The wisdom behind the calamities that befell the Prophets

 

We know that calamities may be because of sins and that they expiate sins, but what is the wisdom behind the calamities that befell the Prophets?.

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly: 

One of the reasons for calamities is sins, but that is not
the only reason. Allaah may test some of His slaves who did not sin, so that
they may attain the reward of the patient, and thus be raised in status.
Allaah may also test some children, who have no sin. In order to learn more
about the wisdom behind calamities, please see question no.
35914. 

Secondly: 

The most severely tested of the people are the Prophets. 

Al-Tirmidhi (2398) narrated that Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqaas (may
Allaah be pleased with him) said: I said: “O Messenger of Allaah, which of
the people are most sorely tested?” He said: “The Prophets, then the next
best and the next best. A man will be tested in accordance with his level of
religious commitment. If his religious commitment is strong, he will be
tested more severely, and if his religious commitment is weak, he will be
tested in accordance with his religious commitment. Calamity will keep
befalling a person until he walks on the earth with no sin on him.” Classed
assaheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 143. 

In His Book, Allaah has mentioned different kinds of calamity
that befell the Prophets. 

Allaah says: 

“And indeed, We gave Moosa (Moses) the Book and followed
him up with a succession of Messengers. And We gave ‘Isa (Jesus), the son of
Maryam (Mary), clear signs and supported him with Rooh-ul-Qudus [Jibreel
(Gabriel)]. Is it that whenever there came to you a Messenger with what you
yourselves desired not, you grew arrogant? Some you disbelieved and some you
killed”

[al-Baqarah 2:87] 

“And when it is said to them (the Jews), ‘Believe in what
Allaah has sent down,’ they say, ‘We believe in what was sent down to us.’
And they disbelieve in that which came after it, while it is the truth
confirming what is with them. Say (O Muhammad to them): ‘Why then have you
killed the Prophets of Allaah aforetime, if you indeed have been
believers?’”

[al-Baqarah 2:91] 

“Then if they reject you (O Muhammad), so were Messengers
rejected before you, who came with Al‑Baiyyinaat (clear signs, proofs,
evidences) and the Scripture and the Book of Enlightenment”

[Aal ‘Imraan 3:184] 

“And (remember) when Moosa (Moses) said to his people: ‘O
my people! Why do you annoy me while you know certainly that I am the
Messenger of Allaah to you?’ So when they turned away (from the path of
Allaah), Allaah turned their hearts away (from the Right Path). And Allaah
guides not the people who are Faasiqoon (rebellious, disobedient to Allaah)”

[al-Saff 61:5] 

“And among them are men who annoy the Prophet (Muhammad)
and say: ‘He is (lending his) ear (to every news).’ Say: ‘He listens to what
is best for you; he believes in Allaah; has faith in the believers; and is a
mercy to those of you who believe.’ But those who annoy Allaah’s Messenger
(Muhammad) will have a painful torment”

[al-Tawbah 9:61] 

Ibraaheem (peace be upon him) was tested with the enmity of
his father and his people, and by being thrown into the fire. 

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“They said: ‘Burn him and help your aalihah (gods), if you
will be doing.’

69. We (Allaah) said: ‘O fire! Be you coolness and safety
for Ibraaheem (Abraham)!’

70. And they wanted to harm him, but We made them the
worst losers”

[al-Anbiya’ 21:68-70]

And he was tested with the command to sacrifice his son
Isma’eel 

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“And, when he (his son) was old enough to walk with him,
he said: ‘O my son! I have seen in a dream that I am slaughtering you
(offering you in sacrifice to Allaah). So look what you think!’ He said: ‘O
my father! Do that which you are commanded, In sha’ Allaah (if Allaah
wills), you shall find me of As‑Saabiroon (the patient).’

103. Then, when they had both submitted themselves (to the
Will of Allaah), and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead (or on the
side of his forehead for slaughtering);

104. We called out to him: ‘O Abraham!

105. You have fulfilled the dream’  Verily, thus do We
reward the Muhsinoon (good‑doers. See 2:112).

106. Verily, that indeed was a manifest trial.

107. And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice (i.e.— a
ram)”

[al-Saaffaat 37:102-107] 

Ibn al-Qayyim said in al-Fawaa’id (p. 42) 

The path is the path for which Adam exerted himself, and for
which Nooh wept, and al-Khaleel was thrown into the fire, and Ismaa’eel was
laid down to be sacrificed, and Yoosuf was sold for a low price and remained
in prison for several years, and Zakariya was cut in two with a saw, and
Yahya was slaughtered, and Ayyoob suffered severe illness, and Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) suffered poverty and all sorts
of trials and tests. End quote. 

Our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
was told of the calamities that he would face from the first day of his
Prophethood. 

Waraqah ibn Nawfal said: “Would that I were a young man,
would that I would be alive when your people expel you.” The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Will they
expel me?” He said: “Yes. No man has ever come with that which you have
brought but he was faced with hostility. If I live to see that day, I will
support you strongly…” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (4). 

Thirdly: 

With regard to the wisdom behind the calamities that befell
the Prophets, Ibn al-Qayyim said in Badaa’i’ al-Fawaa’id (2/452): 

Just as Allaah protects the Prophets and takes care of them,
so too He tests them as He wills with the kaafirs’ persecution of them. 

1-    
So that they may attain a level
where they deserve His honour in full.

2-    
So that those who come after
them of their nations and successors will be consoled if they are persecuted
by the people; they will see what happened to the Messengers and Prophets,
so they will be patient and content and will follow their example.

3-    
So that the kuffaar may get
carried away in their sin and thus will deserve the punishment that is
prepared for them in this world and in the Hereafter, so Allaah will destroy
them because of their enmity and aggression, and the earth will be cleansed
of them. 

These are some of the reasons why Allaah tested His Prophets
and Messengers with the persecution of their people. Great Wisdom is His and
from Him come perfect blessings. There is no god but Him and no Lord besides
Him. End quote. 

Ibn al-Qayyim said in Miftaah Dar al-Sa’aadah
(1/299-301): 

If you ponder Allaah’s wisdom in that with which He tests His
slaves and chosen ones, by means of which He directs them to achieve the
highest goals and reach the highest positions, which they could not have
achieved without these tests and trials… all these tests and trials are in
fact a kind of honour, for while they appear to be trials and tests, in fact
they are mercy and blessings. How many great blessings from Allaah are the
direct consequences of tests and trials? 

Think about the story of our father Adam (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), and how his test ended with him being
chosen and brought close to Allaah, and repenting and being guided and
raised in status. 

Think about the story of our second father Nooh (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and how his test and patience with his
people all those centuries led to his victory, when the people of earth were
drowned in answer to his prayer, and mankind after that were all descended
from his offspring, and Allaah made him the fifth of five, namely the
Messengers of strong will (cf. al-Ahqaaf 46:35), who are the best of the
Messengers. And Allaah commanded His Messenger and Prophet Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to be patient like him, and
praised him for his gratitude, saying (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily,
he was a grateful slave” [al-Isra’ 17:3], and He described him as being
perfect in patience and gratitude. 

And think about the story of our third father Ibraaheem
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), the imam of the monotheists and
the Shaykh of the Prophets, the pillar of the world and the Close Friend of
the Lord of the Worlds among the sons of Adam. Think about what his trials
and patience and his offering himself to Allaah led to. Think how his
offering himself to Allaah and supporting His religion led to Allaah taking
him as a close friend (khaleel) for Himself…. And Allaah multiplied his
descendants and blessed them and increased them until they filled the world,
and He caused Prophethood and holy Books to be limited to his progeny
thereafter, and He brought forth from them Muhammad (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) and commanded him to follow the path of his
father Ibraaheem. 

Then think about the one who spoke with Allaah, Moosa (peace
be upon him), and what his trials and tests from the day of his birth until
the end of his life led to, until Allaah spoke to him directly and brought
him close to Him,  He wrote to Torah for him with His hand and raised him up
to the highest heavens, and He forgave him for what He may not forgive
anyone else, for he threw the Tablets to the ground and they broke, and he
seized the beard of the Prophet of Allaah Haroon and pulled him towards him,
and he smacked the face of the Angel of Death and put out his eye, and he
argued with his Lord on the night of the Isra’ concerning the Messenger of
Allaah, but his Lord loved him in spite of all that, and none of that made
his Lord get upset with him, or lowered his status before Him. Rather he is
close to Allaah. Were it not for the great trials and calamities that he had
already gone through for the sake of Allaah and the immense hardships that
he had suffered with Pharaoh and his people then with the Children of
Israel, and the harm they caused him and the patience with which he bore it,
he could not have achieved all that. 

Think about the Messiah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) and his patience in dealing with his people, his forbearance
for the sake of Allaah and how much he had to put up with, until Allaah
raised him up and cleansed him of those who disbelieved and wrought
vengeance upon his enemies, scattering them throughout the earth and taking
away their kingdom and their pride until the end of time. 

And when you come to the story of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) and think about his experience with his
people and his patience for the sake of Allaah, how he put up with things
that no other Prophet before him had had to bear, facing all kinds of
situations, safety and fear, richness and poverty, security and stability in
his own homeland then moving away and leaving it for the sake of Allaah, the
killing of his loved ones and friends before his eyes, the kaafirs’
persecution of him in word and deed, using magic, lies and fabrications
against him, but despite all that he was patient in obeying the command of
Allaah and calling people to Allaah. No Prophet was persecuted in the way
that he was persecuted, or went through what he went through for the sake of
Allaah, and no Prophet was rewarded as he was rewarded, for Allaah raised
high his fame (cf. al-Sharh 94:4), joined his name to His and made him the
leader of all mankind; He made him the closest of creation to Him, the
greatest in status before Him and the one whose intercession is always
accepted. Thus these trials and calamities were in fact an honour for him,
by means of which Allaah increased him in honour and virtue, and granted him
the highest status. 

And this is the case with his heirs after him; each one will
have his share of trials and tests, which will help him to attain perfection
according to his following of the Prophet. 

And Allaah knows best.