Seriously Short Reminder No. 27: Realise whose fault it is…
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum.
[Note: Jazakumullahu kheira to the 13 people who took the time out to fill the survey. It was most appreciated.]
[Another note: No more 7-days-a-week blogging for me. I’m taking the weekends off.]
Every time something bad happens to us, we try to figure out whose fault it is.
Well, Allah tells us exactly whose fault it is:
وَمَا أَصَابَكُم مِّن مُّصِيبَةٍ فَبِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَيَعْفُو عَن كَثِيرٍ
“And whatever of misfortune befalls you, it is because of what your hands have earned. And He pardons much.” [Surah Ash-Shura (42) :30]
Yes, it’s OUR fault. And these calamities are a part of what we’ve earned.
“Part?”
Yes.
Allah says:
وَلَوْ يُؤَاخِذُ اللَّـهُ النَّاسَ بِمَا كَسَبُوا مَا تَرَكَ عَلَىٰ ظَهْرِهَا مِن دَابَّةٍ وَلَـٰكِن يُؤَخِّرُهُمْ إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ۖ فَإِذَا جَاءَ أَجَلُهُمْ فَإِنَّ اللَّـهَ كَانَ بِعِبَادِهِ بَصِيرًا
“And if Allah were to punish men for that which they earned, He would not leave a moving (living) creature on the surface of the earth, but He gives them respite to an appointed term, and when their term comes, then verily, Allah is Ever All-Seer of His slaves.” [Surah Fatir (35) : 45]
If we got everything we earned, we’d be history.
So what do we need to do?
At the end of a long hadeeth qudsi (the full version can be found in this post), Allah says:
فمن وجد خيرا فليحمد الله . ومن وجد غير ذلك فلا يلومن إلا نفسه
“So he who finds good, let him praise Allah, and he who finds other than that, let him blame no one but himself.” [Sahih Muslim, Hadeeth No. 6246]
So, when something good happens to us, we should attribute it to Allah, not to ourselves. However, when something bad happens to us, we should NOT attribute it to Allah, rather we should blame ourselves and seek His forgiveness.
In fact, this was the difference between Adam (alaihissalam) and Iblees. When Adam (alaihissalam) made that mistake, he blamed himself and asked Allah to forgive him. Due to this, he was raised in status.
Whereas in the case of Iblees, he blamed Allah for his misdeeds and refused to blame himself. Due to this, he was doomed.
So, who do we want to be like? Our father Adam or our enemy Iblees?
