We gave this fruit to every one afflicted with a trial who is patient with it, and this is the previous hadith: how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) purifies the one afflicted with a calamity from his sins, just as fire purifies iron from its dross.

The Shaykh : We gave this fruit to every one afflicted with a trial who is patient with it, and this is the previous hadith: how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) purifies the one afflicted with a calamity from his sins, just as fire purifies iron from its dross. It is self-evident that if Allah (Mighty and Majestic) purifies a sinful Muslim from his sins and transgressions because of something, he will enter the Paradise of his Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He) without any punishment. If the hadith of the black woman is explicit in the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) promise that she would go to Paradise, then the hadith before it contains a similar promise for every one afflicted who is patient with his trial. Indeed, there are other hadiths explicit regarding some trials, such as his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) about Allah (Mighty and Majestic)—a hadith qudsi—. Therefore, as our brothers who attend our lessons feel with us, the hadiths concerning patience with trials are numerous and very diverse in wording and meaning, but they all converge on one result: that the patient one’s end is that Allah will forgive his sins according to his patience and according to his trial, and that the outcome of that will be entering Paradise. Therefore, the meanings of these hadiths should be concentrated in our hearts so that they help us live a happy life in this worldly life. Even though the disbelievers and hypocrites, who do not believe in our faith and do not share our religion, think that we live a difficult, straitened life—as our reality as Muslims testifies first, and then from the faith perspective, which is the original basis—the divine news comes to say: . As for the one who believes in Allah (Mighty and Majestic) , it does not mean that the one who turns away from My remembrance should not be wealthy, should not be comfortable, or should not enjoy all the adornments of this world. No, it may be so, and yet these disbelievers live a straitened life, as Allah the Exalted said. Reality testifies to this, especially regarding the educated class of people who follow the news of the disbelieving European and American world: how the world has opened up to them, and the more they increase from it, the more straitened their life becomes. And Allah the Great has spoken the truth. As for the believer, you find him, even if he lives in straitened material circumstances, to be content in eye and at peace in soul; he does not get bored or complain. This is because the matter is as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said in a hadith in Muslim: . This is from the material aspect: the world is a prison for the believer, and he lives in it as a prisoner lives. But what does a prisoner usually seek? To break out of this home in which he was thrown, which is a narrow home, into a wide home. Since the believer believes in what came in the Shari'ah regarding the resurrection and rising, and a Paradise whose width is the heavens and the earth, he can hardly believe that he will come out of this prison into that good, wide land. Unlike the disbeliever, who lives in a Paradise from the material aspect, but from the psychological aspect, as you heard in the previous verse. I return to say that we should remember the meanings of these hadiths so that we may live this happy, good life. I want to draw attention to something else on the occasion of the Messenger’s (peace and blessings be upon him) presentation of this woman and his giving her the choice between patience and patience leading to Paradise, or between him making du'a for her. She chose Paradise and chose the patience that leads to Paradise. I want to mention that people differ in their natures and their patience. This woman, in this respect—because she chose patience with the trial of Allah (Mighty and Majestic)—was better than that man. This is contrary to the rule; the rule is that men are better than women, but every rule has exceptions, and this is of that kind. That man, whose story is well-known and is often mentioned by those who seek nearness to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) through the servants, the awliya (close friends of Allah), and the righteous, is the blind man who came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to complain of his blindness and ask him (peace and blessings be upon him) to make du'a for him, exactly as the black woman did. The Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) position is consistent and does not differ in his advice to the community; there is no difference for him between men and women. Just as he said to the woman here, “If you wish, be patient and you will have Paradise, and if you wish, I will make du'a,” so he said to the man exactly the same: . He said, “No, make du'a for me.” The man did not want to be patient; he wanted to enjoy looking and seeing as people look and see. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) taught him that instruction which people have transmitted and inherited in the books of the Sunnah, where he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . So the man went, performed wudu, and made du'a with what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught him, and sought nearness through the seeking of nearness contained in this Prophetic instruction, which boils down to seeking nearness through the du'a of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), namely his saying: “O Allah, I ask You and turn to You by Your Prophet, the Prophet of Mercy. O Muhammad, I have turned to You by him to my Lord to cure me.” As if he was saying to him: O Messenger of Allah, you are the best of those who promised and fulfilled. You promised me that you would make du'a for me and ordered me to pray and make du'a. So here I am, I have prayed the two rak'ahs and turned to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with this du'a. So now help me, assist me in fulfilling my need. The entire hadith, as explained in our treatise on the types and rulings of seeking nearness, revolves around seeking nearness through the du'a of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), not through his person. I do not want to delve into this issue now, especially since it is explained in that treatise. Rather, I intended to remind by this hadith of the difference between one person and another: the difference between an old black woman who is patient and another person who is not patient and asks the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to make du'a for him, so he actually does make du'a for him because he promised him, and the blind man returns seeing. This is a karamah (a miracle granted to a righteous person) from Allah (Mighty and Majestic) for His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and a mu'jizah (a prophetic miracle) for him that will not be repeated, no matter how much the seekers of nearness seek nearness and no matter how much the wrongdoers make du'a with such a du'a. They are only deceiving themselves, because in the du'a the one making du'a says: . Now, this mutual intercession is impossible. Therefore, I say that no matter how much these wrongdoers, who interpret the hadith contrary to its correct interpretation, make du'a, this history is fourteen centuries long, and those afflicted with blindness are in the millions, not thousands. This incident will not be repeated. Why? Because there is no one who makes du'a with this specific du'a, not because there is no Prophet after him (peace and blessings be upon him). If we take a lesson from this story, we must emulate this black woman in what we are afflicted with, where she acquired Paradise through her patience with her trial. As for that man, Allah knows about him, and he did not engage in the cause by which reward is acquired, which is patience. So we ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to make us among the patient. What is Professor Ali reminding us of with this shameful, regrettable difference? This woman is exposed out of necessity, and yet she engages in the possible causes to get rid of this exposure, in which she has no choice or will. Her last resort is to come to her Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and ask him to make du'a to Allah for her to cure her of this epilepsy that results in the aforementioned exposure. Then she asks the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) finally, when she prefers to remain in this trial for the sake of Paradise, “Make du'a to Allah for me so that I am not exposed.” This is a woman who is exposed against her will, and yet she asks her Prophet to make du'a to Allah for her. Where is this compared to our women today who expose themselves intentionally? And not only that, but they expose themselves out of love, display, tabarruj (a woman's display of her adornment), and boasting over their female counterparts. Where are these women compared to that black woman? This is how people differ in faith and in distancing themselves from responding to correct faith. Now we return to answering some questions to the extent that we are able to answer.