People say life is a roller coaster.

As if all we can do is sit tight, hold on to the guard rails with white knuckles, and hope that the exhilarating highs will be worth the terrifying lows.

This is not the case for the believer, the Muttaqeen, who is always conscious of Allah.

While it’s true that this life is never stationary, this doesn’t mean that it is random or meaningless.

We need to be prepared to mine for gems when we’re plunged into a dark tunnel just as we need to prepare for an eye-opening jolt as we soar into light-filled spaces.

Each turn, twist, drop, rise, and milestone of this ride is there to teach us something- it is a Sign from Allah.

And we shouldn’t get so lost in the ups and downs of the journey that we forget our final destination.

Our attitude should be governed by a single reality:

إِنَّا لِلَّٰهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُون

“Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilaihi Raji’oon.”

“Surely to Allah we belong and to Him we will ˹all˺ return.” 

This means that we need to live our lives in anticipation of meeting Allah. We need to realize that this meeting is definite, whether we’re enjoying the good things of this dunya or whether we’re experiencing a hardship, either way, we will stand before Him and be asked about our deeds.

And what we see as a blessing could be a trial, and what we perceive as a test could, in reality, be a blessing.

How?

Allah says, as He describes to us the rebellion of the previous nations,

“And we sent to no city a prophet [who was denied] except that we seized its people with poverty and hardship that they might humble themselves [to Allah].”   (Al-A’raf:94)

SubhanAllah, Allah allows us to sometimes experience pain, whether external or internal, as a Rahma (mercy) from Him.

What is the point? For us to turn back to Him, to cry to Him after realizing the wrong we’ve done and how distant we’ve grown from our Rabb.

But not everyone gets the point.

So then, in the next verse, Allah tells us,

“Then We exchanged in place of the bad [condition], good, until they increased [and prospered] and said, “Our fathers [also] were touched with hardship and ease.” So we seized them suddenly while they did not perceive.”   (Al-A’raf:95)

The people of this nation continued to transgress against the limits set by Allah, and they rebelled and ridiculed their Prophet, even while they were afflicted with hardships that only Allah could remove.

As a result, when it was clear that there was no khayr (good) in them, Allah changed their condition completely, as only  Al Qadeer (the All-Powerful) can, and they were suddenly given a life of ease and luxury.

But this wasn’t a blessing. SubhanAllah.

And we can see how arrogant and heedless they were from their attitude. They didn’t thank Allah for their prosperity and success, rather they attributed it all to chance, “It’s just how life is.”

And so, they continued with their evil and oppressive deeds until their term on this earth ended abruptly, and they were taken unawares by Allah’s Just punishment.  May Allah protect us from such a fate. Aameen.

Here, we need to stop and ask ourselves- ‘Am I still enjoying blessings while disobeying Allah?’

Maybe our prayers are not in the best state. Perhaps we’re not dressing or acting as appropriately as we should around the opposite gender, even allowing for private conversations in person or via social media.

It could be that our earnings are not halal, or our favourite pastimes compromise our duty to Allah and fulfilling the rights of His Creation.

Whatever it is, my brothers and sisters, it’s important for us not to be complacent in our sins and get deluded by a life of ease if we are displeasing our Creator.

We should not walk upon this earth with a blindfold tied around our eyes because we are unwilling to see the reality of our deeds and the consequences they will eventually have, sooner or later.

The next ayah reminds us that we have a Merciful and Forgiving Lord to return to,

“And if only the people of the cities had believed and feared Allah, We would have opened upon them blessings from the heaven and the earth; but they denied [the messengers], so We seized them for what they were earning.”  (Al-A’raf: 96)

SubhanAllah, this shows us how much Allah loves to forgive and how He wants to admit us into His Mercy; He wants us to be blessed and happy- that’s why He guided us in the first place!

And we also see that imaan (belief) and taqwa are the keys to Allah’s blessings that are actually blessings!

Alhamdulillah, we are still in the month of taqwa, where Allah trains us to adopt this quality that He loves so much.

Taqwa serves as a shield from the punishment of Allah and from losing His Love and favour. It is when we are conscious of Allah at all times so that we stay away from all the sins that displease Him and we rush towards all the beneficial deeds that He loves.

Seeking His Favour should be our aspiration at all times, dear readers, and the believer is always in a state of patience (during tests) and gratitude (during blessings).

May Allah سبحانه و تعالى‎ guide us to His beautiful ways and shower upon us His Rahmah this Ramadan, helping us reform our actions with the sincerest intentions, seeking to be chosen as those who are closest to Him and not those who are deluded by the false promises of this dunya!

Allahumma Aameen.