BismiLlah Rrahmanni Rraheim

In the Name of Allah The Most Gracious The Most Merciful.

Assalaam Alaykoum Wa RahmatouLlah wabarakatouh

Allah Test Allah ibtilaa

Al-Ibtilaa' means to be tried or tested. Allah tests us with wealth, plenty, ease and power just as He
tests us with poverty,
hardship and oppression. Al-Ibtilaa' is a sunnah of Allah Most High. Throughout history, Allah has
tested the bearers
of His messages and others among His slaves. The test of Allah can be very hard, but by means of it
Allah raises the level
of His prophets and erases the sins of the righteous believers. The complete defeat of the Muslims
and the overrunning of
their homes and property by the disbelievers is NOT one of Allah's tests which he puts on the
believers. Rather, it is a sign
of their having fallen out of Allah's favor through their crimes and sins.

The Prophet(sas) informed us that the presence of tests indicates the presence of iman and that a
believer may continue
to be tested until he has no sin remaining. Although Allah's tests can benefit us in the long run, a
believer does not
wish for the test of Allah - rather he always hopes for the forgiveness and mercy of Allah Most High.
Allah said in the Qur'an:

{And we will surely test you with some fear, hunger and shortages of property, people and produce.
But give good tidings to
the steadfast. Those who, when a calamity befalls them say: "We belong to Allah and to Him we
return." Upon these are prayers
from their Lord and mercy and these are the rightly-guided ones.}
Al-Baqarah: 155-157