it entails trial, ruin, a stratagem from Allah, and a test. So wait patiently until it is He, Mighty and Majestic, who brings about the action in you. Once the action is entirely His and you are carried there, should a trial confront you, you will be sustained and protected through it. For Allah Most High does not punish you for His action; punishments only come your way because of your own involvement in the matter.”

I say:

He—may Allah be pleased with him—has thus instructed that whatever is prohibited by the revealed law must be abandoned without exception. Whatever is known to be permissible in itself is also to be left aside, because it is done at the behest of desire rather than by the Lawgiver’s command.

As for something whose particular permissibility is unknown—whether it is harmless or entails harm—such as travelling to a particular place or person, or going to a particular place or person: this kind of action is not prohibited in general, yet neither is every instance of it permissible. Rather, a person is forbidden to go somewhere where his religion will suffer harm. He therefore instructed him to refrain from going until it becomes apparent, or inwardly clear to him, that doing so is beneficial. For if it has not become clear to him that going is obligatory or recommended, he should not do it; and if he fears harm, he should refrain. If he is compelled to go, however, no blame attaches to him, and he is not held accountable for the action, unlike when he does it by his own choice or desire. When it becomes clear to him that its benefit outweighs its harm, doing so is good.

Evidence from the Sunnah establishes that whoever is subjected to a trial without seeking it is granted help, whereas there is cause to fear for someone who exposes himself to a trial. An example is the Prophet’s saying, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to ‘Abd al-Rahmān ibn Samurah:

“Do not ask for authority, for if you are given it upon asking, you will be left to shoulder it on your own; but if you are given it