Allah ta'ala works in amazing ways. He raises ranks of people through good actions, but there is another mysterious way that He raises the ranks of people with: through broken hearts. The ranks that are raised by broken hearts are sometimes much more than a person could achieve by actions alone.

Sayyiduna Uthman radiallahu anhu, the third caliph, the son in law of the Prophet salallaho alaihe wasallam who had two of his blessed daughters in marriage, the “Ghani” (Rich one) of this ummah (nation), the most wealthy of his time, the most generous, he never faced any issues in his lifetime. He never had to face hunger when people around him were suffering. He was chosen by Allah ta'ala for spending wealth on people and getting his ranks through his wealth. But his final leaps to the highest of ranks were stored in his very last days of life. He was house arrested by the rebels, the one who fed the whole city suffered hunger for days and finally was stabbed to death while reciting Quran. His words from the roof of his house to the rebels surrounding his house were clear signs as to how much his heart was broken in those times, when he said:

“I swear to you by Allah! You know that the Messenger of Allah salallaho alaihe wasallam said: ‘The blood of a Muslim man is not lawful, except for one of three (cases): illegitimate sexual relations after having been married, or apostasy after Islam, or taking a life without right, for which he is killed.’ By Allah! I have never committed illegitimate sexual relations, not during the times of ignorance, nor during Islam, and I have not committed apostasy since I gave my pledge to the Messenger of Allah salallaho alaihe wasallam, and I have not taken a life that Allah ta'ala had made unlawful. So for what are you killing me?” (Tirmidhi)

But this broken heart took him to those ranks that he could not have achieved just with his actions.

One of the grandsons of the Prophet salallaho alaihe wasallam, Sayyiduna Hussain radiallahu anhu, who the Prophet salallaho alaihe wasallam named as the leader of youth of Paradise, he was the one for whom the Prophet salallaho alaihe wasallam asked Allah ta'ala to grant him His love. They are indeed the highest of ranks, but when you look at his life, his life was literally a bed of roses. He was loved by everybody being the grandson of the Prophet salallaho alaihe wasallam and lived a life like a prince. So how could he get those high ranks with just his good actions. His heart was to be broken like nobody else’s. Everybody knows about his martyrdom. He had to see the dead bodies of 72 of his close relatives, including women and small little children, before he was brutally martyred. A heart broken into trillions of pieces before he met his Lord. Of course, he was to become the leader of youth of Paradise!

Sometimes a person is trying to stay away from sins and is busy doing good actions, but that may lead him to be arrogant about his piety. At that moment, Allah ta'ala might take away his tawfeeq (ability) to do these actions, and even worse, he may fall into a sin. Being righteous and God fearing, he feels guilty and depressed about his state and cries to Allah ta'ala and begs Him for forgiveness with that broken heart. This state of the heart and forgiveness and tears raises him to a rank that he would not have gotten through good deeds alone. There was a woman in the time of the Prophet salallaho alaihe wasallam who committed fornication, but that lead her to so much guilt and broken heart that she continued presenting herself for punishment for almost three years and finally was given hadd (punishment defined by Islamic law). After her death, the Prophet salallaho alaihe wasallam led her funeral prayers. Sayyiduna Umar radiallahu anhu said: “O Messenger of Allah! She committed fornication and you have performed funeral prayer for her?” He was upset and replied, “Verily, she made such a repentance which would suffice for seventy of the people of Madinah if it is divided among them. Can there be any higher degree of repentance than that she sacrificed her life to win the Pleasure of Allah ta'ala?” (Muslim). She got this rank through that state of repentance, the forgiveness that she asked for with a broken heart.

So we should not feel bad about calamities that may fall on us- sickness, poverty, loss of life and wealth, lack of support from our surroundings to follow our religion, and sometimes, unexpected behavior from our loved ones that breaks the heart the most. We should also be patient and steadfast in temporary loss of our spiritual heights. Indeed, they all break our hearts, but these situations come to raise our ranks in the sight of Allah ta'ala if we remain patient and connected to Allah ta'ala. 

May Allah ta'ala keep all of us in His protection, as indeed, we are weak, and may He bring us close to Him just out of His infinite mercy without putting us into any trials. Ameen!

Tauqeer

On behalf of the beautiful students of Nur ul Ilm Academy

Saturday, August 27th, 2016 | Dhul Qadah 24, 1437 AH