The Wisdom of Fitnah in the Worldly Life Allah has Created

Hurtful occurrences are a method of separating God's servants among those seeking
his favor, those earning his wrath and those lost and wandering. Take for
explanation this example.

A soldier competes among others in the completion of an army obstacle course.

There are barbed wires under which to crawl; mud pits over which he must swing
and walls to scale. Upon completion of this course, the victors may be rewarded
with an even harder course entailing live firearms, explosives and severe tests of
physical endurance & psychological strength.

These trials are both feared and welcomed by those participating. They accept these
obstacles as necessary to pass in order to prove their worthiness of the honors.
Although they fear the obstacles and wish they could be declared successful without
facing them, they know of course this would make no sense. They prepare for these
difficulties. Training hours upon hours, week to week & year upon year. Denying
the existence of the obstacles or the course itself would seem nonsensical. The
course is there and they want to successfully complete it. That is the only way for
them to be victorious.

Hurtful occurrences in life are no more than obstacles. With regards to each of us,
they exist only for us to overcome. Perhaps a wall has some existence in its own
right. But with regards to the soldier’s undertaking of the course, it is merely
something large in his way solely to demonstrate how well he can scale vertical
objects. Perhaps the wall has separated two properties for decades and is now being
used in an obstacle course built through the existing neighborhood. Its existence
outside of the course is irrelevant to his encounter with it while running the course.
Likewise, how the wall is encountered by others either running the course or not, is
also irrelevant to him while he attempts the course's completion. Perhaps the wall is
only 10 ft long and can easily be walked around. The soldier however, must scale the
wall during his exam.
Say someone directs a bigoted insult towards you. The worst two thoughts one can
have would be those concerning the pain to yourself, or the maliciousness of the
insulter. Because these would preoccupy one’s mind with the minutia of this fleeting
world. "Why did she say that? That's not fair. She would not tolerate that from
someone." Essentially saying to myself, this situation exists between me and her.
She has done this to me and it must be rectified.

Would there be purpose in considering the reasonability of a wall when its

encountered during the obstacle course? "Why is this wall so tall? Why was it put
here? There's no reason for a wall here." Of course there's no reason for a wall! Its
an obstacle course. The wall is there for you to scale it. And there's someone
measuring your performance.

In the above case, God allowed her to insult you. Difficult situations are allowed to
exist by God. "...We have made some of you as a trial for others: will you have
patience?"25:20 This world will never be a paradise, because Paradise is the reward
after this world. This life will always have difficulties, because we are supposed to
have them. God wants us to experience suffering. "...We afflicted the nations with
suffering and adversity, that they might learn humility."6:42 He wants us to prove
ourselves.

Bigotry is very useful. Its existence gives the receiver an opportunity to demonstrate
his piety to The Hearer of All Words Spoken. To bear witness to my creator that I will
remember the innumerable bounties He has bestowed upon me. I will not be as the
child who has everything provided through the daily labors of her parents and
complains only of her perceived suffering, "why do I have to clean my room!"

Secondly, bigotry gives those who are partial to arrogance and pride an opportunity
to demonstrate their lack of character. The sole purpose of our short time here on
Earth is for God to sort his servants into those with whom He is pleased and those
with whom, for whatever reason, He is not. God reveals one of his names in the
Jawshan Khabir as, He Who is Feared Only for His Justice. Regardless of our potential
for evil, we must commit some crimes to receive their recompense. You cannot
arrest someone and say he wanted to kill you. He must at least make an attempt.
And even then, unless he succeeds, he's only guilty of attempted murder.
The situation above gives this bigot the opportunity to insult you. The Witness of All
Things is allowing opportunities for those who wish to cause harm, to demonstrate
their cruelty. For them to scream out through their actions 'their is no God and I fear
no one!' The Qur'an reveals "...Allah thus puts you to the test to bring out your true
convictions, and to bring out what is in your hearts. And Allah is well-aware what is in
your hearts"3:154

The One Most Worthy of Gratitude is using this person to test your patience,
humility & thankfulness when faced with bigotry. And He is using you to tempt this
bigot into digging her own grave. Both of you have been obstacles in each other's
trial. Nothing is owed to you from the insulter. All debts are between us and Allah.
If Allah puts you in harm and you succeed in piety, in His gracious mercy He has
promised to repay you in full. If you commit crimes against your fellow man, you do
not owe them anything. Justice does not demand you repay those whom you
harmed. Your debt is to your Lord. And he will exact justice upon you as He sees fit.

This realization is the defining characteristic of a believer. We are not here for you
and not here for me. We are not here for our children, or our careers. We are not
here to save the world, nor for no reason at all. We are here for God. We are here
because of God. We are here with the mercy of God. And to him we will be returned.

These trials can be layered in ways visible only to the Seer of All Things Hidden and
Apparent. For instance, God is pleased with our repentance to Him. The
acknowledgment that our actions are accountable to Him alone and with Him lies
our forgiveness. When The One who Loves to Forgive permits his servants to commit
sins, either against themselves or others, He is offering them the opportunity to
repent. She now has the chance to seek forgiveness for her bigotry towards you.
She has the opportunity through her own human malice, actually to earn God's favor.
He may become so pleased with a servant who honestly seeks forgiveness for her
poor choices, the favors this earns more than out weigh her original actions.
Through God's mercy, one who spends her life hindering from the Path of Allah, may
have only accrued unique opportunities to earn God's pleasure through her
repentance.
When explaining leprosy, my father once referred to pain as a gift from God.
Because without it we continue to harm ourselves and show little caution.

When we meet our Lord, He will recount to us our time in this abode that will then
seem “…as if they lingered (there) only a morning or an afternoon.”-79:46 We will
exclaim in excuse this was done to me and that was done to me. This was unfair.
These situations caused me to seek revenge. What may his answer be? "She did to
you exactly what I allowed Shaytan to persuade her to do. And you forgot me."
While we are so ever-preoccupied not only with this world, but those in it, we forget
the only judge whose decision matters.

What about the times when our low desires get the best of us? What may he say? "I
allowed Shaytan to make those suggestions to you. And you followed him. I have
prepared a special torment for him. And now, for you as well." Our cruel actions are
not against each other. All the harm I create hurts only myself.

Life is fitnah, tests and trials. How we traverse those difficulties will determine our
future. "Do you think that you will enter Paradise before Allah tests those of you who
fought and those who remained steadfast?" 3:142