BENEFIT 251: As long as you are alive, you will always be at risk of falling into fitnah - whether you're a righteous scholar or otherwise!

The Prophet ﷺ said: ((بادِرُوا بالأعْمَالِ فِتَنًا كَقِطَعِ اللَّيْلِ المُظْلِمِ، يُصْبِحُ الرَّجُلُ مُؤْمِنًا وَيُمْسِي كَافِرًا، أَوْ يُمْسِي مُؤْمِنًا وَيُصْبِحُ كَافِرًا، يَبِيعُ دِينَهُ بعَرَضٍ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا)) "Be prompt in doing good deeds (before you are overtaken) by fitan which would be like a part of the dark night. During (that turbulent period) a man would be a Muslim by morning and a disbeliever by evening or he a believer by evening and a disbeliever by morning, selling his religion for a worldly gain." [Reported by Muslim (118) on the authority of Abū Hurairah] ’Abdullāh ibn Mas’ūd raḍhiyallāhu ’anhu said: «مَن كانَ مُسْتَنًّا، فَلْيَسْتَنَّ بمن قد ماتَ، فإنَّ الحيَّ لا تُؤمَنُ عليه الفِتْنَةُ» "Anyone looking for a role model should follow the example of those who have passed away, for the living are not free from the risk of falling into fitnah." [Jāmi' Bayān Al-’ilm wa Faḍlih (2/947, no. 1810)] Sheikh ’Uthaymeen raḥimahullāh commented on this Athar in his explanation of At-Tadmūriyyah, saying: «الحي لا تؤمن عليه الفتنة، صحيح فكم من إنسان يكون في أول أمره مستقيماً ثم في آخر الأمر يفتتن، فإذا قلدته أنت واتبعته واتخذته إماماً في حال استقامته ربما ينحرف وأنت لا تشعر لأنك وثقت فيه، وحينئذ تهلك معه والحي لا تؤمن عليه الفتنة» "The living are never free from the risk of falling into fitnah, and this is a reality. Many individuals may start off on the right path but later succumb to Fitnah. If you choose to follow and take someone as your guide while they are still upright, they might stray without you noticing, due to the trust you’ve placed in them. As a result, you could be led astray along with them. Indeed, the living are always vulnerable to fitnah." @almanhajussalafi