Allah says whoever can maintain their Iman during the calamity, – يَهْدِ قَلْبَه He will bless this person with the gift – the guidance to his heart. There is nothing more valuable in this world than Allah guaranteeing the guidance. He is telling us, you go through the hardship, and you maintain and strengthen the Iman, then you will give you real Iman, real faith inside of your heart and it won’t be something that you just say on your tongue. He will guide his emotions, He will guide his remembrance. Allah will become your guide in everything you do. And look the guidance is for the Qalb (i.e., heart), every beat the heart makes will be full of guidance. It’s such an amazing thing.
Allah (swt) says in the Quran :
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنَّ مِنْ أَزْوَاجِكُمْ وَأَوْلَادِكُمْ عَدُوًّا لَكُمْ فَاحْذَرُوهُمْ ۚ وَإِنْ تَعْفُوا وَتَصْفَحُوا وَتَغْفِرُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ إِنَّمَا أَمْوَالُكُمْ وَأَوْلَادُكُمْ فِتْنَةٌ ۚ وَاللَّهُ عِنْدَهُ أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ وَاسْمَعُوا وَأَطِيعُوا وَأَنْفِقُوا خَيْرًا لِأَنْفُسِكُمْ ۗ وَمَنْ يُوقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهِ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ إِنْ تُقْرِضُوا اللَّهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًا يُضَاعِفْهُ لَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ۚ وَاللَّهُ شَكُورٌ حَلِيمٌ عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ
O you who believe! Verily, among your wives and your children there are enemies for you; therefore beware of them! But if you pardon (them) and overlook, and forgive, then verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. Your wealth and your children are only a Fitnah, whereas Allah! With Him is a great reward. So have Taqwa of Allah as much as you can; listen and obey, and spend in charity; that is better for yourselves. And whosoever is saved from his own greed, then they are the successful ones. If you lend to Allah a handsome loan, He will double it for you, and will forgive you. And Allah is Shakur, Halim. All-Knower of the unseen and seen, the Almighty, the All-Wise. (Surah Taghabun 64:14-18)
When this iman goes into your heart, you will start understanding what these ayahs mean that Allah Owns everything in the skies and on Earth. It is so easy to say, isn’t it? What does that practically mean for me and you? That I own nothing, I don’t even own myself. Do you know what we say, when we lose something or hear the news if someone dies? Inna Allahi Wa Inna Ilai hi Rajeoun (Indeed we belong to Him and to Him is our return). If my entire being belongs to Him, how is that any part of me or any gift I have is mine? Remember, whatever trial or test you might go through in your life, it’s by Allah’s permission and Will. So, whenever a trial hits you, cry, but don’t curse, or complain. Instead ask Allah to help you straight away, seek His Help through prayer and patience and He will put something in your heart that will guide you through the calamity. He will give you tranquility or strength you didn’t know you could have. He indeed KNOWS what you are going through. He has created that situation. He is the one who is testing you. So just talk to Him and ask Him for help and strength.
The above ayahs addresses the believers, warning them against failure in the test represented in the temptation spouses, children and riches offer. They are required to remain God-fearing, be obedient to Him (swt) and give willfully for His (swt) cause. They are warned against being stingy. They are further promised the doubling of their provisions, forgiveness of their sins and success. They are finally reminded of God's all-encompassing knowledge, power and wisdom. The Quranic statement is wider in scope and import than this particular situation represents. For this warning is the same as that in the following ayah: "Your wealth and children are only a trial and a temptation." (Ayah 15) Both caution against the temptation that wives, children and wealth present. The warning that some spouses and children may be one's enemies refers to a true fact in human life. In this way, the ayahs touch upon some intricate and complex ties in man's emotions and how they are influenced by life's circumstances. Spouses and children may divert a person's attention from God's remembrance. They may also make a man fall short of discharging the responsibilities required of his faith; this in order to spare himself the troubles that he may face as a result of fulfilling such responsibilities. A person who strives for God's cause may be exposed to much loss and may have to sacrifice a great deal. He and his family may have to withstand much hardship. He may be willing to face such hardship himself, but cannot bear that such hardship be suffered by his wife and children. As a result, he may be tight-fisted and cowardly in order to ensure that they are safe, free of trouble and financially secure. Thus, they become his enemies as they turn him away from doing what is good and stop him from fulfilling the ultimate objective of his existence. Indeed, they may even stand in his way, stopping him from fulfilling his duty. In doing so, they may wish to spare themselves what may happen as a result, or they may not share his belief. In this way, man finds himself unable to separate himself from them and dedicate himself to God's cause. This is also a form of enmity that may vary in degrees. Furthermore, such situations are faced by believers at all times.
This very complex situation merits such a caution from Allah (swt) as to alert believers' hearts so that they do not allow such feelings and pressures to creep into their minds. The caution is stated again, this time as a warning against the temptation presented by wealth and children. The Arabic word used here is fitnah, which conveys two meanings. Both meanings are acceptable.
The first is 'trial', which makes the ayah mean that Allah (swt) puts you to trial by giving you riches and children. He tests you in this way, so always be on the alert in order to pass your test and dedicate yourself to Allah (swt).
The second meaning is 'temptation', and in this sense the ayah means that riches and children present temptations for you to indulge in sin. Beware of them and do not allow such temptations to distract you from the way that leads to Allah's acceptance.
‘Abdullah bin Buraidah narrated that his father told him: I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) delivering a sermon, and Hasan and Husain came forward, wearing red shirts, stumbling and getting up again. The Prophet (ﷺ) stepped down, picked them up and put them in his lap. Then he said: “Allah and His Messenger have spoken the truth. ‘Your wealth and your children are only a trial.’ [64:15] I saw these two and I could not be patient. Then he resumed his sermon.” (Grade:Hasan)
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو عَامِرٍ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَامِرِ بْنِ بَرَّادِ بْنِ يُوسُفَ بْنِ أَبِي بُرْدَةَ بْنِ أَبِي مُوسَى الأَشْعَرِيِّ، حَدَّثَنَا زَيْدُ بْنُ الْحُبَابِ، حَدَّثَنَا حُسَيْنُ بْنُ وَاقِدٍ، قَاضِي مَرْوَ حَدَّثَنِي عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ بُرَيْدَةَ، أَنَّ أَبَاهُ، حَدَّثَهُ قَالَ رَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ يَخْطُبُ فَأَقْبَلَ حَسَنٌ وَحُسَيْنٌ عَلَيْهِمَا قَمِيصَانِ أَحْمَرَانِ يَعْثُرَانِ وَيَقُومَانِ فَنَزَلَ النَّبِيُّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ فَأَخَذَهُمَا فَوَضَعَهُمَا فِي حِجْرِهِ فَقَالَ " صَدَقَ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ {إِنَّمَا أَمْوَالُكُمْ وَأَوْلاَدُكُمْ فِتْنَةٌ} رَأَيْتُ هَذَيْنِ فَلَمْ أَصْبِرْ " . ثُمَّ أَخَذَ فِي خُطْبَتِهِ .
Thus did the Prophet do with his two grandchildren. It is, then, a very serious matter. Therefore alerting people to it and making them aware of what it may lead to is necessary, as Allah (swt) who created people and gave them their natural feelings, knows. They can then restrain themselves so as not to allow such feelings to dictate their behaviour, knowing that such loving bonds could end up causing them what an enemy tries to cause. Therefore, When the warning is given and the encouragement is made to pass the test and to overcome the temptation, they are reminded of what Allah (swt) has in store for them : whereas Allah! With Him is a great reward (Surah 64:15) The believers are admonished to do their best to remain God-fearing and to obey Allah's orders : So have Taqwa of Allah as much as you can; listen and obey, and spend in charity; that is better for yourselves. And whosoever is saved from his own greed, then they are the successful ones. If you lend to Allah a handsome loan, He will double it for you, and will forgive you. And Allah is Shakur, Halim. All-Knower of the unseen and seen, the Almighty, the All-Wise. (Surah 64:16-18)
I pray that may Allah direct our emotions in the right direction, our actions become pleasing as what He likes them to be, may He give us strength through our difficult times and give us the ability to maintain and strengthen our Eman so we get this gift of guidance in our hearts in the middle of these insanely hard trials.
Rest Allah (swt) knows best.
Sources: Quran, Hadith, In the Shade of the Quran, Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Sunnah.com, verse by verse quran study circle.