It's Friday~! Alhamdulillah. Semester break ends today and students will start back to lecture this coming Monday. How best the feeling of being alone in the office without any interruption..hehe..
However, this week is a tough one. After coming back from JB last weekend, there are so many things in my mind, especially regarding to my Big Day. Checklist is ready by checking what we have done so far as well as the pending things that should not be forgotten. May Allah makes everything easy.
Tomorrow I will attend a big examination. All I hope and wish right now is I can do my best because I don't want to repeat the paper again. This exam becomes a preliminary condition to further studies overseas. If I completing this exam, the only thing left to be struggle on is the official offer letter form a particular university. Please pray the best for me..
After a long period of time of not attending exam, I feel so nervous. I went to the examination hall so many times, not to answer the question papers but to invigilate my students. I can remember that every exam that I attended previously, the first thing I do before enter the exam hall is calling my MOM~ I really need her Du'a because a prayer of a mother will answered easily by Allah. But still Allah will answer our Du\a as He said in the Quran: "Call on Me; I will answer your (Prayer)" – [Quran, 40:60]
In fact, examination is not only for students. It's for everybody. It is not necessarily take exam in the exam hall, but we have been examined every second in our life. Test is a spice in our life. It will make our life either being wonderful or awkward depends on how we accept that test.
But why does Allah test us?
Allah tests His believing servants with various types of crises and disasters in order to:
1) Reveal the Patient from the Impatient:
“And certainly, We shall
test you with a bit of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits.
But give glad tidings to the patient ones who, when afflicted with a
calamity, say: “Truly! To Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall
return.” They are those upon whom are the blessings, descend from their
Lord, and they receive His Mercy, and it is they who are guided.”
(Surah Al-Baqarah 2:155-157)
“And among mankind is he who
worships Allah as if he were upon the very edge (i.e. in doubt); if
good befalls him, he is content with it;. But if a trial befalls him, he
turns back on his face. He loses both this World and the Hereafter.
That is the evident loss.”
(Surah al-Haj 22:11)
“So, it is a must for the souls to be nurtured by way of
tests, and to be severely tested during the course of the battle
between truth and falsehood with fear and hardship, and with hunger and
decrease in wealth and life and fruits. This testing is a necessity so
that the believer can give his share of what his belief requires; so
that it becomes dear to him in accordance with that he gives for its
sake of sacrifice and burden; so that it becomes dear to him in
accordance with what he is willing to give for its sake! The bearers of
worthless beliefs that do not require any type of sacrifice will not
hesitate to abandon their beliefs at the first sign of hardship. So,
the burden here is the personal price that one pays so that this belief
becomes dear and valuable in the hearts of its bearers before it becomes
dear to the hearts of anyone else. Whenever they experience pain for
its sake, and every single time they are forced to give something up for
its sake, it becomes even dearer and more valuable to them, and they
become even more honored with it. With this, nobody else will realize
its value until they see how its bearers are tested because of it and
how patient they are upon such tests.”
(‘Fi Dhilal al-Qur’an’; 1/145)
2) Remove Our Sins and Reward the Righteous:
“And, when he was old
enough to walk with him, he said: “O my son! I have seen in a dream that
I am slaughtering you, so what do you think?” He said: “O my father! Do
that which you are commanded, if Allah Wills, you will find me to be of
the patient.” Then, when they had both submitted, and he had laid him
prostrate on his forehead, and We called out to him: “O Ibrahim! You
have fulfilled the dream!” Verily! Such do We reward the good-doers.”
(Surah as-Saffat :102-7)
Sa’ad bin Abi Waqqas reported that he asked the Messenger
of Allah (SAW): “Which of the people are tested most severely?”
Rasulullah (SAW) replied: “The Prophets, then the righteous, then those
who are most like them, then those who are most like them from the
people. A man is tested according to his religious commitment. So, if
his religious practice is sound, then his testing is increased, and if
his religious practice is weak, then his testing is reduced. A servant
continues to be tested until he walks the Earth without a single sin on
him.”
(Ahmad, Tirmidhi)
3) Purify the Ranks and Distinguish the Righteous from the Wicked:
“Allah will not leave the believers in the state in which you are now until
He distinguishes the wicked from the good.”
(Surah Al ‘Imrân 3:179)
“And when the believers saw
the Confederates, they said: “This is what Allah and His Messenger had
promised us, and Allah and His Messenger had spoken the truth,” and it
only added to their faith and submissiveness.”
(Surah Ahzaab 33:22)
“Allah might make easy the affairs of the people of evil
so that they may increase in sin and corruption, and so that they might
increase in their buildup of sins and crimes. Then, he may deal with
them in this World or the Hereafter – depending on His Wisdom and
Decision – on account of this sinister buildup of deeds! On the other
hand, He may also prevent them from ease so that they would increase in
evil and sin and crimes and suffocation, eventually losing hope in the
Mercy of Allah, resulting in an increase in their buildup of evil and
misguidance. Likewise, Allah can make easy the
affairs of the people of good so that they may become established in
their righteous actions and carry out as much of them as they can while
increasing in their sustenance, so that they may thank Him for these
blessings with their hearts, tongues, and pleasant actions. With all of
this, they increase in a buildup of good deeds that they rightfully
deserve with Allah because of their righteousness and because of the
good that Allah Knows is in their hearts. On the other hand, he may also
prevent them from ease in order to observe their patience upon this
state, as well as their confidence and hope in their Lord, their
relaxation at the realization of His Power, their being pleased with Him
as their only Lord – and He is better than all others – resulting in an
increase in their buildup of good.”
(Fi Dhilal al-Qur’an)
4) Emphasize the Hardships of This World in Comparison to the Hereafter:
“Blessed is He in Whose Hand
is the kingdom, and He is Able to do all things.
The One Who has
created death and life in order to test you and see which of you is best
in deed, and He is the All-Mighty, the Oft-Forgiving.”
(Surah al-Mulk 67:1-2)
5) Expose the Reality of the Human Being:
“Verily, We have created man
from drops of mixed semen in order to test him, so We made him hearer,
seer. Verily, We showed him the way, so he is either grateful or
ungrateful.”
(Surah al-Insan 76: 2-3)
“Verily, We have made that
which is on earth as an adornment for it so that
We may test them as to
which of them are best in deeds.”
(Surah al-Kahf 18:7)
“And it is He Who has made
you generations after generations, replacing each other on the earth.
And He has raised you in ranks – some above others – that He may test
you in that which He has bestowed on you. Surely, your Lord is Swift in
retribution,
and certainly He is Oft*-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
(Surah al-An’am 6:165)
“A human being is tested so that he may come to know the
reality of himself and others. Life is consists of constant testing;
testing with what is bad, or testing with what is good. However, what is
best for the believer may be found in what he hates, and what is bad
for him may be found in what he likes. The true believer is the one who
loves that which Allah has chosen for him. So, if He tests him with
something that he loves, he thanks Him, and if He tests him with that
which he hates, he is patient and thanks Him in this case, as well. And
Allah – the Glorified – gives the believer in accordance with what will
lead to his happiness in either this World or the next. So, if it is
better for him to have something, Allah gives it to him. If it is better
for him not to have something, Allah prevents him from having that
thing, just as one who is sick is prevented from too much food or water.
Therefore, it is upon a person to completely submit to Allah – the
Glorified – in regards to what He has chosen for him, and to be pleased
with what Allah has given him, and to understand that if Allah prevents
him from something, then it is because Allah wishes to save him from
being tested with that thing.”
**Whatever it is, THANK YOU ALLAH~!
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