Life Is Entirely a Test
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Life Is Entirely a Test
Dear brothers and sisters,
Today I want to talk about a very important subject.
In fact, this is a subject that touches every one of our lives. Because all of us are being tested in different ways. Some of us are tested with illness, some with poverty, some with family, some with children, some with work, some with loneliness, some with injustice, and some with abundance and success.
Sometimes we hear a saying like this:
“If the hardship that comes upon us brings us closer to Allah, it is a test. If it takes us away from Allah, it becomes a punishment.”
This saying carries a beautiful meaning. Because truly, what matters most is the attitude we show when something happens to us. If a hardship brings a person closer to Allah, makes them pray, leads them to repentance, teaches them patience, then that hardship can become an awakening.
But we need to think about this more deeply.
Because hardship is not the only test.
Blessings are also a test.
Money is also a test.
Status is also a test.
Health is also a test.
Success is also a test.
Power is also a test.
Children are also a test.
Beauty is also a test.
Poverty is a test, and abundance is also a test.
In other words, all of life is a test.
Allah says in the Qur’an:
“We test you with both good and evil as a trial.”
Surah Al-Anbiya, 21:35
This means that a person is tested not only with things that appear bad, but also with things that appear good. Not only with sickness, but also with health. Not only with poverty, but also with wealth. Not only with loss, but also with gain.
So it is better to understand the matter like this:
Everything that happens to us is a test.
If it brings us closer to Allah, we are passing the test.
If it takes us away from Allah, we are failing the test.
The real issue is not what happens to us.
The real issue is where we go because of what happens to us.
When hardship comes to a person, their patience becomes clear.
When blessings come to a person, their gratitude becomes clear.
When a person becomes successful, their humility becomes clear.
When a person gains status, their justice becomes clear.
When a person becomes wealthy, their mercy becomes clear.
When a person gains power, it becomes clear whether they choose servanthood or arrogance.
Poverty tests a person’s patience.
Abundance tests a person’s gratitude.
Status tests a person’s justice.
Money tests a person’s mercy.
Success tests a person’s humility.
Power tests a person’s character.
Look, sometimes a person appears very humble when they are poor. But when they see a little money, they change.
Sometimes a person appears very fair when they are powerless. But when they gain authority, they become a completely different person.
Sometimes a person prays to Allah when they are in difficulty. But when things become easy, they forget Allah.
That is why a person is tested not only by what they lose, but also by what they gain.
Losing wealth is a test.
But being given wealth is also a test.
Illness is a test.
But health is also a test.
Failure is a test.
But success is also a test.
Because success sometimes leads a person to prostration, and sometimes it leads them to arrogance.
Money sometimes leads a person to charity, and sometimes it leads them to greed.
Status sometimes leads a person to justice, and sometimes it leads them to oppression.
So when blessings come, the test is not over. In fact, a different test begins.
There is a very beautiful example of this in the Qur’an: Prophet Sulayman, peace be upon him.
Prophet Sulayman was not only a prophet. He was also a great ruler. He had a kingdom, an army, knowledge, and authority. By the permission of Allah, the birds, the jinn, and the wind were placed under his command.
In today’s language, we could say he was the superpower of his time.
When the throne of the Queen of Sheba was brought before him in the blink of an eye, what did Prophet Sulayman say?
“This is from the favor of my Lord, to test me whether I will be grateful or ungrateful.”
Surah An-Naml, 27:40
Pay close attention to this.
When Prophet Sulayman saw such a great event, he did not say, “What a great king I am.”
He did not say, “This is my power.”
He did not say, “This is my knowledge.”
He did not say, “This is my kingdom.”
What did he say?
“This is from the favor of my Lord.”
And then what did he say?
“To test me.”
This is the consciousness of a true believer.
When Prophet Sulayman saw the throne, he did not see himself; he saw his Lord. When he saw power, he did not become arrogant; he remembered the test.
Today, if we have blessings, money, status, success, fame, or influence, we need to ask ourselves:
“Why was this given to me? Is it to see whether I will be grateful or ungrateful?”
If a person’s business grows, it is not just success; it is a test.
If a person’s wealth increases, it is not just richness; it is a test.
If a person’s words are listened to, it is not just influence; it is a test.
If a person has power, it is not just an opportunity; it is a responsibility.
But there is another side to this subject.
Sometimes hardships come as a result of a person’s own mistakes. A person may become rebellious, oppress others, fall into sin, lose balance, violate people’s rights, become arrogant, and normalize lying. Then Allah may shake that person with small warnings so that they may return.
This too is from the mercy of Allah.
Because sometimes a small warning comes before a great disaster.
A small loss may prevent a greater destruction.
A small illness may wake a person from deep heedlessness.
A small shake may stop a person before they fall off the cliff.
Allah says in the Qur’an:
“Corruption has appeared on land and sea because of what people’s own hands have earned, so that He may let them taste part of what they have done, so that perhaps they may return.”
Surah Ar-Rum, 30:41
There is a very important phrase here:
“So that perhaps they may return.”
This means that some hardships do not come to destroy a person, but to bring them back.
Sometimes Allah allows His servant to experience a small shake. Why? Because that servant is going further and further toward a cliff. Allah wakes them up.
Sometimes hardship may look like punishment, but inside it there is mercy.
It is as if it carries this message:
“Return, My servant. The road is not over yet. Wake up. This direction is not good.”
Allah also says in Surah Ash-Shura:
“Whatever hardship befalls you is because of what your own hands have earned, and He pardons much.”
Surah Ash-Shura, 42:30
Look, there are two truths here.
First: A person may face the consequences of what they have done.
Second: Allah still pardons much.
So Allah is not a Lord who immediately destroys. He is the Lord who gives time, warns, forgives, and wants His servant to return.
That is why when hardship comes to a person, they should ask:
“What is this event reminding me of?”
They should not only ask, “Why did this happen to me?”
They should also ask:
“Where should I return from because of this?”
But here we need a very delicate balance.
Yes, some hardships may be the result of a person’s mistakes.
But we cannot say that every hardship is a punishment for that person’s sins.
That would be very wrong.
Prophets also suffered.
Righteous people also faced difficulties.
Innocent children also suffer.
Oppressed people also face injustice.
Prophet Ayyub was tested with illness.
Prophet Yusuf was tested with prison.
Prophet Musa was tested with exile and hardship.
Our Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was tested with oppression, migration, and loss.
So it is not right to call every pain a punishment.
Especially when we see hardship in someone else’s life, it is very dangerous to pass judgment.
If someone becomes sick, we cannot say, “They must have sinned.”
If someone becomes poor, we cannot say, “Allah is punishing them.”
If someone suffers injustice, we cannot say, “They must have deserved it.”
If a child suffers, we can never speak like that.
Our measure should be this:
When someone else suffers, we show mercy.
When we suffer, we reflect and examine ourselves.
There is no judgment toward others.
There is reflection for ourselves.
Now let us come to the most difficult part.
A person does not experience everything because they deserved it.
Sometimes a person is truly oppressed.
Sometimes a child grows up without a mother or father.
Sometimes a child suffers injustice at a very young age.
Sometimes a child is tortured.
Sometimes innocent people are killed.
Sometimes oppressors live comfortably while the oppressed suffer.
Imagine a child. Only eight years old. Growing up without a mother and father. Not receiving love, not being protected, being crushed, being treated unjustly. Then experiencing one hardship after another throughout life.
Can we look at this and say, “This child deserved it”?
Never.
A child may have been tortured. A child may have been killed. A child may have suffered injustice. We cannot simply pass over it with a cold sentence like, “That was their test.”
No.
Sometimes pain does not come from the person’s own mistake, but from someone else’s oppression.
Sometimes it comes from society’s neglect.
Sometimes it comes from the sins of oppressors.
Sometimes it comes from the mercilessness of people.
And sometimes it appears as a test whose wisdom we cannot fully understand in this world.
In such cases, the test is not only for the one who suffers.
It is also a test for the society that failed to protect that child.
It is also a test for the oppressor.
It is also a test for those who saw and stayed silent.
It is also a test for those who had the power to help but did not.
When we see the pain of an oppressed person, we do not only ask:
“Why did this oppressed person suffer?”
We also ask:
“What did I do in the face of this suffering?”
This is where belief in the Hereafter comes in.
Because this world is not the place of final justice. This world is the place of testing. This world is temporary. This world is incomplete.
In this world, some accounts are not settled.
Some oppressors do not see their punishment immediately.
Some oppressed people do not receive their rights in this life.
If life consisted only of this world, millions of questions would remain unanswered.
A child is killed.
An oppressed person suffers for years.
A mother loses her child.
An oppressor lives comfortably.
If everything ended in this world, this picture would remain as a terrible injustice.
But we know that this world is not the final destination.
This world is the place of testing. The Hereafter is the place of account, justice, and true recompense.
Allah says in the Qur’an:
“Whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.”
Surah Az-Zalzalah, 99:7-8
This means no good deed is lost.
No evil deed is forgotten.
No tear is wasted.
No oppression remains unanswered.
In this world, it may seem as if the oppressed person’s right was not given.
But with Allah, no right is lost.
In this world, the oppressor may appear powerful.
But in the Hereafter, there will be nowhere to escape.
In this world, a child may have suffered unjustly.
But Allah’s mercy and justice will not leave that suffering without recompense.
That is why belief in Paradise and Hell is very important.
Paradise is the right of the oppressed that is never lost.
Hell is the justice from which the oppressor cannot escape.
The Hereafter is not merely a place we go after death.
The Hereafter is the place where the justice left incomplete in this world will be completed.
The world leaves things unfinished; the Hereafter completes them.
The world sometimes silences; the Hereafter makes everything speak.
The world sometimes hides the oppressor; the Hereafter exposes them.
The world sometimes does not give the oppressed their right; the Hereafter gives it fully.
But let us not misunderstand this.
Believing in the Hereafter does not mean staying silent in the face of oppression and saying, “Allah will give their right in the Hereafter anyway.”
On the contrary, the person who believes in the Hereafter becomes more responsible.
Because they know that they too will be held accountable.
What did I do when I saw an orphan?
Did I stand beside the oppressed?
Did I stay silent in the face of a child’s suffering?
Did I remain quiet when I had the power to stop oppression?
With the money, status, power, and opportunities Allah gave me, whom did I protect?
Whose wound did I help heal?
Belief in the Hereafter is not only comfort for the oppressed.
It is fear for the oppressor.
And it is responsibility for the believer.
Now we have reached perhaps the most important part of this lesson.
We are not discussing these topics only to interpret events. We are not saying only, “This is a test, this is destiny, this will be solved in the Hereafter.”
We are studying these lessons to help people, to guide them, to warn them, and to hold the hand of someone who is heading toward destruction.
Because if we see someone facing hardship, and we clearly see that the reason behind it is interest, adultery, lying, alcohol, gambling, arrogance, violating people’s rights, or oppression, then we must warn that person.
If someone is walking toward a bad path, we cannot say, “It is none of my business.”
If a society is drifting toward wrong, we cannot say, “Everything is from Allah” and remain silent.
Yes, everything happens by Allah’s permission. But that does not remove human responsibility.
If a person drinks alcohol and causes an accident, we cannot simply say, “It came from Allah” and move on.
If a person destroys their household through interest-based debt, we cannot simply say, “That was destiny.”
If a person loses their family’s provision through gambling, we cannot simply say, “It is a test” and stay silent.
If a person violates people’s rights and makes others cry, we cannot say, “Their account is in the Hereafter” and do nothing in this world.
Because the Qur’an does not only teach us patience; it also teaches us responsibility.
It does not only teach us reliance upon Allah; it also teaches us to take action.
It does not only teach us to leave matters to the Hereafter; it also teaches us to uphold justice in this world.
So saying “It is from Allah” must not be used to cover up human wrongdoing.
Belief in destiny is not an excuse to escape responsibility.
If a person is walking toward a cliff, we cannot simply watch and say, “Everything is a test.”
If a young person is running toward gambling, alcohol, adultery, and sin, we cannot step aside and say, “It is their life.”
If a family is heading toward destruction through interest, lies, and violating people’s rights, we cannot say, “Allah knows best” and stay silent.
If injustice is spreading in society, we cannot say, “What is it to me?”
True mercy is not crying after a person falls. True mercy is warning them before they fall.
If a mother sees her child approaching a hot stove, what does she do?
Does she say, “This is also the child’s test” and remain silent?
No.
She grabs the child’s hand. She pulls the child away. She warns the child. If necessary, she says firmly, “Do not touch it!”
Why?
Because she loves the child.
In the same way, sometimes warning is love.
Sometimes saying, “My brother, my sister, the end of this path is bad” is love.
Sometimes saying, “There is a violation of rights in this matter; be careful” is love.
Sometimes saying, “Interest removes blessing” is love.
Sometimes saying, “Gambling destroys not only money but also peace” is love.
Sometimes saying, “Lying will one day destroy all trust” is love.
Sometimes saying, “Arrogance takes a person away from both Allah and people” is love.
But while warning people, we must also pay attention to our manner.
Warning is one thing; judging is another.
Warning comes from mercy.
Judgment may come from arrogance.
Warning wants to save the person.
Judgment wants to crush the person.
We will not say to people, “You are finished.”
We will say, “My brother, my sister, come, this road is not good. Allah’s mercy is vast. Let us return. Let us fix this. Let us change this direction.”
Because our duty is not to drive people away from Allah’s mercy, but to invite them to Allah’s mercy.
Societies also move toward destruction in this way.
A society does not collapse all at once.
First, lying becomes normal.
Then violating people’s rights becomes normal.
Then interest becomes normal.
Then adultery becomes normal.
Then alcohol, gambling, and injustice become normal.
Then arrogance spreads.
Then justice breaks down.
Then the family breaks down.
Then trade becomes corrupt.
Then conscience becomes corrupt.
And after all that, people still ask:
“What happened to us?”
Actually, what happened is clear. The brake system broke down.
In a society where there is no advice, no warning, no commanding of good and forbidding of evil, that society has no brakes.
If a car has no brakes, it does not matter how powerful its engine is; eventually, it will crash.
A society is the same.
Its economy may be strong.
Its buildings may be high.
Its technology may be advanced.
But if there is no morality, no justice, no mercy, and no fear of violating people’s rights, that society collapses from within.
So the summary of this whole talk is this:
All of life is a test.
Hardship is a test, and blessings are also a test.
Poverty is a test, and abundance is also a test.
Success is a test, and loss is also a test.
Power is a test, and weakness is also a test.
Calamity is a test, and comfort is also a test.
Some hardships are warnings.
Some are caused by the oppression of others.
Some are caused by society’s neglect.
Some are tests whose wisdom we do not yet understand.
But nothing escapes Allah’s knowledge, justice, and account.
When hardship comes to ourselves, we should reflect and examine ourselves.
But when hardship comes to someone else, we should show mercy.
And when we see wrongdoing, we should not remain silent.
Because the test is not only about being patient with what happens to us.
The test is also about what we do when we see evil.
The test is whether we reach out when we see an oppressed person.
The test is whether we warn a young person when we see them heading toward a bad path.
The test is whether we are grateful when blessings come to us.
The test is whether we rebel or remain patient when hardship comes.
The test is whether we become oppressive or just when we have power.
The test is whether we become greedy or merciful when we have money.
The test is whether we say, “I did this,” when success comes, or whether we say, like Prophet Sulayman:
“This is from the favor of my Lord.”
So in every situation, let us ask ourselves:
Is this bringing me closer to Allah, or taking me away from Allah?
When hardship comes, am I moving toward patience or rebellion?
When blessings come, am I moving toward gratitude or arrogance?
When success comes, am I moving toward humility or pride?
When calamity comes, am I moving toward repentance or denial?
When I see the oppressed, am I moving toward mercy or indifference?
When I see evil, am I moving toward warning and helping, or am I choosing silence?
Because the real issue is not what happens to us.
The real issue is where we go because of what happens to us.
My brothers and sisters, finally let me say this:
This world is temporary. The Hereafter is eternal.
This world is not the place where every question receives its full answer. Some answers will be completed in the Hereafter.
In this world, the tears of the oppressed may seem to fall to the ground, but with Allah they are never lost.
In this world, the oppressor may appear powerful, but they cannot escape Allah’s justice.
In this world, a child may suffer injustice, but Allah will not leave that suffering without recompense.
Without the Hereafter, the suffering of children would remain unanswered.
With the Hereafter, no tear is wasted.
That is why we must both take responsibility in this world and believe in the justice of the Hereafter.
We will be patient, but we will also warn.
We will rely upon Allah, but we will also struggle.
We will submit to Allah, but we will also stand against oppression.
We will examine our own souls, but we will also guide people with mercy.
Because a believer is not merely someone who says, “Everything is a test.”
A believer is someone who shows the right stance within the test.
Closing
Hardship becomes mercy if it leads a person to Allah.
Blessings become disaster if they take a person away from Allah.
Calamity becomes a gift if it leads a person to repentance.
Success becomes a failed test if it leads a person to arrogance.
All of life is a test.
The world is temporary.
The Hereafter is eternal.
The world leaves things unfinished.
The Hereafter completes them.
The world sometimes does not give the oppressed their right.
But Allah never lets any right be lost.
And let us never forget:
Knowing that everything is from Allah does not mean doing nothing.
If we stay silent by saying “It is destiny,” we may allow evil to grow.
If we step aside by saying “It is a test,” we may fail our own test.
So may Allah make us among those who are patient, those who are grateful, those who repent, and those who call to good and warn against evil.
Ameen.