Question:
Assalamu Aleykoum,
I was a forced laborer and a kind guard recited an ayat of Quran. I thought to myself at that moment “I am in tribulation by Allah’s Will and I should have Sabr. And that Allah (SWT) must really love me because I am suffering a lot.”
Answer:
Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatu,
This dream inshallah has shown you your current station in the journey to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. The forced laborer you saw yourself as in the dream is represented by the hadith of the Prophet, salla allahu alayhi wa sallam, as narrated in Sahih Bukhari, when he said:
حدثنا سليمان بن حرب حدثنا حماد عن أيوب عن نافع عن ابن عمر رضي الله عنهما عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال مثلكم ومثل أهل الكتابين كمثل رجل استأجر أجراء فقال من يعمل لي من غدوة إلى نصف النهار على قيراط فعملت اليهود ثم قال من يعمل لي من نصف النهار إلى صلاة العصر على قيراط فعملت النصارى ثم قال من يعمل لي من العصر إلى أن تغيب الشمس على قيراطين فأنتم هم فغضبت اليهود والنصارى فقالوا ما لنا أكثر عملا وأقل عطاء قال هل نقصتكم من حقكم قالوا لا قال فذلك فضلي أوتيه من أشاء
The example of you and the people of the book before you is like someone who hired workers and asked them, “Who will work for me from sunrise until mid-noon and I will give them their recompense one fold?” and so the Jews worked. Then he said, “Who will work for me from mid-noon until afternoon for one fold recompense?” then the Christians worked, then he said, “Who will work for me from afternoon until sunset and I will give them DOUBLE recompense?” [That is you, O Muslims!] The jews and Christians were angry and said, “How come we work more and receive less?” He said to them, “Have I withheld anything of your payment?” They said, “No!” He said, “Then that is my bounty; I give it to whomever I will!”
Alhamdulillah! You are from the ummah of Muhammad, salla allahu alayhi wa sallim, and are a laborer in those working a short time from afternoon till sunset of the age of the universe and Allah will give your reward twice as much. However, the umma of Muhammad, salla allahu alayhi wa sallam, is also the umma of shukr (gratitude). This is why Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala, told the people of Prophet Dawud, alayh as-salam, “Work, O Family of Dawud, out of gratitude, for indeed very few of My servants are grateful!” And this reality of gratitude only manifested in the ummah of Muhammad, salla allahu alayhi wa sallam, who said when asked why he prayed for long hours in the middle of the night even though Allah forgave him everything in the past and present, “Should I not then be a grateful servant?”
So this dream is giving you a glad tiding and directing you towards your next destination insha-Allah. The glad tiding is that you are from the ummah of Muhammad that will be given double recompense. Your next destination insha-Allah is to work for the sake of Allah out of love and gratitude. When shukr (gratitude) overwhelms you insha-Allah, you will no longer feel the pain of forced labor. Instead, it will be enjoyable for you to only work for His sake.
Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatu,
Ali Hussain
