In chapter 20 of the Quran, Surat Taha, verse 124 Allah ﷻ says: And whomsoever turns away from the remembrance of Allah, will indeed live a life of hardship and Allah ﷻ will see to it that this individual will be resurrected blind on the Day of Judgement.
“وَمَنْ أَعْرَضَ عَن ذِكْرِى فَإِنَّ لَهُۥ مَعِيشَةً ضَنكًا وَنَحْشُرُهُۥ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَٰمَةِ أَعْمَىٰ”
Each time I read this ayah it truly gives me the chills. Allah ﷻ is telling us that for those who choose a life or a path that takes them away from their Creator, away from remembering their final destination, away from recognizing their purpose in this life, then that very person will live a very miserable life. We see here that true happiness in this life is in being close to our Maker and when we choose to remove that happiness based off the choices that we’ve made, we only allow room for misery. So, it’s not that Allah ﷻ makes our lives miserable, it’s the fact that we choose misery because the absence of Allah ﷻ in our lives is misery and hardship.
Many times in life, Allah ﷻ will put us in places or around certain people to remind us of our purpose in this world. It is from His love for us that we will continue to go through those very lessons until we recognize that Allah ﷻ is the answer to everything. We cannot truly survive physically, mentally, or even spiritually, if it wasn’t for the fact Allah ﷻ loves and blesses us each and every single day. Allah ﷻ continues to remind us, but the question is, are we willing to remind ourselves? Are we willing to leave what’s harmful for us, for what is better? Many will be reminded, but they ignore those reminders and turn away from them. Those very people will not only cause misery for themselves in this life, but in the next life as well. Allah will cause that individual to be resurrected blind, because they’ve blinded their hearts from Allah ﷻ in this world.
It’s essential that one sits with himself/herself often and reflects upon their own lives. When you contemplate your actions, you’ll then ask yourself why you do what you do; and truly, if it’s not something that brings you closer to Allah ﷻ, why keep doing it? Being in good places, around good people, will keep us doing good and help us stay away from harm. There is not a single sane person that wakes up and wishes for their day to be miserable. Let us allow the light of our Maker ﷻ to enter our hearts and guide us to what is pleasing to Him ﷻ.
By Sh Hassan Natour
