Our Freedom is a Trial 57:14 - Fitnah

They will direct their words to them: “Were we not with you all?” They will say, “Yes, but you let your souls be cheated and misled. And you dwelled and waited and doubted. And your desires allured and deceived you until came the judgment of Allah. Wealth and people and Satan allured you from Allah.

The fact that we have the freedom to choose our actions can lead us to temptation and trials. Most children when they go away to college and leave their parents, they realize the freedom they now have. They often feel so “liberated.” But with that freedom comes the potential to be deceived about what is true and valuable in life.

For many young people, freedom leads them to temptation, which leads to trials. Those trials can be like a burning fire. It might end up purifying them like fire refining gold. Or, if they do not turn to the right course of actions, the trial could just continue to roast them over and over until the punishment is so severe, they are living in hell.