This Is My Faith - Al-fatlawi, Ali - الصفحة ٩٧ - Are Misfortunes Punishment?
· people always had a joyful life, they would have less respect for the blessings. This is because they got very used to it and never knew how it would feel like to lose it. So, by losing certain blessings, people would appreciate these blessings and make sure to maintain them. Tasting the sweetness and the bitterness of life is what make us understand the value of the blessings the Glorious Allah gave us. These are the benefits of misfortunes and disasters in general.
Anwar: Justice is a Pillar and there should be subdivisions originated from it. What are they?
Hasan: What results from the Divine Justice is understanding the purpose behind punishment; is it to take revenge or to make an example? It is far above the Almighty Allah to act out of emotion and agitation. So, it is not true to consider revenge as a pure purpose of punishment. It is true to say the Almighty Allah punishes to make an example for other people but this is only true for this life and not the afterlife.
Anwar: So what is the purpose behind punishment?
Hasan: I will give you a brief but conclusive answer now;