Almighty Allah of course knows that all the prophets He created were
pure believers possessed of lofty moral values; it is He Who created
them with a true depth and pure faith. Yet despite being our Lord's
chosen, superior and honored servants, the prophets were still
subjected to difficult tests all through their lives. Difficulties are
a great means whereby people could witness theirhonesty and adopt
their moral values as role models, for the prophets to improve their
closenessto and love of Allah, and for their goodness to increase many
times over in the Hereafter.
This climate of testing is described by means of thestories related in
the Qur'an. When he came to the sea, pursued by Pharaoh's army, the
Prophet Moses (as) saw no apparent way of escape. Those who failed to
properly appreciate theinfinite might of Allah said, "We are trapped,"
but as revealed in verses the Prophet Moses (as) said "Never! My Lord
is with me and He will guide me." (Surat ash-Shuara', 62)
Throughout that difficult time when he was imprisoned in the belly of
the fish, the Prophet Jonah (as) constantly turned to Allah and, as
revealed in a verse, "...called out (to the Lord) in absolute
despair." (Surat al-Qalam,47) The Prophet Jonah (as), who sincerely
turned to Allah during this difficult test, was rescued from the belly
of the fish through our Lord's mercy and compassion, and was then sent
to a communityas their prophet. This difficult test of the Prophet
Jonah is described as follows in the Qur'an:
Jonah too was one of the Messengers.
When he ran away to the fully laden ship
and cast lots and lost.
Then the fish devoured him and he was to blame.
Had it not been that he was a man who glorified Allah,
he would have remained inside its bellyuntil the Day they are raised again.
So We cast him up onto the beach and he was sick;
and We caused a gourd tree to grow over him.
We sent him to a hundred thousand or even more.
They believed and so We gave them enjoyment for a time.
(Surat as-Saffat, 139-148)
When our holy Prophet (saas) was attacked by the pagans on two sides
together with his community there appeared to be no escape.This was
the day of a most difficult test. At the same time, it was a very
special test in which true believers with a genuine faith in Allah,
Who trustedin Allah's help with all their hearts, and who trusted in
and embraced Him, could remain strong and expect His help. As ordained
by Allah, those who were unable to properly appreciate Him and the
hypocrites lost hope of His mercy and began dreaming up false ideas of
their own. Our All-Mighty Lord described this difficult climate in
another verse:
When they came at you from above you and below you, when your eyes
rolled and your hearts rose to your throats, and you thought unworthy
thoughts about Allah, atthat point the believers were tested and
severely shaken.
When hypocrites and people with sickness in their hearts said, 'What
Allah and His Messengerpromised us was mere delusion.' and a group of
them said, 'People of Yathrib, Your position is untenable so return!'
some of them asked the Prophet to excuse them,saying, 'Our houses are
exposed,' when they were not exposed; it was merely that they wanted
to run away. (Surat al-Ahzab, 10-13)
In this difficult climate, our Prophet (saas) and the pure believers
with him hoped for Allah's helpand support and placed their trust in
Him, saw that this had been promised by our AlmightyLord and gave
thanks. Almighty Allah reveals in a verse:
When the believers saw the Confederates they said: 'This is what Allah
and His Messenger promised us. Allah and His Messenger told us the
truth.' It only increased them in faith and in submission. (Surat
al-Ahzab, 22)
As our Lord reveals in a later verse; "Allah made it unnecessary for
the believers to fight. Allah is Most Strong, Almighty." (Surat
al-Ahzab, 25)
The Prophet Yusuf (as) also underwent many great tests and hardships
in his life. The way he wasfalsely accused and left in a dungeon for
years are ofcourse very difficult tests. But there is no doubt thatone
of the greatest tests he faced, and bore bravelyand happily for
Allah's approval, is the way he was thrown into a well byhis brothers
at an early age and waited in the darkness to be rescued. If a caravan
had not passed by during his time in the well, if the people in it had
not decided to draw water from the well, then he would have gone
through a martyrdom lasting several days. Thereis no doubt that
everything happens by Allah's Will, however. Allah created Prophet
Yusuf (as) as a worthy, superior and holy prophetand also ordained his
salvation in the finest manner in destiny.
The Prophet Lot (as) alsostruggled against the pressure from a heretical people,
:->
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