We were talking about trials in a person's life. A trial is not a Divine punishment. It is an experience a person goes through. When God creates life, He does not make it all flowers without thorns, or all thorns without flowers. Life is full of thorns surrounded by flowers. Happiness is accompanied by sadness, and poverty by richness.
Life includes all these conditions. Man does not attain pleasure without pain, happiness without sadness, or success without hard work. Each of us has experienced these feelings. No one succeeds in school without great effort. Whoever seeks sustenance faces many hardships. This also happens in political cases, cases of freedom and independence, and struggles for power. A person exerts huge efforts and faces hardships. God tells man he must live through these problems to succeed. There is no enjoyment without trouble, no success without effort, and no profit without loss.
How do you proceed in this life? Do you fail and lament your luck? Do you leave school if it is exhausting? Do you quit seeking sustenance if it costs you hardships and travel? Or do you persevere to taste the good consequences of your efforts? The Holy Quran emphasizes this point. It mentions the trial as a strife that shakes man's life and puts him on the edge of failure or success: "Do the people think that they will be left to say, 'We believe' and they will not be tried?'" Surah Al-Ankabut (29:2)
Do you think Allah accepts pronouncing faith verbally without proving it through deeds? God aims to test your faith. He exposes you to many troubles and ups and downs that challenge your faith. You might encounter challenges, losses, and temptations. Many people face society's negligence as a kind of trial. For example, some merchants might not prefer a committed person because they want an uncommitted one. They might not like a woman with a scarf because they want someone without one to please customers. This is a test from Allah. Will a person stand up for his faith, or will he fail, preferring worldly life? Allah, the Most Exalted comments: "But We have certainly tried those before them, and Allah will surely make evident those who are truthful, and He will surely make evident the liars." Surah Al-Ankabut (29:3). Another verse says: "And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruit but give good tidings to the patient." Surah Al-Baqarah (2:155)
Allah, the Most Exalted tells us what we will face in life. He tells us about insecurities, like fearing aggression from an enemy. A person might face extreme poverty. He might face losses in money and dear relatives. He might be tried by the loss of crops. Allah, the Most Exalted says a person might face such disasters. When hit by failure or fear, some people cannot endure. They lose balance and may commit suicide, whether physical or social. Here, Allah calls for patience: "but give good tidings to the patient." Such patience opens the road for a person to examine life and its history. He will realize that many people lived the same experiences. Many who lived in fear later lived in safety. Many poor people became rich. Many hungry people became satisfied. When they face losses, they are compensated for their endurance: "And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits but give good tidings to the patient. Who, when disaster strikes them, say, 'Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.'" Surah Al-Baqarah (2:155-156)
We must admit that Allah possesses us, and we do not possess ourselves. He created us. He watches our existence. Allah created life in two colors, not one. There is no sadness without happiness, no fear without safety, and no poverty without richness. This is how life continues. This world is limited. Man does not gain one thing without losing another. If he wants success, he must spend nights studying and working. A poet says:
The harder you work,
The higher your positions become.
And whoever asks for the best spends his nights working.
Another verse says:
You love Laila, and you sleep!
By your life, is this a reasonable request?
Here, Laila means knowledge and success. Some poets say: If it were not for hard work, people would have spent their lives in poverty.
Allah wants us to know we are His property. He is our Allah Who created us and possesses us. We cannot possess ourselves. To Him we eventually return. "Who, when disaster strikes them, say, 'Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.'" Most importantly, there is no immortal problem in this mortal life. Man returns to his Creator to be judged and rewarded for his patience. What is their reward? "Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is those who are the [rightly] guided." Surah Al-Baqarah (2:157)
This means God bestows blessings upon man, just as He does for the Prophet. God's prayer is not bowing or prostrating; it is mercy, forgiveness, and raising the person's levels. Just as God prays for you, His angels do too. What could be more rewarding for the patient than gaining what Prophet Muhammad (p.) gained? "Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace." Surah Al-Ahzab (33:56). Just as Allah prays for the Prophet (p.), He also bestows blessings upon the patient people. He raises their levels in the afterlife and forgives them: "Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is those who are the [rightly] guided." Surah Al-Baqarah (2:157). They also attain His mercy that covers all aspects of man's existence. It includes his sustenance, health, safety, and every goodness he gets. "And it is those who are the [rightly] guided."
This is the road to the right path. It means man controls himself. Challenges and turmoil do not easily defeat him.