How can the verse, "Indeed, Allah defends those who have believed," be reconciled with the tribulations some prophets and righteous individuals, such as Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Sheikh Ahmad Deedat, endured, and with the suffering, killing, and imprisonment children are subjected to, despite their not being held accountable?

Allah defends the believers by keeping them steadfast on the truth, granting them contentment, and aiding them in their duties despite adversities. Allah's defense does not mean that tribulation will not descend, but rather that it will be removed or alleviated after it occurs, and that its outcome will be good. For Allah grants believers patience and love, and relieves them of harm that others cannot bear.

Tribulation for the believer is like medicine that extracts ailments which, if left within him, would destroy him. Allah created life and death to test His servants. The harm that sometimes afflicts a believer is necessary in this life, because the world is mixed with good and evil. Allah has great wisdoms in testing believers, among them: to manifest their servitude to Allah, to purify and refine them, and to perfect their servitude in times of ease and hardship.