A common phenomenon observed when people get palatial homes built for themselves is the display of words put up in frame outside their home: “This is by the grace of my Lord.”

Apparently, the owner means that the house he possesses is a blessing bestowed on him from God or a gift given to him by God. But this is not the correct or complete meaning of these words.

The phrase “this is by the grace of my Lord” has appeared in the Quran in Chapter al-Naml. These are the words spoken by the Prophet Solomon. The context given in the Quran is that when the Queen of Sheba entered Solomon’s royal court, he demanded the jinns of his kingdom to bring to him her crown all the way from Marib in Yemen to Jerusalem in Palestine. One of the jinns who was under Solomon’s command accomplished this feat in the twinkling of an eye. When Solomon saw this extraordinary feat of the Queen’s crown being so swiftly placed before him, he exclaimed: “This is by the grace of my Lord, to test whether I am grateful or ungrateful.” (27:40)

The real gift that God bestows on a person in the present world is, therefore, the ability to show gratitude when in comfort and to remain patient when faced with troubles.

If we keep all of Solomon’s words before us, we will realize that he had taken God’s “grace” as a means of putting him to the test.

According to him, this special blessing of God upon him was to test if he would acknowledge His bounties and humble himself before God, or if he would become arrogant and haughty.

In truth, believers will receive God’s gift in the world Hereafter. Whatever a person gets in this world is only meant to test him; its real purpose is to test a person and not to bestow anything upon him. From this perspective, the comforts and luxuries of this world are, in essence, the same as the difficulties and hardships—both situations are meant to examine a person. One is required to be grateful to God when he enjoys well-being and to exhibit patience when he experiences problems. The real gift that God bestows on a person in the present world is, therefore, the ability to show gratitude when in comfort and to remain patient when faced with troubles.