The perfection of a thing is achieved through its opposite. For example, the pleasure of health is felt through disease.
O unfortunate sick one! Do not worry, be patient. Your disease is not a burden but rather a kind of remedy. Life is refined, perfected, strengthened, elevated, made fruitful, and completed through misfortunes and diseases; it fulfills its vital function.
A monotonous life spent in the comfort of a bed is closer to absolute nonexistence which is pure evil—than to pure existence, which is pure good, and leads toward that nonexistence.
Disease is not only a condition of the body, but a divine letter that disciplines the soul as well.
It is a divine favor from the Lord, a merciful gift from the All-Compassionate. For while a person may live in heedlessness, through disease, they come to realize both their mortality and their weakness. This realization turns them toward their Lord, leading them to prayer and trust in Him.
Disease reminds one of their helplessness and vulnerability yet this very helplessness is the foundation of servitude to God.
Often, diseases reveal the compassion and mercy people have for one another. This strengthens family bonds and enhances social solidarity. When children fall ill, they feel their parents’ love in its deepest form. In this way, disease also spiritually elevates human relationships.
As expressed in the Risale-i Nur, “Everything is known through its opposite.” Thus, one can understand the value of health only by experiencing disease. If there were no disease in the world, people would never grasp what a great blessing health and well-being truly are.
Disease is the Polish of the Soul
Diseases are an expiation for sins. If met with patience and gratitude, they bring immense spiritual rewards.
Just as a diamond is polished with a file, the soul is refined through trials and diseases. They teach patience, gratitude, and submission. As a person becomes more aware of their weakness and neediness, they draw closer to their Lord.
Disease serves as a means of disciplining the ego; it breaks pride and softens the heart.
If endured with patience and received with gratitude, trials and diseases become atonement for sins and elevate one’s rank in the Hereafter.
From Fear of Death to the Glad Tidings of Eternal Life
Diseases sometimes lead to death. However, death is not annihilation; it is the doorway to eternal life. Death is merely a change of place the beginning of a great journey toward everlasting happiness. For this reason, a believer should see death not as a fearful end, but as the beginning of a reunion.
In the end, although disease may appear painful on the surface, in reality, it is a divine mercy that leads to the elevation of the soul, the purification of the heart, and closeness to the Creator.
Disease is not only a means for patience, but also for gratitude and deep reflection. And the greatest consolation is this:
“The disease of a believer is an expiation for their sins; if endured with patience, it brings great rewards in the Hereafter.”
“O sick one! Be thankful, be patient so that your disease may become for you a mercy, a light, a source of happiness.”
Diseases are, in a way, divine compliments. For they prevent a person from becoming overly absorbed in worldly life and prompt reflection on the Hereafter.
Thus, in one sense, disease is a preparation for the true life of the Hereafter.
“A life spent in disease, if lived within the bounds of seeking God’s pleasure, may gain as much value as twenty hours of healthy life for every single hour.”
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