Thank you so much for writing this masterpiece and putting it all together. Words aren’t enough to express my appreciation for your effort. May your heart be filled with happiness, and your mind enriched with knowledge.
Thank you so much for such a sweet comment and beautiful dua 🥹 I’m so appreciative of your kind words, and I’m really happy the piece could be helpful to you in some way. I extend the same dua to you, JazakAllah khayr!
you are a gem! 🩷 i’m sikh but my faith advocates for lifelong learning from other religions and the doctrine and spirit of islam is so powerful. a true Mercy from Rabb. sikhi also warns against materialism and that suffering is inevitable due to attachments and moral failures. and that the only refuge is meditating on the Greatness and Love of God. very enlightening essay on the islamic perspective of pain! thanks for all you do.
Thank you so much dear vivi! Yes absolutely, sikhism is a beautiful religion with such under appreciated wisdom. I have long admired the gentleness and full hearted spirit of my sikh brothers and sisters. it’s beautiful to acknowledge our similarities and shared truths ❤️ thanks so much for your kind words, i’m so grateful!
I loved reading this as it was a beautifully researched and eloquently written piece. I deeply appreciate the effort and the rich exploration of various philosophical viewpoints. The weaving of historical insight, theological reflection, and lived human experience made it a truly compelling read.
That said, sometimes I wonder whether all these philosophers have made this issue more complex than necessary. Perhaps the framing of this can be simpler than what has been made of it. The Quran already provides a direct lens - “Whatever befalls you of hardship - it is because of what your own hands have earned. But He pardons much” (Surah Ash-Shura 42:30). Al-Kindi’s view seems to be in alignment with Allah’s (God's) message here and that is that pain in such cases is a divine correction, and not an automatic gift. The Quran also reminds believers, “If you are suffering, they (the non-believers) are suffering as you are suffering - but you hope from Allah what they do not hope” (Surah An-Nisa 4:104). Suffering therefore is not sacred. What transforms it is one’s orientation to God.
Even more directly, Allah tells us, “We did not wrong them, but they wronged themselves” (Surah An-Nahl 16:118). This places responsibility not on fate or divine favoritism, but on the moral compass we follow or ignore.
What Al-Kindi said therefore aligns more closely with this: that pain corrects our direction. We’ve seen companions like Bilal endure excruciating torment and yet rise spiritually through sheer submission, not intellectual frameworks. Others faltered under pressure, and the Prophet (may the peace and Allah’s blessings be upon him) made space for that too - he understood the human threshold.
The bottom line is that we learn from the Quran that submission and love for Allah place us in a state where suffering is reframed. It is softened by submission, conviction and fortified by hope in the divine. While parts of one’s pain and suffering may serve as a test of faith, the Quran also shows that much of it can be avoided by staying on the straight path.
Let’s not forget what the Prophet (may the peace and Allah’s blessings be upon him) did or advised us in the state of sorrow - he invoked God, he made dua (supplication) - he did not indulge in abstraction or philosophical theorizing. As you rightly say in your article, sorrow dwells in the sacred territory of lived human experience. In fact, he taught numerous specific supplications for sadness, distress, and fear. And we must ask: what is the purpose of these duas, if not to gently teach us that sorrow isn’t to be endlessly analyzed, but to be lifted, surrendered, and healed in the presence of the One who knows us better than we know ourselves?
Hey Zahra,
Thank you so much for writing this masterpiece and putting it all together. Words aren’t enough to express my appreciation for your effort. May your heart be filled with happiness, and your mind enriched with knowledge.
Hi Abdishukri!
Thank you so much for such a sweet comment and beautiful dua 🥹 I’m so appreciative of your kind words, and I’m really happy the piece could be helpful to you in some way. I extend the same dua to you, JazakAllah khayr!
you are a gem! 🩷 i’m sikh but my faith advocates for lifelong learning from other religions and the doctrine and spirit of islam is so powerful. a true Mercy from Rabb. sikhi also warns against materialism and that suffering is inevitable due to attachments and moral failures. and that the only refuge is meditating on the Greatness and Love of God. very enlightening essay on the islamic perspective of pain! thanks for all you do.
Thank you so much dear vivi! Yes absolutely, sikhism is a beautiful religion with such under appreciated wisdom. I have long admired the gentleness and full hearted spirit of my sikh brothers and sisters. it’s beautiful to acknowledge our similarities and shared truths ❤️ thanks so much for your kind words, i’m so grateful!
I really appreciated this read, congrats
I loved reading this as it was a beautifully researched and eloquently written piece. I deeply appreciate the effort and the rich exploration of various philosophical viewpoints. The weaving of historical insight, theological reflection, and lived human experience made it a truly compelling read.
That said, sometimes I wonder whether all these philosophers have made this issue more complex than necessary. Perhaps the framing of this can be simpler than what has been made of it. The Quran already provides a direct lens - “Whatever befalls you of hardship - it is because of what your own hands have earned. But He pardons much” (Surah Ash-Shura 42:30). Al-Kindi’s view seems to be in alignment with Allah’s (God's) message here and that is that pain in such cases is a divine correction, and not an automatic gift. The Quran also reminds believers, “If you are suffering, they (the non-believers) are suffering as you are suffering - but you hope from Allah what they do not hope” (Surah An-Nisa 4:104). Suffering therefore is not sacred. What transforms it is one’s orientation to God.
Even more directly, Allah tells us, “We did not wrong them, but they wronged themselves” (Surah An-Nahl 16:118). This places responsibility not on fate or divine favoritism, but on the moral compass we follow or ignore.
What Al-Kindi said therefore aligns more closely with this: that pain corrects our direction. We’ve seen companions like Bilal endure excruciating torment and yet rise spiritually through sheer submission, not intellectual frameworks. Others faltered under pressure, and the Prophet (may the peace and Allah’s blessings be upon him) made space for that too - he understood the human threshold.
The bottom line is that we learn from the Quran that submission and love for Allah place us in a state where suffering is reframed. It is softened by submission, conviction and fortified by hope in the divine. While parts of one’s pain and suffering may serve as a test of faith, the Quran also shows that much of it can be avoided by staying on the straight path.
Let’s not forget what the Prophet (may the peace and Allah’s blessings be upon him) did or advised us in the state of sorrow - he invoked God, he made dua (supplication) - he did not indulge in abstraction or philosophical theorizing. As you rightly say in your article, sorrow dwells in the sacred territory of lived human experience. In fact, he taught numerous specific supplications for sadness, distress, and fear. And we must ask: what is the purpose of these duas, if not to gently teach us that sorrow isn’t to be endlessly analyzed, but to be lifted, surrendered, and healed in the presence of the One who knows us better than we know ourselves?
Thank you again!