Dought & clear, - How can one who is afflicted with calamity know whether it is a punishment or a test to raise him in status?.

If a calamity befalls a Muslim, how can we know whether it is a
punishment for his sins or a test to raise him in status?.
Praise be to Allaah.
According to the Qur'an and Sunnah, there are two direct causes for
calamities and trials, in addition to the wisdom of Allah, may He be
exalted, in what He wills and decrees.
The first reason is:
Sins and acts of disobedience that the person has committed, whether
they constitute kufr or are no more than regular sins or are major
sins. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, will test the one who
committed them with calamity by way of requital and immediate
punishment (i.e., in this world).
Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning):"…but whatever of evil befalls you, is from yourself"
[an-Nisa' 4:79]. The commentators said: i.e., because of your sin.
And He, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning):"And whatever of misfortune befalls you, it is because of
what your hands have earned. And He pardons much" [ash-Shoora 42:30].
End quote fromTafseer al-Qur'an al-'Azeem, 2/363
It was narrated that Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
"If Allah wills good for His slave, He hastens his punishment in this
world, and if He wills bad for His slave, He withholds from him (the
punishment for) his sin, until He requites him for it on the Day of
Resurrection."
Narrated and classed as hasan by at-Tirmidhi (2396); classed as saheeh
by al-Albaani inSaheeh at-Tirmidhi.
The second reason is:
That Allah, may He be exalted, wants to raise in status the patient
believer, so He tests him with calamity so that he will bear it
acceptance and patience, then He will be given the reward of those who
are patient in the Hereafter, and will be recorded with Allah as one
of the victorious. Calamities befell the Prophets and the righteous
persistently, and Allah, may He be exalted, made it an honour for them
by means of which they attained high status in Paradise. Hence it says
in the saheeh hadeeth from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him): "If a certain status has previously been decreed by
Allaah for a person, and he does not attain it by his deeds, Allaah
afflicts him in his body or wealth or children."
Narrated by Abu Dawood, 3090; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani
inas-Silsilah as-Saheehah, no. 2599.
It was narrated from Anas ibn Maalik (may Allah be pleased with him)
that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
"Great reward comes with great trials. When Allah loves a people, He
tests them, and whoever accepts it attains His pleasure, whereas
whoever shows discontent with it incurs His wrath."
Narrated and classed as hasan by at-Tirmidhi (2396); classed as saheeh
by al-Albaani inas-Silsilah as-Saheehah, no. 146
The two reasons are mentioned together in the hadeeth of 'Aa'ishah
(may Allah be pleased with her), according to which the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Nothing befalls a
believer, a (prick of a) thorn or more than that, but Allaah will
raise him one degree in status thereby, or erase a bad deed."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (5641) and Muslim (2573).
Moreover, in most cases these two causes exist together rather than
either of them occurring on its own.
Do you not see that if Allah tests a person with calamity because of
his sin, and he bears it with patience and gratitude, Allah, may He be
exalted, will forgive him his sin, raise him in status in Paradise and
give him the reward of those who are patient and seek reward with Him?
When Allah tests a person with a calamity so that he will reach the
lofty status that He has decreed for him in Paradise, his previous
sins are expiated and it is regarded as requital for those sins in
this world, so the requital will not be repeated for him in the
Hereafter. This is what happened to some of the Messengers and
Prophets, such as Adam (peace be upon him) and Yoonus (peace be upon
him): Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, tested Adam with
expulsion from Paradise, and He tested Yoonus ibn Matta with being
swallowed into the belly of the fish. But by means of these tests,
Allah raised them in status because of their patience and seeking
reward with Him, may He be exalted. It was expiation for what each of
them had done of going against His command (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon both of them).
This proves that requital in this world is not separate from the
requital in the Hereafter. These two reasons are mentioned together in
many saheeh Prophetic hadeeths, such as that which was narrated by
Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqaas (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: I said:
O Messenger of Allah, who among the people are most sorely tested? He
said: "The Prophets, then the next best and the next best. A man will
be tested according to his level of religious commitment. If his
religious commitment is solid, his test will be more severe, but if
there is any weakness in his religious commitment, he will be tested
according to his level of religious commitment. And calamity will
continue to befall a person until he walks on the earth with no sin on
him."
Narrated by at-Tirmidhi (2398) who said: (It is) hasan saheeh.
Nevertheless, one of these two reasons may be more apparent in some
kinds of tests than the other. That may be understood by looking at
the circumstances of the calamity.
If the one who is affected is a kaafir, then his calamity cannot be to
raise him in status, because the kaafir will have no weight before
Allah on the Day of Resurrection. But there may be a lesson and a
reminder for others in that, not to do what he did. Or it may be an
immediate punishment for him in this world, in addition to what is
stored up for him in the Hereafter. Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"Is then He (Allah) Who takes charge (guards, maintains, provides,
etc.) of every person and knows all that he has earned (like any other
deities who know nothing)? Yet they ascribe partners to Allah. Say:
"Name them! Is it that you will inform Him of something He knows not
in the earth or is it (just) a show of false words." Nay! To those who
disbelieve, their plotting is made fairseeming, and they have been
hindered from the Right Path, and whom Allah sends astray, for him,
there is no guide.
For them is a torment in the life of this world, and certainly, harder
is the torment of the Hereafter. And they have no protector against
Allah"
[ar-Ra'd 13:33-34].
But if the one who is affected is a Muslim who commits sin openly or
is a blatant evildoer, then it is most likely that he is being
requited and punished with this calamity, because expiation of sins
comes before raising in status, and the sinner is in greater need of
expiation for his sins than of being raised in status.
On the other hand, if the Muslim is a devoted worshipper, obedient and
righteous, and there is nothing between him and Allah but true
'uboodiyyah (servitude), gratitude, praise, repentance and submission
to Him, may He be glorified, then it is most likely that this calamity
is a kind of honour and raising in status, and people are the
witnesses of Allah on earth. If they know him to be righteous, then
they may give him the glad tidings of raised status before Allah if he
is patient in bearing the calamity.
But if the one who is affected shows displeasure and panic, then it
cannot be thought that his calamity is an honour from Allah to raise
him in status, because Allah, may He be glorified, knew that he would
not be patient and accept it with contentment. So in this case it is
most likely that it is a requital and punishment. One of the righteous
said: The sign of calamity by way of punishment and requital is lack
of patience when a calamity befalls, and panic and complaining to
people. And the sign of calamity by way of expiation and erasing of
sins is beautiful patience without complaining, panic or impatience,
and lack of reluctance in fulfilling commands and doing acts of
worship.
The sign of calamity by way of raising a person in status is
contentment and acceptance, peace of mind, and patience in accepting
the will of Allah until relief comes. End quote.
All of this is merely circumstantial evidence that one may ponder in
order to learn something of the wisdom of Allah, may He be exalted,
that is behind calamities and trials. But he cannot be certain as to
which is the case with regard to himself or other people who are
afflicted with calamities.
Perhaps it is more important than all of these details to note that
the practical benefit that one should think about is that every
calamity and test is good for him and will bring reward if he is
patient and seeks reward with Allah, and that every test and calamity
is bad for him if he panics and get angry. If he trains himself to
bear calamities with patience and to be content with the decree of
Allah, after that it will not matter if he knows the reason for the
calamity or not. Rather it is always better for him to concern himself
with his sins and shortcomings and to look for some mistake that he
has committed, for all of us make mistakes. Who among us has not been
negligent in his duties towards Allah, may He be exalted? If Allah,
may He be glorified and exalted, caused the Muslims to suffer the
calamity of many of them being killed on the day of Uhud, even though
they were the Companions of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) and the best of mankind after the Messengers and
Prophets, because they had gone against the command of the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), then how can anyone think
after that that he is entitled to be raised in status for anything
that befalls him? When Ibraaheem ibn Adham (may Allah have mercy on
him) saw strong winds and clouds building up in the sky, he would say:
This is because of my sins; if I depart from among you, it will befall
you.]
So how about us with all our shortcomings and sins?
And even more important than all of that is that one should always
think positively of one's Lord, in all situations, for whatever comes
from Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, is good and He is the
Protector of the pious and Oft-Forgiving.
We ask Allah, may He be exalted, to have mercy on us and forgive us,
to teach us that which will benefit us and reward us for our
calamities, for He is All-Hearing and answers prayers.
And Allah knows best.