ولنبلونكم بشئ من الخوف والجوع
وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُم بِشَيْءٍ مِّنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ (البقرة: ١٥٥)
[Translation: And We will most certainly test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss of wealth, lives and fruits; but give good news to those who patiently persevere.] (Al-Baqarah: 155)
I love reading people’s stories.
With the year coming to an end, I got to read some of the most genuine reflections on social media about everyone’s year. No matter how different we all felt about it though, one thing was so evidently common across all pieces: struggle. It was all so strangely coinciding with a time when I literally came across death news every time I hit refresh.
This Ayah (verse) then continued getting louder in the background. It felt so strange yet so incredibly calming to realize we were being told we‘d experience exactly this. All the struggles we go through as we fight our own inner demons. All the people we keep losing along the way, whether to death or with life eventually bringing us apart. All the trouble we have to endure to simply make a living in today’s world. All the pain that clenches through our chests with every hardship that comes our way. It’s all meant to happen; it’s all meant to serve as a test. It’s all part of life, and a constant reminder that this is in fact not where we belong.
Patience is so hard to practice when you have no idea what it is you’re waiting for. When all you have is your imagination of what might be, but not even a definite timeline as to when it’s happening. And yet it’s reminders like these that can help push us forward on our worst days. They remind us of how temporary this world is. They remind us of the perfection of yet another world that’s still awaiting our presence. For when we finally get there, it shall make sense. It shall all make sense.
P.S. I’ve discussed how I further feel about this Ayah on this video.
Written on: January 2, 2020
