When Fear Becomes a Sign of Allah's Favor

Alhamdulillah.

[Silence]

Continuing into the chapter regarding patience, the merits, the rulings, the rewards of patience, etc. Authored by imi. And before we begin the next verse explaining the next verse, he begins this chapter with about seven verses from the Quran. Select verses discussing the topic. Before we begin with that, I'd to bring to everyone's attention a detail that perhaps some of us know, perhaps is the first time for others, that in the battle of Azb, also known as the battle of the trench, the battle of the confederates. This battle was one of the most scary and frightening battles that the companions had ever endured. And the reason for that is multiffold. Number one, they had to rely heavily on other people in Medina who were known as backstabbers. They had to rely on some of the in Medina who were known to constantly prove treacherous in any treaty they sign. Number two, they were going to have more enemies than they had ever had before at one time. Number three, they were in Medina this time and so the stakes were much higher. Why is that? If the enemy was able to to penetrate the walls of the city and get inside of the city and by somehow it it proves a loss for the believers, it will be devastating to not only the military but the women, the children, the elders, combatants, non-combatants, and all of their wealth. the city would be completely pillaged. Number four was the season in which this battle took place. It was bitter cold, but in addition to the cold, they could not rely on the desert climate to act as an aid. A final point that made this battle so difficult is that all of the Arabs had banded together against the prophet sallall.aii wasallam and his companions. They all banded together. They were all one hand united. United against what? This was in itself a miracle. The Arabs had never been united in such a way before this day. It took their hatred of Allah and his messenger, their hatred ofahillah, and their unanimous despise for the implications of this new religion, what they claim is new, in order for them to band together against a common enemy. So, in itself, it was a miracle. It was very miraculous that these tribes that were initially waring with each other sometimes for centuries on end over the most petty of things. You find that they are banded together hand in hand hand in hand side by side against this common enemy. So they were very very dispersed. They were all differing with each other but they all agreed on their unanimous hatred of the prophet sallallahu alaii wasam the Quran and the believers. Now this was an extremely terrifying event for them to the point that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala described amongst the strongest of the companions as that the hearts were in the throats not just by any men not by soft handed dames. These were the companions. These were the most valiant, valorous warriors history has ever seen. And this is their state of fear. However, one thing really, really stands out. What is that? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala described their level of fear. But he also described their morale. He also described their mantra. He also described their internal interminable dialogue. What was going through the minds and hearts of the believers? What were they saying at this critical moment? Not with their tongues, not what were they uttering. What were they saying in their heart of hearts? They were saying incredible. They were saying this is exactly the believers. This is exactly what Allah and his messenger promised. And this is exactly what Allah and his messenger promised. This is the fulfillment of that promise. And Allah and his messenger have are ever true. Are ever true. Now notice this wording. This is incredible. What What is in reference to what are they saying? This is what Allah and his messenger promised us. They didn't say this is what Allah and his messenger threatened us with. No, they said this is what Allah and his messenger promised us. What what are they referring to? They are referring to the difficulty, the trial, the tribulation, the fear. This is what Allah and his messenger promised would happen just before the sun rises. And so even though they were scared, they were cold, they were uncertain, they were reliant on people that are lower than cockroaches. However, on top of that, it was a kind of comfort for them. It was a major comfort that kept them steadfast that this is what Allah and his messenger have promised. What are they referring to? the promise of difficulty. The scholars say, "If you want to know who is upon the truth, look at what the arrows unite against as a target. If you want to get a good feel for who is upon the truth, look at whom the you the the arrows of antagonists unite against as a target, right? Because as the Arab idiom goes that What does this mean? If you imagine with me, very very tall trees. Many of us who grew up overseas, we had fruit trees that were very tall. And people when they would have their eye on a particular fruit that looked particularly succulent, you'd take a stone and try to knock it out of the tree. Right? Many of us grew up doing this. And so which tree gets the most stones thrown at it? Only the tree with the most fruits and the best fruits. Trees that are sterile. Trees that don't have any fruits on them, nobody's throwing stones at them. They're leaving them alone. And so this next verse that we're going to read, this verse is the promise that the companions were referring to when they said, "This is what Allah and his messenger promised us." In surah bakar verse number 155 Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said this is before he said he says subhanahu wa ta'ala that which translates to And verily indeed we are going to test you all with a portion of fear and hunger and a lack of wealth and bodies and fruits and give glad tidings to the patient. So the the verse you would expect that a verse that is so daunting at the beginning and indeed we are going to send tribulation and hardship your way. You wouldn't expect the end of the verse to be and give the good news. You wouldn't expect that to be the end of the verse. But the but this is the miracle of the Quran and this is the beauty of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's his how he raises and cultivates the hearts and souls. He gives us what we need not necessarily what we want and what we want is rarely ever what we need as human beings. So the verse starts with we are going to inflict pain upon you. Good news. Good news for you. And this is why the scholars referred to this verse as a guest, an honored guest sent by Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala amongst the companions. We will talk about the details of this verse tomorrow inshallah. But as a parting thought, if you were to imagine with me a jeweler, a goldsmith who has raw gold that needs to be purified before he can make it into something that is some kind of jewelry, something that people will want, something that people will will will admire. He has to purify it. He has to get it ready. He has to after purifying it, he has to then cut it and stamp it and bend it. And it's a very strange process. It's a very violent process. Now, if you imagine with me, if he has different pieces of gold there of different value and different purity, which pieces of gold are going to get the most attention from the jeweler? Is it going to be the lowest quality gold with the lowest potential? Or is the jeweler going to give his most most of his attention and priority to the gold that he knows he can make the best out of and that gold will make the best for him. And so the tribulations and trials and difficulties, they're not fun. However, they are a sign that the jeweler is.

[Arabic recitation]