The Islamic Understanding of the Nature of Sufferings

Author: Muhammed A. A. Khan, M.D.* According to Webster’s Dictionary, suffering is the state or experience of one that suffers “pain” or “hardship.” If one is subjected to great strain, difficulty, or is caused to worry or be troubled, he or she would be classified as one who is suffering. Suffering is a feeling relevant to living things only, and, amongst all living things, humans are the most articulate and intelligent creation of the Almighty God. Therefore, let us take our life from day one and examine what it is. The physical living of one’s life begins at birth. As soon as the child is born, it suffers from the inconvenience and exertion of the process of childbirth. The child comes out of the warm and cozy environment of the intimate quarters of his mother’s womb into the open space of this world and feels the cold air around him. As he exits his mother’s womb, he feels the big cold hands of the people who are surrounding him. He lets out a gulp or a shriek, which means he is distraught, tired, or uncomfortable. He wants the same warmth and comfort he experienced inside his mother. Thus, we quickly wrap him in a blanket and put him in his mother’s inviting arms to alleviate his suffering. The nature of suffering we considered right now is a very simple case. All we have to deal with at this moment is keeping the baby satisfied so that he does not suffer from cold, hunger, or any other physical discomfort. As the child grows, his daily life is characterized by different endeavors and learning experiences with lots of failures and successes. Everyday there is something new he is experiencing, feeling, and observing. There are disappointments and pleasures. During this entire process of learning and the early experience of daily living, the child might suffer from rebukes, reprimands, restrictions, and sometimes strict, disciplinary action such as getting grounded. To alleviate this suffering disciplinary action causes, the child must learn not to do the action that put him in a position where the discipline was needed in the first place. Therefore, he quickly will come to understand from the nature of his sufferings how he should behave so that his parents or caregivers don’t have to rebuke, reprimand, restrict, or ground him again. The nature of suffering resulting from disciplining a child serves to guide him as he goes from his youth into adolescent years and throughout the rest of his life. He tries to maintain himself within the boundaries his parents or caregivers have set forth. He does not want to suffer again from the humiliation that comes with discipline. But what can he do? Youth is synonymous with inexperience, ignorance, and megaloblastic egotism. Therefore, regardless of how hard he tries not to break the rules, there will be a slip here or there. Reason #1 Consider yourself at a stage where you are learning how to drive. You are itching to back your dad’s sports car out of the garage. And one day when nobody is looking, given the opportunity, you try it anyway. Slam!!! You run into the wall. Cry all you want, this is a capital reason for grounding, and, yes, you do suffer the humiliation of never getting the car key’s again. Reason #2 Now consider yourself preparing for your graduation party, prom, homecoming, football game, or some other function at that stage of your life, and you forget to call the person in time for making or breaking a date. You forgot to arrange the ride or assign responsibilities that come with all these occasions. This is capitol reason for being abandoned by all your friends, not to mention what your mom or dad might do. Can you imagine the suffering and humiliation at that time? I cannot even begin to think about that. Then, there could be times when you didn’t turn in your homework or assignment in on time-maybe you were sick or maybe the dog ate it. You didn’t mail your application in on time. Lots of occasions like that will most defiantly bring suffering of one kind of emotion or another. You will learn to deal with them through disciplining your own self. By reorganizing and re-evaluating your own self, you won’t put yourself in that miserable situation again. Once you understand the nature of sufferings and both realize and recognize their causes, you gain control of your life. Bringing your life under your own control is the key to a successful and productive life. This is the turning point where living life as a responsible adult individual begins. In order to live life, mankind is blessed with a “Manual,” provided from the “Creator” God. This is similar to how manufacturers of different products provide a manual to operate a given product. God has given us the manuals of the Torah, the Bible, and the Quran, which guide us in understanding how to conduct our lives in the most productive and beneficial way. It is these holy books that become the caregiver and guide from this point on. Anytime we make a mistake, or transgress, these holy books tell us how to get back on the right track again. Therefore, our Creator does not have to reprimand or ground us. You see! Life is a spiritual existence, which transcends a physical death. Our life in this world is more or less like life in school. Just as students spend the academic years in a given school and either fail or pass at the end of each term, we are given a life span to live or spend in this world. After our life span is over in this world, we either fail or pass (i.e., go to heaven.) To accomplish this goal, our life is blessed with a body and a soul. Body is what we see as our own personal self, and inside the body resides the soul. The soul is actually the hallmark of the creation. It is because of the soul that we are called the superior creation of God. It gives us the true essence of life. It is the soul that gives our life spiritual existence and transcends itself to God at the time of death, leaving the body behind in the grave. It is the soul which earns the title of Caliph, or vice-regent of God. In the Quran Sûrah 2, Aya God says, “Today I am going to create a vice-regent of mine; I am going to send him to the earth with the divine guidance from me.”  That would be the Manual – Torah – Bible – Quran. And through this manual of guidance, my vice-regent is going to recognize his responsibilities, and then live up to them. If he will not live up to his responsibilities, then we are going to try him by exposing him to different stresses and strains of life. We are going to make him face different kind of sufferings, trials, and turbulences. So that he understands that his God wants obedience and total submission from him, so that he can serve Him better. “We created man only to worship Me.”  God created this entire universe to serve man and created man to serve Him. He has allowed man to use this universe for making life better and more comfortable for his fellow human beings. Whatever is out there, use it so that after you leave, the world is still one habitable place. In this, everyone should be concerned. We are not to use recourses for the selected few, leaving the rest of the world deprived. If man will not do so, that is when the sufferings may come as wild fires, floods, earthquakes, and famines. Furthermore we see unexpected and frequent accidents, mass killings and mass suicides, lack of respect for life and our fellow human beings. These are all different kinds of sufferings which are experienced daily and which demand alleviation and understanding. This is where some of us who are weak in faith fall prey to artificial hands such as alcohol or other habits leading to dependency. After, it is without knowing what might occur in an unborn child in the case of a pregnant woman, or what might happen to the genetic material to be implanted by a man. One can never understand the suffering of the premature infant at birth, unless you see that tiny being at 1.5 to 3 or 4 lbs with your own eyes in any premie units of hospitals. Understanding these kinds of sufferings, watching these kinds of pains and discomforts, brings us closer to God. You must realize and know how fragile life is. It must not be thrown away to any kind of dependence-causing agents. One must carry on depending on God and their inner strength alone. With all the knowledge and technology we have today, we still find ourselves helpless and very small when it comes to saving or protecting life. That is why we must constantly seek the help of our Almighty God, as we search for cures or for methods to alleviate sufferings. Understanding the cause or causes of suffering makes its alleviation very easy. Alleviation of suffering may be achieved by physically removing the stress and strain by: avoiding troubling environments, nullifying defeats, shunning hardships, and avoiding loss or damage to life and property. The actual protector of life and property is God. It is He who gives life, and He who takes life. We are merely His servants. We are to serve Him in this world in such a way that whatever we learn, we use and utilize our knowledge for the benefit of other human beings. Serving His people equates to serving Him. It is our mission and major responsibility to be vigilant of our surroundings and neighborhoods, to be on constant watch so as to identify those in need. Meeting other people’s needs without hurting their feelings is a very promising way of pleasing God. A simple example would be opening shelters during extreme weather conditions. The process of alleviating the discomfort and suffering caused by weather conditions makes us appreciate the importance of energy and the source of energy. As soon as we realize the importance of energy sources, we think of them in terms of the pleasures of God. We must evaluate and determine which of the abundant recourses He has given us should be used to bring maximum comfort to His people. Now, a scientist believing in the pleasures of God will not hesitate to use water, wind, or solar energy for the production of energy because these three sources are: (1) in abundance; (2) international so that anybody who has the ability and capability can use them; (3) have no boundaries and; (4) most importantly, do not have any harmful effects on the human race, during or after their use. A scientist will not use the recourses that have extremely harmful effects during and after their use. He will postpone their use till he finds a safe way to use them and too their refuse. Acid and alkali are two chemical agents that are very strong and powerful when working alone, but when mixed together, they do not cause or produce any harmful agents. Instead, they are transformed into a harmless nontoxic usable substance – a salt. Similarly, we must have an equally powerful agent somewhere in this world which we have not been able to detect or discover yet, which when mixed with uranium or plutonium will render them completely harmless and nontoxic. Perhaps, God willing, if we are fortunate, they will be converted into a usable substance like salt. I would say this could be a challenge for our scientific community to look for an agent equally powerful as uranium and plutonium. God says in the Quran, “He has created everything in pairs.” As acid and alkali is a pair that creates salt, there has to be a pair for uranium and plutonium. This discovery will most defiantly help us in getting rid of the garbage we have created by using these elements. It will save us from the risk of creating more garbage that could remain active and alive for billions of years. The second example, which comes to mind is organ transplantation. Advancement of our surgical skills is a definite milestone of learning in our medical science history. We know our patient is suffering, and so we have to alleviate his sufferings. We know conservative methods of treatment have failed, medications are not helping anymore, and the remaining choice is surgery. Now, we cannot go hoping and praying, “Oh! God kill someone because I need a heart.” A God-fearing scientist in a situation like this will again be seeking the pleasure of God Almighty. He will be constantly pondering on how it is best to proceed under these circumstances. How should he use the resources at his disposal while pleasing God who brings comfort and healing to any patient? The scientist does have choices: (a) He can research on an artificial heart, (b) He can seek compatibility with different animal hearts or, (c) He can try to locate a donated human heart Remember that the entire universe is created to serve us and we are created to serve Him. Currently the situation stands such that artificial and animal recourses have not been as beneficial as a human recourse. However, when the problem concerns one human life vs. another human life, you are walking a very thin and fine line. It is at this point in our decision-making that God cautions by saying, “Do not transgress the limits I have put forth for you.” This is where we have to remember that obtaining a donated organ should be allowed to happen. This particular requirement, if not impossible, is extremely hard to achieve. This is where faith, acceptance of human insufficiency, and the ultimate power of God are necessary. The Islamic understanding explains that we must realize there is a time to be born and a time to die. It is already fixed and determined by Almighty God.  Therefore we will never be able to prolong anyone’s life. We will only be able to make the life of the patient more comfortable, productive, and as normal as possible with the recourses at our hospital. If the suffering of the patient becomes unbearable, or if the patient thinks his life is not as productive as it used to be, He might ask the doctor for euthanasia. We cannot allow that because it is God who gives and God who takes life. A God-fearing doctor, who loves and respects his profession, can never assist with euthanasia. He can only seek ways to make his patients as productive and comfortable as possible. No doubt, there is suffering, pain, discomfort, and the desire to escape. The only thing that keeps a God-fearing person going, is his faith that no hardships in this world go unearned. Every little pain, discomfort, and loss will yield the reward of a better life in this world and the hereafter as well. That is why even when we do not have a cure for something such as Aids, nor do we know how to go about certain ailments such as various forms of cancer, we still keep researching because God says in the Quran, “It is I who gives the disease and it is I who cures it.” This means that every disease has a cure and we have to continue looking until we discover it. Now why doesn’t God just reveal each treatment with each disease? He unveils it, but it is His way of teaching us what human life is. What can sustain and maintain human life? How can we make one pain-free? Discomfort-free? Disease-free? This is His way of bringing us closer to Him. He gives us the knowledge we acquire, the more questions we face. With the revelation of one answer ten more questions always emerge. This makes us realize that in spite of all this newly acquired knowledge, we must continue seeking further recourses, other than human, because human life is the ultimate and superior creation of God. Therefore, there is no price tag to protecting and uplifting human life. We are to use whatever we can from this universe, except man himself. This can only be accomplished when we accept and understand that God is omniscient, and we are not. We may never be able to get all the answers to all the questions which keep popping up in front of us, so we must learn to submit to His will, and take whatever we can understand and in our best judgment is good for the human race, leaving behind whatever is not understood and harmful. Islam teaches us submission to the Almighty. Islam gives us strength that when nothing is going my way, or nothing is going right, it is not that we are not capable or smart enough, it is God’s way of saying this is ho w far you can go. This is His way of setting limits for us, the same way as when we were little, so that we may not hurt ourselves. Now that we have grown up, we are partners in the world. We live and work with the world, and share what it has to offer to make each other comfortable so that all our work eventually is a source of pleasure to our God Almighty. During the process of reaching this goal to please God, whatever hard work we do and whatever sacrifices we make, will be rewarded in this world and hereafter. His reward to us on Earth may come by being blessed with a content heart, or by being blessed with healthy obedient children. A healthy, content heart will not use sleeping aids at night, or revival pills in the morning. His reward may come as assigning leadership and guidance positions to you. A happy guide and a serene leader will not need a shot of alcohol at the end of the day. Alcohol is such a commonly and widely abused drug that if I am not mistaken, we think of it and treat it as if it were a soft drink. It is not a soft drink, or a casual drink, or a social drink. Alcohol is alcohol. It is a depressant. How many lives has it taken? Ask Mothers Against Drunk Driving. They will tell you how painful it is to lose a loved one to a drunk driver. There is no surprise that floods are worsening and fires are becoming more and more furious than the previous ones. It is because we are not obeying the commandments instead, we are playing with the commandments. Your obedience to Him may be rewarded as you being the popular one, the praised one, and the admired one amongst your colleagues and peers. If every man was to stand behind each pregnancy He created, do you think that we would be deciding the national election based on the abortion issue? Right now moral behavior is at its lowest and it is reflected in abortion being the bargaining chip in a national election and gun control being the manipulative chip. It should not be so. We are dealing with human life, the superior creation. Can we kill life and then be able to sleep peacefully at night? We can’t. That is why when our conscience bothers us, we have to have a shot of alcohol or a pill to sleep, respect for life is gone. Be it R24, first trimester, partial birth abortion, throwing babies in the garbage, or killing with guns, respect for life is gone, and we have to bring back this respect. His reward may come to us making us financially worry-free, or He may please us with a loving and caring spouse, and especially a very loyal and faithful one. When we deal honestly in our work environment, come to work on time, leave at the right time, and do not abuse the privileges and resources of the people or institutions we work for or work with, we earn a high ranking amongst our colleagues, families, and friends. They are pleased, and guess who is smiling- God Almighty Himself. All this is achieved by forcing ourselves to be vigilant at all times to the pleasure of God. It is obedience to Him that brings humility unto us. It is being mindful of Him that brings endurance and strength unto us. It is being watchful of Him that keeps us away from sin and greed, faithful to our spouses, and kind to our children. It is being on guard with Him that helps us bear and comprehend natural disasters. Being on the look out for Him allows us to develop enough self-control to avoid stealing, cheating, manipulating, and cover-ups. As a result they are not incorporated into our lifestyle, and we do not suffer from guilt and stress. In conclusion, Islam teaches us that whatever hardship, misfortunes, or sufferings come our way, or no matter how bad a hand we are dealt, we accept it as a test of endurance and we try rising to the occasion to meet the challenge. It is made easy by believing in God and believing in our own selves. It is this belief, that He will never leave His servant man alone. He will always be by our side. The Quran says, “I am closer to you, closer than your carotid. It was then I was carrying you my child.” *Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology University of Illinois at Chicago Source:  (Lecture delivered on February 14, 2001) http://www.integritasinstitute.org/papers/khan.pdf