The 87th Call: Warning against the Trial of the Wife and Children
Almighty Allah says (what can be translated as): “O you who have believed, indeed, among your wives and your children are enemies to you, so beware of them. But if you pardon and overlook and forgive - then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. Your wealth and your children are but a trial, and Allah has with Him a great reward. So fear Allah as much as you are able and listen and obey and spend [in the way of Allah]; it is better for your selves. And whoever is protected from the stinginess of his soul - it is those who will be the successful.”
Almighty Allah warns His honest believing worshippers against the fitnah of their spouses and their children, as some of those might be enemies to the human that might step between Him and doing the acts of worship which bring the Muslim closer to Allah. They might Also incite them to commit sins and forbidden acts for their personal gain. Some might even commit crimes against their own spouses and fathers which leads to serious animosity.
Some people love their families so much and worry about them, so they seek to provide for them considerable wealth whether in their lives or when they die and leave them behind. They care too much about that aim to the point of committing prohibited acts in order to achieve that for them and this causes their destruction.
Almighty Allah encourages the believers to pardon and forgive others as this leads to further goodness and benevolence among humans. Almighty Allah is the Most-Forgiving, the Most-Merciful to them, and He would treat those who forgive others with mercy too, and He would be more Generous and Benevolent to them.
Wealth and children is a trial and test from Allah Almighty, in order for Him to know who would obey Him and who would disobey Him. Having wealth and children without Taqwah to Allah Almighty lead to committing sins and prohibitions, Allah mentioned the fitnah of wealth before children because it is the biggest fitnah, i.e. trial.
The Messenger of Allah, Peace Be upon Him, said: Each ummah faces a fitnah, and the fitnah of my ummah is money.
Then, Almighty Allah informs people of the great reward He prepared for His believing servants in the Hereafter, the servants who favored the love of Allah and His obedience over loving the wealth and children. So, strive and exert the efforts as much as you can to earn the Taqwah for Allah.
Allah’s Messenger, Peace Be upon Him, said: “Leave me to what I have ordered you. Indeed those before you were destroyed due to their [persistent] questioning, and opposing their Prophets. If I forbid you from something, abstain from it, and if I command you with something, do of it as much as possible.” (Bukhari 6858 & Muslim 1337) Listen and obey to what Allah and the Messenger tell you to do, and spend from what Allah has given you on the relatives, poor and the needy. Be good to the servants of Allah, just as He has been Good to you, this would lead to attaining the best reward in this worldly life and the eternal life. Whoever stops being miser and tight-fisted towards the poor, shall be among the winners.
The warning that some spouses and children may be one's enemies refers to a true fact in human life. In this way, the verses touch upon some intricate and complex ties in man's emotions and how they are influenced by life's circumstances. Spouses and children may divert a person's attention from Allah's remembrance. They may also make a man fall short of discharging the responsibilities required of his faith; this in order to spare himself the troubles that he may face as a result of fulfilling such responsibilities. A person who strives for Allah's cause may be exposed to much loss and may have to sacrifice a great deal. He and his family may have to withstand much hardship. He may be willing to face such hardship himself, but cannot bear that such hardship be suffered by his wife and children. As a result, he may be tight-fisted and cowardly in order to ensure that they are safe, free of trouble and financially secure.
