( And indeed the Next Abode is the Hayawaan, if they only knew )
The Fitnah of Safety and Security
Another kind of fitnah mentioned here in this soorah, and the escape from it is also mentioned, is the fitnah of safety and security.
Look at the security of the Haram (in Makkah), the security of the places surrounding it, after years and years of security, the people begin to believe that what befalls the other people will not befall them.
Earthquakes happen in other places, as for the people who live near the Haram, it does not happen to them.
Atrocities, difficult living conditions, things that befall the others… the people who live in the Haram say: "We are the children of Allaah and his beloved ones!" Or they say, "We are His favored ones," or they say similar things.
Allaah, the Mighty and Exalted, has said clarifying this kind of fitnah near the end of the soorah [22]:
( Have they not seen how We have made a secure Haram, and people are being snatched away from all around them? )
We are to look to this kind of fitnah, a blessing from Allaah. This blessing of Allaah should not be a source of fitnah for the people, it should not be that Allaah's Blessing becomes a fitnah, as Allaah caused the people to be safe and secure during the time of one of the previous prophets, and as much of the time after him that He willed.
Allaah says [22]:
( Have they not seen how We have made a secure Haram, and people are being snatched away from all around them? )
What is the intent here? (Allaah says) [22]:
( Will they then believe in falsehood and become ungrateful for the blessings of Allaah!? )
Are they going to believe in falsehood after Allaah has blessed them so much!? Are they going to engage in shirk, kufr, and the rejection of the message of Muhammad (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam), pledging obedience to the devils. Or are they going to fall into things less than that, like disobedience, sinning, and transgression?
They are ungrateful for the blessings of Allaah! Who is it that gave them those blessings? Allaah, the Mighty and Exalted! (Allaah says) [23]:
( And what you have of blessings is only from Allaah! Then when some harm reaches you, to Him you cry for help. )
Then therefore, from the many varieties of fitnah that Allaah may allow to befall some of his servants is what has been mentioned in this soorah, that a servant feels that trials and tribulations are only for other people, and that he is not tried or tested with difficulties.
So the loss of wealth, as one may think, that was for So-and-So, not for him. Sickness is for So-and-So, as for him, then he does not get sick. Severe illnesses strike the people, and may Allaah give us security from them, verily they only befall the others, as for him, he feels they will not befall him.
Strokes and things like that are for the other people, he feels that he will not face them, so he does not contemplate. Allaah, the Mighty and Exalted, says, explaining this example [22]:
( Have they not seen how We have made a secure Haram, and people are being snatched away from all around them? Will they then believe in falsehood and become ungrateful for the blessings of Allaah!? )
Conclusion
These are examples from the many kinds of fitnah and trials, and things that relate to the subject of the soorah. So the beginning and the end of this soorah meet each other upon the same subject, providing proof for those of the scholars who say, "The subject of the soorah will be found in the agreement of the beginning and the end of a soorah."
Allaah, the Mighty and Exalted, says in the beginning of the soorah [2]:
( Do people then think they will be left alone upon saying, "We believe in Allaah," and they will not be faced with fitnah? And verily we put those who came before them to trials. )
What is the way out from all of these situations? The answer is found in the end of the soorah, in the very last verse [24]:
( And those who strive hard in Our Way, verily We will guide them to Our Paths. And verily Allaah is with those who do good. )
I ask Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, to bless us all in what we have heard, and that He makes us from the people of the Qur'aan, those who are His special and favored people, and that He increases us in knowledge and that He reminds us of what we forget.
I also ask that He makes us from those who make halaal what is halaal in His Book, from those that consider what has been prohibited in His Book as haraam, and from those who firmly believe in what is reported in His Book about the unseen affairs. Verily He, Most High, is the Bestower of Good, the Generous One.