In The Name of Allaah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.

Imaam As-Sadi [may Allaah have mercy upon him] said:

When it is the fact that the creation [humankind and jinn] will face calamities and no one is safe from them, the All-Wise Legislator prepared its solutions, and then guided His servants to patience, submission and hope for reward. And that a servant of Allaah should not face calamities with anxiety, depression and weakness of soul; but rather it should be faced with strength, trust in Allaah and true faith. In this way, its pain lessens and its hardship becomes minor, so the reward received by a person multiplies and faith increases as a result of the calamity that is encountered. Allaah said:

ولنبلونكم بشيء من الخوف والجوع ونقص من الأموال والأنفس والثمرات وبشر الصابرين الذين إذا أصابتهم مصيبة قالوا إنا لله وإنا إليه راجعون أولئك عليهم صلوات من ربهم ورحمة وأولئك هم المهتدون

And certainly, We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits, but give glad tidings to As-Sabirin (the patient ones, etc.). Who, when afflicted with calamity, say: “Truly! To Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return.” They are those on whom are the Salawat (i.e. blessings, etc.) (i.e. who are blessed and will be forgiven) from their Lord, and (they are those who) receive His Mercy, and it is they who are the guided-ones. [Surah Al-Baqarah. Aayaat 155-157]

Allaah said: [ إنما يوفى الصابرون أجرهم بغير حساب – Only those who are patient shall receive their rewards in full, without reckoning]. [Surah Az-Zumar. Aayah 10]

Allaah said: [إن تكونوا تألمون فإنهم يألمون كما تألمون وترجون من الله ما لا يرجون – if you are suffering (hardships) then surely, they (too) are suffering (hardships) as you are suffering, but you have a hope from Allah (for the reward, i.e. Paradise) that for which they hope not]. [Surah An-Nisaa. Aayah 104]

Look at these wise instructions found in the guidance of the Islamic Sharee’ah regarding how to behave when one receives blessings, and when one faces calamities and harms, and how the hearts are blessed with reassurance, a good life and goodness, achievement, hope and continuous gain. The Prophet [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him] said, “Amazing is the affair of the believer for there is good for him in every matter and this is not the case with anyone except the believer. If he is happy, then he thanks Allah and thus there is good for him, and if he is harmed, then he shows patience and thus there is good for him. And this is for none except the believer”. [Saheeh Muslim. Hadeeth 2999]

So where is this lofty state of affairs in relation to the situation of those who have deviated from the religion – those who are ungrateful when granted blessings, enjoy themselves in a manner that animals enjoy themselves, behave arrogantly towards the servants of Allaah, transgress and rebel. And when hardship befalls them, they are afflicted with anxiety and weakness, and perhaps this situation leads them to commit suicide due to impatience, panic and anxiety that becomes unbearable for them. We ask Allaah for wellbeing.

Commentary: In this section, the author spoke about the blessed instructions and upright guidance which Islam gives to the one who faces a calamity. This life is a test, as Allaah said:

ولنبلونكم بشيء من الخوف والجوع ونقص من الأموال والأنفس والثمرات وبشر الصابرين الذين إذا أصابتهم مصيبة قالوا إنا لله وإنا إليه راجعون أولئك عليهم صلوات من ربهم ورحمة وأولئك هم المهتدون

And certainly, We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits, but give glad tidings to As-Sabirin (the patient ones, etc.). Who, when afflicted with calamity, say: “Truly! To Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return.” They are those on whom are the Salawat (i.e. blessings, etc.) (i.e. who are blessed and will be forgiven) from their Lord, and (they are those who) receive His Mercy, and it is they who are the guided-ones. [Surah Al-Baqarah. Aayaat 155-157]

So, Allaah mentioned glad tidings, but did not mention which type so that this includes all types of glad tidings in this life and the next. Islam came to guide a person to patience, that one hopes for reward, distance from anxiety and not to be displeased with Allaah’s decree. It came with guidance that gives tranquility to the heart and relaxation, removes alarm, anxiety and agitation. Allaah [The Exalted] said:

[مَا أَصَابَ مِن مُّصِيبَةٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ ۗ وَمَن يُؤْمِن بِاللَّهِ يَهْدِ قَلْبَهُ ۚ – No calamity befalls, but with the Leave [i.e. decision and Qadar (Divine Preordainments)] of Allah, and whosoever believes in Allah, He guides his heart]. [Surah At-Taghaabun. Aayah 11]

Alqamah [may Allaah be pleased with him] said: This (ayah) is about a person who is afflicted with a calamity and he knows that it is from Allaah. So he becomes pleased with what Allaah has decreed and submit to Allaah’s judgement. If a believer’s dependence and reliance upon Allaah is robust, and he hopes for Allaah’s reward, this would lessen the pain of his illness and calamity.

The Shaikh (the author) mentioned some affairs for the one afflicted with calamity and they are: Patience and submission, and hoping for their reward; and that a person should not face calamities with anxiety, depression and weakness of soul. A Muslim should be eager to act upon these three affairs during calamities.

Firstly, he should exercise patience and that is to restrain the soul from everything that will lead to Allaah’s displeasure- restrain the soul from anxiety, restrain the tongue from blameworthy complaints (such as questioning the decree of Allaah), restrain the hand from slapping the checks and tearing the clothing. (see Footnote a) Therefore, when a person is afflicted with a calamity, he should restrain himself (or herself) from deeds and speech that are not pleasing to Allaah. This is the first affair.

The second affair is that one hopes for reward from Allaah due to exercising patience. Allaah has promised ample reward to those who exercise patience. Allaah said: [ إنما يوفى الصابرون أجرهم بغير حساب – Only those who are patient shall receive their rewards in full, without reckoning]. [Surah Az-Zumar. Aayah 10]

The Prophet [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him] said, “The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “No fatigue, nor disease, nor sorrow, nor sadness, nor hurt, nor distress befalls a Muslim, even if it were the prick he receives from a thorn, but that Allah expiates some of his sins for that.” [Saheeh Al-Bukhaari. Hadeeth Numbers 5641/5642]

The third affair is that a person should not face calamity with anxiety, depression and weakness of soul, but rather he should face if with strength, reliance upon Allaah and true faith.

So, the person knows that there are outcomes, rewards and Allaah’s promise, so his (or her) heart becomes tranquil and the severity of the calamity becomes less. This is a favour of Allaah that is given specifically to the people of sound faith. The Prophet [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him] said, “Amazing is the affair of the believer for there is good for him in every matter and this is not the case with anyone except the believer. If he is happy, then he thanks Allah and thus there is good for him, and if he is harmed, then he shows patience and thus there is good for him. And this is for none except the believer”. [Saheeh Muslim. Hadeeth 2999] (1)

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Footnote a: The Prophet [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him] said: “He who slaps his cheeks, tears his clothes and follows the ways and traditions of the Days of Ignorance is not one of us”. [Saheeh Al-Bukhaari. Hadeeth Number 1294]

Shaikhul Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah [may Allaah have mercy upon him] rebuked this type of behaviour that is seen from the Shiites (Raafidah) on the day of Aashooraa. He said, “There emerged an ignorant and transgressing group [i.e. the Shia Rawaafid]-they are either disbelieving hypocrites or misguided straying ones. They manifested a (so called) allegiance to the Prophet’s household and took Ashoorah as a day of mourning, sadness and wailing (i.e. due to the murder of Husayn- may Allah be pleased with him). They manifest the acts of the days of pre-Islamic ignorance (on this day of Ashoorah) by slapping the cheeks, tearing their clothes and calling to the slogans of the pre-Islamic period of ignorance and disbelief. However, that which Allaah and His Messenger commanded when new calamities occur is that (one) exercises patience, hoping for the reward of Allaah, recalling one’s faults and repenting, as Allaah (The Most High) said:

وَبَشِّرِ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ
ٱلَّذِينَ إِذَآ أَصَـٰبَتۡهُم مُّصِيبَةٌ۬ قَالُوٓاْ إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّآ إِلَيۡهِ رَٲجِعُونَ
أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ عَلَيۡہِمۡ صَلَوَٲتٌ۬ مِّن رَّبِّهِمۡ وَرَحۡمَةٌ۬‌ۖ وَأُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ هُمُ ٱلۡمُهۡتَدُونَ

But give glad tidings to As-Saabireen (the patient ones, etc.). Who, when afflicted with calamity, say: “Truly! To Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return.” They are those on whom are the Salaam (i.e. blessings, etc.) (i.e. who are blessed and will be forgiven) from their Lord, and (they are those who) receive His Mercy, and it is they who are the guided ones. [Soori AlBaqarah: Verses 156-157]

And it has been reported in the Saheehayn (Bukhaari and Muslim) from the Prophet that he said: ‘’He is not from us, he who slaps his cheeks, tears his cloths and calls to the slogans of the pre-Islamic period of ignorance.’’ [Source: Al-Fataawaa Al-Kubraa page Vol:1 page: 200. Slightly paraphrased]

They also recite poems that convey sadness and narrate reports that contain a lot of lies. As for the truth in them, it only renews their [exaggerated and misguided manner of grieving], bigoted allegiance, incitement to hatred and war, initiating trials between the people of Islaam by way of that and as a means of reviling those who were foremost to enter into the fold of Islaam [i.e. the Sahaabah of Badr]. The evil of these people [i.e. the raafidah] and their harm on the people of Islaam cannot even be expressed by an eloquent man.

However, they [i.e. Raafidah] are opposed by another people – a people who are either Nawaasib [i.e. those who hate the family of the Prophet] or ignoramuses; so, they oppose the corruption of the [Shia Raafidah] with another type of corruption, lies with other lies, evil with another type of evil, and a bidah (innovation in religion) with another type of bidah. They fabricate poems that convey rejoice and happiness on the day of Aashooraa, apply kohl, dye their clothes with a different colour, spend more on their families and cook food they do not normally cook. So, these people take the day of Aashooraa as an occasion similar to the occasions of celebrations and happiness [i.e. such as the two Eids]. On the other hand, the Raafidah take it as a day of mourning, grief and pain [i.e. inflicting injuries on themselves]. Both groups are mistaken and have exited the authentic sunnah in this affair. [Majmoo al-Fataawaa 25/299-312. Slightly paraphrased]

[Ref 1: An Excerpt from the begining to to 27mins 02secs https://www.al-badr.net/detail/hKHE35qsTg paraphrased]