Divine Tests: Steadfastness And The Journey Back To Allah

Trials, Steadfastness, and Returning to Allah

Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim

My dear respected brothers, respected elders and sisters, As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has sent us all into this world for a test and a trial. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sometimes tests us through good conditions to see if we make shukr. Otherwise Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tests us through bad conditions to see if we make sabr. At the end of the day, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants us to come back towards Him.

The initial conditions for every nation, for every qawm, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala brings them prosperity, health, wealth and happiness. And sometimes through our own actions, if we do not make shukr to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, then Allah ta'ala can bring difficult conditions as well.

The good conditions that we are enjoying, Allah ta'ala will keep them upon us unless we bring difficult conditions upon ourselves. Then when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala intends some evil destruction for a nation, then no one can stop it. But this at the end of the day is a mercy from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala as well, because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants us to come back towards Him.

Corruption Is the Result of Our Own Deeds

Whatever corruption is spreading out in the earth, in the land, in the sea — this is بِمَا كَسَبَتْ — as a result of that which people have earned with their own hands. The Ba tells us it's a result of our actions. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is making it very real. He could have just said بِمَا عَمِلُوا, but He said بِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِي النَّاسِ — which you earn with your own hands. You have brought it upon yourself through your own earning.

And then the lam of ta'leel tells us the reason why: لِيُذِيقَهُم بَعْضَ الَّذِي عَمِلُوا لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ. Allah ta'ala wants to give us a small taste. There are two levels of takhfif and ease here. One is that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is not giving us a full pot, a full plate. But لِيُذِيقَهُم — a little taste. Not a taste of what you have earned, what you deserve, but a little taste of بَعْضَ الَّذِي عَمِلُوا — a little portion of your action. And the purpose for that is لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ — so you make tawbah to Allah and come back to Allah. That's what He wants.

The Wisdom of Ibn 'Ata'illah al-Iskandari

Ibn 'Ata'illah al-Iskandari rahimahullah, regarding this concept, he said:

Whoever on his own accord does not come near to Allah, run towards Allah, despite all the caresses and kindness of love that Allah is expressing and ihsan — that is the first option. If he doesn't choose that, sometimes he may be dragged towards Allah with the chains of misfortune. If you have the easy way, if you don't want to come the easy way, come the hard way. But do come back towards Me.

This is the nature of life — that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants us to come back towards Him one way or the other. And at the end of the day, the bad conditions that come, we must remember that they are not always a form of 'azab. And we should never judge anyone who is going through a bad condition and say this is a sign that Allah is angry with you and that is why Allah is bringing this destruction upon you. Na'udhu billahi min dhalik.

If the bad condition comes and a person dies in that bad condition without recognizing Allah, without turning back to Allah — yes, it is a form of 'azab. However, if those bad conditions create within a person sabr, istiqamah, steadfastness, and he continues on, then these conditions are there to elevate that person's status. First is mahw us-sayyi'at — forgiveness of sins. And after all the sins are forgiven is rafa' ud-darajat — elevation of status.

The Prophets Were Tested the Most

Because the most beloved creation of Allah, the anbiya 'alayhimu s-salam, they also went through difficult times. And this by no means is a form of 'azab upon His beloved ones.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5648; Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2398)

The severest trials are upon the prophets, then those next in rank, then those next in rank. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala brought difficult trials upon Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and upon the early sahaba.

One time in the beginning era in Makkah, they came and complained to Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam: "Ya Rasulullah, where is Allah's help? What is going on? How are we being tortured?" Then Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was quiet, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala revealed the ayat about the nations of the past.

This concept is mentioned many times in the Qur'an. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says: Do the believers also believe they will be left — that they just make the claim that we believe — and they will not be tested?

Fitnah is a test that will determine if the goal is genuine or not. Literally, it's a test to see who is real and who is fake. Allah ta'ala will test to see who is true in their faith and who is fake in their faith, who is true in their claim and who is false in their claim. And in the previous nations, Allah ta'ala says that they were afflicted with test upon test and trials upon trials, until the messenger and the people along with the messengers all exclaimed:

"When is the help of Allah going to come?" Verily, the help of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is near indeed.

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam consoled the sahaba and said that there were times in the past when there would be saws placed on the skulls and heads of individuals — "Renounce Islam or we will saw you in half" — and they willingly got sawed in half. The sahaba ridwanullahi 'alayhim ajma'in are the best companions of any prophet, and their status is higher than any other people of the past. This entire ummah is كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ — the best ummah. And the best of this best ummah is the sahaba. So their status is the highest. And their tests were also naturally the greatest.

The Battle of the Trench — Shaken to the Core

This ayah, when Allah ta'ala speaks about the test of the previous nations, He uses the verb once: مَسَّتْهُمُ الْبَأْسَاءُ وَالضَّرَّاءُ وَزُلْزِلُوا — they were shaken. That's it. But when it comes to the sahaba, we see the same verb زُلْزِلُوا, but with additional description, regarding the Battle of Ahzab, the Battle of the Trench.

It was not a one or two day battle. It was a long siege. You have not only the mushrikoon, but the ahzab — multiple alliances of different tribes coming. And it is a long, drawn-out siege. You have enemies from inside: munafiqun, hypocrites; the Yahud, Banu Quraydah — they broke their pact and treaty with Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and were creating trouble from inside. Extreme cold, extreme hunger, extreme difficulty — they are guarding the trench. Some days there were non-stop attacks.

The Muslims are so few there is a salat al-khawf — half the army prays and half the army stands guard. فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ فَرِجَالًا أَوْ رُكْبَانًا — if it gets worse than that, continue praying wherever you are, standing or on your horse. But imagine how non-stop the attack was: on one day the entire Dhuhr time went, the whole Dhuhr missed, the whole 'Asr missed, the whole Maghrib missed. Isha, they prayed extremely late. Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam cursed those who caused them to miss their salah. There was not a single second break in the firing of the arrows because the numbers were much greater — more than 10,000 mushrikoon against the few sahaba.

Allah ta'ala says that your hearts were coming out to your throats, out of fear, out of hunger. And you began to lose hope. And that is when the believers were truly tested. وَزُلْزِلُوا زِلْزَالًا شَدِيدًا — so in comparison with the ayah regarding the previous nations, where it was just وَزُلْزِلُوا, here Allah ta'ala says they were shaken — truly shaken, severely shaken — with the maf'ul mutlaq زِلْزَالًا and the additional attribute شَدِيدًا — meaning they were shaken to their very core.

But what happened when they were told to fear the enemy? They said:

Allah is sufficient for us. He is the best one to take care of our affairs.

وَمَا زَادَهُمْ إِلَّا إِيمَانًا وَتَسْلِيمًا — it only increased their iman. It only increased their submission to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says that there are two categories of the believers:

There are those who gave the ultimate sacrifice of their lives, and as the second group, those who are eagerly awaiting — when is our opportunity? Those who gave their life and those who are waiting for their chance. Only two groups among the sahaba.

And Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam throughout the Qur'an was consoled by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The sahaba were also consoled: you are not the only ones who underwent trials for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. There were nations prior to you as well who underwent great trials, and they remained steadfast. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will reward them. And likewise Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will reward you.

The Story of the People of the Trench — Ashab al-Ukhdud

This is the surah and the ayat that were recited in the beginning. And there is a very inspiring story about these ayat. It is not a fictional story — it is a sahih hadith mentioned in Sahih Muslim under the tafsir of these ayat. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives many such examples in the Qur'an to console the heart and give strength: "Ya Rasulullah, I reveal these ayat and these stories of the past nations to console you." Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says to strengthen your heart.

Allah ta'ala takes multiple oaths. There is tafsir of these oaths, but in short, the meaning is: Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala swears by the sky that is filled with the constellations, and the Day of Promise that is coming — the Day of Judgment. One of the tafsirs is that شَاهِدٍ refers to the day of Jumu'ah — this very day of Jumu'ah — and مَشْهُودٍ refers to the day of 'Arafah.

May they be cursed, may they be destroyed, may they be condemned — those people of the trenches. This is not referring to the Battle of Ahzab. This is referring to around 70 years prior to the birth of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

Dhu Nawas was a mushrik king in Yemen. And he had a sahir — a magician — who was helping him in his batil kingdom. This magician was getting old and he said to the king: "I need a young boy — intelligent, a genius, a prodigy child — so I can teach him these black arts to continue strengthening your kingdom after I'm gone." So he went and found the best child he could.

But this child, as he was coming every day to learn from the sahir and the black magic, on the way there was an 'abid, a rahib, who was following the deen of 'Isa alayhi wa sallam. This is zaman al-fatrah — the gap years between al-Masih alayhi wa sallam and Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, between 'Isa and Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

The one who was following the correct deen of 'Isa alayhi wa sallam — we will not term him a Christian in the sense of today's Christians — rather he was on the deen of tawheed, the deen of Islam. The deen of Islam is from day one:

Ibrahim alayhi wa sallam was a Muslim, 'Isa alayhi wa sallam was a Muslim. In any case, this man was a Muslim scholar, 'abid, and worshipper. The boy would sit with him and learn the deen. And then when he would go to the magician, he would be late — he would be tardy, consistently — and he would get beaten. "Why are you late?" He would never say why he was late. He would say: "I just got late from home."

And then when he would be coming back, he would be stopped by the rahib and learn more of the deen. And he would come home late and get beaten by his parents — "Why did you not come home on time? Why are you dilly-dallying outside?" So he would continue to get beaten at home and beaten by the magician, but he continued to learn the deen.

He was learning haq and batil at the same time. He was a confused child, but he wanted to determine which one was the correct path. And what happened is — one day on the way — there was a big lion standing in the path and it was not interested in moving. The people were scared, they were terrified. So he took up a pebble and said: "O Allah, if the deen of my rahib teacher, my monk who is teaching me, is correct, then let this pebble have effect." And if it was the sahir — the magician — who was true, then do not put any effect in this pebble. When he threw the pebble, the lion died. Then he realized that the monk was, subhanAllah, on the correct deen.

He continued to learn from the monk. One day, the king noticed a member of his court who had been blind but now had complete vision — his vision was restored. So he stopped and said: "What happened? How did you get your vision back?"

After the incident with the lion, this boy had become very famous. Everyone who had been there — it was like a traffic jam on the road because the lion was blocking it — they all witnessed. They all started coming to him with their different cases. He was making du'a, asking them to accept Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and with that condition he was making du'a for them, and Allah was giving them shifa.

So the king saw the courtier who had regained his vision. The king asked him: "How did you get your vision?" He said: "Allah granted me this vision." He said: "Which Allah are you talking about?" He said: "The Allah I believe in." So he started torturing him until he revealed that he had received the knowledge of Allah and hidayah from the boy. Then he got the boy and started beating him: "Where did you learn this? You are supposed to be learning the black magic, the sihr." Then the boy ended up divulging the name of the monk. The monk was then killed.

Afterwards, the king wanted to kill the boy. He told some of his soldiers to take him to the top of the mountain, kill him, and throw him down. When they went to the top of the mountain, there was a small earthquake. They fell down and died. He came back alive. Then he told some troops to take him out in a boat in the middle of the ocean and drown him. A storm came. They all drowned. He came back.

He kept on trying to kill him and was not able to. And then the boy said: "You want to kill me? I will teach you how to kill me." He said: "Call all the people together in one huge plain. Then hang me up on the cross. Take an arrow and loudly say these words: بِسْمِ اللهِ رَبِّ هَذَا الغُلَام — I kill you in the name of the true Allah, the Lord of this boy — and shoot the arrow right here in my temple."

Since everything else was failing, the king did exactly that. And that is how the boy died. But when he died, his objective was fulfilled — the entire crowd accepted Islam. They said: آمَنَّا بِرَبِّ هَذَا الغُلَامِ — "We declare, we believe in the Lord of this boy." Now the king was in a very big predicament. This was exactly what he had been trying to avoid.

So this is where قُتِلَ أَصْحَابُ الْأُخْدُودِ comes into play. He ordered his troops to dig the trenches, fill them with firewood, and light the blazing fire. And he instructed the people: "When you come up to the trench and you see the blazing fire — renounce your deen, you don't have to jump in. But if you don't, you will be pushed into this fire."

The narrations say that tens of thousands of the qawm, the nation in Najran, in Yemen, were burning in these flames.

And then you have الَّذِينَ تَكَلَّمُوا فِي المَهْدِ — those babies who spoke from the cradle. 'Isa alayhi wa sallam is number one. Then you have this baby. There was a young mother holding her baby, standing on the trench: "Give up Islam or jump into the fire." She was hesitating — perhaps more out of love for her baby than for her own self. She was hesitating when she should have jumped into the fire. So that baby — one of the few babies in history to have spoken — said: "O my dear mother, do not fear. Jump into the fire. This is a few moments of pain and then you will receive Jannah."

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says: May they be destroyed — but they were fueling the fire. It's not that they gave the instruction from far away like killing somebody from a drone. No. They were sitting around the trenches, observing, enjoying, and relishing the scenes of the burning, witnessing the bodies burning. They were there and they were enjoying it.

وَمَا نَقَمُوا مِنْهُمْ إِلَّا أَن يُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيدِ — the only sin that they had was that they believed in Allah, the Most Strong, the Powerful — الحميد, the Worthy of all praise — الَّذِي لَهُ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ — the One to whom the kingdom of the heavens and the earth belongs. But guess what? وَاللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌ — Allah is also witnessing everything.

Look — they are killing the awliya Allah, yet Allah is giving them an opportunity for tawbah. He didn't say whoever is torturing believers will go to hell. He said: those who are torturing believing men and women — ثُمَّ لَمْ يَتُوبُوا — and still they don't make tawbah — فَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ الْحَرِيقِ — for them is the punishment of the fire of Jahannam and the punishment of the burning in this world as well.

Closing Du'a

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give us strength for our believing brothers and sisters throughout the world who are suffering far greater than us. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give us strength for the times that are coming — the times of test and trials are approaching us, as all the indicators are there. But we cannot afford to lose himmah and courage. We have to remain steadfast and strong.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala not test us beyond our ability. May Allah ta'ala allow us to be successful in the test of shukr and not give us the test of sabr.