And in the hadith of [Abu Bakr] al-Siddiq, narrated by Ahmad, al-Tirmidhi and
others from the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam), he said: "Ask Allah for good health and
certainty. Besides certainty one can be given nothing better than good health.
Therefore, ask Allah for them." Hence, certainty in times of calamity and
holding firmly to the belief that calamities happen with Allah's knowledge and
permission, produces tranquility and peace in the heart, and reliance on Allah.
This is the most perfect Iman in Allah's predestination of both good and evil,
as illustrated in Allah's saying: "No kind of calamity can occur, except
with the permission of Allah: and if anyone believes in Allah, He [Allah] guides
his heart the right way..." (64:11). said: "Ibn Masud narrated:
'He is a man who when a calamity befalls him, knows that it happens with Allah's
knowledge and permission, feels content, and accepts it."' Allah's saying:
"Allah guides his heart the right way," refers to the increase of his
Iman, as illustrated in the following saying of Allah. Allah says:
"But to those who receive Guidance, He increases the [light of]
Guidance…". (47:17). Allah also says: They were youths who
believed in their Lord, and We advanced them in Guidance" (18:13).
The term "belief," of all the terms mentioned in the Quran, is the
one most frequently used in a muqayyad, conditioned, sense. When used in this
manner, it does not include everything that Allah commands. However, when Iman
is used in an absolute sense it encompasses [all] of those attributes or actions
that are necessarily associated with it and the perfection of all that has been
commanded. Allah says: "Believe in Allah and His Messenger, and spend of
that whereof He has made you trustees. And such of you as believe and spend,
theirs will be a great reward. And what is wrong with you is that you believe
not in Allah! While the Messenger invites you to believe in your Lord has indeed
taken your covenant, if you are real believers. It is He Who sends down His
Manifest Verses to His Slave [Muhammad] that He may bring you out from darkness
to light. . ." (57:7-9). Toward the end of the same chapter He also
says: "Oh, you who believe! Fear Allah, and believe in His Messenger
[Muhammad], He will give you a double portion of His Mercy, and He will give you
Light by which you shall walk [straight], and He will forgive you. And Allah is
All Forgiving, Most Merciful" (57:28).
Some Qur'anic interpreters explain the first verse as being addressed to the
Quraysh tribe, and the second verse as being addressed to the Jews and
Christians. However, this cannot be the case, for Allah never addresses
unbelievers as: "Oh, you who believe." After this Allah says:
"So that the people of the Scriptures [Jews and Christians] may know
that they have no power whatsoever over the Grace of Allah…."
(57:29). It is agreed that this chapter of the Quran is among those revealed
during the time when the Prophet was in Madinah; hence, it was not used to
address the polytheists in Makkah. Allah says, "And what is the matter
with you that you believe not in Allah! While the Messenger [Muhammad] invites
you to believe in your Lord, and He has indeed taken your covenant, if you are
real believers" (57:8). It is clear that this verse is not addressed to
an unbeliever. Moreover, no covenant had been made with the unbelievers in
Makkah, but rather with the believers who pledged their allegiance to the
Prophet. All the Muslims who emigrated [to Madinah] acknowledged the Prophet
(sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) as their leader, as did his Supporters on the night of al-Aqabah.
However, the Prophet simply called them to realize and perfect their belief by
performing those actions required of them both outwardly and inwardly, just as
we ask Allah in every prayer we pray to guide us along the Straight Path. And
although Allah guides believers to acknowledge [the truth of] the Prophet's
message as a whole, the detailed guidance in all that they say and do has not
yet been realized. However, all this specific, detailed guidance is now a part
of the belief that believers are commanded to have, and through it Allah brings
them out of darkness into light.