بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient, Who, when disaster strikes them, say, ‘Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.’ [Al Baqara:156]
We discussed previously that the sabiroon or the patient ones will be congratulated by Rasulullah (SAW) himself. But who are these people? What is the criteria to qualify for this award?
They are the ones that as soon as a calamity hits them, immediately they say and remember that they belong to their Lord. There is no “thumma” or “fa” here, there is no “then” or “after a while” for them. Not even a moment passes after a calamity hits, but these slaves of Allah remind themselves that they belong to Allah and every calamity that comes is qadr of Allah. It is like a reflex action for them. A natural knee jerk reaction if you will.
But what is the connection between saying “we belong to Allah and we are going to return to our Master” and a calamity?
Because this statement helps us on two levels. First it reminds us that whatever goodness is coming to us, is not owned by us. We feel angry or hurt when we have a right over some thing If it was my turn in the que and someone took my turn, I will feel angry but if it wasn’t my turn in the first place I will not feel angry.
And this statement reminds us that nothing we own in this world, be it good health, family, wealth or anything else is ours to own. It was a gift from Allah. Leave alone things, we ourselves belong to Allah. So if our health goes down, our wealth decreases or we lose a loved one, this statement will remind us that all these things were not ours to begin with. They were a gift to us from Allah and He can take them away whenever He wants.
Secondly it reminds us that the grief is not permanent. Even you and I ourselves are not permanent then how come our problems can be permanent. There will come a day when it will all end, when we will go back to our Rabb.
This statement puts things in perspective. And make you think about things that really matter.
If we gain this understanding, then we qualify for this congratulation from Rasulullah (SAW).