When tragedy comes ...... ?

The Sheikh was asked – “ … when tragedy comes into our lives, how can we keep our faith in God’s mercy;  how can we feel that He cares about what is happening to each and every one of us?”

The Sheikh replied;   .. our distinguished guest has asked a very important question that every single person in the world must be asking in his heart. …… how to reconcile our belief in Allah’s Mercy with the bitterness and horror we feel at the death of loved ones and other seemingly merciless event in the world. …

 …. if you value the nobility of your rank as ‘Crown of Creation,'  if you consider that which sets you apart from dogs and monkeys to be worth preserving, worth sacrificing for,  then you must be prepared to agree with our Lord’s decrees.   That is the price you pay for that most honourable rank.   You must not reject what He wills in directing the course of life in His creation.   He does as He wills, and it is for us to be patient in matters that are beyond our sphere of influence …

… our Lord asked the Prophet Abraham, [peace be apon him,] to slaughter his son for the love of his Lord. … …  Abraham made ready to obey his Lord despite Satan’s [2] repeated attempts to dissuade him.  (By proving his readiness to carry out the Lord’s order)  Abraham proved his steadfastness in obeying the Divine command ..    But our Lord, is not in need of the blood of our sacrifices, but accepts the sincerity with which they are offered.   He prevented the knife from cutting.   …. Then an Angel appeared to the astonished Abraham saying;   ‘Oh Abraham don’t think that your knife is dull.  You have proved your sincerity; now take this ram and slaughter it ..”

[Which of us] could withstand such a trial as Abraham’s?   But in all our lives there are trials, and by being patient in the face of them may we gain our Lord’s endless love.

….  what that you love in (your) dear ones is the attraction of a ray of an Attribute of your Lord, which you see in them.  [This ray] shines through [the closesness] between you and them, and reaches your heart.   Those loved ones will die and so will you, but if that love reaches to the ultimate recipient of all love, then the goal of human love has been attained.

But if we fail to surrender to our Lord’s decree of mortality for  His creatures, and hate Him for putting us in a temporary existence of passing images, states and feelings, then life becomes a pill too bitter to swallow   ..

He is our Lord, the sole Sustainer of our existence.   He has rights over us and tries us to see who will be true and hold to the love of their Lord. Therefore all matter of events may occur - lovely people may die, young people may die, brothers, parents, wives and husbands may die, will die, must die.   Everyone you love will die.   Then He looks to see what you will do.

Can you transform your love, and make tragedy a cause of increasing your love for your Lord?   So few people understand this, and that is why they can’t see the Divine Wisdom in sorrowful events.   They don’t recognise that our Lord is beckoning us to love Him wholly and exclusively - therefore they suffer.

Everything He Almighty has given to the descendants of Adam is temporary, not worthy of that ultimate love.  You must give your love to the One who is always in existence ….

 Therefore you must awaken to these realities and not think that events represent the decrees of a merciless Lord.  No!  For - in these apparently merciless events is contained boundless mercy as our Lord rewards us in accordance with the severity of our trials.  The recompense is more and more of His Love.  At any time sorrowful and unliked events may descend upon you.   Your Lord makes them a means of approach to Him that He may pour out everlasting Love Oceans on His beloved servants.

This is a very important point and a very heavy one.   We must comprehend these wisdoms and their import; but such realisation will evade us as long as we are thinking that these are just some words.   That Divine Love must be tasted.   As much as I may repeat the words ‘honey, honey, honey’ you are not going to taste it …. These realities must be tasted and unless you nave reached that point you can’t understand more than these words.

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[1] For the complete text see Mercy Oceans Divine Sources. [2] The account in the Koran differs in some points from that in the Bible.