By Sheikh Abdullah ibn Abdur-Rahman al-Bu‘aijan – 08 Rabiul Thani 1438

His Eminence Sheikh Abdullah ibn Abdur-Rahman al-Bu‘aijan, may Allah preserve him, delivered the Friday khutbah entitled, “Faith and Testing the Believers,” in which he stated that trials and tests constitute one of Allah’s ways in dealing with His creation, and that Allah, in His wisdom, decreed them to distinguish the truthful from the liars in the conflict between truth and falsehood. He cited some examples showing how prophets instilled hope and reassurance in the hearts of their people in critical situations. He also referred to the Battle of Badr and the Battle of the Confederates, in which Muslims experienced intense adversities and hardships, only to find the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, reassuring them and giving them glad tidings of power, triumph, and manifest victory.

Praise be to Allah, the Protector of the believers and the Supporter of the pious. He is the All-Dominant over His slaves, and He is the All-Wise, the Well-Acquainted with all things. We praise Him in times of prosperity and adversity, ease and hardship, and wellbeing and affliction. Praise be to Him in this world and in the hereafter. His is the decision, and to Him we all shall be returned. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, Who has no partners; and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger, whom He sent with guidance and the religion of truth to make it superior over all religions even though the polytheists may hate it. May Allah bestow His bountiful peace and blessings upon him, upon his family and Companions, and upon those who follow them in righteousness until the Day of Judgement.

Now then, Fear Allah, servants of Allah, and obey Him. Never give up hope in His mercy, Glorified be He. Certainly, no one despairs of Allah’s mercy except those who have no faith.

Fellow Muslims!

Trials and tests are among the ways of Allah, Glorified be He, in this universe. Allah says of Himself: “Who has created death and life, that He may test you…” (Al-Mulk: 2)

In His wisdom, Allah, Might and Majesty be to Him, has decreed trials and tests to distinguish between the truthful and the liars in the conflict between truth and falsehood. Allah, Exalted be He, says: “Do people think that they will be left alone because they say: “We believe,” and will not be tested. And We indeed tested those who were before them. And Allah will certainly make (it) known (the truth of) those who are true, and will certainly make (it) known (the falsehood of) those who are liars, (although Allah knows all that before putting them to test).” (Al-‘Ankabut: 2-3)

Trials and tests purify the believers, show how strong and firm their faith is, and purge Muslim lines from the hypocrites and infiltrators: “Allah will not leave the believers in the state in which you are now, until He distinguishes the wicked from the good …” (Al ‘Imran: 179)

They also serve as an educational method whereby Allah saves those who have been granted a share of right guidance so that they may wake up from their heedlessness, turn to their Lord, and return to their religion.

Servants of Allah!

In the midst of these trials and tests, calamities may aggravate, distress may intensify, and relief may be delayed until thoughts of despair and hopelessness set in.

“Or think you that you will enter Paradise without such (trials) as came to those who passed away before you? They were afflicted with severe poverty and ailments and were so shaken that even the Messenger and those who believed along with him said, “When (will come) the Help of Allah?” …” (Al-Baqarah: 214)

Under such circumstances, it becomes necessary to turn to Allah and have good expectations of Him, for He provides a way out from every difficulty and grants relief of every form of distress. He is as His believing servants think of Him, and He never disappoints anyone who has good expectations of Him.

Fellow Muslims!
Instilling hope and reassurance in people’s hearts and giving them glad tidings in times of anxiety constitute a Qur’anic method and a part of the Prophets’ guidance. In the face of Pharaoh’s tyranny, Allah, Exalted be He, said to Prophet Musa (Moses) and Prophet Harun (Aaron), peace be upon them: “… “Fear not, verily I am with you both, hearing and seeing.” (Ta-Ha: 46)

Prophet Yusuf (Joseph), peace be upon him, said to his brother after affliction had befallen them: “… “Verily! I am your brother, so grieve not …”” (Yusuf: 69)

Similarly, after Musa had left the city in a state of great anxiety and fear, following the conspiracy that was hatched against his life, Shu‘aib said to him: “… “Fear you not. You have escaped from the people who are Zalimun (polytheists, disbelievers, and wrong-doers).”” (Al-Qasas: 25)

Our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to his companion Abu-Bakr as-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, while they were in the cave, “O Abu-Bakr! What do you think of two people whose Third One is Allah? Do not be sad; surely Allah is with us.”

In the Battle of Badr, the Muslims were three hundred and ten-odd men, while the disbelievers were three times their number. Worry overwhelmed the Muslim army, who were neither ready for war nor equipped with enough men and arms, awaiting a fierce force that was larger in number and armed to the teeth. In the midst of such adverse circumstances, Qur’anic verses were revealed to reassure Muslims, revive hope in their hearts, incite them to action, boost their morale, and encourage them to confront their enemy.

Listen to the words with which Allah, Glorified be He, addressed His Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him: “(And remember) when Allah showed them to you as few in your (i.e. Muhammad’s peace and blessings be upon him) dream; if He had shown them to you as many, you would surely have been discouraged, and you would surely have disputed in making a decision. But Allah saved (you). Certainly, He is the All-Knower of what is in the breasts. And (remember) when you met (the army of the disbelievers on the Day of the battle of Badr), He showed them to you as few in your eyes and He made you appear as few in their eyes, so that Allah might accomplish a matter already ordained (in His Knowledge), and to Allah return all matters (for decision).” (Al-Anfal: 43-44)

Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “They were shown little in our eyes, such that I asked a man next to me, ‘Do you think they are seventy?’, and he replied, ‘I think they are one hundred.’ We captured one of them and then asked him, ‘How many were you?’ He said, ‘One thousand.’”

The Qur’an consistently establishes this method in a rather different way during the same battle, rekindling the spirit of hope in the hearts of Muslims, assuring them of victory, and promising them power over their enemy. Allah, Exalted be He, says: “And (remember) when Allah promised you (Muslims) one of the two parties (of the enemy i.e. either the army or the caravan) that it should be yours; you wished that the one not armed (the caravan) should be yours, but Allah willed to justify the truth by His Words and to cut off the roots of the disbelievers (i.e. in the battle of Badr). That He might cause the truth to triumph and bring falsehood to nothing, even though the Mujrimun (disbelievers, polytheists, sinners, criminals) hate it.” (Al-Anfal: 7-8)

Servants of Allah!
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, adopted this very Qur’anic method when teaching his Companions. Whenever Muslims were overwhelmed by grief or distress or gripped by fear, worry, and despair, he would rekindle hope, reassurance, and trust in Allah in their hearts. When the Confederates joined forces against the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, mobilising ten thousand soldiers against him, Muslims were in a very critical situation. They were so overwhelmed by fear that they would not go out to relieve themselves. Hunger also took its toll on them so much so that they strapped stones to their bellies, and went without food for days. Winter, with its bitter, intense cold descended upon them. The traitors, treacherous, and hypocrites seized the opportunity as usual to weaken Muslims’ strength. Allah describes their condition in the Qur’an as follows:

“When they came upon you from above you and from below you, and when the eyes grew wild and the hearts reached to the throats, and you were harbouring doubts about Allah. There, the believers were tried and shaken with a mighty shaking.” (Al-Ahzab: 10-11)

Upon that, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, started to revive the spirit of hope, trust, and reassurance in the hearts of his Companions, promising them triumph and dominion, and giving them glad tidings of manifest victory. He even went to the extent of promising them the treasures of Byzantium, Persia, and Sana‘a. Al-Bara’ ibn Azib, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

“When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, ordered us to dig the trench [around al-Madinah to protect it against the attack of the disbelievers], we came across a huge, solid rock somewhere in the trench that did not yield to the strikes of our mattocks, so we complained about that to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. He came over, took the mattock, said, “Bismillah (In the Name of Allah),” and then struck a blow at the rock that broke one third of it. Then he said, “Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest)! I have been given the keys of the Levant. By Allah, I can see its red palaces right now.” Then he struck a second blow that broke another third of the rock, and said, “Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest)! I have been given the keys of Persia. By Allah, I can see the White Palace of al-Mada’in (Ctesiphon) right now.” Then he struck a third blow that broke the rest of the rock, and then he said, “Allahu Akbar (Allah is The Greatest)! I have been given the keys of Yemen. By Allah, I can see the gates of Sana’a from this place of mine right now. Jibril (Angel Gabriel) has told me that my Ummah will conquer it, so rejoice in the glad tidings of victory!”

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, gave them glad tidings of achieving victories in these countries while they were stuck in a trench, stricken by cold and hunger. The hypocrites showed cowardice and spread defeatism and alarmist false rumours. They made fun of these glad tidings and mockingly said, “Muhammad is promising us the treasures of Khosrau and Caesar, while we dare not go out to answer the call of nature! Allah and His Messenger promised us nothing but delusion.”

On the other hand, the believers were reassured by the good news and said: “… “This is what Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him) had promised us, and Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him) had spoken the truth,” and it only added to their faith and to their submissiveness (to Allah).” (Al-Ahzab: 22)

May Allah bless you and me with the Great Qur’an and make us benefit from its verses and wise words. I have said what you have heard and I ask forgiveness of Allah, the Most Great, the Sublime, for myself, for you, and for all Muslims for any sin we have committed. Ask Allah for forgiveness. He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.