Question No. 3079 31 August 2022 Official answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) verified Content level: Intermediate

A Hadith Explained: Why Are Gifts Turned Away from God’s Sincere Servants?

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Dear questioner, Master Ali Saei

Tracking code: #Q-3079

Please explain this hadith:

Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: «إن لله عز و جل عبادا فی الأرض من خالص عباده ما ینزل من السماء تحفه إلى الأرض إلا صرفها عنهم إلى غیرهم و لا بلیه إلا صرفها إلیهم،
“God, Mighty and Exalted, has sincere servants on earth. Whenever He sends a gift down from heaven to earth, He turns it away from them to others; and whenever a trial descends, He directs it toward them.” (Al-Kafi, vol. 2, p. 253)

Subject category: Hadith and Traditions Hadith

The essence and first answer at a glance (60-word summary)

God’s sincere servants are those upon whom trials descend, testing them through hardship and helping them attain the highest degree of servitude to God. Worldly gifts are turned away from them so that, amid adversity, their ability to cope and endure may be tested. These hardships become a means of their spiritual elevation.

Answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat)

Teacher and researcher in the intellectual tradition of wisdom and the Ahl al-Bayt | Soroush Bamdadān Cultural Center

The most demanding tests of servitude to God are reserved for His most devoted and chosen servants. Rare trials and severe disciplines are the distinctive training of God’s purest servants, raising them to the highest station of servitude and earning them the crown of honour and distinction. People of true merit are not judged in times of ease, but amid hardship and adversity, by the grace with which they endure and navigate them.

Worldly gifts bring fleeting pleasures, whereas divine trials are special blessings of mercy that help us grow. Surely, people of true merit welcome God’s trials and use them to prove their love and devotion.

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A Hadith Explained: Why Are Gifts Turned Away from God’s Sincere Servants?

The essence and first answer at a glance (60-word summary)

Answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat)

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