When does a servant know that this trial is a test or a punishment?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Q: If a person is afflicted with illness or a bad calamity in his person or wealth, how does he know that this trial is a test or anger from Allah?
A: Allah tests His servants with ease and hardship, and with severity and relief. He may test them with these to raise their ranks, elevate their mention, and multiply their good deeds, as He does with the prophets and messengers (peace and blessings be upon them) and the righteous among the servants of Allah, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:As-Sunan al-Kubra lil-Nasa'i 54:5. At other times, He does this because of sins and transgressions, so the punishment is hastened, as He the Exalted said: [Surah al-Shura: 30].
The general state of a person is falling short and not fulfilling the obligatory duties. Therefore, what befalls him is due to his sins and his falling short in the command of Allah. If one of the righteous servants of Allah is afflicted with some illness or the like, this is of the same kind as the trials of the prophets and messengers, for the raising of ranks and the magnification of rewards, and to be an example for others in patience and seeking reward.
So the conclusion is that the trial may be for the raising of ranks and the magnification of rewards, as Allah does with the prophets and some of the righteous. It may be for the expiation of sins, as in His saying, the Exalted: [Surah al-Nisa: 123], and the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): , and his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): Muwatta Malik 50:7. It may also be a hastened punishment due to transgressions and not hastening to repent, as in the hadith about him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2396Hasan (Darussalam). Al-Tirmidhi narrated it and graded it as good.
A: Allah tests His servants with ease and hardship, and with severity and relief. He may test them with these to raise their ranks, elevate their mention, and multiply their good deeds, as He does with the prophets and messengers (peace and blessings be upon them) and the righteous among the servants of Allah, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
The most severe people in trial are the prophets, then the next in rank, then the next.
أشد الناس بلاء الأنبياء ثم الأمثل فالأمثلAnd whatever strikes you of disaster - it is for what your hands have earned; but He pardons much.
وَمَا أَصَابَكُمْ مِنْ مُصِيبَةٍ فَبِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَيَعْفُو عَنْ كَثِيرٍThe general state of a person is falling short and not fulfilling the obligatory duties. Therefore, what befalls him is due to his sins and his falling short in the command of Allah. If one of the righteous servants of Allah is afflicted with some illness or the like, this is of the same kind as the trials of the prophets and messengers, for the raising of ranks and the magnification of rewards, and to be an example for others in patience and seeking reward.
So the conclusion is that the trial may be for the raising of ranks and the magnification of rewards, as Allah does with the prophets and some of the righteous. It may be for the expiation of sins, as in His saying, the Exalted:
Whoever does a wrong will be recompensed for it
مَنْ يَعْمَلْ سُوءًا يُجْزَ بِهِNo worry, no grief, no fatigue, no pain, no sadness, or no harm befalls a Muslim, not even a thorn he is pricked by, except that Allah expiates some of his sins because of it.
ما أصاب المسلم من هم ولا غم ولا نصب ولا وصب ولا حزن ولا أذى إلا كفر الله به من خطاياه حتى الشوكة يشاكهاAllah afflicts the one for whom He desires good.
من يرد الله به خيرا يصب منهWhen Allah wants good for his slave, He hastens his punishment in the world. And when He wants bad for His slave, He withholds his sins from him until he appears before Him on the Day of Judgement.
إذا أراد الله بعبده الخير عجل له العقوبة في الدنيا وإذا أراد الله بعبده الشر أمسك عنه بذنبه حتى يوافي به يوم القيامة
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.