Sabr [Patience]
Kkaled Dajani
School of Medicine, St George’s University, Grenada, West Indies
A-úthu
billáhi minash shaytánir rajeem. Bismilláhir
rahmánir raheem.
Al hamdu lillahi nahmaduhu
wanasta’eenahu, wanastagh-firuhu, wanatoobu ilayhi, wana’oothu Billaahi min
shuroori an-fusinaa.
May- Yahdillahu fa huwal
muhtad, wa may- yudlill falan tajidaa lahu waliyan murshida.
Wa nash-hadu an Laa ilaaha
ill-Alláh, wahdahoo laa shareeka lah, wa nash-hadu inna Muhammadan ‘abduhoo
warasooluh
All
Praise is due to Alláh, We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask
forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our own
evils..
Anyone
who is guided by Alláh, he is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left
astray, will find no one to guide him.
We bear witness that there is no god but Alláh, the Only One without
any partner; and we bear witness that Muhammad, (SWS), is His servant, and His
messenger.
PART
ONE-A
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Many of you might have been here when brother Moussa gave his khutbas concerning surat al’Asr. Let me briefly read that surat now:
(in Arabic)
By Time, Verily
Man is in loss, Except such as have Faith, and do righteous deeds, and (join
together) in the mutual teaching of Truth, and of Patience and Constancy.
Today I wish to focus in on the last concept of this simple, yet important surah: al sabr, or patience.
Did you know, that Allah (SWT) loves patience? We have only to dwell on this for a few moments, to realize its absolute truth. Al sabr, or patience, is mentioned 90 times in the Koran…90 times. This means once for nearly every surah (there are 114), if you were to divide al sabr equally. A little bit later, I will show you how this number is vastly underestimated.
Of the many beautiful names of our Lord, al Saboor reaches me at both an intellectual level, and a deeper, more visceral one as well. The Patient One makes his love of al sabr obvious in many, many, verses of his Message.
041.035 Al’Fussilat
YUSUFALI: And no one will be granted such goodness except those
who exercise patience and self-restraint,- none but persons of the greatest good
fortune.
011.011 Al’Hud
YUSUFALI: Not so do those who show patience and constancy, and
work righteousness; for them is forgiveness (of sins) and a great reward.
Not to mention surat al’Asr.
All of us here have taken or are taking behavioral science, and so we all know the concept of modeling in human development. Think for a moment, on the creation of all that we see and know. Had Allah (SWT) wished, he could have snapped his proverbial fingers, and willed the universe into existence. And yet al Saboor chose instead to be patient, creating the moon, the stars, us, over a span of 7 days. Our very existence is based upon an act steeped in patience, as an example for the way to live our lives.
016.127 An-Nahl
YUSUFALI: And do thou be patient, for thy patience is but from
Allah;
It is at this point appropriate to ask, why does Allah (SWT) love patience? When you distill our deen down to its simple, true, essence, Islam is submission to Allah. To have patience, then, is to submit to what has been written for each and every one of us, to submit to Allah’s will with respect to our lives.
God loves patience because, above all else, it reflects the depth of our faith in Him. It is the classic struggle between foresight and hindsight. We have not been granted the power to see what lies ahead, but through our intellect, we have the ability to look back with cleared and impartial vision. It is therefore easy for us, when caught in the moment, to say, “oh why oh why is this happening to me? Why Allah, why?” , to curse fate and the heavens for our current predicament. But ask yourselves, how many times have you struggled through hard times, to discover days, weeks, months, or even years later, the true purpose or value of those times?
016.041-42 An-Nahl
YUSUFALI: To those who leave their homes in the cause of Allah,
after suffering oppression,- We will assuredly give a goodly home in this world;
but truly the reward of the Hereafter will be greater. If they only realised
(this)! (They are) those who
persevere in patience, and put their trust
on their Lord.
Let me reread you the quote of a few moments past, just listen:
011.011 Al-Hud
YUSUFALI: Not so do those who show patience and constancy, and
work righteousness; for them is forgiveness (of sins) and a great reward.
Now, I’m going to read it again, and in your mind, replace the word “patience” with “faith”:
011.011
YUSUFALI: Not so do those who show patience and constancy, and
work righteousness; for them is forgiveness (of sins) and a great reward.
PART ONE-B
We have taken the first step, by appreciating the importance and value of patience. But what is it, exactly?
When I looked up patience in the dictionary, I was quite surprised. There was no definition in the classical sense, but rather a list of synonyms for patience. Here are some of them: restraint, tolerance, serenity, persistence, endurance. You see, brothers and sisters, patience encompasses so many concepts, but I choose two in particular, that appear nearly directly in several Koranic quotes.
Restraint and persistence seem to embody what patience should be for the Muslima and Muslim. If we counted how many times both patience and persistence came up in the Koran, it would certainly be far above 90 times. Let’s try to understand, through example, the meaning and applicability of these definers.
016.128 An-Nahl
YUSUFALI: For Allah is with those who restrain themselves, and
those who do good.
…Take pork. Not eating pork, as commanded by Allah (SWT), is patience in the form of restraint.
That was simple enough, eh? What about those who use alcohol excessively, or abuse drugs? Many, if not most, of these individuals have suffered much in their lives, and turn to these substances as a “solution” to their problems. It is not our place to condemn them necessarily, but rather to understand that they do not have the patience, that is, faith in Allah (SWT), self restraint, and the persistence to persevere over their concerns. Brothers and sisters, as I was looking earlier for textual evidence to support my words, I came across something that the prophet Mohammad (SAWS) said, as reported by Aisha (Alyah al salaam):
"No calamity befalls a Muslim but that Allah expiates some of his sins because of it, even though it were the prick he receives from a thorn."
I find myself moved and reassured by these words, toward greater faith and patience in my Lord.
Let’s be a little more precise about what patience is and is not. Someone I knew used to have a plaque, which was engraved with the “serenity quote.” Many of you probably know this quote, you know, God give me the strength/courage to improve what I can, serenity to accept what I cannot change etc...when I first read this quote, I found myself feeling inexplicably repulsed by the last line I just read you, “serenity to accept what I cannot change.” I did not understand why this should be so, until I thought about what patience is not.
Patience is not fatalism. With our current definitions and understanding, we might be tempted to say in difficult times, “I can’t do anything, so I’ll sit back and have patience, faith, in Allah (SWT).” Ah, but we have all heard the saying, “God loves those who love themselves.” Witness:
040.055 Al-Ghafir
YUSUFALI: Patiently, then, persevere: for the Promise of Allah is true: and ask forgiveness for
thy fault, and celebrate the Praises of thy Lord in the evening and in the
morning.
002.153 Al-Baqara
YUSUFALI: O ye who believe! seek help with patient perseverance
and prayer; for Allah is with those who patiently persevere.
Patience is therefore perseverance. To give a relevant example, let’s say that you didn’t do so well on your last exam. Yes, you have faith and patience with your Lord, but that is only half the picture. It is not enough to do this, but you must instead try harder or try smarter, to persist towards a higher score on your next imteehan, exam.
Sisters and brothers, let us ask Allah to show us the right way and ask for forgiveness.
PART TWO
I know that I have taken much of your time, so let me do one final thing. I want you to understand the power of patience. Every battle that has been fought by the prophets, every battle won, has been won by patience. Allah (SWT), in surat Al-Anfal, states that:
if there are a hundred of you, patient and persevering, they will vanquish two hundred, and if a thousand, they will vanquish two thousand, with the leave of Allah: for Allah is with those who patiently persevere.
Now let me leave you with one final saying of our Prophet (SAWS):
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."
Brothers and sisters,
I ask Allah to grant us patience,
I ask Allah to grant us patience,
I ask Allah to grant us patience.
Ya
Allah, we ask you to relieve the suffering of all those who are under the
oppression, and to heal those that are sick,
And
to help us in gaining a part of Your knowledge in our studies and to use that
knowledge for the benefit of all his creation.
Ya
Allah, please guide our footsteps to the right path and forgive us our mistakes
and shortcomings.
Allahum ighfirlana wa irhamna
Wa ‘fina wa afu ‘anna
Wa tawalana wa tub ‘layna
Wa arina al haq haqan warzookna atiba’a
Wa arina al baatila baatilan warzookna ijtinaba
Wa unsor illah hum il muslimeen
Wa akhir da’wana wal hamdu lillah rab il
‘aalameen
Wa salamun ‘al mursaleen
Wa aqim al salah
[This khutbah was delivered by Khaled Dajani, a
2nd year medical student at St
Georg’s University School of Medicine, Grenada, West Indies].