A Believer Will Definitely be Tested

A Believer Will Definitely Be Tested

Many times we're reminded of this. But reminder is beneficial for the mu'mineen, beneficial for the believer. And at times we need to be reminded because it brings our mind back to Allah and back to the Qur'an and to the ayat that Allah has revealed regarding certain circumstances that come in our life.

And that quality is the quality of sabr. Sabr can be of many types. The quality of sabr, which is patience — we speak about that.

Why Do Calamities Befall the Believer?

Allah has revealed the Qur'an. We believe in Allah. And then many a time in our lives we see that calamities befall us.

And some people question these calamities and these difficulties. And the question that they pose is very un-Islamic. In the sense that they ask, "Why me? Why did Allah have to do this to me?" And then they start questioning the faith that they have.

"I believe in Allah. I believe in Allah. And I believe in the last day. And I pray to Allah. And there are many people who do not believe in Allah. Many people who do not worship Allah. But it couldn't come to them — but it came to me."

This is a very dangerous question. We are questioning the actions of Allah. But before we get there, let's look in the Qur'an. What does the Qur'an tell us about this? Why does this happen?

Allah says in the Qur'an:

Allah says that people say we believe. Is that enough? In the time of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم, we know in Madinah there were many people. But some were termed as hypocrites. A hypocrite is a person who acts like he's a Muslim, but in his heart there's kufr. He does not believe in Allah. He is just there for benefit — he's scared that the Muslims will take his wealth, or he might have to become Muslim. So he poses as a Muslim, lives among the Muslims, but he's not a Muslim himself. They also said "we believe."

So what differentiates a true Muslim from a hypocrite? And Allah says, this is the same test we are going to put you through.

أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ أَن يُتْرَكُوا — Do people think that they say آمَنَّا — "we believe" — وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ — and they will not be tested in that statement of theirs?

وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ — Definitely, We have tested the people that were before them. Those who said "we believe," We have tested them, and We found them to be true. Then Allah says, by this test, We differentiate those people who believe from those who do not believe. Those who are true Muslims and those who are hypocrites — by this test, We separate the two.

And this is why Allah says that this will come, this will happen to us. In our life, trouble will come, difficulties will come, calamities will befall us. And Allah says, this is a test from Us. Allah wants to test us. And it is not that it only befalls us — Allah tests all the Muslims. And Allah in this verse told us that He tested the people before us, of the previous nations.

The Test of the Sahabah at the Battle of the Trench

Let's not go that far back. Let's just go up to the time of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم. When Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم was still alive, the sahabah رضي الله عنهم, who were with Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم, who believed in him — they worshipped Allah. But this was a thorn on the side of the mushrikeen, the polytheists and the non-believers, who could not stand Muslims on the face of the earth. So once they decided to gather their forces and wipe out the Muslims from the face of the earth. They came with the allied forces. And Allah describes the emotions and the situation of the Muslims at that time:

Allah says that so many people came — they came from all sides. It seemed as if they're raining from the top and coming from underneath them. When they came from on top of you and below you, from all sides. وَإِذْ زَاغَتِ الْأَبْصَارُ — their eyes rolled back in fear. وَبَلَغَتِ الْقُلُوبُ الْحَنَاجِرَ — the hearts reached up to their throats out of fear. And Allah says the Shaytan started whispering thoughts about Allah in their hearts — doubts. "What if? What if? What if?"

هُنَالِكَ ابْتُلِيَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَزُلْزِلُوا زِلْزَالًا شَدِيدًا — at that juncture and at that moment, Allah says the true Muslims were tested. A real test was put to them. And they were shaken to their core because of the test. But they were steadfast. And Allah let them prevail, because they were steadfast.

So Allah is going to test us in our life. And it's going to happen continuously. And the reason for that is Allah continuously wants to test us — are we true to the faith? Are we true to Allah? And the promise we make to Allah when we say لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ — "we will not worship anything besides You" — are we still true?

It is like a product that is brought into the market and we say, "It's been tested and proven. It has passed all tests." Allah wants those believers. Allah wants those mu'mineen. And Allah is going to differentiate between them and the liars. And this can come in any form — calamity can come in any form.

The Hadith of Continuous Testing

It has been reported by Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه that Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

(Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2399)

Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم says: Continuously Allah will test the believing men and women. فِي نَفْسِهِ — in themselves, in their bodies, with regards to themselves. وَوَلَدِهِ — and with regards to their children. وَمَالِهِ — and with regards to their wealth. And Allah will continuously keep testing us and testing us and testing us.

Until when? When will it end? حَتَّى يَلْقَى اللَّهَ — until we meet Allah. So we have to expect it to come. It's going to come in many forms, many shapes. We don't know how it's going to come. But we know it's going to come — until we meet Allah. And what is the purpose? وَمَا عَلَيْهِ خَطِيئَةٌ — and there is not even one single sin in his book of deeds. So by this Allah is cleansing us. Allah is making us stronger. Allah is making us steadfast and firm on the right path. And Allah is leading us down this line until we meet Him.

Testing in Oneself: The Du'a of Umm Salamah

The first thing Allah says — فِي نَفْسِهِ — calamity and difficulty will come to you with regards to yourselves. Umm Salamah رضي الله عنها mentions a hadith. She said:

She says that if any calamity befalls any person, but he says that which Allah commanded him to say — which is إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ — Allah says in the Qur'an:

Allah says if any calamity befalls you, then say إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ — "We are from Allah and to Allah we will return." And whoever says this and also makes the du'a:

"O Allah, reward me for this difficulty of mine and grant me something which is better" — إِلَّا أَخْلَفَ اللَّهُ لَهُ خَيْرًا مِنْهَا — except that Allah will grant him something which is better.

And she tells her own story: that when Abu Salamah رضي الله عنه and Umm Salamah رضي الله عنها migrated to Madinah, and after some time Abu Salamah رضي الله عنه passed away. Umm Salamah رضي الله عنها was devastated. She says that he was such a great husband — there is no one equal to him. But then Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم instructed her to read this du'a, and he said that Allah will give her something which is better. But she thought, "I do not see anyone who is equal to Abu Salamah رضي الله عنه — the first household, the first family to migrate to Madinah for the sake of Allah. Where will I find someone like this?"

But she says, "I read this du'a that Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم instructed me to read, and because of this du'a, after some time a proposal of nikah came directly from Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم, and I got married to Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم." And she says, "Definitely Allah has given me someone better. There is no one better than Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم. And I thought there was no one better than Abu Salamah رضي الله عنه — but Allah has definitely given me someone better."

Testing Through Children: The Story of Rasulullah's Grandchild

The hadith also says the calamity will befall us with regards to our children — وَوَلَدِهِ. Usamah ibn Zayd رضي الله عنه mentions that Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم was sitting in a gathering in a masjid when a messenger came from one of his daughters, saying that her son was about to breathe his last — "so come quickly." Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم sent a message back — not only to her, but to the entire ummah till the Day of Judgment — to make us understand one simple principle. And what did Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم say?

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1284; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 923)

Verily, whatever Allah takes — it is Allah's belonging. Whatever Allah gives — it belongs to Allah. Everything has a time limit. Every single thing has a time limit. Whether we're talking about ourselves, the life we have, the car we drive, the house we live in, the phone we use — every single thing Allah gives us is a ni'mah from Allah, and everything has a time limit. It's ticking — the seconds are ticking. But when it goes away, when Allah takes that ni'mah away, what do we do? فَلْتَصْبِرْ وَلْتَحْتَسِبْ — Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم is encouraging his daughter: have patience and hope for a reward from Allah.

And then she sends a message back, emphasizing — please come. Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم gets up from the gathering. With him is Sa'd ibn 'Ubadah رضي الله عنه, Mu'adh ibn Jabal رضي الله عنه, Usamah ibn Zayd رضي الله عنه, and many other people. They all get up and proceed to the house of Rasulullah's صلى الله عليه وسلم daughter. The child was put in Rasulullah's صلى الله عليه وسلم lap. The words of the hadith are that the child's soul was jumping — meaning it was about to breathe its last, it was having a hard time breathing. Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم is holding the child and tears are flowing down his face.

Then Sa'd رضي الله عنه, when he sees this, asks: مَا هَذَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ؟ — "What is this? The tears that are flowing down your eyes?" Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said: هَذِهِ رَحْمَةٌ — "This is mercy. Allah has placed it in His merciful servants."

What do we learn from this part of the hadith? It means that we are human. Our hearts are not made out of stone. We are not statues. We are not robots. We have feelings. We have emotions. When these calamities befall us — anytime we face difficulty with regards to ourselves or our family — we will be emotionally affected. And it is okay to shed a few tears. But it is not okay to question the actions of Allah. So just because a person is shedding a few tears or he is feeling down doesn't mean that he does not have sabr. It will happen. But still a person should be steadfast and hope for reward from Allah.

So here Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم promised that calamities will befall you with regards to yourself and your children and your wealth. But what do we do? We turn to Allah. We say إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ, and we say اللَّهُمَّ أْجُرْنِي فِي مُصِيبَتِي وَاخْلُفْ لِي خَيْرًا مِنْهَا — and definitely Allah will give us something better.

Sabr at the First Strike

Just to cap it off, I'll mention one last hadith. When Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم was passing by one of the cemeteries in Madinah, there was a lady there — she was crying over a grave. Her child had passed away and she was shedding tears. Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم told her, "Have patience." She did not look up — she does not know who made that statement. She says, "You do not know the calamity that has befallen me." Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم carries on. Afterwards some person tells her that that was Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم. Then she goes to seek forgiveness from Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم. She goes to his house, requests his presence, and tells him, "I did not know it was you." Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم makes a statement there:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1283; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 926)

That when a person has sabr, it's going to be at the first strike. When immediately the calamity falls upon us — that is when sabr is really enacted. That is when we are supposed to have patience. Not after a year or two years. If someone passes away in our family, we wail, we cry, we question the action of Allah — and then after a month or two we say, "I'll make sabr." Everyone makes sabr at the end. The sabr is actually counted immediately, at the first strike of difficulty. إِنَّمَا الصَّبْرُ عِنْدَ الصَّدْمَةِ الْأُولَى.

Sabr in Anger

And on a later note — the sabr, as I mentioned, it can come in many forms. When we are angry with someone, we also should have sabr. Not that if someone makes us angry and he is bigger than us or stronger than us, and we know if we mess with him we are going to get a few punches — then we say, "Okay, I make sabr." But then there is someone who is younger than us, and we want to show our strength.

A friend of mine mentioned that he was going for Jumu'ah, and with him was another friend of his. He says this friend of his was a little bulky and had a very hot temper. So they came to the parking lot of the masjid. Immediately another car pulled up and they were both trying to get to one place — possibly one parking spot. Now this car goes, they both accelerate at the same time — brake, accelerate, brake. Now he gets a little angry. He gets out of the car. From the other car a small Bangladeshi uncle gets out of the car also. So he looks down upon him and says, "See me after Jumu'ah." The uncle looks at him and says, "See me now." So he says, "Okay, you can go."

This highlights that we like to show our strength and we like to show our emotions when there are people younger than us, or smaller than us, or those who we think we can overpower. But sabr — again — is when the calamity or anything we don't like first befalls us. Sabr is to be practiced at that time.

May Allah grant us the ability to understand this. And may Allah grant us the ability to practice and propagate what has been said.

Please pray your sunnah.