Power of Patience in the Face of Loss
She stood firm and
unwavering before everyone, sincerely and faithfully praising her Lord, and
calling upon Him with patience and certainty to have mercy on the children torn
from her—suddenly, all at once—in one of those barbaric raids that do not
distinguish between young and old, man and woman, nor between a child and an
infant. The machine of aggression hastens to kill and annihilate without
reflection or restraint, making the judge both the witness and the executioner
at the same time. How terrible oppression is! And how dark are its shadows!
Whoever sees this
mother praising Allah, and hears her repeating it over and over, will be
certain that Allah selects from His servants people whom He raises through
trials, endowing them with patience to grant them a tremendous reward, filling
their hearts with contentment and trust so that He may give them their reward
without account, just as He promised: “Indeed, the
patient will be given their reward without account.” (Az-Zumar: 10)
The Prophet ﷺ clarified
the great reward for those who are patient, saying: When
a man's child dies God most high asks His angels whether they have taken His
servant's child and they reply that they have. He then asks whether they have
taken the fruit of his heart (This is said by some to mean either children or
grandchildren, and a basis for that meaning is found in Qur’an, ii, 155, where
the plural ath-thamarat is interpreted that way), and when they reply that they
have, He asks what His servant said. On their replying that he praised God and
said, “We belong to God and to Him do we return,” God says, “Build a house in
paradise for my servant and call it the house of praise.” (Narrated by At-Tirmidhi)
Indeed, patience and
steadfastness are not easy for the soul, which is naturally inclined toward
ease and comfort, and created with a desire for luxury and bliss. Yet Allah is
Merciful to His servants; He does not burden them beyond what they can bear, nor
does He task them with more than they can handle. He, Exalted is He, is Wise in
His decrees, Knowing of what will be, and He only decrees what is ultimately
good for them, even if it appears otherwise to observers. Did the Prophet ﷺ not say: “Strange are the ways of a believer for there is good in
every affair of his and this is not the case with anyone else except in the
case of a believer for if he has an occasion to feel delight, he thanks (God),
thus there is a good for him in it, and if he gets into trouble and shows
resignation (and endures it patiently), there is a good for him in it.” (Narrated
by Muslim)
Allah has reserved the
full reward for the one who is tested and remains patient, for His wisdom has
determined that this world is a place of trial, purification, and test for all
people. He said: “And We test you with evil and
with good as trial; and to Us you will be returned.” (Al-Anbiya: 35) He
tested His Prophets and Messengers, the most beloved to Him, and tested the
Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, the best of generations. He
affirmed this saying: “And We will surely test you
with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits,
but give good tidings to the patient. Who, when disaster strikes them, say,
'Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.' Those are the
ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is those who are
the [rightly] guided.” (Al-Baqarah: 155–157)
And in the hadith: “Never a believer is stricken with discomfort, hardship
or illness, grief or even with mental worry that his sins are not expiated for
him.” (Narrated by Muslim)
Nurturing Patience and Tranquility Amidst a Hectic
Society
The Prophet ﷺ gave us the
greatest example of patience in every situation. He was patient in a manner
befitting his status and rank with Allah. He practiced the worship of patience
in all its forms, and thus was granted the greatest reward and highest rank in
Paradise. He was patient in obedience to Allah, as Aisha, may Allah be pleased
with her, said: “The Prophet (ﷺ)
kept standing (in prayer) so long that the skin of his feet would crack.” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari) He was also patient in
avoiding disobedience to Allah, not committing sin or doing what would
displease Allah.
As for his patience
with the decrees of Allah, we learn this from his blessed life: He was tested
with trials from a young age. He was born an orphan and tasted the pain of
being parentless. His mother died when he was still a child, so he was deprived
of maternal warmth. Then his grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, who cared for him,
died. Then his uncle Abu Talib, who protected him from harm and defended him,
also passed away. His wife Khadijah, may Allah be pleased with her, died, she
who supported him in his mission and shared his worries and sorrows.
He was tested by the
loss of all his children during his lifetime except Fatimah, may Allah be
pleased with her. Al-Qasim, Abdullah, Zaynab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthum, and
Ibrahim all died in his lifetime. His wife Zaynab bint Khuzaymah also died in
his lifetime. Fatimah bint Asad, the wife of his uncle who was like a mother to
him, also died. His uncle Hamzah, the Lion of Allah, was martyred. Despite all
these tragedies, the Prophet ﷺ remained patient, facing every calamity with a heart full of
contentment and hope in reward.
In the field of da'wah
and delivering the message, the Prophet ﷺ was patient
with his people's denial of him and never despaired of their guidance. He was
besieged in the valley of Abu Talib for three years and did not waver. He was
harmed by those closest to him and did not falter.
He witnessed his
Companions being tortured in front of his eyes and called them to be patient,
saying: “Be patient, O family of Yasir, for your
promised place (of meeting) is Paradise.” The polytheists conspired
against him and drove him out of his homeland, Makkah, and still he remained
steadfast.
He faced continuous
severe trials and responded to them all with patience and resolve, never with
despair or hopelessness. He encouraged his companions to be patient, saying: “I swear by God that this matter will reach perfection,
so that a rider will go from San'a' to Hadramaut fearing nothing but God, or a
wolf which may attack his sheep; but you are in a hurry.” (Narrated
by Al-Bukhari)
And he gave them glad
tidings, saying: “This matter will certainly
reach every place touched by the night and day. Allah will not leave a
mud-brick house or a camel’s hair tent which God will not cause this religion
to enter it bringing
both mighty honour and abject abasement; an honour that
Allah bestows upon Islam and abasement that Allah inflicts upon disbelief.” (Narrated by Ahmad)
Educational
Insights: Triumph Emerges Through Patience
Glad Tidings and Divine Gifts for
the Patient
Allah mentioned
patience in the Qur’an in 90 places. He commanded it, informed of the
multiplied reward for the patient, made success conditional upon it, stated
that leadership in religion is attained through patience and certainty, and
made patience and piety a shield against the enemy’s plots. He tied forgiveness
and great reward to patience and righteous deeds. He made patience the cause of
His love, companionship, support, help, and good recompense. (See ‘Uddat
as-Sabirin by Ibn al-Qayyim)
The Prophet ﷺ also gave
glad tidings to the patient, saying: “The
magnitude of the reward goes along with the magnitude of the affliction. When
God who is great and glorious loves people He afflicts them, and those who
accept it gladly receive God’s good pleasure, but those who are displeased
receive God’s displeasure.” (Narrated by At-Tirmidhi)
He also gave them the
glad tidings of having their sins removed, saying:
“The believing man or woman continues to have
affliction in person, property and children so that they may finally meet God
free from sin.” (Narrated by
At-Tirmidhi) And he said: “If any Muslim who
suffers some calamity says what God has commanded him, ‘We belong to God and to
Him do we return ; O God, reward me for my affliction and give me something
better than it in exchange for it,’ God will give him something better than it in
exchange.” (Narrated by Muslim)
Despite all of this,
the Prophet ﷺ taught us to ask Allah for well-being, saying: “Ask God for forgiveness and health, for after being
granted certainty, one is given nothing better than health.” (Narrated
by At-Tirmidhi)
Righteous Salaf’s Sayings about Patience
-------------------------------------------------------------
