The outstanding morality of devout people in the face of the trials they come across in life
Harun Yahya
"Every self will taste death. We test you with both good and evil as a trial. And you will be returned to Us." (Surat Al-Anbiya; 35)
As the aforementioned verse tells us, this world is a place of trial in which God tests His servants; sometimes with various hardships, and sometimes with blessings. Those who pass these trials are people who hold to God in every incident , who show a thankful attitude when God increases or decreases the blessings He bestows upon them, who turn to God when they are ill and when they are cured, and those who give their thanks to God and who submit to God under all conditions.
People are continuously tested in the life of this world and thus it becomes possible to differentiate those who believe with a sincere heart and those who do not. Almighty God explains this truth in the Qur'an as follows;
"Or did you imagine that you were going to enter the Garden without God knowing those among you who had struggled and knowing the steadfast?" (Surat Al-Imran; 142)
Undoubtedly a person's attitude in the face of the trials they are subjected to would clearly reveal their devotion to God and show whether or not they are sincere in their love for God. If a person truly loves God and submits himself to God in the face of everything He creates, he would welcome everything coming from Him. A person who preserves his thankful attitude, even in the harshest trials, who submits to God and perseveres, undoubtedly loves God tremendously and is devoted to Him with a sincere and profound respect. God tells us about the beautiful attitude of Muslims who put their trust in God when they face the attacks of the unbelievers and display the beautiful morality of a faithful person in difficult times, and thus prove their love and devotion to Him, as follows:
"Those to whom people said, ´The people have gathered against you, so fear them.´ But that merely increased their faith and they said, ´God is enough for us and the Best of Guardians." (Surah Al-Imran; 173)
On the other hand, it is an acknowledged truth that Muslims mature in faith and in morality by means of these trials and become ready for Heaven as their faith and fear of God deepens. By showing strong personalities in the face of all difficulties, by never falling into despair regardless of what befalls them, by putting their wholehearted trust in God in every trial they are subjected to, by never getting spoiled by blessings or by never boasting; insha'Allah, they attain the good morality of the people of the Heaven. Their good morality become instrumental in their attaining Heave, which God created in absolute flawlessness and glory with His infinite knowledge. A person with deep faith is in absolute submission to God with the pure love he feels inside; such a person would make a point of never falling into momentary mistakes. Such a person is well aware of the fact that the moment he feels – may God forbid- a weakness in his trust in God, or the moment he starts –may God forbid- to look for helpers other than God, it would be ascribing partners to God. He would be aware of the fact that he would never be able to offer an excuse for such an act. However, when some people come across a difficult patch, they might say, "I generally submit myself to God, my trust in God is wholesome, but very rarely I may panic in some events, and very rarely I fail to rely entirely on God," or at least think along these lines. That is of course a grave heedlessness: It is very dangerous for a person to deceive himself on such a matter. That is because someone who acts on this logic would be looking for helpers other than God because he does not have complete trust in God. And that means that such a person, even though he accepts the existence of Almighty God, fails to submit to God; that means such a person fails to perceive the infinite power of God and thus is in idolatry.
A person who only turns to God would be wholeheartedly content with the destiny God created for him. That is because a faithful person knows that it is not possible to act outside destiny or change destiny in any way. He never forgets that there is a destiny God creates for each and every person, and that destiny works without any changes.
In the Qur'an, God tells us that everything that we will experience is written in a Book in His Sight, and that it is not possible for any man to live anything other than that destiny written in that Book.
"You do not engage in any matter or recite any of the Qur'an or do any action without Our witnessing you while you are occupied with it. Not even the smallest speck eludes your Lord, either on earth or in heaven. Nor is there anything smaller than that, or larger, which is not in a Clear Book." (Surah Yunus ; 61)
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