Mujaahadah Against the Nafs

Hazrat Shaikh Moulana Muhammad Zakariyya (rahmatullahi ‘alaih) once mentioned the following to a person who was undergoing various difficulties:

Allah Ta‘ala mentions in the Qur’aan Majeed:

وَ عَسٰۤی اَنْ تَکْرَهُوْا شَیْئًا وَّهُوَ خَیْرٌ لَّکُمْ

Perhaps you dislike something whereas it is good for you (Surah Baqarah v. 216)

It is possible that the difficulty which you are experiencing for the last few months is in actual fact a means for you gaining the closeness of Allah Ta’ala and for your rank being raised. At times, in order for a person to acquire deeni progress, mujaahadah is required (striving against the nafs). If he does not make mujaahadah and strive on his own, Allah Ta’ala brings about some difficulty through which he is made to undergo some type of mujaahadah (by making sabr during the difficulty), thereby allowing him to progress spiritually and gain the closeness of Allah Ta’ala.

(Qutbul Aqtaab Hazrat Sheikhul Hadith Moulana Muhammad Zakariyya (rahmatullahi ‘alaih) pg. 436)