Friday, November 17, 2023

Patience and Hope in God

  

"O you who believe! be patient and excel in patience and remain steadfast, and be careful of (your duty to) Allah, that you may be successful." (The Holy Qur'an, 3:201)

 

Life is a strain to which every believer is called to deal with a lot of patience. God commands the believer repeatedly in the Holy Quran to persevere in patience and constancy in the face of disasters and hardships of life. In that patience lies the happiness of the hereafter.

 

"If Allah gives you His help, none can overcome you. If He forsakes you, who is there then that can assist you after Him? In Allah the believers must put their trust." (3:161)

 

Misfortunes and calamities that visit the believer from God, such as, impatience and frustration cannot eliminate them. The believer must put absolute and clear trust in Allah to be spared from all harm because no one else can help him except God. Anything that affects the Muslim, be it exhaustion, disease, sorrow, pain, suffering or distress, "surely, God is with those who are patient." (2:154)

 

The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "A thorn prick earns him (the believer) from his Lord the forgiveness of a portion of his sins."


The believer who is tried by any mishap must have the firm belief that the life of this world is but a temporary event at which he must cope. It is his duty to overcome all the trials of this mortal life in order to achieve final salvation.

 

"Surely We have made whatever is on the earth an embellishment for it, so that We may try them (as to) which of them is best in works." (18: 8)

 

This verse should inspire joy in the heart of the believer. The more the believer tries to show patience in the trials of this world, the more he is considered among the best. However, he must continue to develop patience and hope, because it is then that he will achieve the highest degree of spirituality.

 

"And when We make people taste of mercy, they rejoice. But if a misfortune befalls them because of what their own hands have brought forth, they despair." (30:37)

 

When he suffers a misfortune, the believer must get rid of this weakness. Instead, he must have the firm belief that God sends a calamity for the purification of a portion of his sins. Now, he must put complete trust in God for that is the remedy for his misfortune.

 

"And when harm afflicts men, they invoke their Lord, turning to Him in repentance. Then when He makes them taste of mercy from Him, lo! some of them ascribes partners with their Lord." (30:34)

 

There is also this group of believers who pray for God to come out of trouble, but after being rescued by Him, they assign to Him (for lack of gratitude) other creatures in worship.

 

The true believer must have the firm belief that no creature of Allah has the ability to pervade the mystery of life except God.

 

"Besides difficulty is, of course, facility! Besides difficulty is, of course, facility!" (94:6-7)

 

It is of great importance for the believer to remember that in any circumstance of life, whether in prosperity or in adversity, in joy or in sorrow, he must continue to persevere in patience while turning to his Creator, for whatever misfortune or happiness comes from Allah.

 

"It is We Who have sent down to you the Qur'an. Endure is what your Lord has decreed, and obey not the sinner among them, or the ingrate. And remember the name of your Lord, morning and afternoon." (76: 24-26)

 

Man is constantly tested in his knowledge, his wisdom, freedom, wealth, etc., and God ordered him to show good faith (and patience) when he undergoes trials. He should not obey or follow the incredulous ones when he is tried. Instead, he must wait patiently for the decision of the Lord because everything is predestined, predetermined by Him.

 

The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that Allah has said that: "People insult fate but it is I who holds fate in My power day and night."

 

Any event that the believer may suffer with patience is a form of reward from God. Thus, (according to Anas) the Holy Prophet said that God said: "When I afflict a servant of Mine with respect to his two most beloved things (meaning his eyes), and he endures it patiently, I grant him paradise in return." (Hadith)

 

These two sayings that follow show the greatness of patience: 


"When a small child dies, Allah tells the angels that they have taken away the child and the heart of His devotee. The angels will say, `Yes, the same has been done.' Then Allah will ask, "What My Devotee has said." The angels will say that he recited: "We belong to Allah and we are to return to Him." 


Then Allah will say, "Build a house for his devotee in Paradise and name it, "The House of Praise." (Hadith - Tirmidhi)

 

Otherwise, if the servant complains, like the infidels, of the loss of a family member and he does not resign himself consistently to the will of Allah, not only will he be punished, but also the deceased.

 

"The deceased upon whom one lament will be punished because of those lamentations" said the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him).

 

"By the time! Man is indeed in loss, except those who believe and do righteous deeds, and exhort one another to truth and enjoin patience." (103: 2-4)

 

May Allah pour down upon us patience, so that His promise be realised when He said: "Have a beautiful patience, because you'll get a nice reward." (Revelation) —Ameen.


---Friday Sermon of  30 July 2010 [17 Shabaan 1431 Hijri] delivered by Imam-Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius.