The Rebuke of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) and the Saying, “What Did I Do in My World That This Calamity Should Befall Me?”
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Question:
Some people, when a calamity befalls them, say, “What did I do in my world that this calamity should befall me?”
Answer:
This is rebuking Allah; he rebukes his Lord and denies his own shortcomings and his deeds. This is not permissible. This is greater than sin, and may Allah protect us from it. This is rebuking Allah. It is obligatory for him to be pleased with the decree of Allah, to repent to Allah, and to thank Allah. For this reason, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 2999
Yes. As for when he says, “What did I do?” This is rebuking Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) and denying his sins. Or if he says, “So-and-so does not deserve this. By Allah, so-and-so is good and does not deserve what happened to him,” this is as if he is correcting Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), saying to his Lord, “You made a mistake, because you struck this person, and he does not deserve this calamity.” Yes. It is obligatory for a person to guard his tongue from this speech. Yes.
Some people, when a calamity befalls them, say, “What did I do in my world that this calamity should befall me?”
Answer:
This is rebuking Allah; he rebukes his Lord and denies his own shortcomings and his deeds. This is not permissible. This is greater than sin, and may Allah protect us from it. This is rebuking Allah. It is obligatory for him to be pleased with the decree of Allah, to repent to Allah, and to thank Allah. For this reason, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Strange are the ways of a believer for there is good in every
عجبا لأمر المؤمن إن أمره كلهis wondrous. If hardship befalls him, he is patient with it, and that is good for him. And if good befalls him, he thanks Allah for it, and that is good for him. And that is not the case except for the believer.
له عجب. إن أصابته ضرا صبر عليها فكان ذلك خيرا له. وإن أصابته سرا شكر الله عليها فكان ذلك خيرا له. وليس ذلك إلا للمؤمن.Yes. As for when he says, “What did I do?” This is rebuking Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) and denying his sins. Or if he says, “So-and-so does not deserve this. By Allah, so-and-so is good and does not deserve what happened to him,” this is as if he is correcting Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), saying to his Lord, “You made a mistake, because you struck this person, and he does not deserve this calamity.” Yes. It is obligatory for a person to guard his tongue from this speech. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 167 - معاتبة الله سبحانه وتعالى وقول (أنا ماذا فعلت في دنياي لتصيبني هذه المصيبة) الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.