Tribulation and calamity cuts off the chain of thoughts about other than God. It eliminates impurities, and saves man from the temptation of the desire and its entanglement.
Prophet Jacob (Pbuh) suffered from the absence of Joseph (Pbuh) for 20, or according to a narration, 40 years! Undoubtedly, God does not want to bother a believer, but rather intends to make him sincere through the affliction, so that his heart is focused only on God; affliction is the best ladder of Solūk (spiritual growth and self-purification).
In the meantime, the kind of Solūk which is based on calamity is more effective and more enlightening for the Guardians of God. It’s because our afflictions can refine our souls as much as we deserve. But the calamity of the Guardians of God is as great as them. Therefore, in the Al-Nudba Supplication, we praise God for the afflictions of His guardians,
اللهُمَّ لکَ الحَمدُ عَلی ما جَری فی قَضائِکَ فی اولیائک
“O Allah! (All) praise is for Thee for that which Thou decided upon and resolved in the matter of Thy friends…”
«اللهُمَّ لکَ الحَمدُ حَمدَ الشّاکِرینَ لکَ عَلی مُصابِهِم»
The status of “Wisdom on praise for the fate of the guardians” is a high status that not everyone can achieve, but only those who are grateful. For example, in the Zīyārat Āshūrā, we praise God for succeeding in understanding and sharing in the calamity of the Sayyid al-Shuhadāʾ, and we can imagine ourselves among them. We say, “O’ Allah! To You belongs the praise, the praise of those who are thankful to You for their tribulations.”
The satisfaction of Imām Ḥusayn’s (pbuh) companions on the day of Āshūrā, was also due to reaching the level of realizing the calamity of the guardian of God! Where are those who are looking forward to the Emergence who know and realize the calamity of the Imām Zamān (mGehr)’s Occultation. Also, [we need] the ones that realize the heavy burden, which during the years has left new wounds on the Imām’s shoulder!