Test is a Blessing in Disguise (Setiap Ujian Pasti Ada Hikmahnya)

Assalamualaikum,

I wanted to get back to blogging and finally had the determination and inspiration to actually sit down and start typing. This seems like a serious topic to begin with but this 2019 is very rocky. We are tested with all kinds of hardship that I never anticipated. 

So early this year, a very important family member of mine had a minor stroke, the left side of the body was paralyzed. It was devastating for the patient and the whole family as well. The first and second month were the hardest to cope with. We went in and out the hospitals, many sleepless night, countless tears and we even questioned why is this happening to such a good person like him. But here we are, in the 6th month of the journey to recovery. We always believe that there is a hikmah in all hardship and suffering. It is a blessing in disguise.

As narrated by Tirmidhi & Ibn Majah: 

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'The greatest reward is with the greater trial or the greater the trial or difficulty of test of hardship is then the greater the reward. And when Allah loves a person He will test them. The people as long as they are in good health, good shape, good condition they are covered. You don't know their true character because they are in good situation, they are in good circumstance. As long as they are in a good circumstances they are covered. But if a trial or difficulty or a hardship comes upon them, then you will see their reality. They will go to their reality. The Mu'min will run to his Imaan, the hypocrite will run to his hypocrisy.'  (Source: Islam.ru)

As I mentioned, this is the year of major Test. 3 months ago, my 92-year-old maternal grandmother fell twice in the bathroom. She had cracks on the bone at her pelvic and shoulder. She wasn't able to move and my mom volunteered to take care of my grandmother because her other siblings are busy. My sister and I will try to help out whenever we had the time to go back to our parents' house. 

Taking care of elderly needs a lot of time, patience and attention. Taking care of physical disable patient is even exhausting and there is a high chance that you will collapse too. My mom had mental breakdown a few times cause my grandmother become very clingy and my mom wouldn't able to do other stuff. It was stressful for her but she tried her best to balance her time between work and taking care of my grandmother. I felt sorry for my mom that I couldn't help her much because I had other obligations to fulfil. 

I told my mom that the Prophet (ﷺ) said:'Paradise lies beneath the feet of the Mother'. She hold on the words and it gave her the strength. I don't know how to dakwah and I did not attend proper religion classes but Alhamdulillah, Allah had shown me the beauty of Islam through life experiences.

Now my mom's siblings are taking turns to nurse my grandmother. She is getting better now. Alhamdulillah. I have also learnt a lot through these incidents. 

One of the lesson that I had learnt was in situation like these, you need be uplifted especially when you are around the patient as your emotion will affect them. Never show your frustration or exhaustion in front of the patient. A lady from the neighborhood shared her experience of taking care of her stroke mother. The lady said that her mother tried to strangle herself with a scarf cause she felt like a burden to the family. So always smile (even you are sad) when you are around them, don't let depression consume them. 

To be positive in the most negative situation is not the easiest thing to do. When we felt lost, without a clue, we cried in the prayers, asking mercy from Allah SWT and may He ease the hardship and strengthen our Imaan. Alhamdulillah, all praises to Allah, things are slowly getting better and our faith in Allah SWT is growing stronger than ever. This is probably the biggest Hikmah that Allah SWT has given us.

I am planning to draft a post to share some tips in taking care of physical disable family members. Will you be interested to read?

Thanks for stopping by, hope you have a nice day and may peace be with you.