The Blessings in Misfortune

By Hamda AlHashemi (@Hamda_AlHashemi)

In the books of history, in fairytales and novels, in movies and in life itself, we read and we see problems, obstacles and how messed up peoples’ lives can be. But eventually we realize, it is not the end of the world. It is not the end of the world to be poor, it is not the end of the world to lose someone, and it is not the end of the world to get sick. Richard Bach once said, “there is no disaster that cannot become a blessing, and no blessing that cannot become a disaster.”

Whenever I open a news channel and see what is happening around the world like in Somalia, Palestine, or Libya, I immediately say “thank God”! There are people out there who are suffering from things they can hardly control and manage while I might be whining about my car that broke down yesterday, or how hot the weather is, or the fact that I lost something. Honestly, thank God. It could always be worse.

I have been looking at some of the artwork using Arabic typography and came across Mohammed Damour’s art piece where he repeatedly used a phrase from the Holy Qur’an, which translates to “Allah’s blessing on you was magnificent”. His use of cool and warm colors together reminded me of how blessings and misfortunes are related; if we are in a very difficult situation, there will come a point where things get so bad and then all of a sudden things start to work out.

What can be worse than not getting a car? Getting into an accident. And what can be worse than getting into an accident? Suffering from a permanent injury such as blindness. And what can be worse than that? Being blind and deaf. And what can be worse than that? Being a homeless cripple with no family or friends to support you. And the list keeps going on and on and on. Can things get any worse? Maybe they can, maybe they cannot.

Most of us are in good health, we have a roof over our head, we have adequate food that we can survive on, and we have people to help us through some or most of our hardships. But when God puts us under a very simple test, we panic and we begin to create scenarios and act like we are the least fortunate people in the world. When that simple test starts, we become blind and we lose sight of everything beautiful in our life.

Jean De La Bruyere said a beautiful statement that still rings in my head whenever I face a problem; she said, “out of difficulties grow miracles.” When I look back and think about it, failing that test made me work harder and harder till I aced all of my other exams. When he lost his friend in an accident he became a much safer driver. They are all blessings in disguise. All we need is some patience where we need to understand what is truly happening and how every problem can benefit us on various levels.

Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) once said that a faithful man will always be happy, if he faces a difficult situation he will be patient, and if he faces a fortunate situation he will be grateful. So it is a win-win situation because after patience, many locked doors will open. And that is one of God’s most magnificent blessings; happiness is in our own hands.

Sail eMagazine’s 18^th Issue – September 2011
Here We Start – Art of Living 101 – Community Talk – Food for Thought
Just Another Undergrad – Society of Tomorrow – The First Years Last Forever
The Mind’s Eye – To the Point – Too Blunt for Words – Words, Observations, and Ramblings