He Who Created Death and Life to Test You — Life Is a Designed Test

Verse: "He who created death and life to test you — which of you is best in deed." (67:2)

"Created death before life":
Death is mentioned before life — an unusual order. Said to be: because death is prior in existence; or because death is a greater sign of Allah's power (annihilation is harder to conceive than creation); or because mentioning the journey's end first motivates the traveler.

"To test you":
Al-ibtila: a test that reveals what is in something. Life was designed as a test — not absurdity or punishment, but a fair competition with a great prize.

"Best in deed" not "most in deed":
Al-Fudayl ibn Iyad: "Best in deed: most sincere and most correct. Sincere: done for Allah. Correct: done on the Sunnah." Quantity is not the criterion — quality and sincerity are the scale.

Lesson: Every hardship in your life is not punishment — it is a question in the exam. A beautiful question raises your grade with the correct answer.