Why do we suffer trials, tribulations and hardships in life?

 

Why do we suffer trials and tribulations and hardships in life?

Unfortunately many people do not really understand the real purpose of life difficulties and hardships in life.

People see any difficulty or set back either as an injustice, an evil, or a punishment from God.

However, the Quran tells us that people - all people - with suffer trials and tribulations.

Since the reader he or herself is addressed in the verse, it also implies that even people who read Quran and believe will suffer from such tribulations.

The Quran does not say such difficulties and trials are a punishment, rather we are told in one that it is to test who deal with trials and tribulations in the best way.

In another verse are told that the patient people are blessed people.

Therefore, such trials and tribulations are really a test of our faith.

When our faith is strong, it should not affect us too much.

We should also learn how to deal with such trials and tribulations in the best way by developing wisdom.

We can read more and ask people who know about such things and take advice from people who have some knowledge or experience (not necessarily older).

When we know from the Quran that trials and tribulations in life are inevitable we will be better able to deal with them (hopefully) and more patient.

People who know they are inevitable are prepared.

They don't blaspheme everything something they dislike happens.

They don't complain and curse.

People who have some knowledge and wisdom don't concentrate on trying to just remove the problem but rather, to deal with it and treat it in the best way.

Some people will spend hours crying and asking God to remain difficulties and hardships without ever thinking that this is a test of what they will do and that perhaps this is the time to make changes in their life.

There are people who are at a level of ignorance that they think it is God who has made them ill and if He had not willed it they would not be ill.

They fail to look at themselves, their diet, lifestyle, and other factors which are the actual causes of being ill.

Blaming God for things that we have caused for ourselves is a big oppression and injustice to God.  He gets blamed for all kinds of things that people are guilty of and the cause of.

It also does not achieve anything much.

In fact, blaming people in general does not help anything much.

When people see the reason they have not married as because someone did magic or cursed them, if this is not the case they will not be able to find and address the real reason.

Some people when faced with difficulties begin to read Quran more, remember God and give charity.

They only want to make the problems go away.

They have heard that these things are good in such circumstances.

However, such people have missed the point that actually it is not the rituals that influence our lives.

We are supposed to be improving our relationship with God.

I mean, we see almost every day people being brought back in line by those in authority.

A mother will sometimes smack her child, or shout at him even though he us very dear to her and she would never allow anything bad to happen to him.

In fact, she may do such things to prevent her son from danger or being hit by a car in the road.

Her wanting benefit for her child, his attention, safety and well being leads her to behaviours that the child most likely would not like.  It may also seem harsh to others.  However, she does achieve getting his attention and keeping us safe.

So perhaps a lot of the trials and tribulations and hard ships that people blame God for sending are actually for a specific purpose and to bring us back to remembering God in our lives.

When people are very comfortable they often forget God and even say He does not exist.

At other times someone says how much they love God but at the same time they don't live a life that is pleasing or even acceptable to God.

In such circumstances, it may take a tragedy, difficulty, tribulation or other issue to make someone turn back to God or repent for wrong doing.

Unfortunately, it is often only when people are in need and desperation they turn back to God and correct their lives.

Therefore, there is a clear purpose in such trials and tribulations , which is to correct ourselves, look at ourselves and come back to faith.

In fact, there are quite a few reflective individuals now most of whom happen to be without any particular religion who write about the trials and tribulations in life and how much they have benefited from their problems.

Sometimes they have been near death but they began to see life in a different way and say that they have come out as a new person.

They have a new perspective on life and learned many new things.

Often they claim to feel more grateful about life and the people in it.  

They now see the value of things that they did not before.

Some people have said that they become more giving and charitable, wanting to help others through their issues and problems.

Therefore, the whole idea of problems, difficulties and bad things is from the perspective of human beings.

In reality they may be good for us in some way or to achieve a particular goal.

We just should learn how to benefit and deal with such problems and difficulties rather than running away from them, which is what most people do.

In fact, a narration says that there is nothing that affects a believer, even the prick of a thorn except that God forgives some of his sins.

The last point I wanted to make is that suffering trials, tribulations and difficulties is not related to whether God loves a person or not.

In fact,  the Quran tells us many stories of prophets and righteous people who suffered and had many problems and difficulties.

The Quran also shows that these problems and difficulties are what raised them and made them such special people.

Others, such as Pharaoh led very good lives but it did not make them good people.

So maybe, just maybe we should begin to turn the attention to ourselves when afflicted with catastrophe.

Even if we are not the cause we can important things and develop ourselves as people.

We would not learn such skills, or develop into something great when everything is already laid out before us and we are entirely comfortable.

Are we in need of correction?

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Ifthat is not the reason then we can at least learn things such as patience and perhaps some creativity or a different perspective on life.

We may learn how to react and behave in he best of ways until the end of the test.