“And We did not send a prophet in a town but We overtook its people with distress and affliction in
order that they might humble themselves (reach a state of tadaru’).” (Qur’an, 7:94)
Here, Allah says that the purpose of the affliction is to reach a state of tadaru. Tadaru is humility
before God—but it is not just humility. To understand the concept of tadaru, imagine yourself in the
middle of an ocean. Imagine that you are all alone on a boat. Imagine that a huge storm comes and the
waves become mountains surrounding you. Now imagine turning to God at that point and asking for
His help. In what state of need, awe, dependency and utter humility would you be in? That is tadaru.
Allah says that He creates conditions of hardship in order to grant us that gift. God does not need to
make things hard for us. He creates those situations in order to allow us to reach a state of closeness
to Him, which otherwise we’d be unlikely to reach.
That priceless state of humility, nearness and utter dependence on God is what the Egyptian people
have been blessed with today. Allahu akbar—God is great. But Allah mentions another purpose for
these hardships and struggles. He says:
“And We divided them throughout the earth into different groups. Of them some were righteous, and
of them some were otherwise. And We tested them with good [times] and bad that perhaps they would
return [to obedience].” (Qur’an, 7:168)
In Surat ali-Imran, Allah tells us:
“If a wound hath touched you, be sure a similar wound hath touched the others. Such days (of varying
fortunes) We give to men and men by turns: that Allah may know those that believe, and that He may
take to Himself from your ranks Martyr-witnesses (to Truth). And Allah loveth not those that do
wrong. Allah’s object also is to purify those that are true in Faith and to deprive of blessing
Those that resist Faith. Did ye think that ye would enter Heaven without Allah testing those of you
who fought hard (In His Cause) and remained steadfast?” (Qur’an, 3:140-142)
Here, Allah describes the purpose of hardship as being tamhees. Tamhees is the same word used to
describe the heating and purifying of gold. Without heating it up, gold is precious metal—but it’s full
of impurities. By performing tamhees, a process of heating, the impurities are removed from gold.
This is what God also does with the believers. Through hardships, believers are purified—just like
gold.
And so too, are the Egyptians being purified. Only days before the uprising, the world had considered
the Egyptian youth a lost cause. We believed they had lost their direction and their purpose. We
believed that they had chosen to live their lives on the streets, catcalling girls, or at internet cafes
smoking hookah. Through this hardship, the Egyptian youth have been brought back from the dead.
Now, these youth are standing on the streets in defiance of tyranny, on their knees praying, and with
their hands facing the sky, calling on their Lord. The same people who just days before barely prayed,