Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

A/ We know striving in the path of Allah will be a source of reward, for example; it is hard to pray fajr or wear hijab etc, but we must strive to work hard, facing the hardhsip and remaining steadfast on deen is a basic part of muslims life. e.g. Narrated Abu Qatada bin Rib`i Al-Ansari

A funeral procession passed by Allah`s Apostle who said, "Relieved or relieving?" The people asked, "O Allah`s Apostle! What is relieved and relieving?" He said, "A believer is relieved (by death) from the troubles and hardships of the world and leaves for the Mercy of Allah...."
the hadith indicates that the life of a beleiver is full of hardhsip and as we know there are other ahadith that also indicate this..

Then what is the meaning of verse "And He has not laid upon you in religion any hardship" (22:78). why does th verse say in religon there is no hardship... but clearly as we know from our life that there are alot of difficulties and hardships that we face due to being muslims ..the hadith also exolains that there are hardships, please explain further.

B/ Why do we not just face hardhsips instead of asking for fatwas, leniencies why should we ask for exceptions? would working on fatwas/ lenience not take away the determination to face the issues and in the end Allah (as he knows our efforts) will reward us justly. So no matter what problems we faced we will get a reward.. they why give and get fatwas.

C/ in effect getting the fatwa implies that the deen was hard and we need a exception.

Look forward to your reply.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Meaning no hardship in religion

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chatper 29 Surah Ankabut verses 2-3:

2 Do men think that they will be left alone on saying "We believe" and that they will not be tested?

3 We did test those before them, and Allah will certainly know those who are true from those who are false.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chatper 2 Surah Baqarah verses 155-157:

155 Be sure We shall test you with something of fear, and hunger, some loss in goods or lives or the fruits (of your toil); but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere.

156 Who say when afflicted with calamity: "To Allah we belong and to Him is our return."

157 They are those on whom (descend) Blessings from Allah and Mercy, and they are the ones that receive Guidance.

Sahih Muslim Hadith 7058 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: ‘The world is a prison-house for a believer and Paradise for a disbeliever.’

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 5249 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Amr

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "The world is the believer's prison and famine, but when he leaves the world he leaves the prison and the famine."

Respected brother, make no mistake! The life of this world is laden with trials and tribulations…and the greater one’s level of ‘taqwa’ and God-consciousness, the greater their level of trials and tribulations!

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 1562 Narrated by Sa'd

When the Prophet (saws) was asked which people suffered the greatest affliction, he (saws) replied, "The Prophets, then those who come next to them (in Taqwa), then those who come next to them (in Taqwa). A man is afflicted in keeping his religion. If he is firm in his religion his trial is severe, but if there is weakness in his religion it is made light for him."

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 7.548 Narrated by Abu Huraira

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "If Allah wants to do good to somebody, He afflicts him with trials."

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 22 Surah Hajj verse 78 (part):

78 And strive in His cause as ye ought to strive (with sincerity and under discipline): He has chosen you and has imposed no difficulties on you in the ‘deen’……

Respected brother, the above quoted Aayah has nothing to do with the Decreed trials and tribulations of the believers in the life of this world!

What the above Aayah means is that the Lord Most Gracious has not imposed any difficulties in the practice of the ‘deen’ unto the believers. Islam does not at all Command its believers that to achieve salvation the believers are to leave the world completely and dedicate their whole lives only to the worship of their Lord (like monks, etc.)! But rather from the blessings of time and provisions, Allah Subhanah Commands that only a small fraction of it be dedicated solely to Him.

• Allah has blessed one with a whole lifetime to go wherever one pleases….but Commands that one take the time to visit His Sacred House even only once in their lifetime!

• Allah has blessed one with the whole year to eat and drink as they please…..but abstain from eating and drinking for His Sake in the daylight hours for only one month of this year!

• Allah has blessed one with the whole week to listen to whatever they please….but Commands them to attend the ‘Jumuah’ sermon and prayer once a week!

• Allah has blessed one with a whole day to do as they please….but Commands that one takes a few minutes to offer their obligatory prayers at their appointed times!

• Allah has blessed one with provisions…but Commands that only a tiny fraction of it be spent annually on the poor and needy as ‘zakaah’ for His Sake!

There are only a numbered few ‘rituals’ that one needs to practice in the deen, and if at all one finds any difficulty in the practice of their ‘deen’, there is always leniency and allowance in the Shariah to enable the believers to fulfill their obligations…..

A few general examples:

• If one cant find water to perform their ‘wudu’, there is allowance to do the ‘tayammum’ with pure earth.

• If one is unable to offer their prayers standing, there is allowance to offer them in a sitting or even a lying down position.

• If one is unable to find a masjid to offer their prayers, there is allowance in Shariah to offer their prayers almost anywhere on the earth….for the whole earth is declared a masjid by the Lord Most Gracious.

• If one is ill or on a journey, there is allowance for one to fulfill their fasts later, or to shorten or combine some of their prayers.

• If one is perpetually ill and has no hope of recovering their health, there is allowance in Shariah for them to forego their obligatory fasts and atone for them by paying a ‘kaffarah’.

• If one does not possess the minimum ‘nisaab’, they are exempt from paying the annual ‘zakaah’ dues.

• If one does not have enough provisions, one is exempt from fulfilling the duty of Hajj.

Not only has the Lord Most Gracious not made the practice of the ‘deen’ sapping and cumbersome for the believers…..in His Infinite Mercy, He has given ample allowance for those who find even the slightest difficulty in following it! This in essence is the meaning of the quoted Verse: “He has chosen you and has imposed no difficulties on you in the (practice of the) ‘deen’……”

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan