“And strive in His cause as ye ought to strive, (with sincerity and under discipline)…”
al-Hajj 22; 18
In our life it is impossible to make a lasting achievement without paying its price first. The greater the reward, the greater the price that will be paid. Just like the worldly gains the situation is same for the spiritual rewards. The price for the spiritual rewards might even be greater. Paradise and the manifestation of Allah are the greatest rewards a servant can attain. And their price is stated in the following verse:
اِنَّ اللهَ اشْتَرى مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ اَنْفُسَهُمْ وَاَمْوَالَهُمْ بِاَنَّ لَهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ
“Allah has purchased of the Believers their persons and their goods; for their (in return) is the Garden (of Paradise): they fight in His Cause, and slay and are slain…” (al-Tawba 9; 111)
It is normal to have obstacles before any task needed to be done. One who intends to do a good deed should also take this fact into consideration. The obstacles will be great to the extent of the greatness of the deed.
The highest spiritual rank a human being can attain in this world is the rank of prophethood. Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) who was divinely appointed to this task overcame these obstacles with the help of Allah the Almighty. His greatest task was to take all the obstacles away and deliver Allah’s Will to human beings. When performing this task, many fierce enemies that did not want people’s welfare appeared before the prophets. This is stated in a verse:
“Likewise did we make for every Messenger an enemy- evil ones among men and Jinns, inspiring each other with flowery discourses by way of deception. If your Lord had so planned, they would not have done it: so leave them and their inventions alone.” (al-An’am 6; 112)
Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) used the most appropriate methods to overcome the obstacles before his mission. First he endured all the tortures and oppressions of his and his followers’ enemies with patience and perseverance. After believers were permitted to fight against their enemies during the Medinan period, he began to employ struggle along with patience as a method for removing obstacles.