WEBVTT 00:00:02.060 --> 00:00:08.619 The dawn breeze. 00:00:08.619 --> 00:00:14.150 The art of happy transformation. 00:00:14.150 --> 00:00:18.149 When a sensible, resilient person is struck by a calamity, 00:00:18.149 --> 00:00:22.149 or is overcome by sadness, grief, or anxiety, 00:00:22.149 --> 00:00:26.149 they do not lose the ability to think of a way out of their pain, 00:00:26.149 --> 00:00:31.570 or a valid reason to alleviate what has befallen them. 00:00:31.570 --> 00:00:33.570 As for the ignorant and weak person, 00:00:33.570 --> 00:00:37.570 if one of the aforementioned afflictions befalls them, 00:00:37.570 --> 00:00:40.570 they close off the channels of their mind, 00:00:40.570 --> 00:00:43.570 shroud the horizons of their thoughts, 00:00:43.570 --> 00:00:47.570 and collapse into their own pain, suffering and lamenting. 00:00:47.570 --> 00:00:51.659 The world darkens before their eyes, 00:00:51.659 --> 00:00:55.659 and they see no path to salvation or relief. 00:00:55.659 --> 00:01:01.079 Hence, for the ignorant and weak, the pain is doubled, 00:01:01.079 --> 00:01:05.079 and one calamity becomes two. 00:01:05.079 --> 00:01:07.500 I say to you, 00:01:07.500 --> 00:01:11.500 O you who are suffering from some affliction: 00:01:11.500 --> 00:01:14.620 Exert your effort in patience, 00:01:14.620 --> 00:01:17.620 to transform that grief into joy, 00:01:17.620 --> 00:01:20.620 and that adversity into goodness. 00:01:20.620 --> 00:01:26.980 Compel yourself through patience to change the course of the calamity 00:01:26.980 --> 00:01:30.040 into a benefit for your own soul. 00:01:30.040 --> 00:01:32.040 It has been said: 00:01:32.040 --> 00:01:36.040 "Make sweet lemonade out of sour lemons." 00:01:36.040 --> 00:01:39.230 The art of happy transformation 00:01:39.230 --> 00:01:42.260 can be found in the Qur'an in several places. 00:01:42.260 --> 00:01:44.299 Allah the Almighty says: 00:01:44.299 --> 00:01:51.489 “O ye who believe! It is not lawful for you forcibly to inherit the women (of your deceased kinsmen), nor (that) ye should put constraint upon them that ye may take away a part of that which ye have given them, unless they be guilty of flagrant lewdness. But consort with them in kindness, for if ye hate them it may happen that ye hate a thing wherein Allah hath placed much good.” (4:19) 00:01:51.489 --> 00:01:53.489 And He says: 00:01:53.489 --> 00:01:58.489 “Think not of those, who are slain in the way of Allah, as dead. Nay, they are living. With their Lord they have provision.” (3:169) 00:01:58.489 --> 00:02:02.489 “Think not of those, who are slain in the way of Allah, as dead. Nay, they are living. With their Lord they have provision.” (3:169) 00:02:02.489 --> 00:02:06.709 Observe how Allah has given you in the first verse 00:02:06.709 --> 00:02:11.710 a general rule for transforming hardships into blessings. 00:02:11.710 --> 00:02:14.710 It is as if He is saying to you: 00:02:14.710 --> 00:02:16.840 "If a hardship befalls you, 00:02:16.840 --> 00:02:19.840 transform your bleak outlook toward it 00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:22.840 into an optimistic one, 00:02:22.840 --> 00:02:27.840 sensing that there is goodness for you within the womb of this evil." 00:02:27.840 --> 00:02:30.129 And in the second verse, 00:02:30.129 --> 00:02:34.129 observe how He made life out of death. 00:02:34.129 --> 00:02:36.129 And what a life it is! 00:02:36.129 --> 00:02:42.159 It is a happy life, free of distress, in the presence of Allah the Almighty. 00:02:42.159 --> 00:02:44.219 It is as if He is saying: 00:02:44.219 --> 00:02:48.219 "Erase from your mind the previous image of death; 00:02:48.219 --> 00:02:54.219 for this death in the path of Allah is another life in the guise of death." 00:02:54.219 --> 00:02:57.960 In the Musnad of Ahmad, with a sound chain of narration, 00:02:57.960 --> 00:03:00.960 on the authority of Mu'awiyah ibn Qurrah from his father: 00:03:00.960 --> 00:03:06.090 A man used to come to the Prophet, peace be upon him, 00:03:06.090 --> 00:03:07.090 accompanied by his son. 00:03:07.090 --> 00:03:11.250 The Prophet, peace be upon him, said to him, 00:03:11.250 --> 00:03:13.250 "Do you love him?" 00:03:13.250 --> 00:03:15.379 He replied, "O Messenger of Allah, 00:03:15.379 --> 00:03:18.409 may Allah love you as I love him." 00:03:18.409 --> 00:03:22.629 Then the Prophet, peace be upon him, missed the boy, 00:03:22.629 --> 00:03:24.629 and asked, 00:03:24.629 --> 00:03:26.629 "What happened to the son of so-and-so?" 00:03:26.629 --> 00:03:30.699 They said, "O Messenger of Allah, he has died." 00:03:30.699 --> 00:03:34.699 The Prophet, peace be upon him, said to his father, 00:03:34.699 --> 00:03:39.889 "Would you not love that you do not come to any of the gates of Paradise 00:03:39.889 --> 00:03:42.889 except that you find him waiting for you?" 00:03:42.889 --> 00:03:46.139 A man asked, "O Messenger of Allah, 00:03:46.139 --> 00:03:49.139 is this for him specifically, or for all of us?" 00:03:49.139 --> 00:03:53.460 He said, "Rather, for all of you." 00:03:53.460 --> 00:03:55.460 And in Sahih al-Bukhari, 00:03:55.460 --> 00:03:58.460 on the authority of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: 00:03:58.460 --> 00:04:02.460 Harithah was struck down on the day of Badr while he was a youth. 00:04:02.460 --> 00:04:08.560 His mother came to the Prophet, peace be upon him, and said, 00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:10.560 "O Messenger of Allah, 00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:13.590 you know the place Harithah holds in my heart. 00:04:13.590 --> 00:04:17.620 If he is in Paradise, I shall be patient and seek reward, 00:04:17.620 --> 00:04:21.620 but if it is otherwise, you shall see what I do." 00:04:21.620 --> 00:04:23.689 He said, 00:04:23.689 --> 00:04:26.689 "Woe to you! Have you lost your mind? 00:04:26.689 --> 00:04:29.720 Is it only one Paradise? 00:04:29.720 --> 00:04:32.720 It is many gardens, 00:04:32.720 --> 00:04:35.720 and he is in the Paradise of Firdaws." 00:04:35.720 --> 00:04:39.009 Observe in the first hadith 00:04:39.009 --> 00:04:44.009 how the Prophet, peace be upon him, transformed the father's tragedy 00:04:44.009 --> 00:04:48.009 of losing the son he loved so dearly 00:04:48.009 --> 00:04:51.329 into a happy piece of news awaiting him. 00:04:51.329 --> 00:04:55.329 And how he transformed the grief of the mother bereaved of her son 00:04:55.329 --> 00:05:01.329 into a great happiness that exceeded what she had hoped for that son. 00:05:01.329 --> 00:05:05.810 Human reality is full of examples 00:05:05.810 --> 00:05:11.810 that tell of the resolve of noble souls to transform a trial into a gift. 00:05:11.810 --> 00:05:15.899 And that gift would never have existed 00:05:15.899 --> 00:05:19.259 were it not for the trial that gave birth to it. 00:05:19.259 --> 00:05:21.259 We shall take two examples: 00:05:21.259 --> 00:05:24.259 one from the ancient era, 00:05:24.259 --> 00:05:27.740 and one from the modern era. 00:05:27.740 --> 00:05:29.740 In ancient times, 00:05:29.740 --> 00:05:32.740 the Hanafi Imam al-Sarakhsi was imprisoned, 00:05:32.740 --> 00:05:37.740 who passed away in the year 483 AH. 00:05:37.740 --> 00:05:42.769 He authored his great book, *al-Mabsut*, while in prison. 00:05:42.769 --> 00:05:46.860 He recorded the circumstances of his writing it while imprisoned 00:05:46.860 --> 00:05:49.860 in several places in the book. 00:05:49.860 --> 00:05:53.930 In the section on the completion of acts of worship, he said, may Allah have mercy on him: 00:05:53.930 --> 00:05:56.990 "This is the end of the explanation of acts of worship, 00:05:56.990 --> 00:05:59.990 with the clearest meanings and the most concise expressions, 00:05:59.990 --> 00:06:04.089 dictated by one imprisoned, away from Friday and congregational prayers, 00:06:04.089 --> 00:06:07.089 invoking blessings upon the Master of Masters, 00:06:07.089 --> 00:06:11.089 Muhammad, sent with the messages." 00:06:11.089 --> 00:06:14.439 And at the end of the book of Divorce, he said: 00:06:14.439 --> 00:06:17.439 "This is the end of the explanation of the book of Divorce, 00:06:17.439 --> 00:06:21.439 with poignant and subtle meanings, 00:06:21.439 --> 00:06:24.439 dictated by one confined, away from freedom, 00:06:24.439 --> 00:06:27.439 afflicted with the loneliness of separation." 00:06:27.439 --> 00:06:30.569 And at the end of the book of Emancipation, 00:06:30.569 --> 00:06:32.569 he said: 00:06:32.569 --> 00:06:35.569 "The explanation of the book of Emancipation is finished, 00:06:35.569 --> 00:06:38.569 from the issues of disagreement and consensus, 00:06:38.569 --> 00:06:42.569 dictated by one looking forward to being freed from his trials, 00:06:42.569 --> 00:06:45.569 confined in a corner of the horizons, 00:06:45.569 --> 00:06:48.569 praising the Protector, the Provider, 00:06:48.569 --> 00:06:53.569 and longing with yearning for the meeting with the Almighty." 00:06:53.569 --> 00:06:56.949 And following the book of *al-Mukatab*, he said: 00:06:56.949 --> 00:06:59.980 "The explanation of the book of *al-Mukatab* is finished, 00:06:59.980 --> 00:07:02.980 by the dictation of the confined and reproached, 00:07:02.980 --> 00:07:05.980 the imprisoned and punished, 00:07:05.980 --> 00:07:08.980 who for two years has been steadfast in patience, 00:07:08.980 --> 00:07:12.980 watching for salvation through the subtle handiwork of Allah." 00:07:14.339 --> 00:07:17.339 And when he finished the book of *al-Wala'*, 00:07:17.339 --> 00:07:19.339 he said: 00:07:19.339 --> 00:07:22.339 "The explanation of the book of *al-Wala'* is finished, 00:07:22.339 --> 00:07:24.339 by way of dictation, 00:07:24.339 --> 00:07:27.339 from one tested with various afflictions, 00:07:27.339 --> 00:07:30.339 asking Allah the Almighty to replace the affliction, 00:07:30.339 --> 00:07:33.339 and the exile with honor and loftiness, 00:07:33.339 --> 00:07:36.339 for that is easy for Him, 00:07:36.339 --> 00:07:39.720 and He is capable of whatever He wills." 00:07:39.720 --> 00:07:42.720 As for the example from the modern era, 00:07:42.720 --> 00:07:44.720 it is Shaykh al-Albani, 00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:48.720 who passed away in the year 1420 AH. 00:07:48.720 --> 00:07:51.720 He was imprisoned for several months, 00:07:51.720 --> 00:07:54.720 and he produced the *Mukhtasar Sahih Muslim*. 00:07:54.720 --> 00:07:57.819 He says, may Allah have mercy on him: 00:07:57.819 --> 00:08:00.819 "Allah decreed that I should have nothing with me there," 00:08:00.819 --> 00:08:03.819 meaning in prison, 00:08:03.819 --> 00:08:06.819 "except my favorite book, 00:08:06.819 --> 00:08:08.819 *Sahih* of Imam Muslim, 00:08:08.819 --> 00:08:12.009 a pencil, and an eraser. 00:08:12.009 --> 00:08:15.009 So I devoted myself to fulfilling my wish 00:08:15.009 --> 00:08:18.009 of summarizing and refining it, 00:08:18.009 --> 00:08:21.009 and I finished that in about three months, 00:08:21.009 --> 00:08:24.009 working on it night and day, 00:08:24.009 --> 00:08:27.009 without weariness or boredom." 00:08:27.009 --> 00:08:30.009 Thus, what the enemies of the Ummah intended 00:08:30.009 --> 00:08:33.009 as a revenge against us turned into a blessing for us, 00:08:33.009 --> 00:08:36.009 under whose shade students of knowledge 00:08:36.009 --> 00:08:39.070 from the Muslims everywhere take shelter. 00:08:39.070 --> 00:08:42.070 So praise be to Allah, by whose grace 00:08:42.070 --> 00:08:45.679 righteous deeds are completed. 00:08:45.679 --> 00:08:48.679 So, O person, transform 00:08:48.679 --> 00:08:51.679 the torrent of hardships flowing toward you 00:08:51.679 --> 00:08:54.679 into small streams 00:08:54.679 --> 00:08:57.679 that extend to the oasis of your life, 00:08:57.679 --> 00:09:00.679 until they water your beautiful aspirations, 00:09:00.679 --> 00:09:03.679 causing a lush garden to grow, 00:09:03.679 --> 00:09:06.710 whose splendor delights your eyes. 00:09:06.710 --> 00:09:09.740 And say: "If I am afflicted, 00:09:09.740 --> 00:09:12.740 I will not falter before my trial, 00:09:12.740 --> 00:09:15.740 nor become broken, a prisoner of my calamity. 00:09:15.740 --> 00:09:18.740 I shall remain, in the heat of the trial, a creator, 00:09:18.740 --> 00:09:21.740 turning the burning ember of fire into light."