Why Does Allah Test Us? Surah Muhammad 31
Understanding Patience and Divine Testing: Surah Muhammad 31
Summary
This lecture discusses the concept of patience and trials in Islam, focusing on Surah Muhammad verse 31 which states that Allah tests people to reveal who truly strives and who is patient. The speaker explains the distinction between Allah's infinite, timeless knowledge (of all past, present, and future) and His knowledge of actions as they occur, emphasizing that humans are rewarded or punished based on what Allah sees happen, not on His pre-existing knowledge. The lecture also explores the purpose of human creation, explaining that Allah intentionally created humans in a state of deficit so they can earn, grow, and purify their souls through revelation and hardship rather than being created in a state of perfection without opportunity for growth.
Note: This transcript was generated using YouTube's automatic captioning, with AI-assisted cleanup for readability. It may contain inaccuracies due to background noise, audio quality, or limitations of the transcription software — particularly during Arabic recitation. Listener discretion is advised; please refer to the original video for precise wording.
Continuing in the chapter of patience of the illustrious and most important of books, authored by Muhamad. Were we.
[Silence]
The final verse that he mentions as laying the foundations for the rest of the narrations that are going to be mentioned in this chapter is the statement of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala found in verse number 31 of surah.
[Arabic recitation]
Also known as Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says that which translates to and indeed verily surely we are going to test you all so as to and we will test you until We know and see who of you is striving and who of you are patient. What does this mean? We're going to test you until we know. for.
[Silence]
The question here that you know presents itself is it's a curious choice of words. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is saying we are going to test you all with tribulations, with crises, with difficulties, with ease, with pleasure, with pain until we see, until we know who of you is striving and who of you is truly patient. So what does that mean? Does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala not know who of us is of such character already? The answer is that knowledge here in this context is two types in the Quran. You have knowledge of Allah subhanahuaala which is Allah subhanahu waala is infinite timeless knowledge before he created as he created after he created after he does away with the creation he subhanahu wa ta'ala knew all that was and knows all that is and all that will be and knows all that would be had things been. Subhanahu wa ta'ala. This is how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala refers to this knowledge when he refers to writing in the preserved tablet. when he refers to his writing of all of the decree of what is to be until the day of judgment. So this here is the knowledge of the preserved tablet. However, knowledge of what was and is and will be is not the same as knowledge of something that happened. And that is why the companions such as Abbas when they speak about these verses. So we will test you until we see who of you. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala already knows. However, he has not seen it yet. And him seeing something and hearing something is what he rewards for. He does not reward a human being or punish a human being based on what he knows will happen. He rewards or punishes based on what he sees or hears happen. Subhanahu wa ta'ala. So Abbas he as and others mention that knowledge here what is meant by it is knowledge of what has already happened. Knowledge of what has happened. meaning seeing when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sees something happen then he rewards then he punishes subhanahu wa ta'ala accordingly this is an important point because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's knowledge his infinite timeless knowledge is not what we are rewarded or punished for rather it is his knowledge of us doing something something that is in the past that is what we are rewarded or punished for. That's number one. Number two, when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions himself here, he mentions this along with the royal we. He doesn't say till I see. He says we. Who is we? here in this type of context it is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala the angels of punishment the angels of reward the angels of paradise the angels of the hellfire the angels that write the deeds they are all going to see what the human being does including the believers including the disbelievers including the human being himself he sees of himself what is and So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala knows who of us is truly striving and who of us is patient. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us all of those who are truly striving and truly patient. He knows that we don't know that. And until we know this and until he sees this, we cannot be we cannot be rewarded or punished for that. This also tells us, this verse also tells us, and there's others it, the reason why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tests us, the reason we have difficulty in our lives. Sometimes people ask a very silly question. They say things like, "If Allah wants us to be good, why didn't he just create us good?" Well, then what did we earn in doing that? What is what is majestic or great about a creation that doesn't earn its rank? What's what's so special about that? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us he says subhanahua we have not created the heavens and the earth out of sport as an amusement to play. We're not playing here. If we wanted to observe a sport or some kind of entertainment, we would have done this with other creatures that are closest to us. Meaning the highest ranking of angels. If Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala only wanted to observe and be entertained to Allah, he subhanahua is above being benefited by his creation. But hypothetically speaking, if sport was the purpose of the creation, there are much better creatures than you and I for such entertainment. Look at the misery that human beings put each other through. Look at the spilled blood. Look at the horrors and terrors that creep and roam the earth. This is not any kind of entertainment but for the sadistic. No, the purpose of this creation is not only for us to become better but for us to earn, for us to grow. He creates a creation that is weak and small and helpless and he gives it its tools and it builds itself up through his help subhanahu wa ta'ala. This is the closest a human being or any creation can be to independence as possible. And so the reason why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala creates us in a deficit is in order for us to earn to earn through Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala otherwise what's the point of creating us automatically creating us perfect creating us in the way that we should strive for there's no growth there there's no earning we don't learn anything by that and that is the whole point of our existence. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says he says successful are those who who grow and purify their souls. A zak in the Arabic language means two things sim at the same time. Purity and growth and the one who is successful is the one who grows his spirit and purifies his spirit. How do we do that? Through revelation and through hardship. That's the way we grow. We do that through knowledge and implementation. That's why Allah gives us examples in the Quran always with fire and water with revelation and hardship. They go hand in hand. The human being grows. Subhanahu Sai Wasam.