The trials are presented to the hearts, like a reed mat, stick by stick
Authenticعَنْ حُذَيْفَةَ رضي الله عنه قَالَ: كُنَّا عِنْدَ عُمَرَ رضي الله عنه، فَقَالَ: أَيُّكُمْ سَمِعَ رَسُولَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَذْكُرُ الْفِتَنَ؟ فَقَالَ قوْمٌ: نَحْنُ سَمِعْنَاهُ، فَقَالَ: لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْنُونَ فِتْنَةَ الرَّجُلِ فِي أَهْلِهِ وَجَارِهِ؟ قَالُوا: أَجَلْ، قَالَ: تِلْكَ تُكَفِّرُهَا الصَّلَاةُ وَالصِّيَامُ وَالصَّدَقَةُ، وَلَكِنْ أَيُّكُمْ سَمِعَ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَذْكُرُ الَّتِي تَمُوجُ مَوْجَ الْبَحْرِ؟ قَالَ حُذَيْفَةُ: فَأَسْكَتَ الْقَوْمُ، فَقُلْتُ: أَنَا، قَالَ: أَنْتَ لِلَّهِ أَبُوكَ، قَالَ حُذَيْفَةُ: سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: «تُعْرَضُ الْفِتَنُ عَلَى الْقُلُوبِ كَالْحَصِيرِ عُودًا عُودًا، فَأَيُّ قَلْبٍ أُشْرِبَهَا نُكِتَ فِيهِ نُكْتَةٌ سَوْدَاءُ، وَأَيُّ قَلْبٍ أَنْكَرَهَا نُكِتَ فِيهِ نُكْتَةٌ بَيْضَاءُ، حَتَّى تَصِيرَ عَلَى قَلْبَيْنِ، عَلَى أَبْيَضَ مِثْلِ الصَّفَا فَلَا تَضُرُّهُ فِتْنَةٌ مَا دَامَتِ السَّمَاوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُ، وَالْآخَرُ أَسْوَدُ مُرْبَادًّا كَالْكُوزِ، مُجَخِّيًا لَا يَعْرِفُ مَعْرُوفًا، وَلَا يُنْكِرُ مُنْكَرًا، إِلَّا مَا أُشْرِبَ مِنْ هَوَاهُ»، قَالَ حُذَيْفَةُ: وَحَدَّثْتُهُ، أَنَّ بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهَا بَابًا مُغْلَقًا يُوشِكُ أَنْ يُكْسَرَ، قَالَ عُمَرُ: أَكَسْرًا لَا أَبَا لَكَ؟ فَلَوْ أَنَّهُ فُتِحَ لَعَلَّهُ كَانَ يُعَادُ، قُلْتُ: لَا بَلْ يُكْسَرُ، وَحَدَّثْتُهُ أَنَّ ذَلِكَ الْبَابَ رَجُلٌ يُقْتَلُ أَوْ يَمُوتُ حَدِيثًا لَيْسَ بِالْأَغَالِيطِ. قَالَ أَبُو خَالِدٍ: فَقُلْتُ لِسَعْدٍ: يَا أَبَا مَالِكٍ، مَا أَسْوَدُ مُرْبَادٌّ؟ قَالَ: شِدَّةُ الْبَيَاضِ فِي سَوَادٍ، قَالَ: قُلْتُ: فَمَا الْكُوزُ مُجَخِّيًا؟ قَالَ: مَنْكُوسًا.
Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: We were with ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and he said: Who among you heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) mention the trials? Some people said: We heard him. He said: Perhaps you mean the trial of a man in his family and his neighbor? They said: Yes. He said: That is expiated by prayer, fasting, and charity. But who among you heard the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) mention the trial that surges like the waves of the sea? Hudhayfah said: The people remained silent, and I said: I did. He said: May your father be sacrificed for you! Hudhayfah said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: "The trials are presented to the hearts, like a reed mat, stick by stick. Any heart that absorbs them, a black spot will be marked in it, and any heart that rejects them, a white spot will be marked in it, until the hearts become two: one white, like a smooth rock, untouched by any trial as long as the heavens and the earth remain, and the other black and discolored, like a jug, turned upside down, not acknowledging what is good nor rejecting what is evil, except for what it has absorbed of its desires." Hudhayfah said: I informed him that between you and them is a closed door, which is about to be broken. ‘Umar said: Will it be a break, may you have no father? If it were opened, perhaps it would have been restored. I said: No, it will be broken. I informed him that this door is a man who will either be killed or die, a speech that is not full of falsehoods. Abu Khālid said: I said to Sa‘d: O Abu Mālik, what is "black and discolored"? He said: It is extreme whiteness mixed with blackness. He said: I said: What is "a jug turned upside down"? He said: Turned over.
Explanation
The Commander of the Believers, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him), was in his assembly, and with him was a group of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), so he said to them: Who among you heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) mention the trials? Some people said: We heard him mention the trials. ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Perhaps you mean the trial and test a man faces within his household: with his wife and children, due to his excessive love for them, his miserliness towards them, his being preoccupied with them to the detriment of much goodness, or his negligence in fulfilling their rights, disciplining them, and educating them. Likewise, the trial of a man with his neighbor and similar matters—perhaps this is what you mean? They said: Yes. He said: Those are trials that require accountability, and among them are sins that can be hoped to be expiated by good deeds, such as prayer, fasting, and charity. But who of you heard the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) mention the public trials due to their great severity and extensive prevalence, shaking people like the waves of the sea in turmoil? The people kept silent, and Hudhayfah ibn al-Yamān (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) said: I heard him. ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) rejoiced and said to him: May Allah bless your father for bringing someone like you; speak. Hudhayfah said: He (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: Trials appear and cling to the surface and sides of a person's heart, just as the straw mat clings to the side of one lying on it. The heart is deeply impacted by how tightly the trials adhere to it. These trials are repeated and recur, one after another. Any heart they enter, that embraces them and allows them to mix within it, as a drink permeates a body, becomes marked with a black spot. And any heart that rejects them is marked with a white spot until hearts become of two kinds: a white heart, firm in its bond of faith, free from defects, and unaffected by trials, like a smooth, polished rock upon which nothing sticks—such a heart is unharmed by any trial until it meets Allah. The other heart is a heart that has turned black from the trials, like a tilted or overturned pitcher that cannot hold water. Similarly, this heart does not retain any good or wisdom. It does not acknowledge what is right, nor does it denounce what is evil, except for what it desires and craves. Hudhayfah said to ‘Umar: These trials will not emerge during your lifetime, and between you and them is a closed door that is about to be broken. ‘Umar asked: Will it be broken completely? If it were opened, perhaps it would have been restored. Hudhayfah replied: No, it will be broken. And that door is a man who will be killed or die. What I have mentioned is a true and confirmed report, not from the scriptures of the People of the Book, nor from the opinion of any scholar, but from the Hadīth of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him).
Benefits
- The danger of public trials lies in the bloodshed, the loss of wealth, and the disappearance of security therein.
- If the personal trials are related to religion, the person will be blamed, as they are either religious innovations or sins. But if they are related to worldly matters, they are a test and trial for the person, and he must be patient.
- The heart is affected by the trials that are presented to it, and the successful one is the one whom Allah guides to remain steadfast on guidance.
- An-Nawawi said: The author of At-Tahrīr said: The meaning of the Hadīth: When a person follows his desires and commits sins, darkness enters his heart with every sin he commits. When this happens, he becomes misled, and the light of Islam is removed from him. The heart is like a jug; if it is turned upside down, whatever is inside it pours out, and nothing can enter it after that.
- ‘Umar's words to Hudhayfah: (La aba lak) mean: Be serious in this matter, and prepare yourself like one who has no helper.
- The merit of ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and that he is a closed door between the people and trials.
Source · Narrated by Muslim
From the Hadith Encyclopedia (hadeethenc.com).