15/07/2026
*A Test Paper*
These days, we often see a scene where a person earns money and builds a magnificent house for himself, and then writes on it: "هذا من فضل ربی" ("This is from the grace of my Lord"). Apparently, this means: this is a reward from my God — God has bestowed His blessing upon me in the form of this house. But in its current usage, this meaning is not correct.
This verse of the Quran occurs in Surah An-Naml. Its background is that when the Queen of Sheba came to the court of Prophet Sulaiman (peace be upon him), he had her throne brought from Yemen (Marib) to Palestine through his subjugated jinn. According to the Quran's account, this event took place in the blink of an eye. A throne kept fifteen hundred miles away reached Prophet Sulaiman within a single second.
When Prophet Sulaiman witnessed this extraordinary event, these words came from his tongue: "This is from the grace of my Lord, so that He may test me whether I am grateful or ungrateful." ("هذا من فضل ربی، لیبلونی ءأشکر أم أکفر")
If we consider Prophet Sulaiman's complete statement, its meaning is that he essentially viewed this "grace" from the standpoint of a trial. In his view, this special favor from God was granted so that, through it, he would be put to the test — to see whether he would bow down in a spirit of gratitude, or instead adopt an opposite attitude driven by pride.
God Almighty's true reward, in its real sense, is what the believers will receive in the Hereafter. Whatever a person is given in this world is, in fact, an examination paper. Its purpose is to test, not to bestow favor ......... In this sense, the reality of comfort in this world is the same as the reality of hardship in this world. Both are examination papers for a person. In comfort, gratitude is required, and in hardship, patience. God's true reward in this world is that He grants a person the capacity to demonstrate gratitude in comfort and to demonstrate patience in hardship.
*Maulana Wahiduddin Khan*
*Book: QalAllah wa QalarRasul*
