Patience

Assalamualaikum,

It has been a while since I last wrote in this blog. Unforeseen circumstance has befallen me recently, and I was quite overwhelmed with lots of stuff. They should have not distracted me from writing in this blog but I am just a normal human being who cannot really handle sudden change in life.

Digressing a bit from the motive of the creation of this blog, today I would like to write about a topic from a book. It was extracted from an abridged translation of 'uddat as-sabirin wa dhakhirat ash-shakirin' meaning Patience and Gratitude by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah. It was translated by Nasiruddin al-Khattab.

Before I go writing about a piece that I like most in this book, let us see the definition of patience (sabr in Arabic). The root meaning of sabr is to detain, refrain and stop. In the spiritual sense, patience means to stop ourselves from despairing and panicking, to stop our tounges from complaining and to stop our hands from striking our faces and tearing our clothes (I think the last definition relates more to Middle-eastern culture, correct me if I'm wrong) at time of grief and stress.

Next is to show why we witness religiously conflicting acts done by ourselves and other people. In this book, it is mentioned that some people have strong patience when it comes to doing what is good for them, but their patience is weak with regard to restrain from harmful actions. So, we may find that a person has enough patience to perform acts of worships but has no patience in controlling himself and refraining from following his whims and desires, and in this way he may commit prohibited actions.

On the contrary, some people may have strong patience in abstaining from forbidden deeds, but their patience in obeying commandments and performing acts of worship is too weak.

Some people have no patience in either case. And needless to say, the best people are those who possess both type of patience.

So, we should not be surprised when we see a man who may have plenty of patience when it comes to standing all night in prayer but has no patience at all when it comes to refraining from looking at women and forbidden things.

This book also elaborate further on different names of patience.
1. If patience consists of restraining sexual desire, it is called HONOR, the opposite of which is adultery and PROMISCUITY
2. If it consists of controlling one's stomach, it is called SELF-CONTROL, the opposite of which is GREED
3. If it consists of keeping quiet about what it is not fit to disclose, it is called DISCRETION, the opposite of which is disclosing secrets, lying, SLANDER and libel
4. If it consists of being content with what is sufficient for one's needs, it is called ABSTEMIOUSNESS, the opposite of which is COVETOUSNESS
5. If it consists of controlling one's anger, then it is called FORBEARANCE, the opposite of which is to be HOTHEADED
6. If it consists of refraining from haste, it is called GRACEFULNESS and steadiness, the opposite of which is IMPULSIVENESS and hasty reaction
7. If it consists of refraining from running away, then it is called COURAGE, the opposite of which is COWARDICE
8. If it consists of refraining from taking revenge, it is called FORGIVENESS, the opposite of which is REVENGE
9. If it consists of refraining from being stingy, then it is called GENEROSITY, the opposite of which is MISERLINESS
10. If it consists of refraining from being lazy and helpless, then it is called DYNAMISM and initiative, the opposite of which is LAZINESS and helplessness
11. If it consists of refraining from blaming and accusing others, then it is called CHIVALRY (muru'ah literally means 'manliness')

These are the different facets of patience that we should acquire in our lives. If we do not possess these characteristics of patience, we can attain these characteristics by acting as if we do possess them until they become second nature to us. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) has told us in one hadith, which means to the effect "Whoever tries to to be patient, then Allah will help him to be patient."

No wonder we frequently heard a hadith (albeit the weak one(or even false)) that "Patience is half of Faith"

May Allah gives us strength and ability to attain all these types of PATIENCE.

Wallahu'alam