24. PATIENCE (SABR) AND CONTENTMENT (RIDA)
The most difficult task Allah ordained upon mankind is enduring {sabr) the circumstances of what has been predestined (qada) for them, and the best action to embrace in this regard is being content (rida) with what Allah predestined because endurance with patience is obligatory while being content is a prized virtue {fadl).
The reason why patience is difficult is because fate often brings forth what the innate nature (nafs) dislikes. These disliked events are not limited to physical harm (idha) or sickness (marad), but vary in nature and type— and even extends to events that bedazzle the mind (‘aql) due to the incapacity of the mind to understand the wisdom behind certain events.
For example, you may see the wealth of some people being beyond the imagination and to the extent they would appropriate their wealth into pots and plates, through crystal, diamonds and such precious gem stones to simply look better. This behaviour translates the negligence of such people to what the religion commands.
They heed not to the divine edicts, therefore you find them wear silk and oppress people, while the pleasures of life are still granted to them. On the other hand, you find many pious people (ahlul-din) and students of knowledge (tulab al-‘ilm) are overwhelmed with poverty (faqr) and stand subdued helplessly under the decree of oppressors. Through this, Shaytan finds his way to whisper (waswas) his evil to mankind and begins his evil plot by defaming and accusing the wisdom of fate (hikmaht al-qadr) hence believers need to have patience over the misfortunes (bald) they come are trialled with in their lives as well as struggle patiently against the whispers of Shaytan.
From the examples of which the mind stands bewildered is how the disbelievers come to overpower the Muslims and the authority sinners have over the pious. More astounding are the pain of animals and the suffering of children that comes to test the true faith of believers.
Patience over all these kinds of events can be enhanced through exploring both the religious texts (naql) and sensibility of the mind (aql).
The religious texts are of two types; Qur’an and Sunnah. The Qur’an provides explicit explanation for two situations:
(i) reason for bestowing the disbelievers (kuffar) and sinners (fasiqun) with worldly pleasures; Allah said,
‘‘And let not those who disbelieve ever think that [because] We extend their time [of enjoyment] it is better for them. We only extend it for them so that they may increase in sin, and for them is a humiliating punishment.” [Al-Imran (3): 178]
And
“And if it were not that the people would become one community [of disbelievers], We would have made for those who disbelieve in the Most Merciful—for their houses—ceilings and stairways of silver upon which to mount” [al-Zukbruf (43):33],
And
“And when We intend to destroy a city, We command its affluent but they defiantly disobey therein; so the word [i.e., deserved decree] comes into effect upon it, and We destroy it with [complete] destruction.” [al-Isra (17): 16],
(ii) reason for testing believers {ibtila al-mu’min) in this life; Allah said,
“Or do you think that you will enter Paradise while Allah has not yet made evident those of you who fight in His cause and made evident those who are steadfast?” [A1-‘Imran (3): 142]
And
“Or do you think that you will enter Paradise while such [trial] has not yet come to you as came to those who passed on before you? They were touched by poverty and hardship and were shaken until [even their] messenger and those who believed with him said, ‘When is the help of Allah?’ Unquestionably, the help of Allah is near.” [al-Baqarah (2):214]
And
“Do you think that you will be left [as you are] while Allah has not yet made evident those among you who strive [for His cause] and do not take other than Allah, His Messenger and the believers as intimates? And Allah is Acquainted with what you do.” [al-Tawbah (9): 16]
The Sunnah provides exemplary indication {bat) as well as verbal (qaii’l) explanation; the example of the former is the lifestyle of the Prophet who used to change sides while laying down as he used to sleep on sand and sticks which left marks on his body.
These hard conditions made ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab (radiyAllahu ‘anhu) cry and say, ‘Caesar and Kisra [who are upon falsehood] indulge in silk and sott fibres [while you are upon the truth and endure such hardship].’ The Prophet said “O ‘Umar, do you have any doubt? Are not you pleased that we enjoy [the pleasures of] the Hereafter and they enjoy the pleasures of this life?”’
And the example of the latter is his statement “If this worldly life was worth equivalent to a wing of a fly in the sight of Allah, He would not have let a disbeliever drink even one sip of water from it.”
The sensibility of the mind (i.e. intellect) supports the soldiers of patience (sain) with its own troops, from which is that it offers the following argument; the wisdom of the One who predestined the fate holds true and tactual tor me based on numerous evidences, therefore, I shall not resort to what the ignorant view as a defect, nor leave the ready established principle.
The sound of reason also argues that the extravagant expenditures of the sinner, which fascinates the common people, entails a meaning to deprivation—and the deprivation of wealth afflicting the obedient implies a (benevolent) meaning of bestowing.
This is because the bestowing upon the sinner necessitates a severe punishment [in the Hereafter] whereas the deprivation of worldly pleasures leads to abundant reward [in the Hereafter for the obedient], and the lifetime of both types of people is soon to end and both will meet what awaits them.
Another evident argument is that the example of those believing in Allah are like hired servants, and the time of work is as short as the daylight. Thus, he who works in mud should not wear clean clothes but rather endure the hours of work so that when he finishes his work, he cleanses himself and puts on the best of his clothes.
This is because whoever indulges in play during the time of work will receive nothing except regret at the time of payment, and punishment for his slackness.
This understanding should strengthen and solidify the knots of patience. I will elaborate further still, and so I say:
Since Allah has predestined the acceptance of those who are martyred, He also created people whose hands would reach out to murder and cause harm to the believers. Thus we find only a disbeliever such as Abu Lu’lu’ al-MajusI would kill ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab (radiy Allahu ‘anhu)\ likewise a kharijite such as Ibn Muljam would kill ‘All Ibn Abl Talib (radiy Allahu ‘anhu)\ and a tyrant disbeliever would kill Prophet Yahya Ibn Zakariyah (alayhi as-salam).
If the eye of understanding (‘ajn al-fahm) unveils the darkness around it, it would have noticed the Causer (Musabbib) and not the causes (asbab), and the One who predestines (muqaddir), not the foreordained (iqdar), hence being able to endure His trials to favour what He wants as only then will you be content with what He ordained.
The example of this is like how some people once asked a person whose health w’as suffering from a difficult condition, ‘Invoke Allah to cure you’, to whom he replied: ‘I like my condition for Allah likes it for me.’
(source: al-Hafiz Abu’l-Faraj ibn al-jawzl [d. 597AH] “CAPTURED THOUGHTS being” a translation of his masterpiece ‘Sayd al-K hatir)
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