Advice of Scholars - A LETTER OF CONDOLENCE BY RASÛLULLAH (SALLALLÂHU ’ALAIHI WASALLAM)

This letter was dictated by Allâhu ta’âlâ’s Prophet, Muhammad (’alaihissalâm) for Mu’âz bin Jabal ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’:

May Allâhu ta’âlâ bless you with salvation!

I offer up my hamd to Him. He, alone, can do good or harm to anybody. Unless He wills, no one can do good or harm to anyone.

May Allâhu ta’âlâ give you plenty of thawâb. May He bless you with patience! May He grace you with gratitude for His blessings!

We must know for certain that our own existence, our property and wealth, our women and children are samples of Allah’s innumerous blessings, sweet and useful gifts. He has not given us these blessings for eternal retention, but has entrusted them to us so that we may use them until He takes them back. We utilize them for a certain duration of time. When the time comes He will withdraw all of them.

Allâhu ta’âlâ has commanded us to thank Him when He pleases us by being generous and to be patient when we feel sorrow when the time comes for Him to take back His gifts.

That son of yours was one of the sweet, useful blessings of Allâhu ta’âlâ. He had entrusted him to you on condition that He would take him back. Through your son He had blessed you. He had pleased and delighted you so as to make others envy you. Now, taking him back, He will give you plenty of thawâb and goodness, and, by His mercy, He will bless you with making progress and improvement on the right way. To attain this mercy and blessing you must be patient. You must tolerate what He has done! If you become angry, cry and yell, you will not attain the thawâb and mercy, and will regret in the end. Know it very well that crying and lamenting will not ward off a catastrophe. Nor will it do away with the sorrow! You will undergo whatsoever is in  your qader (fate). You must be patient and not become angry with what has already happened.

May Allâhu ta’âlâ bestow salvation on you all! Âmîn.