Divine Test

It is narrated from Imam Hussain (AS) who said in one of his Duas: O’ Allah (SWT) do not test me by (granting) favours and do not correct me by calamity [1]. Imam (AS) said: Do not test me with favours; It is God’s method to test people by granting them Divine Blessings and Favours.

God tests people by giving and taking away blessings. Imam Sajjad (AS) said: If God grants a blessing and you forget to give thanks, grants you for the second time and tests you to see if you give thanks or you forget again. If you do not, for the third time another blessing is given and if you forget, another blessing is given; what a test! This is how God tests, and this is known as “Istedraj”: Grant blessings, forgetfulness and neglect from giving thanks (to God).

In the above Dua, Imam Hussain (AS) said:  O’ God, do not test me with Istedraj! Meaning, O’ God, I do not want the blessing which causes me to forget giving thanks. This Dua is very important! I do not want the blessing which makes me to neglect giving thanks. The second part of Dua; if you have failed in the test, How God should treat you? If a child makes a mistake, how that child is treated? That child is corrected. Imam Hussain (AS) said: O’ God, do not correct me with calamity! If I have done wrong, do not correct me this way! Because tolerating you calamity is very difficult [2].

[1] Beharul Anwaar, Vol. 75, page 127.
[2] Website of Ayatollah Sheikh Mojtaba Tehrani.