When a patient struggles with symptoms of physical disease, they receive some comfort in knowing the cause and the source of the symptoms. Similarly, when a believer is afflicted with a difficulty, they receive comfort in knowing its origins, specifically that it is from Allah ﷻ. As believers, we have a distinct advantage over others in knowing where our tribulations come from, whether they be individual tests such as illness or financial hardship, or communal tests such as natural disasters.

Allah ﷻ reminds us in Surah Yunus that only He can afflict difficulties and only He can remove difficulties. Thus, the true believer turns to Allah ﷻ at the onset of difficulties, recognizing they only come from Him, and also seeks alleviation from those difficulties from Allah ﷻ, recognizing that all the worldly means that have been designed to alleviate tribulations are dependent on the permission of Allah ﷻ, however independent they may seem. Depth in dhikr allows us to fully internalize these two notions.

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