Six Important Points for those in Difficulty

Hazrat Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (rahmatullahi ‘alaih) once mentioned that when a person is afflicted with any calamity or difficulty, then he should adhere to the following six points:

1. He should exercise sabr (patience), as this is the hallmark of a true believer. Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) mentioned in his Mubaarak Hadith that if a mu’min experiences favourable conditions, he should express gratitude, and this is good for him. And if he experiences unfavourable conditions, he should exercise patience, and this is good for him.” (Saheeh Muslim #2999)

2. He should not become despondent and lose hope in the mercy of Allah Ta‘ala. Rather, he should continue to hope for the mercy of Allah Ta‘ala, as the power and grace of Allah Ta‘ala is above all worldly means. Only a kaafir who does not believe in taqdeer loses hope. People of true Imaan and deen are always pleased with the decree of Allah Ta‘ala.

3. He should not allow the difficulty to cause him to become negligent in regard to fulfilling his deeni obligations.

4. He should continue to make du‘aa to Allah Ta‘ala to make the calamity easy for him, and he should also adopt the means to remove the problem. However, he should not place his reliance on the means, but he should place his reliance upon Allah Ta‘ala. Through turning to Allah Ta‘ala in du‘aa, Allah Ta‘ala will place barakah in the means and cause the desired effect to materialise.

5. He should continuously engage in istighfaar and beg Allah Ta‘ala to forgive his sins.

6. If a calamity has afflicted any of his Muslim brothers, then he should regard his brother’s difficulty as his own difficulty. He should make du‘aa for him and if he is able to assist him, then he should adopt the similar means in assisting him that he would have adopted to remove his own difficulty.

(Malfoozaat Hakeemul Ummat 23/174)