Principle Sixty-Four: Incidental matters that have no permanence—whether prompted by disturbing events or by lingering doubts—may at times assail the truth and what is otherwise certain, yet they swiftly fade and disappear.

This is an exalted and weighty principle stated in several places in the Quran. Whoever does not master it is bound to misunderstand some verses and be driven away from their plain meaning. But one who perceives Allah’s wisdom in allowing such fleeting intrusions to strike at manifest truth—either through unsettling circumstances that provoke them or through a forceful doubt that raises them—will, once certainty returns, see truth and falsehood confront each other, watch truth prevail and crush falsehood so that it vanishes while truth stands firm, and then witness a blessed outcome and an increase in faith and conviction. In such divine arrangement lie profound judgments and abundant favors.

Let us illustrate this with examples.

1. The messengers—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon them—are the most perfect of creation in faith, certainty, and trust in Allah’s promise and threat. The nations must believe that the messengers have reached the summit of these qualities and are protected from their opposites. Yet Allah tells us in certain verses that distressing circumstances may befall them—circumstances which, to outward perception, appear to conflict with what they know with certainty—so that even these paragons feel victory is slow in coming and say, “When will Allah’s help arrive?” [al-Baqarah 214]. At such moments a passing trace of despair may cross their hearts, in proportion to the intensity of the trials and their effect upon the heart. Then, in the briefest time, the cloud lifts, the crisis eases, and help comes from nearby: “Indeed, Allah’s help is near” [al-Baqarah 214]. The impact, glad tidings, and wondrous effects of Allah’s help and the truthfulness of His promise then assume a magnitude that would not have been attained without that interim state. For this reason He said, “Until, when the messengers had despaired…” [Yūsuf 110].