Page 11 - The Secret Behind Our Trials

Introduction
But here we must consider an important point: The above ex-
amples are about the transitory pleasures of this worldly life, all of
which will disappear with the person’s death or may be lost sud-
denly due to some unexpected mishap. For example, a young per-
son who spends years working assiduously to pass an exam may be
killed in an accident before taking that exam. Or, a person’s effort
and energy expended in the quest of buying a house may be disas-
trously undone in an instant through fire.
All of the pleasures sought after in this earthly life, no matter
how hard we may work for them, are transitory. But there is also a
real and genuine life of endless pleasure, one that will never be lost
or consumed, one that human beings will enjoy for eternity: the life
after death that believers work so hard in this life to attain. They re-
gard this goal as being far more important than anything else and al-
ways keep it before their eyes.
So, this worldly life is a "testing ground" that human beings
must go through to determine which type of eternal life they will ex-
perience in the Hereafter. While in this world, human beings take an
exam to enter the Afterlife. In every case, the correct answer is to
pursue Allah's good pleasure. In reality, life is no more than a transi-
tory testing and training period created by Allah for each person.
Throughout this period, human beings are responsible for ponder-
ing this reality in order to know our Lord, obey His commands, and
seek His good pleasure. They are also responsible for showing grace,
patience, and moral strength in the face of everything that happens
to them while in this world. The great secret within this test is
known only to believers: to be content in knowing that everything is
a test from our Lord and to meet every eventuality with joyful en-
thusiasm.
Those who grasp this secret and live according to this hidden,

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