Chapter: On Trial and Tribulation

بابٌ فی الابتلاء — آزمائش کے بارے میں

بَابٌ فِي الِابْتِلَاءِ — On Trial and Tribulation

وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ

"And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth, lives, and fruits." (Al-Baqara, 2:155). Allah tests His servants to distinguish the sincere from the insincere, and to elevate the ranks of those who prove steadfast.

وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ حَتَّىٰ نَعْلَمَ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ مِنكُمْ وَالصَّابِرِينَ وَنَبْلُوَ أَخْبَارَكُمْ

"And We will surely test you until We make evident those who strive among you and the patient, and We will test your affairs." (Muhammad, 47:31)

The author discusses three categories of knowledge — divine self-knowledge ('ilm dhati), divine acquired knowledge ('ilm kasbi), and divine enacted knowledge ('ilm fi'li) — and explains that tribulation enacts and manifests for the community what Allah has known from eternity. Trials are the vehicle by which latent faith is actualised and displayed. He notes that Allah's mercy always encompasses these trials, as the believer's ultimate destination is Paradise.

لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَرْبَعَةُ أَعْدَاءٍ: مُؤْمِنٌ يَحْسُدُهُ وَمُنَافِقٌ يُبْغِضُهُ وَشَيْطَانٌ يُضِلُّهُ وَكَافِرٌ يُقَاتِلُهُ

Narrated by Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him): 'The believer has four enemies: a fellow believer who envies him, a hypocrite who hates him, a Satan who leads him astray, and a disbeliever who fights him.' (Kanz al-'Ummal)