And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Indeed, the magnitude of the reward is with the magnitude of the trial, and indeed, when Allah the Exalted loves a people, He tests them.

The Shaykh : And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And the more severe the trial is, and the more the person is patient, the greater and larger the reward becomes, because Allah Mighty and Majestic is just. So if that is the case, He does not reward the doer of good with less than his good deed. So if the trial is great and the person is patient, his reward is great. And if it is light, the reward is light. For example, the reward for a thorn that pricks one is not like the reward for a hand that is broken. Which is greater? The breaking is greater, so the reward is greater. And the loss of ten units of wealth is not like the loss of a hundred units of wealth. And the loss of one child is not like the loss of two children, for example. So the magnitude of the reward is from the magnitude of the trial. And this is undoubtedly evidence of the perfection of the justice of Allah Mighty and Majestic, and that He does not wrong.
“When He loves a people, He tests them.” Now, one might say: The matter implies the opposite; if He loves a people, He should please them. No? Just as if you love someone now, you bestow upon him. But we say: Allah is Wise, Exalted and Majestic is He. He tests them, and then afterwards He gives them more than what it was. Meaning, He tests them with what He decrees upon them from religious matters or cosmic matters. I mean, from religious matters or cosmic matters. The trial is not only with cosmic matters, such as illnesses, the loss of wealth and family, and the like. Even religious matters. Look at the saying of Allah Mighty and Majestic to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): So He reminded him of the blessing and commanded him to be patient, because this revelation that Allah sent down upon him has an obligation with which he is charged. So this is from the trial. Likewise, when Allah loves a people, He tests them. He tests them with matters that confront them, to see if they will be patient regarding the prohibitions of Allah, yes, or if they will not be patient. As came in the hadith in This is a trial, isn’t it? And what is its reward? Allah shades him in His shade on the Day when there is no shade except His shade. So do not think that the trial is only in cosmic matters, like the calamities that… in cosmic matters and religious matters. If Allah Mighty and Majestic loves you, He tests you with something to purify you.
This is a conditional clause, and the clause is the answer to the condition. Meaning: “For him is pleasure” — from where? From Allah. And if Allah is pleased with a person, He also makes the people pleased with him.
And the apparent meaning here is that the intended meaning of “displeasure” is what comes from the cosmic, predestined calamities, meaning like what happens to the body or the wealth or the like. And his saying Why did he not say “upon him,” even though the context implies that it should be said “upon him,” like His saying the Exalted: ? In a context like this, some scholars say that the lam in it means “upon,” like His saying the Exalted: “For them is the curse,” meaning “upon them is the curse.” And some people of knowledge said: No, the lam is as it is, for deserving. So it is more eloquent than “upon,” meaning as if he deserved this, meaning the displeasure became upon him by deserving, isn’t it? By deserving. Like “The curse has become binding upon them” — by deserving or without deserving? By deserving. So it is more eloquent than their saying “upon them is the curse,” even though he also expresses it with “upon” in other places: And this is more correct, that when the lam enters a thing, and the context implies that the ruling should be connected to it with “upon,” then in it is a benefit that this thing is deserved for him, and that the lam in it is for deserving.
And in this hadith is the affirmation of love for Allah Mighty and Majestic, and the affirmation of displeasure, and the affirmation of pleasure. Three attributes. Are they from the attributes of actions or the essence? They are from the attributes of actions, because the criterion for the attributes of actions is: everything that is connected to the will of Allah. Everything that is connected to His will is an attribute of action. So for example, if He loves a people, is it connected to His will, isn’t it? To His will. “If He loves” — “if” is for the future. So the love occurs, so it is from the actual attributes.
And here is an issue, which is: When Allah Glorified and Exalted is He loves a servant, does He love him from eternity, or does He love him when the cause of love exists, and hate him if the cause of hatred exists?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : This is the correct view, and it is in accordance with reason. So at that time, this person, on one day, Allah loves him, and on another day, Allah Mighty and Majestic hates him, yes, because the ruling revolves with its cause.
And in it is also the affirmation of pleasure for Allah and the affirmation of displeasure, and they are two actual attributes.
And the rule of the people of figurative interpretation regarding these three attributes is that they deny them. They say that Allah does not love, and some of them say He is not loved either. They say that Allah the Exalted does not love, nor is He pleased, nor is He displeased, because these attributes imply deficiency and likeness to the created. And the refutation of them has been mentioned repeatedly and repeatedly, and praise be to Allah. And they interpret, for example, love and pleasure with what? With the reward or the desire for the reward, and displeasure with the punishment or the desire for the punishment.
And the correct view is that these are attributes established for Allah Mighty and Majestic, like the rest of His attributes that those who interpret these attributes affirm. But they are established for Allah in the manner befitting Him. And it is obligatory for us regarding every attribute by which Allah described Himself, two things are obligatory for us: affirming it in its reality and its apparent meaning, and the second thing: being cautious from asking how an attribute is or comparing Allah to creation.
Everything by which Allah described Himself, you must affirm it. Do you judge Allah, or is Allah the one who judges you? Allah is the one who judges. How do you say Allah does not love when He affirmed for Himself love? How do you say He is not pleased when He affirmed for Himself that He is pleased? How do you say He does not get angry when He affirmed for Himself that He gets angry? Are you more knowledgeable about Allah than Allah? No. So affirm what Allah affirmed for Himself, but disavow asking how an attribute is or comparing Allah to creation, and with this you will be safe. So if you stand before Allah Mighty and Majestic on the Day of Resurrection, and He says, “What reached you in My Book or on the tongue of My Messenger that I love, and you say that I do not love?” What is the answer of the person? Yes? He has no answer, he has no answer, because the matter is clear. A clear, explicit word. But beware of comparing Allah to creation or asking how an attribute is, and you will be safe. And at that time, you will be taking the texts in affirmation and negation: . Yes.