11. BALĀ’ (TEST)

Allah says in the Qur’ān:
وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنْفُسِ
وَالثَّمَرَاتِ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ. الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُمْ مُصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ.
أُولَئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُهْتَدُونَ.
(البقرة : ١٥٥-١٥٧).
“Be sure We shall test you with something
of fear and hunger, some loss in goods, or lives and
the fruits (of your toil), but give glad tidings to those who patiently
preserve,--who say, when afflicted with calamity: ‘to Allah we belong,
and to Him is our return.’-- They are those of whom (descend)
blessings from their Lord, and mercy, and they are
the ones that receive guidance.” 39
Balā’ literally means “test” either with good or with bad things. In the Qur’ān, it has two meanings: test and blessing. Balā’ as a test is in the verse we have just mentioned before. Another example is in the following verse:
وَنَبْلُوكُمْ بِالشَّرِّ وَالْخَيْرِ فِتْنَةً وَإِلَيْنَا تُرْجَعُونَ (الأنبياء : ٣٥)
“… and We test you by evil and good by way
of trial. To Us must ye return.” 40
Balā’ which means “blessing” is found also in the following verse:
وَإِذْ نَجَّيْنَاكُمْ مِنْ آَلِ فِرْعَوْنَ يَسُومُونَكُمْ سُوءَ الْعَذَابِ يُذَبِّحُونَ أَبْنَاءَكُمْ
وَيَسْتَحْيُونَ نِسَاءَكُمْ وَفِي ذَلِكُمْ بَلَاءٌ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ عَظِيمٌ
(البقرة : ٤٩).
“And remember, We delivered you [i.e., the Israelites] from
the people of Pharaoh: they sent you hard tasks and chastisement,
slaughtered your sons and let your women-folk live: therein was
a tremendous trial [here means “blessing”] from your Lord.” 41
The Pharaoh of the oppression, Ramses II, had a dream that fire came from Jerusalem entering the houses of the Egyptians but not those of the Israelites. Therefore he knew that one of the Israelites was born and would threaten his kingdom. So, he killed the babies, and gave hard labour to the Israelites. But through Prophet Moses (p.b.u.h.) Allah delivered the Israelites from Pharaoh’s hard labour and this was a tremendous blessing.
A test is not easy, either good or evil. A man can lose hope because of a test. He might say like the atheists used to say: “If there is any god who is kind, merciful, why did He let this disaster happen? The prolific writer Mah.mūd Must.afā gives us the following answer:
1. Judging a play by watching only one act of it is misleading. A boy will cry when his father takes him to the hospital for an operation and will consider it an evil deed. But when the boy grows up he will understand that behind this accidental evilness there is a permanent goodness, for the sake of which forbearance is necessary. Man’s life is similar to this. His life is still going on, and his death does not unveil the curtain, because the play goes on after his death where there are still other acts. Therefore, the play of life cannot be judged by witnessing only one act of it, i.e., the presence of evil in this world.
2. Man’s personality, character, firmness (صَلَابَة) , and determination (عَزْم) , are firmly related to his suffering. Without wrongdoing (إسَاءَة), hurting (أَلمَ), and injustice(ظُلْم) , there would be respectively no forgiveness, mercy and justice.
3. A thing which seems to be a defect in a partial view is actually a blessing and goodness in the whole sight. What seems to be a dirty spot in a picture might in fact, looked at very closely, be a shadow without which the picture will not appear beautiful. Earthquakes, volcanoes’ eruptions and other natural disasters, in spite of destroying thousands of people, have a good function in keeping the balance between the disrupting and boiling inner part of the earth and its stable hard peel. Earthquakes restore mountains to their proper places after they have slowly moved. And mountains are like props protecting the peel of the earth from exploding, because of the hard pressure of the inner part of the earth.
4. Evil is one aspect of the nature of freedom given to man by Allah. Freedom of will has no significance if it is exclusively for doing good. Man will become compelled to do good things only. Therefore, doing evil is another aspect of man’s freedom of will. Allah says:
أَلَمْ نَجْعَلْ لَهُ عَيْنَيْنِ. وَلِسَانًا وَشَفَتَيْنِ. وَهَدَيْنَاهُ النَّجْدَيْنِ
(البلد : ٣)
“Have We not made for him a pair of eyes?--And a tongue,
and a pair of lips? And shown him two highways?” 42
The two highways of life, as explained by A.Y. Ali, are: (1) the steep and difficult path of virtue, and (2) the easy path of vice.
5. Good and evil are two sides of one coin. Floods and wars, for example, are evil on one side, but they mean life on the other. Wars divided people into families, clans, tribes, nations, and finally brought them to one international table in the Security Council of the United Nations. Through scientific research during the war people made discoveries and inventions: penicillin, blood transfusion, atomic energy, rockets, jet engines, submarines, radar, etc.
6. Evil in its pure origin does not exist. There is only absence of goodness, the absance that accompanies the limitations of man as well as of other creatures. Otherwise, man will become free from defect, and in turn, will become god, i.e., every man is created to be a god, and this is impossible.
In one tradition narrated by Suhayb the Prophet said:
عَجَبًا لِأَمْرِ الْمُؤْمِنِ إِنَّ أَمْرَهُ كُلَّهُ خَيْرٌ وَلَيْسَ ذَاكَ لِأَحَدٍ إِلَّا لِلْمُؤْمِنِ إِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ
سَرَّاءُ شَكَرَ فَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُ وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ ضَرَّاءُ صَبَرَ فَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُ
(أخرجه مسلم).
“How amazing the condition of a believer
Is! If good fortune befalls him, he thanks Allah and this is
good for him. And if ill-fortune befalls on him, he becomes
patient and this is [also] good for him.” 43
But for people who lack faith, let us hear what Allah says:
وَلَئِنْ أَذَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ مِنَّا رَحْمَةً ثُمَّ نَزَعْنَاهَا مِنْهُ إِنَّهُ لَيَئُوسٌ كَفُورٌ.
وَلَئِنْ أَذَقْنَاهُ نَعْمَاءَ بَعْدَ ضَرَّاءَ مَسَّتْهُ لَيَقُولَنَّ ذَهَبَ السَّيِّئَاتُ عَنِّي إِنَّهُ لَفَرِحٌ فَخُورٌ.
إِلَّا الَّذِينَ صَبَرُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ أُولَئِكَ لَهُمْ مَغْفِرَةٌ وَأَجْرٌ كَبِيرٌ.
(هود :٩-١١)
“If We give man a taste of mercy from Ourselves, and then withdraw
it from him, behold! he is in despair and (falls into) ingratitude. But
if We give him a taste of (Our) favours after adversity hath touched
him, he is sure to say, ‘All evil has departed from me.’ Behold!
He falls into exultation and pride. Not so do those who show
patience and constancy, and work righteousness; for
them is forgivenes(of sins) and a great reward.” 44

Footnotes:
39. Qur’ān, al-Baqarah [2]:155-157
40. Qur’ān, Hud [21]:35
41. Qur’ān, al-Baqarah [2]:49
42. Qur’ān, al-Balad [90]:3
43. Reported by Muslim
44. Qur’ān, Hūd [11]:9-11