Sufferings of a Muslim are an Expiation for Sins

And thou, O soul at peace! Return to thy Lord well pleased with Him and He well pleased with thee. So enter thou among My servants. And enter thou My Garden.

People who are reconciled to the will of Allah, and suffer all hardships and tribulations for His sake, are never left unrewarded by Allah the Almighty. There are many among us who are embodiments of shortcomings and defects. We commit many errors and sins. But if we are in the habit of reconciling to the will of Allah, and are ever-prepared to, and do, suffer all indignities for Him, if we are not like the wailing woman who put up a big clamour on any small suffering, for such patient ones there is a glad tiding from the Holy Prophetsa .

Hadrat Abu Hurairahra narrates that the Holy Prophetsa said, ‘No Muslim suffers any calamity, suffering, pain, discomfort, or anxiety, even as small as the prick of a thorn, but Allah wipes out instead some of his defaults and his sins.’ (Sahih Muslim, Kitab-ul-Birri was-Silah, Babu Thawabil-Mo’mini fi ma yusibuhu min Maradin au Huznin au nahwa dhalik)

In another hadith Hadrat Suhaib Bin Sinan ra has related that:

The Holy Prophetsa said, ‘Wondrous is the case of a believer; there is good for him in everything, and it is so for him alone.

If he experiences something agreeable, he is grateful to God and that is good for him; and if he experiences adversity, he is steadfast and that is good for him because he earns merit for his steadfastness.’ (Sahih Muslim, Kitab-uz-Zuhdi, Babul

Mo’mini Amruhu kulluhu Khair)

Sometimes Allah makes His servants go through sufferings related to his children. There is excessive wailing and crying at the death of children, especially among the women. Thanks to Allah, He has granted to the Ahmadiyyah Muslim Jama‘at mothers who are very patient and reconciled to His will. But sometimes there are instances of complaining, especially among the illiterates or those with meagre education. In fact, I have also observed some cases among those with good education that they utter words of ingratitude.

There is a hadith that the Holy Prophetsa used to take a pledge from women-Companionsra in this respect. The hadith runs as follows:

Hadrat Usaidra relates that he heard from a womanCompanionra who had taken a pledge at the hand of the Holy Prophetsa that the pledge included the following: ‘We will not disobey the Holy Prophetsa, will not tear our faces in wailing, will not raise a hue and cry during mourning, and will not tear our clothes or keep our hair ruffled.’ (Sunano Abi Dawud, Kitab-ul-Jana’iz, Babun fin-Nauh)