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How to handle hardships in life?

In daily lives we face obstinate challenges that grip us back from our goals and dreams. They retain us ‘stuck’, make us feel disappointed and slow down our journey to accomplish our potential.

These challenges most of the time make us less productive, and lessen down our will of living life with motive and passion.

When obstacles happen in our way of achieving goals?

These hurdles can arrive in the state of some type of loss: even-if a loss of health, wealth, loved ones, or loved things. These hurdles and bad happenings in our lives bring feeling of hopelessness and mentally grasp us back from fulfilling the dream.

What Quran says in this regard?

The Holy Quran says,

“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.” [Qur’an: Chapter 2, Verse 155].

Now the question is, how we can overcome the losses, provocation, and sadness that are inescapable in life? How can we carry on, attaining our ultimate aim and maintaining a well built bond with Allah? How can we cure those wounds and get the better of those worries? How we could live our life to the fullest and step up to what could we do potentially to construct a positive difference in the society?

The answer to all these questions is only one which is putting trust on one and only Creator who is Allah. Also recalling one of the most beautiful verses of Quran can also give hopes and peace, which is as follow:

“And ˹surely˺ your Lord will give so much to you that you will be pleased” [93:5].

This is the most satisfying and peaceful verse where Allah is promising to His people that He is going to give so much that His people would be satisfied.

This verse also develops patience in a person and brings good hopes.

Occupy yourself with the Giver, not the gift

Moreover, it helps us to keep in mind that, loss is a natural part of our life, because each and everything is transient and temporary. Although we experience great losses, but we also experience great joys as well.

As Allah says in Holy Quran in chapter 94:

“Relieved you of the burden, which weighed so heavily on your back” [94: 2-3]

Allah has further tells people in so much satisfactory way that the following words soothe the soul of people in a very well manner:

“So, surely with hardship comes ease” [94: 5]

In a very beautiful way, Allah has repeated the same thing to let His people know that Allah is indeed the best judge. Allah emphasizes the same thing in the very next verse of the same chapter:

“Surely with ˹that˺ hardship comes ˹more˺ ease” [94: 6].

Everything belongs to Allah

Furthermore, our health, wealth, and loved ones are all blessings and gifts that belong to Allah which He gave to us for a time period. We just forget that they are blessings and end up devoted to the gift and not as devoted to or thankful to the One Who blessed us with the blessings, even He, in His endless Mercy, chooses to take the blessings away. Allah says in the Quran in the following verse:

“And that to your Lord is the finality. And that it is He who makes [one] laugh and weep. And that it is He who causes death and gives life.” [Qur’an: Chapter 53, Verses 42-44].

Moreover, every one of us knows that for the believer, being tested or being blessed is an opportunity for patience and thankfulness:

“How wonderful is the case of a believer; there is good for him in everything and this applies only to a believer. If prosperity attends him, he expresses gratitude to Allah and that is good for him; and if adversity befalls him, he endures it patiently and that is better for him.” [Muslim].

The keys to success

Moreover, we are also aware of loss, the biggest loss which is being a loss of Allah’s pleasure and happiness both now in this world and the Hereafter in Surat Al-Asr:

“By time, indeed, mankind is in loss. Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience.” [Qur’an: Chapter 103, Verses 1-3].

The above verse tells us about loss and how to overcome that loss, so that we can pass on to more happiness and success, In sha Allah.

The mentioned keys of the above verses are belief in Allah, doing well. Enjoining each other to truth and enjoining each other to patience