Answer
Wa `alaykum as-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
1- Trials are sometimes to punish those who violate Allah’s laws. But this is not always the case.
2- Other times, trials are to test our faith in Allah and hence be given high degrees in Paradise.
3- In this sense, a Muslim should always keep in mind that life is full of ups and downs, and strive hard to battle against life vicissitudes.
4- It should be borne in mind that whatever befalls man in life is a form of test and trial.
5- It behooves every true Muslim to keep patient at times of afflictions and trials, and this will earn him great reward.
Shedding more light on this issue, we’d like to cite for you the following fatwa issued by the late Sheikh `Abdul-`Aziz ibn Baz, the late Mufti of Saudi Arabia:
In fact, Islam is a religion that encompasses all aspects of life and secures guidance and light for all mankind.
Our sister, we share your feelings of sorrow and grief for your baby. We also pray to Almighty Allah to grant you a good recompense for this great loss and reward you abundantly for your patience.
Almighty Allah makes it clear in the Qur’an that good and evil are part of life nature; He says, “We try you with evil and with good, for ordeal. And unto Us ye will be returned.” (Al-Anbiyaa’ 21:35)
Almighty Allah tests His servants with good and bad things, with adversity and prosperity. These tests may be a means to give them reward and high degrees in Paradise. This occurred to many Messengers and Prophets and many righteous servants of Allah.
Our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him, is reported as saying, “The people most subject to affliction are the Prophets, then come the righteous and after them come the best people all according to his goodness.” (At-Tirmidhi)
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says, “Great is the state of a believer for he is winner at any rate! If he is given a blessing and thus shows gratitude, it is good for him. If he is plagued with an affliction and thus shows patience, it is good for him.” (Muslim)
Sometimes, afflictions may be a result of one’s sins and his keeping aloof from the way of Allah. In this meaning comes the verse that reads, “Whatever of misfortune strikes you, it is what your right hands have earned. And He forgives much.” (Ash-Shura 42:30)
By and large, being afflicted with a misfortune may be a means of giving high degrees in Paradise as in the case of Prophets, Messengers and righteous men. It may also be a means of removing sins and expiating mistakes.
Stressing this meaning, our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says, “Whatever befalls a Muslim of sorrow, grief, exhaustion, fatigue or harm, Allah will forgive him his sins for that. This is true even for a thorn that penetrates his foot.” (Muslim)
He (peace and blessings be upon him) is also reported as saying, “He whom Allah wants to bless in the Hereafter, He afflicts him with tribulations.” At-Tirmidhi also quotes the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as saying, “When Allah wants to bless someone, He hastens His punishments for him in this world. If He wants otherwise with a person, He defers the punishment for him till the afterlife.”
In the light of the abovementioned facts, it’s clear, dear sister, that a great reward is in store for sticking to patience and perseverance at times of afflictions, which befall man as part of the nature of life, and in a form of test through which Allah distinguishes His true servants from all and sundry.
Allah Almighty knows best.