Complaining about calamities and disasters: What is the ruling in the Shari'ah? May Allah reward you.

The questioner : Complaining about calamities and disasters: What is the ruling in the Shari'ah? May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. Among the foundations of faith is that a person believes in the divine decree, its good and its evil, and that he knows that what befalls him was not meant to miss him, and what missed him was not meant to befall him, and that all matters return to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and that Allah has the perfect wisdom in what befalls the servant of good or evil. Calamities are of two types. The first type is that they are an expiation for sins committed by the person and a rectification of his state, as in the saying of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He): and His saying (the Exalted): The second type is that the calamities are not a punishment for sins committed by the person, but rather for an increase in his ranks and for him to attain the description of patience, for which Allah praised those who practice it and said: Among this is what befalls the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) of calamities that strike him (peace and blessings be upon him), to the extent that he would suffer fever as two of us would suffer, meaning in illness, in order to attain the highest ranks of patience (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him). And he attained that (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him); he is the most patient of people in obedience to Allah, the most patient of people in abstaining from the prohibitions of Allah, and the most patient of people regarding the painful decrees of Allah. Based on this premise, it is obligatory for a person to be patient with the divine decree and destiny of Allah and not to complain, because complaining about the decree and destiny of Allah is a deficiency in faith in His lordship (Blessed and Exalted is He), since the implication of absolute lordship is that He does what He wills. Look at the generosity and grace that He (the Exalted) does what He wills with His servant, and yet He rewards him for what occurred from these calamities if he is patient and seeks reward.
Some scholars said that people have four stations regarding calamities: complaining, patience, contentment, and gratitude. As for complaining, it is forbidden, whether it is in the heart, on the tongue, or in the limbs. Complaining in the heart is when one sees that Allah (the Exalted) has wronged him in this calamity and that he is not worthy of being afflicted. This is of great danger, as Allah (the Exalted) said: As for complaining by speech, it is to invoke the invocations of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, such as "Wah thaburaha" (Oh, destruction) and "Wa inqiṭa' ḍahrāh" (Oh, broken back), and similar foul words that indicate the servant's dissatisfaction and lack of contentment with the decree of Allah.
As for complaining by actions, it is tearing the hair, slapping the cheeks, and tearing the garments. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) disavowed the one who does this and said: So this complaining is forbidden and among the major sins. Complaining in the heart is the greatest and most dangerous of its types. The second station is the station of patience, which is restraining the self from complaining. It is heavy for the self, but it is obligatory, because if one does not be patient, he will complain, and complaining is among the major sins, so patience becomes obligatory. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said to his daughter, who had a child who was dying, when death approached him, she sent a messenger to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) inviting him to attend, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The third rank, or the third state, or the third station, is contentment, meaning that the servant is fully content with what has been decreed for him of this calamity. The scholars differed on its obligation, and the correct view is that it is not obligatory, but it is a recommended practice (sunnah), because it includes patience and more. The difference between patience and contentment is that in patience, a person dislikes what happened; he does not love that it happened, but he has restrained himself from complaining. As for the one who is content, he does not dislike what happened; rather, the calamity and its absence are equal to him regarding the action of Allah, because he is fully content with the action of Allah. So he says: "I am His servant and He is my Lord. If He does what pleases me, I am His servant and I have gratitude for Him. If it is the other, I am His servant and I have contentment and patience for Him." So the states are equal for him. And perhaps one looks at it from another perspective, saying: If this calamity is met with patience, and Allah expiates it for him and rewards him for it, it becomes a reward rather than a punishment, so the pain and the reward are equal for him. In this regard, there is what is mentioned of Rabi'ah al-'Adawiyyah, as I think, that her finger was injured and she was not affected by anything, so it was said to her about that, and she said: "The sweetness of its reward made me forget the bitterness of its patience." The fourth station, or the fourth state, is the station of gratitude, that a person thanks Allah (Mighty and Majestic) for this calamity. This station or state does not occur for a person at the first shock, because the implication of nature contradicts that. But through reflection and deliberation, a person may thank his Lord for this calamity. This is by estimating the calamity to be greater, so he thanks Allah (the Exalted) that he was afflicted with this one which is lighter, or by estimating that the pain of the calamity will not cease with the cessation of life if he remains until death, or will cease before death, and the reward and recompense obtained will remain, so he thanks Allah (the Exalted) for that. An example is a man who was injured in a car accident and his leg was broken; this is a calamity. So he reflects and looks and says: "Did you see if the break had been in the back, the calamity would have been greater?" So he thanks Allah (Mighty and Majestic) that the calamity was in the thigh rather than the back. And if it had been in the lower leg, it would have been lighter than if it were in the thigh, and so on. Then he says: "Also, this is a calamity. Either I will be healed from it and return as I was in this world before death, or I will die, for it has a fixed, decreed term. But the reward obtained from it is the reward of the Hereafter, which remains forever. So he thanks Allah (Mighty and Majestic) for this calamity which was the cause of what is more lasting and better." Finally, if we now understand that a person has four stations regarding calamities: the first is complaining, which is forbidden and among the major sins; the second is patience, which is obligatory; the third is contentment, which is a recommended practice (sunnah); and the fourth is gratitude, which is the highest of the stations.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.