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” and there is no contradiction between

The Shaykh : So this hadith and its like are a source of comfort from Allah (Mighty and Majestic) for His believing servant, strengthening his patience 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) . Often, the Muslim person is afflicted in his person, and indeed many of his like are afflicted, 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 and does not make him disturbed in mind; rather, he is calm in mind as if he had not been afflicted with anything, 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 points to types of trial , and we are afflicted with this often and often in our time. Therefore, the result for the believer from that 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, the world today is rarely afflicted with it as a whole, 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 other open sinners or disbelievers; he should not fidget or be annoyed by such hunger with which he may be afflicted. Likewise, He (Mighty and Majestic) said . The loss of wealth has many and very many forms, including that his crops, for example, are afflicted by a pest that destroys them, so he becomes one who turns his hands over (in regret). But it is not so for the disbeliever who doubts the resurrection and rising; rather, he is a grateful person to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) for what he was afflicted with of this trial, so his trial then becomes a good thing for him, as the hadith indicated. And among the loss of wealth is that a person is afflicted by theft, whether this theft is small or large; he must receive this trial 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, and the like. This is also a trial from Allah (Mighty and Majestic) by which He tests His servants. And the meaning of this trial from Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is not that the Muslim should not take the means that save him from the trial. The matter of Allah’s (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 naturally, no one doubts, I believe, that there is no contradiction between the descent of trial upon the Muslim servant and his taking the cause to avert this trial from him. For example, if he is afflicted with a disease, he takes the prescribed treatments and medicines to repel this disease 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 him. And if the material means for treating what was sent down upon him of trial become narrow, he should humble himself to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and ask 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, which is that there is no contradiction in taking the means to avert 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 become weak and was 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: . In this hadith, the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) criticizes this sick man whose trial became severe until his weight decreased and he became like a chick. So it is 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), and he is a servant and sinner like all humans, that if Allah (Mighty and Majestic) was going to punish him in the Hereafter, He should hasten that same punishment and pour it upon him in this world. So the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) taught him to ask for the good of this world and the Hereafter and to say: . So trial is of the nature of man, especially the believer. 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, to take the means to avert that trial from him as much as possible.