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Wednesday 11 January 2023

Supplication when any affliction smites a believer

Every good or bad that happens to a believer is from Allah. Obviously when any good happens to us, we feel happy and thank Allah for His blessings. But when something bad happens to us or something very dear to us is taken away from us, sometimes our faith wavers. In doing so, we fail to understand that whatever we have is from Allah and we could not have got these unless it was so decided by our Creator, the Lord of the entire universe. And we should also understand that such afflation may happen to us as a test to gauge our firmness in faith. In fact, the Believer should exhibit Patience under such trying times for which he is rewarded with something better than what was taken from him.

The 156th verse of Surah 2. Al Baqarah (The Cow) shows us that when an affliction smites a believer, he should show his contentment on the Divine decision and say:

الَّذِيۡنَ اِذَآ اَصَابَتۡهُمۡ مُّصِيۡبَةٌ  ۙ قَالُوۡٓا اِنَّا لِلّٰهِ وَاِنَّـآ اِلَيۡهِ رٰجِعُوۡنَؕ‏ 
(2:156) Who, when afflicted with calamity, says: "Truly, to Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return.'
These words are to be uttered merely with the tongue, but we would believe sincerely from the core of our hearts that "We belong to Allah and to no one else." Thus, if anything is sacrificed in the way of Allah, if is spent rightly because it has gone to His service to Whom it really belonged."

"We shall certainly return to Him": "We shall not live here forever but shall have to leave this world one day. Thus, sooner or later we must die and go to Allah. It is, therefore, far better to fight in His way and lay down our lives for His sake than to pass our lives self-seeking and self-worship and then die of some disease or accident."

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir
Those who recite this statement to comfort themselves in the face of their loss, know that they belong to Allah and that He does what He wills with His servants. They also know that nothing and no deed, even if it was the weight of an atom, will be lost with Allah on the Day of Resurrection. These facts thus compel them to admit that they are Allah's servants and that their return will be to Him in the Hereafter.

This is why Allah said: Upon them will be the blessings and mercy of their Lord, and it is they who are rightly guided. (2:157)

Javed Ahmad Ghamidi Explanation:
This is a statement of submitting and consigning one’s affairs to the Almighty and an expression of the belief of the believers on which depends their determination and perseverance. We belong to God Almighty in this world and after death we are to return to Him. These words signify two constituents of this belief and a little deliberation shows that both are important for a person to adhere fully to the path of truth. It is this belief through which a believer is able to draw strength and fight every evil that comes his way.

Tafsir Qur'an Wiki
Underlying all this is the fact that, when subjected to pressure and the severe demands of the struggle, a believer will turn to no one else but God for help and solace, and will seek the support of no other power than God’s. This will be done in full acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty and total control over everything in this world: “Give glad tidings to those who remain patient in adversity’. Who, when a calamity befalls them, say, ‘To God we belong, and to Him we shall return.’” God is the ultimate sovereign and final arbiter. To Him we turn for guidance on every matter. This is the essence of true submission, which comes from full recognition of His control of our destiny and our fate.

Please watch how eminent Muslim scholar Nouman Ali Khan interprets this verse:
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى‎) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door. 
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ‏ 
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.

Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.

May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.

Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.

For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Invocations / Dua " دُعا " from the Qur'anYou may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.
Exegesis References: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully.

An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Qur'ān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.  

In order to augment and add more explanation as already provided, additional input has been interjected from following sources: 
  • Towards Understanding the Quran
  • Tafsir Ibn Khatir
  • Muhammad Asad Translation
  • Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid
  • Al-Quran, Yusuf Ali Translation
  • Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle
In addition, references of other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.

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