The Butterfly

A man found a butterfly cocoon. A small opening appeared. He watched the butterfly for hours as it struggled to force its body through the little hole. Then it stopped and it appeared as if it could go no further. The man decided to help. He snipped off the remaining bit of cocoon.
The butterfly emerged easily, but it had a swollen body and shrivelled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly expecting the wings to expand to support the body. It didn’t happen. The butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shrivelled wings. What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were Allah's way of forcing fluid from the body into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it was free from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need. If Allah allowed us to go through life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as 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 Favours...And Allah gave me Opportunities. I got nothing I wanted...but everything I needed!