When we sat with 'Umar yesterday, he asked the companions of Muhammad (PBUH): Which of you heard the Messenger of Allah speak about trials? They replied: We heard him. He said: Perhaps you mean the trial of a man with regard to his family and wealth? They said: Yes. He said: That is not what I am asking about. Those are expiated by prayer, fasting, and charity. But which of you heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) speak about the trials that surge like the waves of the sea? People remained silent, and I thought he meant me. I said: I did. He said: You did? May your father be sacrificed for Allah! Tell me. I said: The trials will be presented to the hearts like a mat [woven reeds], and any heart that rejects them will have a white spot marked on it, and any heart that absorbs them will have a black spot marked on it, until there are two types of hearts: one white like a smooth stone, no trial would harm it as long as the heavens and the earth remain, and the other black and dust-colored, like a turned-over vessel, unable to recognize good or reject evil, except what is in agreement with its desires.