Exegesis of the saying of Allah, the Exalted: “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”

The Shaykh : Thus, this hadith and its like are a comfort from Allah, Mighty and Majestic, to His believing servant, encouraging him to be patient when He tests him with a calamity. These calamities are of many types, and Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, has gathered them in a statement like His saying, Blessed and Exalted is He: .
The Muslim is often afflicted in his person, and indeed in the persons of many like him, with fear. So what is the situation? It varies according to the strength of this Muslim’s faith. If his faith is strong, this fear does not affect him or make him disturbed in mind; rather, he is calm in mind, as if he had not been afflicted with anything. This is because he keeps in mind that this world is created with such trials and tests, and that the more a Muslim is strong in his religion, the more he is tested in his body or his soul. So Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in this verse is pointing to types of trials , and we are afflicted with this often and often in our time. Therefore, the result for the believer from this is nothing but being rewarded by Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. And the more he is rewarded, the more his faith increases, and the more his faith increases, the stronger it becomes. As for the hunger mentioned in this verse, it is rare that the world today is afflicted with it as a world, although some countries complain of it due to some floods and the like. Therefore, the Muslim must show himself with such a calamity to be better than the open sinners or disbelievers; he should not fidget or complain about such hunger with which he may be afflicted.
Likewise, He, Mighty and Majestic, said: . The loss of wealth has many forms and very many. Among them is that his crops, for example, are afflicted with a pestilence that destroys them, so he becomes one who turns his hands over in regret. But he is not like the disbeliever who doubts the resurrection and rising. Rather, he is grateful to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, for what has befallen him of this trial. Then his trial becomes, as the hadith indicates, good for him. Among the loss of wealth is that a person is afflicted with theft, whether this theft is little or much. So he must receive this trial, also, with satisfaction and patience. As for the loss of lives, this is a matter that seems to be inevitable in this worldly life. Because the loss of lives is either radical, which is death itself, and death is the path of every living being, or it is relative, such as being afflicted in one’s health in one’s body, in the health of one’s wife or child, or the like. This, also, is a trial from Allah, Mighty and Majestic, with which He tests His servants.
The meaning of this trial from Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is not that the Muslim should remain without taking the means that save him from the trial. The matter of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, testing His servant is one thing, and the matter of this tested servant taking the means that save him from the trial is another thing. And of course, no one doubts, in my belief, that there is no contradiction between the descent of the trial upon the Muslim servant and his taking the cause to avert this trial from himself. For example, if he is afflicted with an illness, he takes the lawful treatments and medicines to repel this illness from himself. This does not contradict the descent of the trial and the Muslim’s satisfaction with this trial. Because he is commanded with two things: when the trial descends upon him, to be satisfied with it, and the other thing is to take the means to avert this trial from himself. And he should combine that with, if the material means for treating what has been sent down upon him of trial become narrow, that he humbles himself to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and asks Him to avert that trial from him.
Perhaps you remember a hadith that is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in which there is a reference to what we are discussing; and that is that there is no contradiction in taking the means to avert the trial. The hadith is narrated by Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) visited a man from the Muslims who had weakened and become like a chick. So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: . He said: Yes, I used to say: O Allah, whatever You are going to punish me with in the Hereafter, hasten it for me in this world. So he, (peace and blessings be upon him), said: . So in this hadith, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) criticizes this sick man whose trial became severe until his weight decreased and he became like a chick. So it was as if the Messenger (peace be upon him) was inspired or felt that this person was invoking against himself. And it became clear that the matter was so; he was asking his Lord, Mighty and Majestic, that he—while he is a sinful servant like all humans—if Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is going to punish him in the Hereafter, let Him hasten with that same punishment and pour it upon him in this world. So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) taught him to ask for the good of this world and the Hereafter, and to say: . Thus, the trial is of the nature of man, and especially the believer. So if he is afflicted with it, he must have patience and satisfaction. But on the other hand, there is no objection, and it may even be obligatory, that he takes the means to avert that trial from him as much as possible.