Discovery of Total Absence of
One’s Power

Chapter 90 of the Quran has this to say: “We have created man into a life of toil and trial. Does he think then that no one has power over him?” (90:4-5)

Here “man” denotes the whole human race. And toil (kabad) means suffering. In this verse “power” has been mentioned along with kabad (suffering). This tells us about the reason for suffering. God created man with extraordinary capacity. But along with that he was placed in such circumstances as were always fraught with some problem, such as suffering.

Even those who have got everything they have ever striven for are not free from suffering. This has been done so that a person may discover his total lack of power. Although apparently a human being seems to have power, he still has his share of suffering. Suffering is a timely reminder of God’s absolute power.

Looked at from this point of view, suffering is, in fact, a blessing in disguise. God, in spite of being the greatest reality, remains unseen. By means of compulsory suffering, God wants a person to experience His presence.

Wahb ibn Munabbih (d. 110 AH) once observed: “Suffering comes so that man may pray from his heart.” (Al-Shukr, Ibn Abi al-Dunya, Athar No. 133) This does not refer to just the words of prayer. This means that a person’s mind is awakened and noble feelings are engendered within him. He starts discovering God’s attributes in different forms. And when this happens, he utters such words of prayer as befit extraordinary circumstances.