Answers to Suffering & Tribulations

Many people say how can there be a God who is all powerful, all merciful, and yet allows humans to suffer? This is a very complex question; here are a few thoughts on the topic. The first is that the most serious suffering in the world, like hunger is caused by humans not God. There is enough food on earth to suffice every human. Every 5 seconds someone dies out of hunger; the blame is on humans for many of these situations not God. The same goes for wars, AIDS, etc. Second, we live in a world where the sufferings and the negativity is made very amplified by the media. The media and news runs on bad news. We suffer the major sufferings of the entire world everyday through the media. However, I would suggest the good of the world is many times over. How many people did get to eat, did that ever hit the news? How many people recovered from illness, did we ever think the world works like a hosipital, while most people recover, some pass on. Do we say hospital is a place of suffering or a place of mercy? It depends on the outlook, but surely, the intent of the hospital is to recover the people. Third, the very fact there is suffering and a man searches for meaings because of it; he finds God. It shows there must be a another world were suffering is no more; without suffering the very questions of mercy, justice, and a merciful God would have no meaning. If there is another world after this, and the last pain a man suffers is his/her death; then our concept suffering changes. A treatise of the seventh century scholar Al-`Izz Ibn `Abdus-Salam who wrote on the 18 benefits of tribulation (Sh. Hamza Yusuf has given a lecture on this--worth listening to) summerises the benefits of the tribulations as follows The 17 Benefits of Tribulation are listed below: 1.You realize the power of Lordship over you. 2.You realize your object servanthood and your complete state of resignation and brokenness before the will and power of God. 3.Sincerity to God; one has no place of return in putting off or defending against the calamity except to Him. A moment of complete sincereness in this world is enough to save a person. 4. When a person is hit with difficulty, S/He returns to God and suddenly is fervent in his desire of his Lord. 5.It leads to a humbled state before God and it leads to prayers (du’a) that you call on God. 6 .You’re forbearing towards the One who has afflicted you. 7. You forgive the one who has wronged you. 8. Learing to be patient during the tribulation and maturing to experience there is always good in what God wills. 9. To be happy about what’s happening because of those benefits. 10. To be grateful for it. 11. Purification that these calamities have towards peoples’ wrongs and sins. 12. Compassion that God enables you to show to people who are in tribulation and to help them. 13. Tribulation gives you the blessing of having true knowledge of the extent of well-being. 14. God has prepared rewards for the calamities that you’ve beared patiently or with contentment. 15. What is hidden inside the folds of these calamities are blessings. 16. Tribulations prevent you from arrogance. 17. Contentment. Tribulation afflicts the good and the evil people. Those who are pleased with it, it’s because he knows it, because paradise is better than anything in this world and if these tribulations are what it takes for him to get to paradise, then he’s content with it. Last points, no one suffered more the then Prophets of God, who were his beloved. Suffering is like being in water, if you panic you will sink, if you remain calm you will remain afloat. When you put gold into fire it is made into jewerly, when iron is out into fire it is made into something useful, the same goes with us. We have to suffer to help us, as one great schalor said, the wind against you works to make you fly higher. God wants humans to reach the peak of thier potential.