LIFE’S PLEASANT, BUT HAS COMPLEXITIES
By Popoola Abdulfattah
Sometimes in life we receive distressing strokes of fate which consequently prone us to melancholy and we cannot but ask why? The reality of the world we live is enough to open our eyes to the fact that life can sometimes be exceedingly challenging. In fact, it is when we become indefensibly exposed to some obnoxious conditions of life that we could convincingly realize that though life may be pleasant, it has its own complexities.
Allah (SWT) said:
“Be sure we shall test you with something of fear and hunger and decrease in wealth and lives and fruits of your toil. But give glad tidings to those who patiently persevered.” (Q2:155).
In addition a verse of the Quran in which Allah described himself as the one “who grants laughter and tears” (Q43:62), corroborates the truth and reality of the above verse. The unequivocal implication of this is that things might be going on well with someone today, but come tomorrow, he is telling a different story and vice versa.
Numerous instances which are of typical examples of this inevitable change in life are severally cited in the Holy Quran. If you had probably read or heard about the story of Prophet Yusuf, you would recall that he was at a moment in his life a slave but later emerged the prime-minister of the city in which he was once jailed and beset by adversities.
Do you also remember the story of the rich farmer and his friend? The rich farmer who was highly pompous and opinionated was  endowed with a vast expanse of  farmlands, abundantly adorned by Allah with grape-vines, date palms and a flowing river in between the farmlands (Q18: 32-33). His (the farmer’s) pride, however, experienced growth day in day out as his harvest often yielded well and never failed him. His wealth accumulated and not too long he had acquired so much wealth. This prompted him to brag about it to his friend who was on the other a true believer and a contended fellow. Then the rich farmer said to his friend in the course of a conversation between them, “more wealth have I than you and more honour and power in (my fellow of) men.” (Q18:34).
He was arrogantly saying this when contrary to his expectations, his farm had been destroyed and all forms of its goodness and beauty completely obliterated without his knowledge. A short moment afterward, he got to his farm and was dumbstruck, seeing nothing left of his farm except ruins. His ego immediately deflated, giving way to utter despair and a palpable sense of loss. He was totally entranced by this situation and all he could incredulously say was; “I deemed not that this (farm) will ever perish” (Q18:35). The story then went on and we learnt how his friend tried to get him positively convinced on the certainty of resurrection as the event had caused the farmer to believe that just as his farm could not be returned to its original state, also man can never be resurrected after his death…
Now we can see clearly the irony of life. A life of uncertainty that throws one flowers at a moment and at the very next moment throws stones at you. A life that wipes laughter off your face at a point and in the wake of events, you are all smiles again. However, the religion of Islam, the divine system purposely designed by the Creator, Allah (SWT) in order to serve the much needed purpose of guidance to mankind, has something to say on this thought-provoking issue.
Islam recognizes man as a limited being, one who is limited in the faculty of perception of unforeseen occurrences and contingencies. It therefore enjoins man through the Holy Quran and hadith to strongly believe in destiny. This is self-evident in the Holy Quran where Allah (SWT) says; “no misfortune can happen on earth nor in your souls except that it is recorded in decree before we bring it into existence, that is truly easy for Allah. (Q57:22).
In addition it is wrong to believe that Allah is unkind by making us pass through some ordeals in life. This is the reason He (SWT) categorically stated in the Quran thus; “do men think that they will be left alone for saying ‘we believe’ and that they will not be tested? We did test those before them and Allah certainly knows those who are truthful and those who are liars” (Q29:3). From this verse, we can easily understand the reason tribulation and agony sometimes come our way; it is to determine our level of belief in Allah (SWT).
One must realize that to be a true Muslim, it comes with its pains and strains. When the vicissitude of life come in barrages and the darkness of adversity descends thickly, such times, the strong and true Muslims are set apart from the weak and the lukewarm, who only identify themselves with the Islamic monotheism when the plane is even and the going smooth and pleasant.
When trials come and the going gets tough, they become impatient and frustrated. They plunge themselves into illegalities and blameworthy acts, going against the dictates of Allah and trampling upon his prohibitions just to get rid of the difficult time. They have forgotten that they need to maintain their faith in Allah in order to be successful. This category of people is best described in the Quran when Allah said: “And among mankind is he who worships Allah upon the edge. If good befalls him, he is content therewith; but if a trial befalls him he turns back on his face…” (Q22:11).
As it could be evidently observed in our immediate environment and across the globe, unemployment, loss of job, high cost of living, poverty, illness, social unrest, insecurity, war, famine, natural disasters, broken marriages, infertility, loss of property, family problems and grief combined with anguish arising from death of loved ones are all in all prime agents of the negative side of life. Some of these problems are no doubt man-made due to the kufr, anti-Islamic system of life being implemented on the Muslims by the capitalists while some are natural, predestined by Allah to happen to us. However, ways by which the overwhelming burden of such calamities can be greatly lessened to a bearable level and possibly overcome include: reposing unshakeable faith in Allah – no matter the circumstance, giving thanks to Allah always and imagining worst situations,  reliance on Allah (at-tawakkul) which necessitates that one prays and act in such a way as to struggle against all odds and lastly, engaging more in religious activities and the work for Islam as to please Allah and to bring Islam into the realms of life as to govern our lives with what Allah has revealed and thereby solve our problems practically.