Enduring Fitan (trials, tribulations, temptations) in life is, indeed, a natural path decreed upon every human being. The way one should look at the Fitan, understand them and understand the way to deal with them, is what makes the difference between a mindful believer and a heedless person. When the Fitan are perceived as mere problems and difficulties without being linked to the Divine decree and predestination, one would be carrying life's struggle alone, deprived from the immense power of the divine grants of help and support.
To avoid loneliness and depravation in journeying the path of life, one should start by identifying each Fitna by looking closely at its effects on the community and on the individual to comprehend its scope and the necessity to shield him/herself from it. Its effects on the community are manifested in the disruption of opinions, disorder in conduct, fear and caution within people’s hearts, causing a disturbance of the order within community. On the individual level, the Fitna disrupts psychological balance and unsettles its forces, inflaming aggressive impulses, which leads to violence, hatred, and division, and stirring the desires, which results in the disturbance of the moral compass.
As how one would fall into a Fitna, one should know that the root of falling into Fitna lies in a blind, overpowering anger that arises to defend a flawed idea or misguided habit, or an overpowering desire that drives toward a corrupt longing. The effects of Fitna do not stop at causing the above issues, but it extends further to corrupt the very insight of the heart, as explained in the following Hadith: “Fitan will be presented to the hearts like a mat, straw by straw. Any heart that absorbs them will be marked with a black dot, and any heart that rejects them will be marked with a white dot, until the heart becomes either pure white, like polished stone, so that no trial will ever harm it, as long as the heavens and earth remain, or it becomes black and dusty, like an overturned vessel, no longer recognizing what is good or rejecting what is wrong, except what conforms to its desires.”
To be able to hold on to the right path, one, after understanding the scope of the Fitna, has to define exactly what the Fitna is, to be able to stand against it. In reality, everything which diverts from the remembrance of Allah (swt) and disrupts traveling on the right path is a Fitna. Anything that distances one from Allah, and anything that strips peace and tranquility from the soul, is a Fitna. Wealth, children, family, the worldly life, etc., all are Fitan. “O believers! Do not betray Allah and the Messenger, nor betray your trusts knowingly. And know that your wealth and your children are only a test and that with Allah is a great reward” (8:27-28).
To work on purifying the heart and have it be pure white, like polished stone, as described in the Hadith above, one has to reject any Fitna the embracement of which diverts the heart from its commitment to the path of righteousness. To do so, two steps are required:
The first step is to know that the root cause of falling into the nest of Fitan, is a deficiency in responding to Allah and His Messenger – “O believers! Respond to Allah and His Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life. And know that Allah stands between a person and their heart, and that to Him you will all be gathered” (8:24). When one understands with certainly that peace and balance can only be achieved through responding to Allah and His messenger and holding firmly to Allah (swt), then all efforts should be invested in this direction. The result of such adherence is gaining a heart, peaceful and sound, immune from the Fitan – “And know that Allah intervenes between a person and their heart” (8:24).
The second is to present everything that might lead to a Fitna under the guidance of Allah, which involves assessing actions, words, and choices in light of divine teachings, to ensure they align with justice, wisdom, and moral principles. It means addressing potential sources of conflict or temptation with the clarity and balance provided by the Qur’an and Sunnah, ensuring that they foster unity, peace, and righteousness, rather than division or moral corruption. When this is regarded, children and spouses become for each other bridges to paradise, as well as one’s wealth. In sum, the focus should be to avoid falling in the trap of following the plot of Shaytan, who only deceives and promises delusion: “'I (Satan) will certainly mislead them and delude them with empty hopes. Also, I will order them and they will slit the ears of cattle and alter Allah’s creation.' And whoever takes Satan as a guardian instead of Allah has certainly suffered a tremendous loss. Satan only makes them ˹false˺ promises and deludes them with ˹empty˺ hopes. Truly Satan promises them nothing but delusion.” (4:119-120). When one combats the falling into the nest of the Shaytan, he/she would have bestowed upon them the gift of the purification of the soul. “O believers! Do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Whoever follows Satan’s footsteps, then ˹let them know that˺ he surely bids ˹all to˺ immorality and wickedness. Had it not been for Allah’s grace and mercy upon you, none of you would have ever been purified. But Allah purifies whomever He wills. And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing” (24:21).