On not Complaining

Here is a piece of advice from one of our venerated shaikhs:

Let me give you a piece of advice: Never complain to anyone about your luck, whether he be friend or foe, and do not accuse the Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He) for treating you badly and making you suffer misfortune. You should rather proclaim your blessings and your gratitude.

And if you count the favor of Allah, you will never add it up. (16:18)

How many blessings do you enjoy without acknowledging them for what they are! Do not settle for any mere creature as your confidant and intimate companion, and tell no one about your problems. It is rather with Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) that you should be on intimate and confidential terms, and any complaining you do should be about Him and addressed to Him. Recognize no other party, for none has any power to bring you loss or gain, income or expenditure, honor or disgrace, promotion or demotion, poverty or affluence.

All things are the creation of Allah. They lie in the hand of Allah and the way they function is at His command and by His leave. Each runs its course until a time appointed, and everything is regulated by Him. There is no advancing what He has postponed and no putting back what He has brought to the fore. Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) has said:

If Allah afflicts you with some hurt, none can remove it but He; and if He desires any good for you, none can repel His bounty. He causes it to reach whomsoever He wills of His servants. He is the All-Forgiving, the All-Compassionate (10:107)

If you complain about Him while you are in good health and already enjoying some blessing, just wanting to get more and shutting your eyes contemptuously to the benefit and well-being you have received from Him, He will be angry with you and deprive you of both. He will give you something real to complain about, doubling your trouble, intensifying the chastisement and detestation and loathing you must suffer, and casting you down out of His sight.

You should be very wary of complaining, even if you were being dissected and having your own flesh clipped away with scissors. Beware, beware and yet again beware! Allah, Allah, and yet again Allah! Escape, escape! Take care, take care!

Most of the various disasters that afflict a human being are due to his complaints against his Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He). How can one have any grievance against Him, when His is the Most Merciful of the merciful, the Best of all judges, Wise, Aware, Gracious, Compassionate; when he is Kind to His servants and not a cruel slave-master; when He is like a wise, sympathetic and kindly family doctor?

Would you find fault with a tender-hearted mother? The Prophet (pbuh) said: “Allah is more merciful toward His servant than a mother toward her child.”

Be on your best behaviour! Persevere in the face of misfortune, even if you are incapable of patience. Then be patient even if your are incapable of conforming with good grace. Keep your tongue from complaining. Provided you do this, then if what is meant for you is good, the Lord will grant you extra pleasure, happiness and joy; and if it is bad, He will keep you safe in His obedient service while destiny runs its course.

He will absolve you of blame, and keep you unaffected while it lasts, until it is all over for you and becomes a thing of the past — as night ends with the dawning of the day, and as the chill of winter takes its leave when summer comes around. Here is an example for you, so note the moral well.