t CONGRATULATE someone in their problems, you show sympathy. You congratulate someone when something works out for them, when their plans are successfully executed. But look at the language ALLAH uses: CONGRATULATE THOSE WHO HAVE SAB’R. SUB’HAAN ALLAH.
You know why? Because things are different for a believer. May be the whole thing happened so you could learn to have SAB’R. You thought the goal was to get the job but ALLAH wanted you to learn to have SAB’R. And that’s a bigger goal than anything else. And if you achieved that, you are worthy to be congratulated.
One of the characteristics of a believer is that when a certain calamity/difficulty hits them, their first spontaneous reaction is that they recite: INNA LILLAHI WA INNA ELAIHI RAJIOON. It comes out of their mouth like a reflex. They don’t even think of reciting it, it just comes out of their mouth like a reflex. And those who do that they deserve to be congratulated.
And by the way, by reciting INNA LILLAHI WA INNA ELAIHI RAJIOON, we submit ourselves to ALLAH almighty. We remind ourselves that THERE’S NO DOUBT THAT WE ARE FROM ALLAH, AND NO DOUBT WE WILL BE RETURNING BACK TO HIM. This means everything we possess, our minds, bodies, even our material belongings are actually possessed by ALLAH. We own nothing. So we have no right to claim. When we start thinking like this, we stop getting angry. We stop being egotistical. We stop being aggressive, arrogant, and even ignorant. Life becomes easier. And we start attaining peace.
