This is the great faith equation, Allah (swt) made people equal in terms of causes. If you take the reasons, you will achieve the desired results. Therefore, Allah’s words must be applied:

 وَأَعِدُّوا لَهُم مَّا اسْتَطَعْتُم مِّن قُوَّةٍ وَمِن رِّبَاطِ الْخَيْلِ تُرْهِبُونَ بِهِ عَدُوَّ اللَّهِ وَعَدُوَّكُمْ وَآخَرِينَ مِن دُونِهِمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَهُمُ اللَّهُ يَعْلَمُهُمْ ۚ وَمَا تُنفِقُوا مِن شَيْءٍ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ يُوَفَّ إِلَيْكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تُظْلَمُونَ

(And prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah and your enemy and others besides them whom you do not know [but] whom Allah knows. And whatever you spend in the cause of Allah will be fully repaid to you, and you will not be wronged) (Al-Anfal: 60)

(terrify) does not mean the terrorism which is mentioned nowadays, rather it means the prevention of aggression, and it is a strategic balance, the balance of power, and the right must have a force that protects it, so any country must have a force that protects it from any aggression. The equation here makes people generally equal in pain, hardship, affliction, and misfortune, regardless of the battlefield. It is true that there is a specific reason regarding the confrontation between the Prophet (saws) and the polytheists of Mecca in the battles of Badr, Uhud, al-Khandaq and others, but the moral lies in the general meaning, not in the specific reason.

(… إِن تَكُونُوا تَأْلَمُونَ فَإِنَّهُمْ يَأْلَمُونَ كَمَا تَأْلَمُونَ …) (…If you should be suffering – so are they suffering as you are suffering …): But the difference between the believers and the non-believers:

  (… وَتَرْجُونَ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لَا يَرْجُونَ …) (…you expect from Allah that which they expect not …): Let us give an example of this with regard to the misfortunes of life that befall everyone without exception, the believer and the non-believer:

وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُم بِشَيْءٍ مِّنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ

(And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient,) (Al-Baqara: 155)

The human being was created in this life and is subjected to tests and trials:

 تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي بِيَدِهِ الْمُلْكُ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ % الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا ۚ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفُورُ

(Blessed is He in whose hand is dominion, and He is over all things competent – % [He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed – and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving -) (Al-Mulk: 1-2)

But the difference between the reaction of the believer and the non-believer is that the believer hopes from Allah (swt) for reward for the calamities and knows that in every matter that befalls him, He (swt) raises him a degree and removes a sin from him, and it was mentioned in the Hadith narrated by Aisha (May Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (saws) said:

“A believer does not receive (the trouble) of running a thorn or more than that but Allah elevates him in rank or effaces his sins because of that.”[1]

Faith is reflected in being patient with trials and ordeals, and in the face of adversity. The patient person is a believer because he knows that there is a reward for this patience for affliction, and he also hopes from Allah (swt) for healing if he is sick and hopes for mercy for his dead, and hopes from Allah (swt) to compensate for his money. There is always reassurance for the heart of the believer with his belief in his Lord, so there is a very big difference in the equation and only those with faith would feel it.

[1] Sahih Muslim: The Book of Virtue, Enjoining Good Manners, and Joining of the Ties of Kinship, Chapter: The Reward of The Believer For Whatever Befalls Him Of Sickness, Grief And The Like, Even A Thorn That Pricks Him, Hadith No. 2572.