Calamities, Blessings Not Criteria for Human’s Felicity
The philosophy of calamity has different aspects but not all these hardships have the same reason and origin.
Some of them are calamities overtly and covertly; some of them are apparently calamities but are blessing in reality. On the other hand, some blessings are just seemingly a source of mercy and are actually calamities; this is the most dangerous kind. It is not easy to recognize the category of the calamity that we are experiencing.
Some calamities are the result of our wrong deeds; for instance, many of the social and economic problems of people have a direct relation with sins in society. Sinners usually have a disturbed life and this is the calamity that they themselves have created.
When someone continuously commits sins, they should await their outcomes. This outcome or calamity can have different forms; sometimes it is in the form of a real calamity but sometimes God sends it down in the form of a blessing and one may never find out the reality.
This type of calamity is called “Istidraj” in the Holy Quran. It means gradually approaching divine punishment and is specific for those sinners who have never responded to Allah’s call or abandoned sins. These individuals have a form of arrogance and even think that God has bestowed such blessings because He loves them.
God moves these people gradually to higher places and gives them what seems to be blessings but another aim is at play. “As for those who belie Our verses, We will draw them on little by little, from where they cannot tell.” (Surah Al-A'raf, verse 182)
Therefore, not each blessing is truly a blessing, and not each calamity is truly a calamity.
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) once said there are numerous reasons behind calamities such as to test individuals, assess their patience, remove their sins, or find a higher position. So, the best approach to confronting calamities is to practice patience and ask for God’s help.
