“Do people think that they will be let go merely by saying: ‘We believe,’ and that they will not be tested.”
(Al Qur’ān – 29:2)
The state of affairs obtaining at the time this Sūrahwas revealed was such that no sooner had someone embraced Islam in Makkah than a storm of persecution and torture was let loose. If the person happened to be a slave or poor, he was mercilessly manhandled and tormented. If he were a shopkeeper, he was made the victim of economic boycott, which led to straightened circumstances and even starvation. If he belonged to an influential family, his family members made life miserable for him, exerting pressure on him and subjecting him to a variety of vexing measures. As a result of this wide-scale persecution, the atmosphere in Makkah was charged with dread and fright.
These adverse circumstances, however, did not weaken the firm resolve of true believers to remain faithful to Islam. Nevertheless, they too were only human, and inevitably, at times, felt upset and worried.
In order to transform their state of perturbance and anxiety into one of calm patience and endurance, God informed the believers that a person is not eligible for His promise of success and felicity in this world, as well as in the Next, merely by claiming that he is a believer. Instead, he has to establish the truthfulness of his claim by successfully going through a crucible of tests and trials. Admission to the Paradise demands far more than the mere verbal profession of faith.