A person accepts Islam, and the people around them change. Family members who were warm become cold. Friends argue, mock, or stop speaking. Sometimes the anger comes from people the new Muslim loves most, and it can leave them asking what they did wrong, as if believing in Allah were an offence against the people around them.
Allah answered this in His Book long before any of us faced it. He told the believers plainly that they would hear hurtful things because of their religion, and He explained why He allows it and how to carry it. What follows is what He said, in the English wording printed in the tafsir [explanation of the Qur'an] of Shaykh Abdur-Rahman ibn Nasir as-Sa’di, together with as-Sa’di’s explanation of the verses.
Allah Said You Will Hear Hurtful Things
In Surah Aal-e-Imran, Allah addresses the believers directly:
“You will certainly be tried and tested in your possessions and in your persons; and you will certainly hear much that is hurtful, from those who were given the Book before you and from those who ascribe partners to Allah. But if you are patient and fear Allah, that is something that must be adhered to [as it is enjoined by Allah].”
As-Sa’di, Tafseer as-Sa’di, Vol. 2 (printed p. 103).
As-Sa’di explains what the hurtful things are:
“such as impugning you and your religion, your Book and your Messenger.”
As-Sa’di, Tafseer as-Sa’di, Vol. 2 (printed p. 104).
So the anger is not aimed at the person, even when it feels that way. It is aimed at the religion the person now carries. Allah named it in advance, word for word, so a believer who meets it is meeting something Allah already told them about, not something strange.
As-Sa’di then gives the reasons Allah lets His believing slaves know this will happen. The first is:
“His wisdom dictates that these things should happen, in order to distinguish the sincere believer from others.”
As-Sa’di, Tafseer as-Sa’di, Vol. 2 (printed p. 104).
And Allah decrees these tests for the good He wills for the believer:
“in order to raise them in status, expiate their bad deeds, and increase them in faith and certainty.”
As-Sa’di, Tafseer as-Sa’di, Vol. 2 (printed p. 104).
And He told us beforehand as a mercy in itself:
“Allah told them about that in order to make them get used to such things happening and to bear it with patience if they did happen, because then they would be prepared for it happening, which would make it easier to bear.”
As-Sa’di, Tafseer as-Sa’di, Vol. 2 (printed p. 104).
Saying “We Believe” Brings the Test
Surah al-Ankabut opens with the same truth stated as a question no one can escape:
“Do people think that once they say: We believe, they will be left alone and not be tested? Indeed We tested those who came before them. For Allah will surely make known those who are sincere and will surely make known those who are liars.”
As-Sa’di, Tafseer as-Sa’di, Vol. 7 (printed p. 243).
As-Sa’di explains:
“His wisdom does not dictate that anyone who says that he is a believer and claims to have faith will be safe from trials and tests. Rather His way with the earlier nations and with this Ummah is to test them by means of ease and hardship, causing their enemies to have the upper hand over them at times, and causing them to strive against the enemy in word and deed, and other kinds of tests.”
As-Sa’di, Tafseer as-Sa’di, Vol. 7 (printed p. 244).
The test is not a sign that Allah has left the new believer. It is the road every believer walks, and as-Sa’di describes what the test does to the heart: tests and trials “are like the bellows that eliminate dross and make hearts good.”
The Believers Before You Were Shaken Too
In Surah al-Baqarah, Allah holds up the generations before us, so that nobody thinks their hardship is new:
“Or do you think that you will enter paradise without such [trials] as came to those who passed away before you? They encountered suffering and adversity, and were so shaken in spirit that even the Messenger and the believers who were with him said: When will the help of Allah come? Verily, the help of Allah is [always] near.”
As-Sa’di, Tafseer as-Sa’di, Vol. 1 (printed p. 265).
As-Sa’di comments:
“Whoever adheres to His religion and follows His laws will inevitably be tested; if he is patient in bearing the decree of Allah and does not worry about the difficulties he encounters for His sake, then he is the sincere one who has attained true happiness and high status.”
As-Sa’di, Tafseer as-Sa’di, Vol. 1 (printed p. 265).
And he closes with the outcome for the one who stays patient on the path:
“This is how it is for everyone who adheres to the truth: he will be tested. Every time the test becomes too hard, if he is patient and persists in the path he is following, the test will turn into a gift for him, and hardship will turn into ease and will be followed by victory over the enemy and healing from the spiritual diseases in his heart.”
As-Sa’di, Tafseer as-Sa’di, Vol. 1 (printed p. 266).
How Allah Tells Us to Carry It
The answer Allah gives in the first verse on this page is patience joined to taqwa [being mindful of Allah and fearing Him]. As-Sa’di explains what that patience looks like when the hurtful words come:
“if you bear with patience whatever trials and tests befall you with regard to your possessions and your persons, and whatever hurtful words the wrongdoers address to you, and you be mindful of Allah whilst being patient, by intending it for His sake and hoping to draw close to Him”
As-Sa’di, Tafseer as-Sa’di, Vol. 2 (printed pp. 104-105).
And of this patience and mindfulness he says:
“it is one of the things that one must adhere to and compete in, and no one is helped to attain it except people of strong resolve and high ambition”
As-Sa’di, Tafseer as-Sa’di, Vol. 2 (printed p. 105).
So the new Muslim’s answer to anger is not anger back. It is to stay patient, to intend that patience for Allah, to keep good character with the very people who are upset, and to remember that Allah’s help is near, as He promised the believers who were shaken before us. The test that feels like rejection is, in Allah’s own words, a raising in status and a wiping away of sins for the one who bears it well.
I am a revert myself, and I gathered these verses because the question behind them is one I have heard with my own ears: why does accepting Islam make people so angry? The Book of Allah answers that the anger was announced, the test was promised, and the help is near. I ask Allah to make every new Muslim firm on His religion, to soften the hearts of their families toward them, and to reward them for every hurtful word they bear with patience. Ameen.
Further Reading
- Patience and Trials: Why Allah Tests People: what patience is, its kinds, and why Allah tests people, from the Qur’an and the explanation of Riyad as-Saliheen.
- How Can a Muslim Increase His Iman?: the means by which faith grows stronger in the heart.
- Why Do Muslims Believe Islam Is the True Religion?: the proofs that Islam is the religion Allah sent.
- What Is the Purpose of Life in Islam?: why Allah created us and what He wants from us.
References
- Shaykh Abdur-Rahman ibn Nasir as-Sa’di, Tafseer as-Sa’di, International Islamic Publishing House (IIPH), English Edition 1, 2018, translated by Nasiruddin al-Khattab. Used for: Surah Aal-e-Imran (3), verse 186 (Vol. 2, printed pp. 103-105); Surah al-Ankabut (29), verses 2-3 (Vol. 7, printed pp. 243-244); Surah al-Baqarah (2), verse 214 (Vol. 1, printed pp. 265-266).
Verified on 2026-10-31 against the book listed above.