Call 18
My servant knows that well-being and divine beneficence are in contentment and surrender, and in the heart’s tranquility amidst the vicissitudes of divine decree. The Real, the Most Exalted, desires to bring His servant to Himself, to keep his company, and to shorten the distance between them by burdening him with the harms of creation, poverty, sickness, calamities, and tribulations, which harm the ego, and as a result, the servant flees from all of this and begs Allah to distance him from all of such trials on account of his ignorance.
My Servant! How will I show you Mercy by removing that through which I’ve shown you Mercy?
The Messenger – may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him – said to Ali, may Allah ennoble his countenance: “Ali, if Allah takes a servant to account for a sin in this world, then His Generosity is greater than to punish him for it in the Hereafter, and whoever has his sin pardoned by Allah in this world, then His Honor is greater than to pursue him for it in the Hereafter, and if one has his sin concealed by Allah in this world, then His Majesty is greater than to reveal it in the Hereafter.” He masks the ugly and displays every good virtue — And He enrobes the servant in perfection and gratitude.