As narrated by Abu Hurairah: The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) once said, “The example of a believer is that of a fresh tender plant; from whatever direction the wind comes, it bends it, but when the wind becomes quiet, it becomes straight again. Similarly, a believer is afflicted with calamities (but he remains patient till Allah SWT removes his difficulties.)”
–Sahih Al-Bukhari: Book 70 Hadith 547
Have patience. Easier said than done right? Patience when our younger siblings won’t let us focus, patience when the waiter’s taking too long to bring our food, patience when a tragedy befalls a family. One word that pertains to such a vast amount of issues we face in our everyday lives. It seems almost IMPOSSIBLE to be patient all the time doesn’t it? If we only knew all the rewards we get for being able to get through all the crazy parts of life without losing our tempers, our faith. Allah (swt) does not burden a soul more than it can bare. This life is but a test and it is up to us to keep that on our minds as we try to get that A+ on the biggest exam of our lives.
My family has had two cancer stories in the span of 3 years. Starting with my sister in 2011 and now with my father in 2015. When my sister was first diagnosed at the young age of 19, we had absolutely NO IDEA what was coming next. She was fragile and so were we. As treatment started it was a struggle to not think: “Will this even work?” Everyone would say, “Have patience” and I would think, “How can I be patient when I can’t even predict what will happen tomorrow?” Alhamdulillah, my family stayed strong and we prayed. We came closer to Allah (swt) and it was with His grace that my sister can now deem herself a survivor. Allah (swt) gave us this test to see if we would either lose faith or come closer to the Most Merciful. Everything seemed great again.
Fast forward 3 years. My father is in the hospital and we find out he has a cancerous tumor in his liver. Never did any of us imagine we’d cross paths with the enemy again. Given my father is a 67 year old that has the heart of a 5 year old, it is the hardest thing to see him so weak; not playing basketball in the alley with us, not showing off his crazy dance moves. At first I thought: why is Allah (swt) doing this to us again? Why is He putting us through another giant hardship? I realized we did it with my sister, we can do it with him too. If she can survive, so can he. Allah (swt) has just given us another problem to solve: trust in Him, pray to Him, remember His name, and all will be fixed. No doctor can cure cancer. Only Allah (swt) can cure him.
With patience we can get through this again. No matter how many times cancer comes back, we can fight it off by taking a step back, remembering Allah, trusting Allah, and knowing “This Too Shall Pass.”
–Sahih Al-Bukhari: Book 70 Hadith 547
Have patience. Easier said than done right? Patience when our younger siblings won’t let us focus, patience when the waiter’s taking too long to bring our food, patience when a tragedy befalls a family. One word that pertains to such a vast amount of issues we face in our everyday lives. It seems almost IMPOSSIBLE to be patient all the time doesn’t it? If we only knew all the rewards we get for being able to get through all the crazy parts of life without losing our tempers, our faith. Allah (swt) does not burden a soul more than it can bare. This life is but a test and it is up to us to keep that on our minds as we try to get that A+ on the biggest exam of our lives.
My family has had two cancer stories in the span of 3 years. Starting with my sister in 2011 and now with my father in 2015. When my sister was first diagnosed at the young age of 19, we had absolutely NO IDEA what was coming next. She was fragile and so were we. As treatment started it was a struggle to not think: “Will this even work?” Everyone would say, “Have patience” and I would think, “How can I be patient when I can’t even predict what will happen tomorrow?” Alhamdulillah, my family stayed strong and we prayed. We came closer to Allah (swt) and it was with His grace that my sister can now deem herself a survivor. Allah (swt) gave us this test to see if we would either lose faith or come closer to the Most Merciful. Everything seemed great again.
Fast forward 3 years. My father is in the hospital and we find out he has a cancerous tumor in his liver. Never did any of us imagine we’d cross paths with the enemy again. Given my father is a 67 year old that has the heart of a 5 year old, it is the hardest thing to see him so weak; not playing basketball in the alley with us, not showing off his crazy dance moves. At first I thought: why is Allah (swt) doing this to us again? Why is He putting us through another giant hardship? I realized we did it with my sister, we can do it with him too. If she can survive, so can he. Allah (swt) has just given us another problem to solve: trust in Him, pray to Him, remember His name, and all will be fixed. No doctor can cure cancer. Only Allah (swt) can cure him.
With patience we can get through this again. No matter how many times cancer comes back, we can fight it off by taking a step back, remembering Allah, trusting Allah, and knowing “This Too Shall Pass.”