Whomever Allah intends good for, He causes hardship for him.

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Whomever Allah wants good for, He puts him in trouble.” (Sahih Bukhari)

Many may be surprised at first upon hearing this hadith. Human nature tends to avoid trouble and learns to consider happiness and comfort as the ultimate good. But in the eyes of Islam, trouble and sorrow often carry hidden blessings. This hadith reveals the deep truth, where the suffering, tears and hard work of this world—everything becomes a sign of Allah’s love.

“For whomever Allah wants good for”—this sentence carries a strange assurance. Every moment of sorrow, hardship, failure or pain in our lives, when we are disappointed, thinking that Allah is displeased with us, may actually be a reflection of Allah’s deep power. Because that trouble may be purifying us, removing pride, arrogance and impurity from our souls.

In this hadith, ‘to suffer’ is meant – the limited time of this worldly life, the hardships, sorrows, illnesses, poverty, humiliation, hardships, trials. When a believer faces these, two paths are open to him: one, he will be disappointed, angry with Allah; two, he will be patient, trusting in Allah and accepting the hardship with a smile. This hadith is for those who choose the second path. The hardship becomes a blessing for him, because every patience he has brings him closer to Allah.

This hadith teaches us to see the reality around us in a new way. When a mother spends sleepless nights for her child, when a poor person struggles to eat every day, when a patient spends his days lying in a hospital bed – if they are believers, this hardship is not a punishment for them, but rather a spiritual purification, an invisible gift, which may bring them a high status in Paradise.

This hadith is especially for those people who want to complain to Allah about the dangers, deprivations and shortages in their lives. It is a preventive message for them—"Your sorrow is not cruelty, but a form of Allah's mercy." Many times Allah explains to us through this suffering—our hearts still have sins, pride, and worldly delusions, which are difficult to reach Paradise without shedding. This suffering is the means of shedding them.

Many great scholars, prophets, saints and righteous people of the world never enjoyed a luxurious life. Rather, they had extreme hardship, humiliation, oppression, scarcity and sorrow in their lives. But they never despaired of Allah. When Prophet Yunus (AS) was imprisoned in the belly of the fish, he still admitted his guilt by saying "La ilaha illa anta subhanaka inni kuntu minaz zalimin". Prophet Ayub (AS) praised Allah even after suffering from a long illness. And our beloved Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) himself endured all the hardships in his life - that is an inspiration for us.

This hadith can bring a radical change in our philosophy of life, if we can understand its inner meaning. When trouble comes in our life, let us consider it as a training from Allah. Let us understand - this hardship is building me, transforming me, making me more faithful. Allah does not immerse the servant who loves him in carefree happiness, but rather gives him such strength in his heart, with which he can accept all the hardships of the world with a smile.

If we pay attention to the hardships of our life, many times it is seen - that hardship has changed us. Maybe because of that hardship, we have become focused on prayer, started reading the Quran, the worldly illusion has broken. In other words, that hardship has liberated our soul. Therefore, let this hadith be permanently embedded in our minds - if Allah gives us hardship, it is only for good.

Here is another thing to remember—if someone is not patient, complains, or gets frustrated even in the midst of hardship, then he cannot pass that test. That is, suffering is not enough; rather, being patient in that hardship is the true meaning of ‘goodness’ in the eyes of Allah. Just as gold is purified by being put in fire, so too a believer becomes a pure soul prepared for the hereafter by being put in the fire of this world.

Therefore, let us consider the hardships of our life as ‘bearers of goodness’. Let us have faith—behind this hardship, there is an all-merciful Lord, who is preparing a paradise for us that has no comparison.