Page 28 - Paradise: The Believers' Real Home

26 PARADISE

'Imran, 173-174), no evil thing will touch them.
But because this world is a place of testing, believers will
face difficulties, such as hunger, illness, and sleeplessness, an
accident or material loss. They may go through even more dif-
ficulties and trials, such as those of poverty and constraint, as
indicated in the following verse:
Or did you suppose that you would enter Paradise
without facing the same as those who came before
you? Poverty and illness afflicted them, and they
were shaken to the point that the Messenger and
those who had faith with him said: "When is
Allah's help coming?" Be assured that Allah's help
is very near. (Surat al-Baqara, 214)
Such trials did not sway the Prophets and the believers
from their firm faith in our Lord, or from their determination
to put the Qur'an's verses into practice. At the end of the
verse, Allah promises believers that His assistance is already

very near to them. In another verse, He states that:
Allah will give security, in their victorious Safe
Haven, to those who had fear. No evil will touch
them, and they will know no sorrow. (Surat az-
Zumar, 61)
All believers know that difficulties are created to test
their faith, and that if they are patient and submissive, these
difficulties will be great opportunities for them to mature spir-
itually. In addition, these trials will become the source of their
eternal reward in the afterlife. For this reason, they will sub-