Words from Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq on understanding the wisdom of life and the misfortunes that befall us:
And the Manicheans denied the evils and calamities that afflict people, for both of them say that the world had a compassionate and merciful Creator, so why did these hateful things occur in it? And the one who says this believes that human life in this world should be free from all trouble, and if it were so, man would be free from arrogance and rebellion. To what is not good in religion or worldly life, like what you see many of the wealthy and those who are raised in wealth and security, hoping for it, to the point that one of them forgets that he is a human being and a slave, or that harm befalls him and something unpleasant befalls him, that he should have mercy on the weak, or console the poor, or pity the afflicted, or be compassionate. He is kind to the weak or compassionate towards the distressed. If misfortunes befall him and he feels their pain, he learns a lesson and becomes wise in a place where he was ignorant and heedless. He returns to the place where he should be. Those who deny this harmful matter are like children who criticize bitter, unpleasant medicines and complain about being deprived of nutritious foods and are irritable. They love literature and work, and they love to devote themselves to it, and idleness, and they obtain every food and drink, and they indulge in what leads them to evil [indulgence] and habit, and what delicious foods bring them of harmful diseases and illnesses. And they have no benefit in literature, nor in medicine, even if there is some aversion to that.