5. Would you like to meet him outside the institution? (cont.)

He gives to whomever He wills and withholds from whomever He wills.” Allah may provide someone with wealth, noble lineage and status, yet deprive him of sanity. You will find him the wealthiest and the strongest of all, yet he is imprisoned in a mental hospital. Allah may give another person a noble lineage, abundant wealth and great intellect, yet deprive him of health. You will find him lying on his bed for twenty or thirty years. His wealth and Be content with what Allah has apportioned for you his lineage are useless. Then there are those whom Allah gives health, strength and intellect, yet deprives of them wealth, so you see them carrying their loads in marketplaces, or as unprivileged and poor people who keep switching between humble jobs and hardly earn enough to stave their hunger. This is how Allah gives people some things while depriving them of others. Your Lord creates what He wills and chooses. The people have no choice therein. Hence, it is befitting for anyone afflicted with a calamity to recall Allah’s favours to him before counting the calamities Allah is testing him with, for if He has deprived you of wealth, He has given you health. If He has deprived you of both, then He has given you intellect. If He has deprived you of all, then at least He has gifted you with Islam. Congratulations to you for living Islam and dying upon it. So you may shout at the top of your voice, ‘al-Hamdulillah!’ This is how the Prophet’s Companions were – may Allah be pleased with them all. The Prophet  sent ‘Amr bin al-‘Aas – may Allah be pleased with him – to Syria on the expedition of Dhat al-Salasil. When he arrived at the scene, he noticed that the enemy was great in number. He sent a message to the Messenger of Allah  asking him for reinforcements, so the Prophet  sent him Abu ‘Ubaydah bin al-Jarrah with a unit consisting of the early Muhajirun, including Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, making Abu ‘Ubaydah the commander. The Prophet  said to Abu ‘Ubaydah upon dispatching him, Be content with what Allah has apportioned for you “The two of you should not differ…” Thus, Abu ‘Ubaydah went forth until he reached ‘Amr bin al- ‘Aas, who said to him, “You have come as a reinforcement for my army, and I am its commander.” Abu ‘Ubaydah said, “No. Rather, I remain in my position, as you remain in yours”, meaning, I am the commander over my unit with whom I have come, and you are a commander over your own army. Abu ‘Ubaydah was a very lenient and easy going person. Worldly things did not matter much to him. ‘Amr said in response, “No. Rather, you are sent as reinforcement for my army.” Abu ‘Ubaydah replied, “O ‘Amr, the Messenger of Allah  has said to me: ‘The two of you should not differ’; so even if you were to disobey me, I will obey you.” In response, ‘Amr said, “In that case, I am your commander and you are my reinforcement.” Abu ‘Ubaydah agreed to this, and therefore, ‘Amr bin al-‘Aas – may Allah be pleased with him – stepped forward and led the people in prayer. After the expedition, the first person to arrive back in Madinah was ‘Awf bin Malik – may Allah be pleased with him. Upon arrival, he went to the Prophet . When the Prophet  saw him he said, “Tell me what happened.” He informed the Prophet  about the expedition including what took place between Abu ‘Ubaydah and ‘Amr bin al-‘Aas. The Prophet  said, “May Allah have mercy on Abu ‘Ubaydah bin al-Jarrah.” Be content with what Allah has apportioned for you Indeed! May Allah have mercy on Abu ‘Ubaydah bin al-Jarrah! A thought… Look to the brighter aspects of your life before looking at the dark side and you will surely be happy. Be content with what Allah has apportioned for you (49) Be a mountain During the early days of my career in Da‘wah, I was called to give a lecture in a certain city. One of those responsible for Da‘wah in that city came to collect me. I got into his car which was pretty old. I spoke with him and he told me that he had just got married. He then complained to me about the extravagance in dowry in their city, so much so that he was not able to buy a new car, or at least a car in a better condition than the one he had. I prayed that Allah help him in his situation. I then entered a mosque and delivered a lecture. Towards the end, when questions were being read out to me, there came a question about extravagance in dowry. I was very pleased and said, “Here’s a question I like!” I then began to speak about extravagance in dowry and its evil effects on young men and women.