Allah says in the Quran:
الم ﴿١﴾ أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ أَنْ يُتْرَكُوا أَنْ يَقُولُوا آمَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ ﴿٢﴾ وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ ۖ فَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ الْكَاذِبِينَ ﴿٣﴾
Alif, Lam, Meem. Do the people think that they will be left to say, “We believe” and they will not be tried? But We have certainly tried those before them, and Allah will surely make evident those who are truthful, and He will surely make evident the liars.
— Surah Al-Ankabut: 1-3
Muslims should not assume that just because they have believed in Allah, no trial or hardship in the world will touch them.
In this world, Allah provides help to the disbeliever, and He also provides help to those who live in obedience to Him. However, it is not the same in the Hereafter; the believers who had faith in Allah will be separated and rewarded, while those who lived rejecting Allah in this world will be punished.
Allah does not test humans to make them suffer. Rather, through trials, He enables humans to achieve a higher status. If a person misunderstands a trial as mere misery, abandons patience, and attempts to remove it through wrong means, that person distances themselves far from the love of Allah.
Allah says in the Quran:
وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنْفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ
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.
— Surah Al-Baqarah: 155
The companion Hazrat Ubadah ibn as-Samit (RA), quoting what the Prophet (ﷺ) told him, said to his son:
“O my son! You can never escape the trials that are destined to come to you, and any trial that is not decreed for you will never reach you. Until you firmly believe in this, you cannot taste the true sweetness of Iman (faith).”
— Abu Dawud
This worldly life is bound with various afflictions, unexpected losses, illness, accidents, and poverty. Success in both this world and the Hereafter can only be achieved by not losing heart in the face of trials, and by practicing patience, endurance, composure, and wisdom. Any grief can only be relieved with the help of worship.
If we think of this world as a place to enjoy pleasures, then everything becomes a misery. But if we realize that this world is a place to gather good deeds for the Hereafter, we can endure all hardships.
Allah says in the Quran:
أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَنْ تَدْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَأْتِكُمْ مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ خَلَوْا مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ ۖ مَسَتْهُمُ الْبَاسَاءُ وَالضَّرَّاءُ وَزُلْزِلُوا حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَ الرَّسُولُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ مَتَىٰ نَصْرُ اللَّهِ ۗ أَلَا إِنَّ نَصْرَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ
Or do you think that you will enter Paradise while such [trial] has not yet come to you like that which came to those who passed away before you? They were touched by poverty and hardship and were shaken until [even their] messenger and those who believed with him said, “When is the help of Allah?” Unquestionably, the help of Allah is near.
— Surah Al-Baqarah: 214
No one who believed in Allah has ever been left without being tested. Behold! The great trials faced by the Sahabah (Companions) and the way they confronted them serve as a great lesson for us.
The Patience of Hamnah (RA)
When the Battle of Uhud concluded, a companion named Hamnah met the Prophet (ﷺ) on his way back to Madinah. She was informed of the death of her brother, Abdullah ibn Jahsh (RA).
Upon hearing this, she said, “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un” (Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return), and prayed seeking forgiveness for him.
Next, she was informed of the death of her maternal uncle, Hamzah (RA). For that too, she said, “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un” and sought forgiveness for him.
Then, when she was informed of the death of her husband, Ibn Umair (Mus’ab ibn Umair, RA), she sought forgiveness for him as well.
She endured all of this seeking the pleasure of Allah. She did not wail, weep loudly, or complain to others to express her grief. The Sahabah possessed complete Yaqeen (certainty) that we exist for Allah and we separate for Allah.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said:
“Trials will continue to befall believing men and women—sometimes concerning themselves, sometimes their children, and sometimes their wealth—until they meet Allah with not a single sin recorded in their book of deeds.”
Bilal (RA) During Times of Affliction
During the early days when the Prophet (ﷺ) was preaching Tawheed (monotheism), there was a Mushrik (polytheist) in Makkah named Umayyah ibn Khalaf who fiercely opposed the Prophet.
A dark-skinned man named Bilal was a slave under him. Having listened to the Tawheed dawah of the Prophet (ﷺ), Bilal accepted Iman in Allah.
When this became known to his master Umayyah ibn Khalaf, he demanded that Bilal worship the idols he worshipped and abandon Islam. Bilal refused and declared, “Allah is my only Lord.”
Infuriated by this, Umayyah began to brutally torture Bilal. He would make Bilal lie down on his back on the scorching desert sand under the intense midday sun, and place a massive boulder on his chest so he could not move. Even then, Bilal (RA) kept proclaiming, “Ahadun, Ahad” (Allah is One, Allah is One).
In the evenings, Bilal would be bound in chains and whipped with a lash. The next day, with those same wounds, he would be laid on the scorching sand and tortured in the same manner. Umayyah’s intention was to make Bilal abandon Islam because he could not bear the agony. Yet, Bilal continuously declared the oneness of God, saying, “Allah is One! Allah is One!”
Driven to rage, Umayyah tied Bilal with a rope and handed him over to the young boys of Makkah, who dragged him through the streets of the city. They tortured him like this to show the public that this would be the fate of anyone who supported the Prophet (ﷺ).
During these times, Bilal would fall unconscious. Whenever he regained consciousness, he would loudly proclaim, “Allah is One; Allah is One.” At times, another man named Abu Jahl would beat and torture Bilal; at other times, Umayyah would do it. They took turns torturing him.
Those who beat him grew exhausted, but Bilal’s (RA) fortitude did not waver. The Prophet (ﷺ) would pass by this brutality with a heavy heart. Knowing the grief of the Prophet (ﷺ), Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA) purchased Bilal from Umayyah for a hefty price and set him free. After that, Bilal (RA) spent the rest of his life serving the Prophet (ﷺ). He endured all these miseries just to save his Iman—his faith in Allah.
Khabbab (RA) Who Endured Hardships
Khabbab (RA) was a companion who was a slave to a disbelieving woman in Makkah. He embraced Islam during its very early days. Because of this, his master, that Mushrik woman, subjected Khabbab (RA) to immense torture.
Demanding that he abandon Islam and stop meeting the Prophet (ﷺ), she would force Khabbab (RA) to wear iron armor all over his body and leave him in the scorching sun to suffer.
Sometimes, Khabbab (RA) would be laid bare-bodied, without any clothes, on the burning sands of the Arabian desert. Because of this, the flesh around his waist had melted away. At times, she would heat iron rods and brand Khabbab (RA) on his head.
Hazrat Khabbab (RA) suffered these hardships under her for a long time. Later, he was bought and set free, after which he spent his years on the porch (Suffah) of the Prophet’s (ﷺ) house.
In later years, during the caliphate of Ameerul Mu’mineen Umar (RA), the Caliph once inquired about the hardships Khabbab had faced during the early days of Islam. In response, Khabbab (RA) told Hazrat Umar, “Look at my waist and back to understand,” and lifted his shirt. Seeing it, Umar (RA) wept and exclaimed, “Allahu Akbar! I have never seen a back like this.”
Khabbab (RA) remarked, “Because I met the Prophet (ﷺ), they would make me lie down on burning coals and drag me over them. The fat and flesh from my body melted and flowed out, which eventually extinguished the fire.” Hearing this, Hazrat Umar (RA) wept for a long time. Khabbab (RA) added that he was worried lest the reward for the hardships he endured in this world had already been given to him here.
After his passing, Hazrat Khabbab (RA) was buried in the city of Kufah. Whenever Hazrat Ali (RA) passed by his grave, he would say:
“May Allah the Almighty bestow His mercy upon Khabbab! He endured many hardships for accepting Islam. Fearing the accountability of the Day of Judgment, he remained content with whatever he received, and departed from this world well-pleased with his Master, Allah.”
The Sahabah in Severe Hunger
The companion Jabir (RA) narrates:
In the eighth year of Hijri, the Prophet (ﷺ) sent out an army consisting of three hundred men. Due to the severe poverty prevalent at that time, a single bag of dates was the only food available for all of us.
After the time of the Prophet (ﷺ), Hazrat Jabir (RA) recounted this to people. Someone then asked, “How did you manage to stave off a day’s hunger with just one date?”
To this, Jabir (RA) replied, “You only realize the true value of that one date when even that is unavailable. At that time, due to the severity of hunger, we gathered dried leaves from trees, soaked them in water, ate them, and participated in the battle.”
Allah says in the Quran:
إِلَّا الَّذِينَ صَبَرُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ أُولَٰئِكَ لَهُمْ مَغْفِرَةٌ وَأَجْرٌ كَبِيرٌ
Except for those who are patient and do righteous deeds; those will have forgiveness and great reward.
— Surah Hud: 11
The Prophet (ﷺ) said:
“The magnitude of the reward is proportional to the magnitude of the trial.”
— Tirmidhi
