Someone beat and persecuted a student of Imam Ghazali. He complained to the Imam who said, “My dear boy! Give thanks to Allah. It stopped at that, otherwise trials sometimes are more severe.” This disciple of his was persecuted again after some days. He was thrown into a well by some men who surrounded and nabbed him but he managed to
escape. Again he complained to the Imam who gave him the same advice as he had given earlier. By a coincidence, he was in trouble a third time too. A Jew put him in fetters and, every now and then, caused him some harm. This time he suffered tremendously and was heart-broken. Somehow he got deliverance. But, when he complained to the Imam, ; he gave him the same advice as he had done before. However, this time the suffering was too much and he could not endure more. So, he complained, “Mawlana, does even after what I have suffered, there is anything more?” Imam Ghazzali said, “Yes! There is a greater trial than these! God forbid you may fall into disbelief!”
It also comes in a hadith taken from Mishkat al Masabih:
Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah narrated that Allah’s Messenger Sallalahu alaihe wa sallam said, When any of you looks at someone who is better off than him in property and wealth and in looks (and feels grieved and is envious). Let him also look at one who is of a strata lower than he. “According to another version: ”You must look at those who are of a strata lower than you and not look at those who are better off, This will preserve you from looking down on Allah’s blessings on you.”
Lesson:
There is no limit to the trials a man may face, If any one is entangled in a trial, then not only must he show patience, but he must also thank Allah for not causing him to suffer a greater trial.
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