A summary of the concepts held by the Ahl al-Sunnah.
The causes that lead one into tribulations (fitan).
Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy upon him, has sufficiently spared us the task of listing the causes of tribulations and falling into them.
He categorized them into two major causes, under which many sub-branches fall.
These two causes are: doubts (shubuhat) and desires (shahawat).
He, may Allah have mercy upon him, says:
Tribulation is of two types:
The tribulation of doubts, which is the greater of the two.
And the tribulation of desires.
A person may be afflicted by both, or by one of them individually.
The tribulation of doubts stems from weak insight and a lack of knowledge.
Especially when accompanied by a corrupt intention and the pursuit of whims.
That is where the greatest tribulation and the gravest calamity lie.
You may say whatever you wish regarding the misguidance of one with a corrupt intention,
whose judgment is governed by his whims rather than guidance,
coupled with his weak insight and lack of knowledge regarding what Allah sent His Messenger with.
He is among those of whom Allah the Almighty said:
“They are but names which ye have named, ye and your fathers, for which Allah hath revealed no warrant. They follow but a guess and that which (they) themselves desire. And now the guidance from their Lord hath come unto them.” (53:23)
The ultimate end of this tribulation is disbelief and hypocrisy.
It is the tribulation of the hypocrites and the people of innovation (bid'ah),
according to the varying degrees of their innovations.
For all of them only innovated out of the tribulation of doubts,
in which truth became obscured for them by falsehood, and guidance by misguidance.
Nothing saves one from this tribulation except the sincere following of the Messenger,
and making him the judge in both the minor and major aspects of the religion,
its outward and inward dimensions, its creeds and its deeds,
its realities and its laws.
This tribulation arises sometimes from a corrupt understanding,
sometimes from a false report,
sometimes from a confirmed truth that remained hidden from a person so he did not attain it,
and sometimes from a corrupt objective that one follows.
Thus, it is a blindness in insight and a corruption in will.
The second type of tribulation:
The tribulation of desires.
This is the tribulation whose cause is whim (hawa),
not ignorance of the truth or confusion regarding it.
Rather, the one afflicted by this tribulation has knowledge of the truth,
but he turns away from it and prefers something else,
from what his heart craves and his soul desires.
The root of every tribulation is placing personal opinion before the Shari'ah,
and whim before reason.
The former is the root of the tribulation of doubts,
and the latter is the root of the tribulation of desires.
It has been narrated in a mursal hadith—which some scholars have deemed weak,
yet its meaning is correct—
that Allah loves the critical eye
when doubts arise,
and He loves the sound intellect
when desires descend.
Therefore, the root of all tribulations
is either a doubt or a desire.
If tribulations coincide with a lack of knowledge and ignorance of the truth,
or a doubt based on a corrupt interpretation,
the person falls into tribulation because of the doubt.
And if it coincides with the person having knowledge of the truth,
but his patience against desires is weak,
he falls into tribulation because of desire, not doubt.
The third type of cause for tribulations:
It is a mixture of doubt and desire.
Meaning, the one who falls into tribulation does not admit that his patience is weak,
or that his whim has overcome him.
Rather, he attempts, with great effort,
to justify his whim with a religious doubt,
using it to justify his falling into what he has fallen into.
That is, he does not admit his error or his whim,
but rather claims he is upon the truth through his doubt,
whether through a corrupt interpretation or a weak piece of evidence.
There are other secondary causes for falling into tribulations,
among them are haste and impulsiveness,
neglecting the prayer for guidance (istikhara) and consultation (shura),
sitting with the people of this world, the immoral, and the innovators,
reading their books and articles,
becoming preoccupied with this world and relying upon it,
and preferring it over the Hereafter.
The causes of salvation from tribulations:
By knowing the aforementioned causes of falling into tribulations,
the causes of protection from them become clear to us.
The most important of them:
First:
Asking Allah the Almighty
for steadfastness upon the truth,
and seeking refuge in Him from tribulations,
both the apparent and the hidden.
As in the transmitted supplication:
"O Allah, I seek refuge in You from tribulations,
both the apparent and the hidden."
For there is no savior from tribulations
except by the aid and success granted by Allah,
and His protecting His servant from them.
Among the things that ensure Allah the Almighty’s response
to the one who calls upon Him and seeks refuge in Him
is Allah’s knowledge of the sincerity of His servant in his request and supplication.
And among the signs of the sincerity of the supplication and the request
is that one takes the other means that protect against tribulations.
Second:
Removing the tribulation of doubts through religious knowledge,
and the correct understanding of Allah the Almighty,
and of His rulings, which stems from the Book of Allah the Almighty
and the Sunnah of His Messenger, peace be upon him.
Regarding this, Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy upon him, says:
"Soundness of understanding and goodness of intention
are among the greatest blessings Allah has bestowed upon His servant.
Indeed, no servant has been given a gift after Islam better or more magnificent than these two.
Rather, they are the pillars of Islam, and it stands upon them.
Soundness of understanding is a light that Allah casts into the heart of the servant,
by which he distinguishes between the correct and the corrupt,
the truth and the falsehood,
guidance and misguidance,
and error and right conduct.
It is supported by goodness of intention,
the pursuit of truth,
and fearing the Lord in private and in public."
Neither the mufti nor the judge can issue a fatwa or judge with the truth
except through two types of understanding:
The first is understanding the reality and having fiqh regarding it.
The second type is understanding what is required in that reality,
which is understanding the ruling of Allah that He has decreed in His Book
or upon the tongue of His Messenger, peace be upon him, regarding this reality.
Then, one applies the one to the other.
Third:
Treating the tribulation of desires through fear of Allah the Almighty,
and preferring what He has in the Hereafter,
for that is better and more lasting.
And conditioning the soul to patience and piety.
“Assuredly ye will be tried in your property and in your persons, and ye will hear much wrong from those who were given the Scripture before you, and from the idolaters. But if ye persevere and ward off (evil), then that is of the steadfast heart of things.” (3:186)
Because this tribulation may afflict one who has knowledge of Allah the Almighty and His rulings,
but it comes to him through the door of whim and weak piety,
and was not due to a lack of knowledge of the truth,
but rather from a lack of piety and patience,
and preferring this world over the truth.
Fourth:
Since one of the causes of falling into tribulations
is haste and impulsiveness,
the remedy for that is deliberation, gentleness, forbearance, and patience.
Fifth:
Seeking the guidance of Allah the Almighty (istikhara),
and consulting those who are trusted for their knowledge, religion, and awareness of reality.
Sixth:
Striving to unite the word and rejecting division and disagreement,
except for those whom it is necessary to dissociate from, such as the people of disbelief, hypocrisy, and grave innovations.
Seventh:
Adhering to piety, sitting with the righteous,
performing many supererogatory acts of worship and acts of drawing near to Allah,
and frequently remembering Allah the Almighty.
Eighth:
Enjoining good and forbidding evil,
intensifying the call to Allah the Almighty,
and striving against the disbelievers and hypocrites with the tongue, wealth, and the sword.
And isolation when fighting occurs between the Muslims themselves.
Ninth:
Asceticism in this world and caution against its tribulation,
for it is a tribulation for every person who is tempted.
Tenth:
Withdrawing from tribulations and their people,
and not participating in them with tongue, pen, or sword.
Isolation is neither absolutely praiseworthy nor absolutely blameworthy,
but it varies from one person to another,
and from one place and situation to another.
One must look at the harms and benefits that result from it and weigh them against each other.
The principle is that if mixing involves cooperation in righteousness and piety,
then it is commanded.
But if it involves cooperation in sin and transgression,
then it is forbidden.
And isolation becomes mandatory in that case.