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‘Goodness does not consist in turning your face towards East or West. The truly good are those who believe in God and the Last Day, in the angels, the Scripture, and the prophets; who give away some of their wealth, however much they cherish it, to their relatives, to orphans, the needy, travellers and beggars, and to liberate those in bondage; those who keep up the prayer and pay the prescribed alms; who keep pledges whenever they make them; who are steadfast in misfortune, adversity, and times of danger. These are the ones who are true, and it is they who are aware of God.’ (2:178)
'[Prophet], give good news to the humble
whose hearts fill with awe whenever God is mentioned, who
endure whatever happens to them with patience, who keep up the prayer, who give
to others out of Our provision to them.' (22:35-36)
‘Say, ‘[God says], believing servants, be mindful of your Lord! Those who do good in this world will have a good reward– God’s earth is wide ––and those who persevere patiently will be given a full and unstinting reward.’ (39:11)
‘Obey God and His Messenger, and do not
quarrel with one another, or you may lose heart and your spirit may desert you.
Be steadfast: God is with the steadfast.’ (8: 47)
‘…be one of those who believe and urge one another to steadfastness and
compassion’. (90:18)
‘By the flight of Time, man is [deep] in loss, except for those who
believe, do good deeds, urge one another to the truth, and urge one another to
steadfastness.’
(103:2-4)
The Holy Qur’an offers a
profound message of hope and encouragement for all believers reeling under challenging
material circumstances when it declares the golden key to penetrate all hurdles
and emerge triumphant against all opposition, to mount the flag of 'Tawheed' even
in the lands of ‘Kufr’ through steadfast commitment and sustained struggle:
‘And seek assistance through
patience and prayer, and most surely it is a hard thing except for the humble
ones’. (2:
46)
‘Did you think you would enter the Garden without God first proving which of you would struggle for His cause and remain steadfast?’ (3:143)
[2:154]. Yaaa-’ayyuhallazina ‘aa-manusta-‘innuu
bis-Sabri was-Salaah; ‘innallaha ma-‘as-sabiriin.
O
you who believe! Seek assistance through patience and prayer; surely Allah is
with the patient.
‘All through and through our lives are full of
tribulations, difficulties, and insecurity. Now, in the era of a Messenger,
these difficulties and tribulations are coupled with persecutions, hatred of
enemies of Allah and evil plots. Allah in all circumstances holds the perfect solution
for His beloved servants. He is always there for them. Very often we are prey
to anger and fear, but patience is the weapon, the solution which Allah invites
us to grip firmly and instil in us so that we may be victorious all through and
through, whatever the difficulty or trial. In this verse Allah actually
mentions two solutions to fight these vain desires, anger, fear of people etc.
– patience and prayer. Now patience is very bitter, but its fruits are very
sweet. Prayer, all in all, all acts of worship help the believer to curb the
wrong vibes in him, inviting him to cast aside all negative thoughts and to
keep firm with Allah through a great quality which is called patience.
Patience invites to the beauty of tomorrow, says
goodbye to sorrows and greets happiness with the feel of everlasting forever.
Patience takes all hurdles into oblivion, invites you to the source of
steadfastness. Patience: A word never to forget for all rewards lie in its
hand.
One has to try to grasp the essence of patience
just as one would catch the fragrance of a rose in bloom. It takes patience to
submit to the will of God. It takes patience to fight the odds of life. It
takes joyful steadfastness to buy the perfume of love in a world lost to
divinity, but the one who strives hard enough and vanquish his fear through
sheer goodwill and prayer, surely Allah will be his help throughout his life,
be it in the face of enemies, difficult situations or even the sorrows of life.
[ Al Azim Tafsir-ul-Qur’an, Volume I, pp. 382-383]
[3:201].
Yaaa-’ayyu-hallaziina ‘aa-ma-nus-biruu wa saabiruu wa raabituu; wattaqullaaha
la-’al-lakum tuflihuun.
'O you who believe! Be patient and excel in
steadfastness and remain steadfast, and fear Allah so that you may prosper.'
‘Patience is the key to success. Despite being bitter, but it is through its bitterness that the sweet fruits of faith can be reaped. Allah has made patience like an untiring horse, an undefeated army and a solid fortress that can never be invaded. The true believers are thus ordained to bear their miseries and trials with patience for therein are their passport to a better life, be it on earth and in the hereafter. The believers are also to vie each other in good deeds, for this competition in spiritual matters shall guarantee them success and divine reward of a formidable essence.’ [Al Azim Tafsir-ul-Qur’an, Volume II, pp. 302].
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