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What is the explanation of Fudayl ibn Iyad's statement: "If Allah loves a servant, He increases his grief, and if Allah dislikes a servant, He expands his worldly life for him"?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The statement, "If Allah loves a servant, He afflicts him," was reported by Al-Khatib, Al-Dhahabi, and Ibn Asakir, attributed to Al-Fudayl, may Allah have mercy on him. Its meaning is that when Allah loves a servant, He afflicts him to expiate his sins and increase his reward, as mentioned in prophetic hadiths, including: "When Allah desires good for someone, He afflicts him," and "Calamity continues to befall a believer in his person, property, and children until he meets Allah with no sin on him," and "Indeed, the greatness of the reward is commensurate with the greatness of the affliction, and when Allah loves a people, He afflicts them." As for those whom Allah dislikes, He extends His favors to them as a means of gradual enticement (istidraj), without their calamities expiating their sins. The soundness of body and wealth may lead to heedlessness and a lack of recourse to Allah, whereas affliction humbles the soul and yields sincere reliance on Allah, thereby earning the reward of the Hereafter.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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