A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.

The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.

Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were Allah's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If Allah allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us.

We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never "fly"!

I asked for Strength......... And Allah gave me Difficulties to make me strong.

I asked for Wisdom......... And Allah gave me Problems to solve.

I asked for Prosperity......... And Allah gave me Brain and Brawn to work.

I asked for Courage......... And Allah gave me Danger to overcome.

I asked for Love.......... And Allah gave me Troubled people to help.

I asked for Favours......... And Allah gave me Opportunities.

I received nothing I wanted ........ I received everything I needed!

"So blessed be Allah, the best of creators!" Sura The Believer (23) verse 14

See Also

Quran

Read or Listen:

1. Al-Fatiha
2. Al-Baqara
3. Al Imran
4. An-Nisa
5. Al-Ma'ida
6. Al-An'am
7. Al-A'raf
8. Al-Anfal
9. At-Tawba
10. Yunus
11. Hud
12. Yusuf
13. Ar-Ra'd
14. Ibrahim
15. Al-Hijr
16. An-Nahl
17. Al-Isra
18. Al-Kahf
19. Maryam
20. Ta-Ha
21. Al-Anbiya
22. Al-Hajj
23. Al-Mu'minoon
24. An-Nur
25. Al-Furqan
26. Ash-Shu'ara
27. An-Naml
28. Al-Qasas
29. Al-Ankabut
30. Ar-Rum
31. Luqman
32. As-Sajda
33. Al-Ahzab
34. Saba
35. Fatir
36. Ya Sin
37. As-Saaffat
38. Sad
39. Az-Zumar
40. Ghafir
41. Fussilat
42. Ash-Shura
43. Az-Zukhruf
44. Ad-Dukhan
45. Al-Jathiya
46. Al-Ahqaf
47. Muhammad
48. Al-Fath
49. Al-Hujurat
50. Qaf
51. Adh-Dhariyat
52. At-Tur
53. An-Najm
54. Al-Qamar
55. Ar-Rahman
56. Al-Waqi'a
57. Al-Hadid
58. Al-Mujadila
59. Al-Hashr
60. Al-Mumtahina
61. As-Saff
62. Al-Jumua
63. Al-Munafiqun
64. At-Taghabun
65. At-Talaq
66. At-Tahrim
67. Al-Mulk
68. Al-Qalam
69. Al-Haaqqa
70. Al-Maarij
71. Nuh
72. Al-Jinn
73. Al-Muzzammil
74. Al-Muddathir
75. Al-Qiyama
76. Al-Insan
77. Al-Mursalat
78. An-Naba
79. An-Naziat
80. Abasa
81. At-Takwir
82. Al-Infitar
83. Al-Mutaffifin
84. Al-Inshiqaq
85. Al-Burooj
86. At-Tariq
87. Al-Ala
88. Al-Ghashiya
89. Al-Fajr
90. Al-Balad
91. Ash-Shams
92. Al-Lail
93. Ad-Dhuha
94. Al-Inshirah
95. At-Tin
96. Al-Alaq
97. Al-Qadr
98. Al-Bayyina
99. Az-Zalzala
100. Al-Adiyat
101. Al-Qaria
102. At-Takathur
103. Al-Asr
104. Al-Humaza
105. Al-Fil
106. Quraysh
107. Al-Ma'un
108. Al-Kawthar
109. Al-Kafirun
110. An-Nasr
111. Al-Masadd
112. Al-Ikhlas
113. Al-Falaq
114. Al-Nas