Patience
Dr Ahmed Adam
Life is a series of problems,
one after another. We all go through cycles of problem- peace-problem-peace …
Life becomes difficult and stressful if we do not know how to solve life’s
problems. Our ability to lead a harmonious life depends on our ability &
skill in solving the problems and challenges of life. If we are currently living
in happiness with no worry in the world, then we are virtually guaranteed that
sometime in the future, sooner than we think, we will be faced with problems,
both minor and major. That is a fundamental Universal Law of Life. We have to be
prepared for such problems and we have to be able to deal with these problems
when they do arise. Several verses in the Holy Quran make reference to the
trials and tribulations of this world, indicating that the occurrence of
problems is part of life. However, there are
other verses which give
solutions on how to cope with these
problems that life presents to us.
Every problem can be solved by
using a specific set of tools to solve that problem. For example,
(a)
a mechanic uses specialized tools to repair the faulty radiator or brake
pads of your car
(b)
a Cardio-thoracic surgeon uses specialized tools to repair your damaged
heart
(c)
a plumber uses specialized tools to repair your leaking tap
It is important to note that the correct tools must be used for a specific problem. A Cardio-thoracic surgeon cannot use his highly sophisticated instruments to change brake pads. Nor can a plumber use his spanner on your heart, even though the heart is leaking. Similarly, to solve life’s problems, we need a specialized toolkit, and each tool has a name (similar to ‘drill’, ‘hammer’ spanner’ etc) . The tools that we use to solve life’s problems are called Patience, Perseverance, Persistence, Discipline and Determination. If these tools are correctly applied to the correct problem, then the challenges of life take on new meaning and we have harmony & balance in our life. If these tools are ignored, then life becomes difficult.
There are several verses in the
Holy Quran, which make reference to the value of applying the tools of patience
and perseverance in order to attain success in this world and in the hereafter.
For example :
S2 V153 : “ O ye who believe! Seek help
with patient perseverance & prayer : for Allah is with those who patiently
persevere !
S3 V 200 : O ye who believe ! Persevere in
patience & constancy : vie in such perseverance : strengthen each other ;
and fear Allah that ye may prosper
S7 V 128 : Said Moses to his people : “
Pray for help from Allah and (wait) in patience and constancy
The above verses of the Holy Quran are filled with hope
and assurance from Allah (SWT).
Allah (SWT), in His Infinite Mercy & Infinite Kindness, gives us the assurance, that He is with those that patiently persevere. What more can we ask
for ? Furthermore, Allah (SWT) encourages us to continue persevering. Persevering means to strive
in the face of obstacles. It means that one should not
give up. It means that failure should not be regarded as the end of
the world – failure is simply a stepping stone to success and a vital
ingredient for success. No matter how insurmountable the obstacle and
no matter how huge the problem, one should never give up hope and trust in Allah
(SWT). It is this hope, combined with steadfastness and patient perseverance,
that is the recipe for success and for dealing with life’s problems.
The tools of patience and perseverance are
generally applicable in two main situations:
(1)
Goals : to achieve any goal in life, then patience,
perseverance, determination and focus are the essential
& vital ingredients that are required to attain one’s goals &
objectives
(2) Adversity : any difficulty, hardship, major problem or calamity becomes bearable and tolerable by using patience and perseverance and placing one’s trust and hope in Allah (SWT).
Allah (SWT) promises us that he
will certainly test us while we are in this world :
S3 V 186 : Ye shall certainly be tried &
tested in your possessions and in your personal selves
We do not know when
we will be tested, how we will be tested, how severe the
test will be or how long the test will last. We do know on what
we will be tested (ie on possessions & personal selves). The problems may be
minor and short-lived, or in some cases, the problems seem so huge, so difficult
and so long, that we feel that we cannot bear it any longer. However, Allah
(SWT), Most Gracious, Most Merciful, reminds us that even though He is testing
us, and even though the problem we are faced with seems unbearable, we receive
tremendous amount of hope and courage from the following verse :
S2 V 286 : “ On no soul doth Allah place a
burden greater than it can bear”
Allah (SWT) knows us better than
we know ourselves. Allah (SWT) knows that we
will be able to bear the burden of the problems that besiege us. From our
point of view, some problems seem to have no solutions and they appear so huge
that we want to give up. But Allah (SWT) reminds us that in times of difficulty,
we should pray to Allah(SWT) and patiently persevere. Furthermore, Allah (SWT),
Most Gracious, Most Merciful, again gives us tremendous courage and hope when He
says :
No matter how severe or long the
problem is, it has to end. That is definite. This is what gives us
courage. This is what inspires us to put all our trust in Allah (SWT) and to
patiently persevere, for relief may be just around the corner.
When we are faced with problems
in life, such as financial problems, marital problems, exam problems, health
problems, family problems etc, then we usually
have a few choices in solving these problems :
(a) we can either follow the Straight Path, Pray to Allah (SWT) and patiently persevere and seek a solution to the problem that is within the guidelines of the Holy Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW)
(b) or, we can take the shortcut, and fall prey to the whims and illusions of Shaytaan
(c)
or, we can
ignore the problem and hope that it will go away, but this simply makes the
problem worse
Furthermore, it is during our
times of difficulty and weakness, that Shaytaan is most active and tries very
hard to influence us to his evil ways, as stated in the following verses of the
Quran :
S4 V 119 : “I will
mislead them and I will create in them false desires “
S7 V 16 : “ I will lie
in wait for them on Thy Straight Way”
S7 V17 : “ then I will
assault them from before them and behind them, from their right and their
left”
S8 V 48 : “ Remember, Satan made their
(sinful) acts seem alluring to them…”
Shaytaan is also referred to as
the ‘whisperer”, the “Chief Deceiver “ and the “Evil one.”
When we attempt to follow
the Straight Path as contained in the Holy Quran, Shaytaan will try his level
best to distract our attention from the Straight Path. He will whisper tempting
things, deceive us into doing wrong and give us false hopes. Unfortunately, many
of us fall victim to his misguided ways as stated as follows :
S36 V60 : Did I not enjoin
on you, O ye children of Adam, that ye should not worship Satan ; for that he is
to you an enemy avowed ?
S36 V62 : but he did lead astray a great
multitude of you. Did you not, then, understand ?
The following are some practical
examples on how Shaytaan influences us in our daily lives :
PROBLEM
|
STRAIGHT PATH (QURAN & SUNNAH) |
WRONG PATH (INFLUENCE OF SHAYTAAN) |
|
Financial difficulty |
Patiently persevere, strive to earn an honest living and be grateful for Allah’s (SWT) sustenance ; be satisfied with what Allah (SWT) has provided, no matter how humble |
Dishonesty ; cheating ; stolen goods ; gambling ; lottery ; asking loan sharks for money ; |
|
Marital difficulties |
Patience & perseverance, continuous attempts to seek solutions and understanding |
Slandour ; impatience ; intolerance ; stubbornness ; adultery; very quick to divorce without first trying to find solutions ; wife beating |
|
Unmarried youngsters |
Patience and perseverance ; regular fasting and guarding chastity |
Fornication |
|
Business problems |
Strive and seek solutions and patiently persevere, even if the economy is gloomy ; look for alternatives such as : advertise regularly on radio, newspaper, pamphlets, ; treat customers like kings ; keep changing your products to suit the needs of your customer ; keep striving to find honest means of earning ones living |
Shaytaan tempts us to avoid the difficult and long efforts required in earning an honest days work ; we get tempted to become overnight millionaires, buy big houses and big cars, even if it means gambling or cheating, even if it means hurting someone in the process ; this is the lifestyle of the ‘quick bucks ‘ phenomenon at any cost |
|
EXAMINATIONS |
Study and work hard with patience and perseverance and place your trust and hopes in Allah (SWT) |
Steal the exam paper and cheat ; this form of dishonesty deprives you of the benefits that you would have obtained if you would have made an honest attempt to study your work ; you could have learned discipline, problem solving, overcoming obstacles etc, which are essential life skills. |
|
General problems |
Patiently persevere, pray to Allah (SWT) and place ones full trust in Allah (SWT) |
Look for escapism from life’s problems in drugs, alcohol, partying, gambling; seek help from fortune-tellers |
The above few examples
illustrate that the Straight Path is usually the steep path, but that life’s
problems can be managed and controlled by using the formula that Allah (SWT) has
given us, namely patiently persevere. Perseverance means to keep on striving to
seek solutions : a solution will not fall from the sky into your lap – you
have to keep trying. On the other hand, there are those people who
are impatient – they live in the world of
‘instant coffee’ and they want ‘instant solutions’. This is where
the Whisperer whispers ‘shortcuts’, ‘loopholes’, ‘temptations’ and
‘quick band-aid fixes’ to problems – the Chief Deceiver is at his best,
and he lures people away from the Straight Path. It is also important to
remember that Shaytaan does not hold a gun to our head – he does not force
us to follow his crooked way – he only tempts us ; it is then up to us
to choose the illusory temptation or to choose the Straight Path. We are
ultimately responsible for our actions and the path that we choose. The solution
to this is to bear in mind that success in this world and in the Hereafter,
comes from following the instruction :
S5 V93 : Obey Allah, and obey the Apostle.
If we can consider each of our
actions according to the above formula, then Insha-Allah, we will be able to
withstand the trials & tribulations of this world and this strength will
come from Allah (SWT) as stated in the following Hadith :
Sahih Bukhari, Hadith 8.477, narrated by Abu
Said (RA), that the Holy Prophet Mohamed (SAW) said :
“ He who remains
patient, Allah will bestow patience upon him, and he who is satisfied with what
he has, Allah will make him self – sufficient. And there is no gift better and
vast than patience”
South Africa is a living example
of the power of patience and perseverance in overcoming an oppressive
government. The History of civilization
makes it abundantly clear, that all oppressive governments and people have got
to come crumbling down, some sooner than later, but eventually, all oppression
has got to end. Oppression does not end on its own, It only ends with the will
of a group of people who are determined, focused and who patiently persevere in
their actions, spurred on by the conviction that truth prevails over falsehood
and that freedom is the natural birthright of mankind. All people who are
currently in the grips of oppression, whether in Palestine, Kashmir, Kosovo, the
highly indebted developing countries and other areas of the world, will
eventually be unshackled from their current difficulty. The success formula,
once again, is Patience and Perseverance as stated in the following verse :
S8 V65 : If there are twenty amoungst you,
patient and persevering, they will vanquish two hundred : if a hundred, they
will vanquish a thousand of the unbelievers.
The above examples illustrate
the application of the tools of Patience and Perseverance
when faced with adversity. The following two examples illustrate, how
these very same tools of Patience and Perseverance, are very effectively
leveraged to attain success in the attainment of a goal.
KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN
(KFC)
Kentucky Fried Chicken was
initiated by a retired old colonel from the army, known as Colonel Sanders.
Colonel Sanders was 65 years old,
without work, but his mind was still active. He wanted to do something with his
life and earn some money. He had no capital and no products : the only thing
that he had, was a chicken recipe that was very famous and all his friends,
family and neighbours used to enjoy this recipe. He decided to sell his recipe
to potential restaurant owners with the following proposal : he offered
the recipe to the restaurant for free ; if the customers enjoy the new
chicken recipe, then he would take a small share of the profit with the restaurant
owner. His idea sounded good to him, but the restaurant owners found this to be
a joke. They rejected his idea. He went from one restaurant to another, daily,
and each one kept telling him ‘not interested.’ However, he did not regard
this as a failure : he kept on trying, he kept on knocking on doors and he kept
on persevering. He received more than 1000 “no’ answers, until finally, the
1009’th restaurant agreed to a profit-share venture. The rest is history. Out
of that was born the KFC multi-million $ empire with thousands of branches
throughout the world (with the famous “Colonel Sanders and his white beard on
the logo ). His formula for success was the same formula mentioned
in the Holy Quran : Patience and Perseverance.
Thomas Edison was an inventor.
However, when he was in Grade 1, his teachers expelled him from school and told
his parents that he was too stupid and mentally retarded and that he was not
suitable to receive an education. Edison grew up in his parents home and spent
many hours experimenting and tinkering in the family garage. He became famous
for many inventions, but his most famous is the electric lamp (the globe that we
use in our homes for light). At that stage only oil lamps were being used for
homes and streets. Electricity was already discovered, and Edison began his long
struggle to finding a solution to invent an electric lamp. He tried numerous
experiments, and his journals show that he went through 10, 000 different
experiments, before he came up with the solution of inventing the worlds first
electric lamp (globe). That means that he failed 9999 times, but he did not
allow his failures to discourage him. He used the same success formula
that is in the Holy Quran, namely, Patience and Perseverance.
The above two examples clearly illustrate the phenomenal power of the tools of determination, patience and persistence ie by constantly slogging away to find an honest solution to a major problem and not allowing the shortcut temptations of Shaytaan to lure us away from the Straight Path.
Allah
(SWT) reminds us as follows :
S53 V39 : man can have nothing but what he strives for
S21 V37 :..man is a
creature of haste
S3 V 146 : Allah loves
those who are firm and steadfast
S3 V 159 : Allah loves
those who put their trust (in Him)
S2 V 153 : Allah is with
those who patiently persevere
Our life in this world is but a short journey. We are here on probation. Each and every one of us has to undergo various trials and tribulations, various successes and failures. That is life. It is important to bear in mind that we should remember Allah (SWT) during good times and difficult times. However, the cycle of life takes on meaning only in the context of the Quran and the Sunnah. When faced with afflictions and troubles, we take advice from the Quran and the Sunnah, and we pray to Allah (SWT), place our trust in Allah (SWT) and learn the fine art of sab’r (patience) ; When sab’r enters the heart, then the mind and heart are in balance, and the body takes on a new focus, a new determination, a new will to strive and persevere on seeking solutions to the problems that face us on an individual level, community level and global level. With the tools of sab’r, persistence, perseverance, discipline and determination, life takes on new meaning and the problems that we face are taken into context with our accountability in the Hereafter. If we fail to use the tools that Allah (SWT) has given us, then surely we are lost because we will fall victim to the lures and devious ways of the Chief deceiver, Shaytaan. May Allah (SWT) gives us the Strength and courage to bear the trials of this world with patience and perseverance. May he not place on us a burden greater than we can bear. May Allah (SWT) Forgive us our shortcomings and may He be Merciful on us on the Day of Reckoning, which is sure to come, sooner than we think. May Allah (SWT) shower His choicest Blessings on the Holy Prophet Mohamed (SAW) for everything that he has done for his Ummat. The Prophet Mohamed (SAW) showed by example, that through patience and perseverance, through years of hardship and struggle, only then did he achieve victory. May we also learn from this glorious example of our Prophet (SAW) to also patiently persevere in all our endeavors and afflictions. May Allah (SWT) guide the Ummat of Rasoolullah (SAW) to the Straight Path and may He give us the strength and courage to be immune to the lures of the Whisperer .
Ameen.
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