Ruhul Adab

Commentary of Imam Hassan Cisse

18. Test of Time

The author warns that one must be steadfast with Allah at all times, no matter the state of a servant. Part of Allah’s test is to make His servant undergo different situations. Allah says in the Qur’an 2:155-157 “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. Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is those who are the [rightly] guided.”’

Generally, there are four situations with which a person could find himself:

    The first is where he finds himself surrounded with favors of Allah, like good health, nice living and wealth. In this case, he should praise Allah by saying “Alhamdulillah” (Praise be to Allah).

     The second is when he is surrounded with afflictions, like difficulties of death, sickness, poverty etc. In this case, he should return to Allah by saying: “To Allah do we belong and to Him shall we return”.

     The third situation is when he finds himself in full devotion to Allah and in total worship. In this case, he should thank and praise Allah like those surrounded with favors.

     The fourth situation is when he finds himself committing evil and wronging his own soul. In this situation, he should return to Allah by seeking His forgiveness.

      While the first and third situations are Allah’s manifestation of beauty, the second and fourth situations are His manifestations of Majesty. Therefore, a Muslim should not boast or despair in whatever of the situations he finds himself in, but rather he should be pleased and content with Allah at all times.

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