Pause to reflect

 

There are two points we should bear in mind when we think about the issues of hardship and relief:

 

First, when one can no longer bear a hardship, he will lose all hope in human beings, and as a result, his heart will depend upon Allah Alone.

 

Second, whenever the true believer feels that relief is slow in coming and whenever he feels that his prayers are not answered; he will blame no one save his own self. He will say to his self, “I am in this situation only because of you. Had you been worth anything your prayers would have been answered." Such self-reproach is more beloved to Allah than many good deeds. When a slave of Allah goes through this process of introspection and self-reproach, he breaks down before his Lord and admits his shortcomings and confesses that he deserves the calamity that befell him and that he doesn’t deserve to have his prayers answered. At this point, the answer for his prayers comes quickly and the black cloud above him dissipates.

 

Ibraheem ibn Adham said:

"If the kings knew our quality of life, they would fight us over it with swords."

 

Ibn Taymiyah said:

"My heart sometimes experiences a kind of inexpressible feeling for a number of hours, and I say, ‘If the people of Paradise are in a state similar to mine (right now), they are living a good life."’