Notis: Det följande är en reproduktion av artiklen "Do Not Despair Of God’s Mercy" i Juni-upplagan 2001 av Submitters Perspective, den månatliga bulletinen av United Submitters International.

God never burdens a soul beyond its means: to its credit is what it earns, and against it is what it commits (2:286).

We all have ups and downs in our lives. While it’s up, we are happy. When it’s down, we might not be happy but we should never ever despair of God’s mercy. It helps to remember that anything that happens is already recorded. Therefore, we shall not grieve over anything we miss, nor be proud of anything God has bestowed upon us (57:23, 24).

Let’s seek lessons from the Quran, and begin with Joseph, since in Joseph and his brother there are lessons for the seekers (12:7). Joseph had experienced all kinds of things in his life such as being the subject of jealousy (12:5, 8, 9, 77), being thrown into the abyss of the well (12:10), being treated as merchandise (12:19, 20), suffering from women’s schemes (12:34, 50), different kinds of accusations such as adultery and theft (12:25, 77), prison (12:33), being far from his family for years (12:84), and continuous accusations from his own brothers (12:77).

In spite of all these, he never ever despaired God’s mercy. Consequently, God made it up to him and gave him a prominent position (12:54, 55), and kingship (12:101).

Meanwhile, Jacob, Joseph’s father, although he was grieving, he never despaired of God’s grace until God brought his children back to him (12:83, 87, 94-96).

When the devil had afflicted Job with hardship, pain, and adversity God rescued him, relieved adversity which had befallen him, and restored his family for him, even twice as much (21:83, 84) (38:41-43). And God was proud of Job.

What a good servant he was! (38:44).

When Abraham was to be thrown in the fire, he did not despair. Then God interfered and the fire became cool and safe for Abraham (21:69; 15:56). Zechariah, similar to Abraham, kept imploring God without ever despairing till God granted him an heir (19:3-7).

While giving birth to Jesus, Mary was so ashamed that she wished for her death: “I wish I were dead before this happened, and completely forgotten”(19:23). Note how hard it must have been for Mary. Then, the newborn messenger, Jesus, tells her to not grieve, but to think about the positive things that God has provided for her (19:24-26).

Sometimes we may get into difficult conditions just to learn that God is enough - if only we could trust in Him! Thus, when we don’t know what to do anymore, we should implore God for help (22:15). We will see that God will interfere in a divine manner and He will either rescue us, or strengthen us to bear it (27:62, 63).

The best opportunity when we are in hardship is to know who our true friends are. Furthermore, hardship does bring out our true qualities, whether positive or negative. That’s part of the test God designed for us (29:2).

Let’s not forget the valuable lessons from Moses and his teacher (18:60-82). We learn from their story that there is a good reason behind everything that happens. But we do not have enough knowledge to explain why things happen the way they do. We are able to rise above our limitation by trusting God because God knows why things happen the way they do, and God will work goodness for those who put their trust in Him (3:159).

Bad things happen. The point is HOW do we deal with things that happen for us. The Quran does not say that whatever happens is good, but maybe God wills something good to come out of it (65:1). When we put ourselves in the hands of God, we will see that everything will work out for our good.

We know that God makes all things work together for the good of those who love Him... (Romans 8:28).

When something bad happens to us, we better think that this may be an opportunity to see things in a more profound way in life.

God’s mercy is always there; we should never doubt God, but always trust God.

We should not say “why has this happened to us, or why me!” Instead, we should say, ”what do I need to learn from this”? Or, we may ask God to help us see the good thing that comes out of it. And remember that the more we thank God, the more He gives us (14:7).

Know also that nothing will happen to us unless we are able to handle it, because God never burdens a soul beyond its means (2:286).

Finally, we should remember God’s admonition in the Quran that, “None despairs of his Lord’s mercy, except the strayers.” (15:56).

Laleh