Ordeal
41 sayings · page 1 of 2
There is no tension or ease, unless it involves Allah's favor and test.
al-Tawhid, p. 354, no. 1; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 654 link
There is nothing that has tension or ease from all that Allah has commanded or prohibited except that it involves a test and a judgment from Allah, the Exalted
al-Tawhid, p. 354, no. 3; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 654 link
Imam Amir-ul-Mu'mineen Ali [a] said
Know that Allah, most Highig, uncovered the people, not because He was ignorant of their well-kept secrets and inner thoughts, but in order to test them [to see] which of them is best in conduct, so that reward becomes the prize and punishment becomes the penalty.
Sharhe Nahj al-Balagha by Abi al-Hadid, v. 9, p. 84; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 655 link
Every single ordeal contains a favor from Allah that encompasses it
Bihar al-Anwar, v. 78, p. 373, no. 34; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 658 link
Imam Amir-ul-Mu'mineen Ali [a] said
said, when he set out to pray for rain, 'Allah tries His servants when they commit evil deeds, with shortage of crops, disallowance of blessings and closing the treasury of bounties, so that a repenting man may repent, a man likely to quit may quit, a man likely to remember may remember, and a man likely to be deterred may be deterred
Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 123; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 658 link
Imam Amir-ul-Mu'mineen Ali [a] said
The greater the ordeal and test, the greater the reward and recompense. Do you not see that Allah, the Praiseworthy, tested our precursors from the time of Adam, peace be upon him, to the last generations in this world, with [the creation of] stones that neither harm nor benefit, nor do they see or hear, and He made from them His sacred House, which He made a standing place for people?! But Allah tries His servants with various ordeals, and obligates them with various forms of struggle, and tests them with various dreads, in order to eradicate vanity from their hearts and instill humility in their souls and that this may open the doors to His favor and the feasible means to His forgiveness.
Sharhe Nahj al-Balagha by Abi al-Hadid, v. 13, p. 156; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 655 link
Imam Amir-ul-Mu'mineen Ali [a] said
Verily you will be put in tense perplexity and be finely filtered, until you are turned upside down; then certain people will surpass [others] after having lagged behind, while those who were ahead fall back
Bihar al-Anwar, v. 5, p. 218, no. 12; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 655 link
Imam Amir-ul-Mu'mineen Ali [a] said
Do not rejoice at wealth and luxury, nor dread poverty and ordeal; for verily gold is tested by the fire and the believer is tested by an ordeal.
Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 10394; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 656 link
Imam Amir-ul-Mu'mineen Ali [a] said
Verily the ordeal is faster in descending upon a pious believer than rain to the bottom of the earth.
Bihar al-Anwar, v. 67, p. 222, no. 29; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 656 link
The prophets have the hardest ordeals from among people, then they scale down according to their piety.
al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 252, no. 1; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 656 link
when he was asked about the believer's trial with leprosy and similar diseases, said, 'Were ordeals reserved for other than the believers?!
Bihar al-Anwar, v. 67, p. 221, no. 27; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 656 link
Allah, most High, revealed to Prophet Job [Prophet Job (AS) is known as Ayy b in the Arabic tradition (ed.)], 'Do you know what your sin against Me was that brought ordeals down upon you?' He said, 'No.' He said, 'You entered the court of the pharaoh and uttered two flattering words
al-Da`awat, p. 123, no. 304; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 657 link
Allah loathes the withdrawn wicked man, who never sustains any harm to his body or wealth.
Bihar al-Anwar, v. 81, p. 174, no. 11; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 657 link
I hate for a man to be immune [to ordeals] in this world's life and not suffer any affliction
Bihar al-Anwar, v. 81, p. 176, no. 14; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 657 link
Allah feeds His believing servant with ordeals like a mother feeds her child milk.
Bihar al-Anwar, v. 81, p. 195, no. 52; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 657 link
When Allah wants good for a people, he tries them
Jami`a al-Akhbar, p. 310, no. 855; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 657 link
Allah, the Exalted, brings trial to the believer like a man brings his family a gift upon his return from a trip; and He denies him this world like a doctor puts a patient on diet
al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 255, no. 17; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 658 link
You will not be believers until you consider the ordeal as a bounty and ease as an affliction, for patience during an ordeal is greater than oblivion during ease
Jami`a al-Akhbar, p. 313, no. 870; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 658 link
No more than forty nights can pass on a believer without something that saddens him and causes him to remember [Allah's admonition].
Bihar al-Anwar, v. 67, p. 211, no. 14; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 659 link
When Allah wants good for a servant who commits a sin, He follows it with a punishment and reminds him to ask for forgiveness. But if Allah, wants bad for a servant who commits a sin, He follows it with a favor that makes him forget to ask for forgiveness and continue sinning. This is the meaning of Allah's verse, "We will draw them imperceptibly [into ruin], whence they do not know"81: with favors whenever they sin.
Bihar al-Anwar, p. 229, no. 41; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 659 link
Imam Amir-ul-Mu'mineen Ali [a] said
Praise be to Allah, Who offset the sins of our followers (shi`aa) through their hardships, so that their obedience remains immune through it and they become deserving of reward as a result of it.
Bihar al-Anwar, p. 232, no. 48; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 659 link
Imam Amir-ul-Mu'mineen Ali [a] said
Whenever Allah punishes a believing servant in this world, [it is only because] He is too Clement, too Glorious, too Generous, and too Kind to requite him with punishment on the Day of Resurrection.
Bihar al-Anwar, p. 243, no. 82; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 660 link
When Allah, Blessed and most High, wants to honour a servant who has previously committed a sin, He tries him with illness, and if not with that then with need. And if not with that, then He makes his death difficult. But when He wants to humiliate a servant who has done some good previously, He makes his body healthy, or makes his sustenance abundant, or makes his death easy
A`alam al-Din, no. 433; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 660 link
Im?m Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-S?diq (a.s.) said, in the presence of Sadir, 'When Allah loves a servant, He immerses him completely in ordeal. O Sad r! We and you are in it day and night.
al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 253, no. 6; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 660 link
When Allah loves a people, or a certain servant, He pours ordeals down heavily on him, so that whenever he exits from a [source of] anguish he falls into another
Bihar al-Anwar, v. 82, p. 148, no. 32; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 660 link
The more faith a servant attains, the harder his life becomes.
Jami`a al-Akhbar, p. 314, no. 874; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 661 link
A man is tested according to the level of his love [for Allah].
Bihar al-Anwar, v. 67, p. 236, no. 54; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 661 link
It is written in the Book of Ali, 'The believer is tested according to the level of his good deeds, so whoever is sound of faith and good deeds, his ordeals are more intense. And that is because Allah, the Exalted, did not make this life a [source of] reward for a believer, nor a [source of] punishment for a disbeliever. However, he whose faith and deeds are weak, his ordeal is also little
Bihar al-Anwar, v. 67, p. 222, no. 29; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 661 link
A believer is like the two sides of a balance: the more faith he has the more ordeal he sustains, so that he meets Allah, the Exalted, without any sins
Bihar al-Anwar, v. 67, p. 243, no. 82; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 661 link
There is a rank in Paradise which no servant can reach except through suffering harm in his body.
Bihar al-Anwar, v. 67, p. 212, no. 16; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 662 link
Among what Allah, the Exalted, revealed to Prophet Moses: 'I have not created anything as dear to Me as My believing servant, so when I try him, I do so for his own good, and I make him prosper for his own good, and I shield him for his own good. And I know best what improves My servant, so let him endure My trial and be thankful for My favors, and be content with My decree, and I will record him among the righteous
Bihar al-Anwar, v. 72, p. 331, no. 14; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 662 link
Imam Amir-ul-Mu'mineen Ali [a] said
Allah does not try anyone with anything as [severe as] respite [i.e. a false sense of security].
Bihar al-Anwar, v. 73, p. 383, no. 8; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 663 link
Imam Amir-ul-Mu'mineen Ali [a] said
Poverty is part of the trial, and worse than that is the sickness of the body, and worse than that is the sickness of the heart.
Amali al-Tusi, p. 146, no. 240; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 663 link
Whoever is plagued by one of three things wishes to die: continuous poverty, a disgraceful wife, and an overpowering enemy
Tuhaf al-`Uqoul, no. 318; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 663 link
Imam Amir-ul-Mu'mineen Ali [a] said
Salvation comes at the peak of the ordeal
Bihar al-Anwar, v. 78, p. 12, no. 70; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 663 link
When an ordeal is added to another, relief will result from the ordeal
Tuhaf al-`Uqoul, no. 357; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 664 link
Imam Amir-ul-Mu'mineen Ali [a] said
During every hardship, say, 'There is no power or strength save in Allah, the High and the Great' (La Hawla wa La quwwata illa billah al- `Aliy al-`Adhim) and you will surmount it.
Bihar al-Anwar, 77, p. 270, no. 1; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 664 link
Imam Ali ibn Musa al-Rida [a] said
I saw my father in a dream, saying, 'Son, whenever you are in hardship, say abundantly, 'O Kind! O Merciful!' (Ya ra'ufu Ya rahim) Indeed, what you see in a dream is the same as what you see when you are awake.
Muhj al-Da`awat, p. 333; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 664 link
When you see people in ordeal, praise Allah without letting them hear you, lest it saddens them.
Bihar al-Anwar, v. 71, p. 34, no. 18; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 664 link
When you see a man in ordeal, say three times, without letting him hear you: 'Praise to Allah Who spared me what He tried you with, though He could have if He willed it so'. He said, 'Whoever says this will never be afflicted with that ordeal
Bihar al-Anwar,v.71,p.34, no. 15; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 665 link
Shown with the book and page each saying is taken from. The collection carries no grading, and the English is the compiler’s. All subjects