As part of our manual for success in these trials, Allah (swt) also tells us how those before us reacted
when they were tested:
“Men said to them: ‘A great army is gathering against you, so fear them’, But it (only) increased them
in Faith and they said: ‘God is enough for us, and He is the best protector.’ And they returned with
Grace and bounty from Allah. No harm ever touched them: For they followed the good pleasure of
God. And God’s favor is great indeed. It is only the Evil one who urges you to fear his followers; do
not fear them, but fear Me, if you are true believers.” (Qur’an, 3:173-175)
In another passage Allah (swt) tells us:
“Many prophets have fought, with large bands of godly men alongside them who, in the face of their
sufferings for God’s cause, did not lose heart or weaken or surrender: God loves those who are
steadfast (have sabr). All they said was, ‘Our Lord, forgive us our sins and our excesses. Make our
feet firm, and give us help against the disbelievers’, and so God gave them both the rewards of this
world and the excellent rewards of the Hereafter: God loves those who do good. You who believe, if
you obey the disbelievers, they will make you revert to your old ways and you will turn into losers.
No indeed! It is God who is your protector: He is the best of helpers.” (Qur’an, 3:146-150)
Allah (swt) conveys these stories to us, so that we can learn from the response of those who passed
before us. And their response was this: “God is enough for us, and He is the best of protectors.” Their
response was: “Our Lord, forgive us our sins and our excesses. Make our feet firm, and give us help
against the disbelievers.” Their response was not to look at the test. Their response was to look
through it. They looked through the illusion and focused on the One behind it: God. They realized
that, not only was Allah (swt) the giver of the test, He was the only one who could save them from it.
And so they beseeched Him for His help through repentance, sabr, and perfecting their moral
character (taqwa).
But most reassuring of all, Allah (swt) Himself comforts the believers and promises them success:
“Do not lose heart, nor fall into despair—you have the upper hand, if you are true believers. 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 loves 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 you think that you would enter Heaven without Allah testing those of you who fought
hard (In His Cause) and remained steadfast?” (Qur’an, 3:139-142)
Once we change our lens with which we see our lives, our internal and external response drastically
changes. When the righteous before us were tested, it only increased them in faith and obedience. The
Qur’an recounts: “When the Believers saw the Confederate forces, they said: ‘This is what Allah and
his Messenger had promised us, and Allah and His Messenger told us what was true.’ And it only
added to their faith and their zeal in obedience.” (Qur’an, 33:22)
However until we change that lens, we will never move beyond, “how could this happen to us” to
realize the true purpose of the test itself: a created tool to purify, strengthen and bring us closer to the
Creator of you, me and all our enemies.