‘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 surah was revealed was such that no sooner 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 subjected to exacting treatment. If he were a shopkeeper or craftsman, he was made the victim of economic boycott, which led to straitened circumstances and even starvation. If he belonged to an influential family, his family members made the life miserable for him, 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.
In order to transform the believers’ 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 Paradise demands far more than the mere verbal profession of faith. Nor can anyone expect to be blessed with God’s special bounties even in this world by merely professing to be a believer. To obtain these rewards it is essential that one be put to hard tests.