Allah has said in numerous places in the Qur’an about the testing nature of the life of this world:
“[He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed – and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving.” [Al-Mulk: 67:2]
“Indeed, We created man from a sperm-drop that We may test him; and We made him hearing and seeing.” [Al-Insan: 76:2]
“And it is He who created the heavens and the earth in six days – and His Throne had been upon water – that He might test you as to which of you is best in deed.” [Hud 11:7]
“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, Who, when disaster strikes them, say, ‘Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.” [Al-Baqarah 2:155–156]
“Do people think that they will be left to say, ‘We believe,’ without being tested? We certainly tested those before them. And Allah will clearly distinguish between those who are truthful and those who are liars.” [Al-Ankabut:29:2-3]
The Nature of Testing
When we think of TESTS, we often think of it in a negative light. We don’t like the idea of being tested because from experience we have come to know tests as a means to see who passes and who fails. We think test, and our mind goes
‘here comes hardship, discomfort and compromise.’
But it doesn’t have to be this way. We can change our experience of testing because we know it is from Allah, and whatever comes from Allah to a believer is a gift and an opportunity for elevation.
Ata’illah captures the nature of testing times of being deprived as times of gifts.
“When He opens up your understanding of deprivation [al-man‘], the deprivation becomes the same as the gift [al-ata’].” [Hikam: 84]
And the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
There is nothing that befalls a believer even if it is the pricking of a thorn except that Allah has written it for him a good or his sins are removed.” [Muslim]
And in another narration:
“The believer is not afflicted by the prick of a thorn or what is worse (or greater) than that, except that by it Allah raises him in rank and removes sin from him.” [Tirmidhi]
Redefining tests
When Allah tests us, it’s a chance for us to be elevated to the next level. He shapes the world around us, He creates the environment for us to come forward and express and manifest who we are, what we stand for, what we are all about and why we do what we do.
Whenever we are presented with tests, we are also given opportunities to respond. And our response thereby reveals who we are.
The tests Allah gives is continuous, varied and tiered to an infinite degree. They are numerous and in all spheres of life, here are some areas where we are tested:
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- LOVE: Do we choose our heart to fall into the love of Allah and remain in the love of Allah or do we choose our heart to find solace in other than Allah?
- LOYALTY: Do we choose to side with Allah and what He likes or do we choose with other than Allah and what displeases Him?
- OBEDIENCE: Do we choose to follow and give precedence to what Allah wants from us for us or do we choose to follow and give precedence to our nafs, people and shaytan?
- MERCY: Do we choose to show mercy and give what the other needs for their provision, growth and development or do we choose to be transactional, ‘you do this for me and I will do something for you’?
- GENEROSITY: Do we choose to show generosity and kindness to His creation who are in need or do we turn a blind eye and focus on greed, satisfying our wants?
- SHUKR: Do we choose to be grateful for the favours and talents He has bestowed by utilising them in His way or do we choose to attribute it to our own doings and use it in a way that has His displeasure?
- SPENDING: Do we choose to spend the blessing of wealth (that Allah has given) on ourselves, families, relatives, the poor and in the way of Allah or do we squander it in trivial pursuits?
- TIME: Do we choose to spend our precious time cultivating it to bear fruits in the Hereafter or do we spend it being heedless?
- SPEECH: Do we choose to utilise our tongue in saying what is good, wholesome and beneficial or do we utilise it to sow discord, hurt others and cause distress?
- WITNESS: Do we choose to look to the cosmos and see the signs of Allah and see His actions or do we choose to see the cosmos without a creator?
- DHIKR: Do we choose the remembrance of Allah in this theatre of meanings and reminders or do we choose to remain in heedlessness in the presence of al-aghyar [otherness]?
- PATIENCE: Do we choose to face life’s difficulties and the trials of fate with patience and perseverance or do we choose to be resigned and resort to complaining?
- FAITH: Do we choose to believe in the unseen and the All-Powerful Lord or do we choose to have no faith because it’s not empirical or material or lose faith because we experience some of the bitter trials of life?
- JUSTICE: Do we choose to be fair and just in our affairs (even in regards to our own souls) or do we choose to oppress and be unjust.
- WORSHIP: Do we choose to worship [obey, adore, devote, put in the core of our being] Allah who is deserving of worship or do we worship other than Allah [al-aghyar]?
- EMBODIMENT: Do we choose to embody the divine attributes of Allah [His beautiful attributes of loving, mercy, generosity…] or do we choose to embody the attributes of the tyrants and oppressors?
This list is by no means exhaustive, nonetheless, we can use it as a starting point for the areas we are tested.
Where is the proof?
One thing to note from the above is, ‘it’s easy to talk, but can you walk the talk’. Claims are just claims, for them to be true, they need substantiation. Otherwise, we can claim anything we like for ourselves but claims alone don’t validate its reality. The truth is in the action.
Sometimes we find ourselves questioning, ‘Why did Allah create this world of testing? Could He have not put us straight in Paradise and skipped this phase?’
Okay… Imagine we were all in Paradise enjoying and taking in all that Paradise has to offer. Then one day, we find ourselves in the presence of our Lord, and Allah the Exalted asked us.
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- ‘Do you love Me?
- Are you obedient and true to Me?
- Will you be always loyal and never turn your back on Me?’
- Will you always worship Me?
- Will you be patient with Me and my plan for you?
No doubt, in the perfect abode that is Paradise, we would without a moment’s delay say a resounding and emphatic, ‘yes’. How could we say anything besides a ‘yes’? What is there in Paradise competing with Allah for our attention? What is there in Paradise that could make us heedless of Allah? Absolutely nothing!
It’s not much of a test then if there is nothing to test us with. If only there was a way of verifying these claims, then we could know who really are the truthful ones and who are the liars?
Something similar actually took place. Allah mentions to us in the Qur’an of the primordial oath we all took in His presence (when all the souls of every person were gathered in one place). Divine Speech says,
“’Am I not your Lord?’ They said: ‘Indeed! We bear witness.’”[Al-Isra: 7:172]
The earth was prepared where this oath could be tested.
The test framework
Allah created this world as an abode of testing not for Allah to know how we do, but for us to know how we fare. He says:
“Do people think that they will be left to say, ‘We believe,’ without being tested? We certainly tested those before them. And Allah will clearly distinguish between those who are truthful and those who are liars.” [Al-Ankabut: 29:2-3]
Allah created the human being upon the fitra [the innate with a knowledge of right and wrong] and he gave us free will – the ability to choose. He then sent Messengers and Prophets (upon them be peace and blessings) informing us of the right and wrong and reminded us of who we are and who Allah is and our position in this world. He gave us the knowledge and guidance, the will to mobilise our intention towards a goal and the power to act. Then Allah left it to us to decide what we want to do and how we go about it. This is beautifully captured in the Divine Speech, He says:
“Has there not been over man a period of time, when he was nothing – (not even) mentioned? Indeed, We created man from a sperm-drop that We may test him; and We made him hearing and seeing. We guided him the Way: whether he be grateful or ungrateful. We have prepared for the unbelievers chains, fetters, and a blazing fire, and surely, the righteous will drink from a cup [of wine] whose mixture is of camphor, a spring wherefrom the servants of Allah will drink, causing it to gush forth abundantly.” [Al-Insan: 76:1-6]
Test and free will
For every moment we are alive in this world, we have choices to make. Test goes hand-in-hand with free will, because we have free will, we have the ability to choose from several choices.
The test and opportunity are to see if we choose the good and the excellent or do we fall short and miss the mark (sin).
Every choice comes with incentives or a penalty. With the passing of moments and choices, you write with the ink of time your story, you imprint your legacy and reveal to the world, ’this is who I am, I was here and I choose to be with my Lord.’
Imam Ata’illah says:
“He put you in the intermediary world [al-‘alam al-mutawassit] between His Kingdom [Mulk] and His Realm [Malakut] to teach you the majesty of your rank amongst His created beings and that you are a jewel [jawhara] wherein the pearls of His creations [mukawwanat] are hidden.” [Hikam: 245]
In our experiences and journeying (from Him to Him), we write our story. We all know what it means not to care when we are consuming stories or movies on the multitude of streaming channels that are readily available to us. Allah gave us the front row seat in our own stories. He made us care on an emotional, physical, spiritual, intellectual and aesthetical level. Each act, we are involved and invested to find out what happens next, to find out what happens in the end and figure out the deeper levels of meaning. And inshallah, one day in Paradise we will tell each other our tales of adventure. Throughout our journeying, we learn to see and read the cosmos through the colours and contrast, the light and dark, the similarities and differences, the known and unknown…. We come to see the actions of Allah manifested, and if we have inner insight, we get a glimpse into seeing Him.
A life with Allah
When we undergo hardship and testing times, we often discover qualities, strengths and weaknesses we never knew we had. Those times reveals who we are and/or it shapes who we become. However, the true answer to why we are tested, why certain events befalls us and why we experience hardship will always remain somewhat elusive in this world. We will only understand and appreciate the wisdom behind it all when the curtains are fully lifted and we see the bigger picture, the whole picture. Imam Ibn Qayyim has a saying:
“Had Allah lifted the veil for his slave & shown him how He handles his affairs for him and how Allah is more keen for the benefit of the slave than his own self, his heart would have melted out of the love for Allah & would have been torn to pieces out of thankfulness to Allah.” [Ibn Qayyim]
Going back to what we started with. ‘A life of test,’ yes, this life is a test, and ultimately it boils down to one thing. Do we choose Allah or do we choose other than Allah? If we choose Allah, then our spiritual masters have said:
“What has he found who has lost Allah?
And what has he lost who has found Allah?”
What does this mean?
It means that everything is a creation of Allah and He is the creator of everything. He infinitely transcends creation, whilst creation bears some resemblance to one another, as for Allah, there is no substitute, and there are no comparisons.
So the one who finds Allah and chooses Him, he finds everything and beyond (with Allah) and chooses for himself everything (good) to endure and multiply infinity for all time.
Divine Speech mentions,
“They have not estimated Allah with the estimation that is due to Him. Indeed, Allah is Powerful and Exalted in Might.” [Al-Hajj: 22: 74]
If we truly knew Allah and we knew creation, the test will cease to exist and we would only choose Allah, every time! That day is coming, if not here than in the Hereafter, amongst the rivers, expanse meadows and reclining on pulpits of light (inshallah).
I leave you with a final quote from Imam Ata’illah:
“Allah has bestowed upon you three gifts:
(1) He has let you remember Him; if it were not for His bounty, you would not be worthy to engage in His remembrance,
(2) He made you mentioned along with Him as He has affirmed your relation to Him, and
(3) He made you remembered by Him and thus He has perfected His blessing on you.” [Hikam: 256]
[Al-aghyar] otherness – other than Allah, it is Nafs, people, shaytan, dunya and anything of creation that takes us away from the remembrance of Allah.
