Chapter 11: Sahâbah
on the virtues of patience
As-Safar
said: “Abû Bakr fell ill, so some people visited him and asked whether they
should call a doctor for him. He said, ‘The Doctor has already seen me.’
They asked, ‘What did he say?’ Abû Bakr said, ‘He said, “I do
what I want”.’ ” (Meaning,
that Allâh is his “Doctor” and can make him sick or healthy as He wills)
(Ahmad).
‘Umar
ibn al-Khattâb (RA) said: “The best days we ever lived were by virtue of
patience, and if patience were to take the shape of a man, he would be a noble
and generous man.”
‘Alî
ibn Abî Tâlib (RA) said: “The relation of patience to îmân is like the
relation of the head to the body. If the head is chopped off, the body becomes
useless.” Then he raised his voice and said: “Certainly, the one who has no
patience has no îmân, and patience is like a riding-beast that nevers gets
tired.”
‘Umar
ibn ‘Abdu’l-‘Azîz said: “Allâh never bestows a blessing on His slave
then takes it away and compensates him by giving him patience, but that with
which he has been compensated is better than that which has been taken away from
him.”
‘Urwah
ibn al-Zubayr came to visit the Khalîfah al-Walîd ibn ‘Abdu’l-Malik. With
him was his son Muhammad, who was one of the most handsome of men. The young man
had dressed up for the occasion in fine clothes, and had his hair in two plaits
or braids. When al-Walîd saw him, he said, “This is how the young people of
Quraysh look!” and by so saying, put the evil eye on him. Before he left, the
young man fell ill. When he was in the stable (preparing for the journey) he
fell down, and the horses trampled him to death.
Then ‘Urwah got gangrene in his leg, and al-Walîd sent
doctors to him, who suggested that the leg should be amputated, otherwise the
gangrene would spread to the rest of the body and kill him. ‘Urwah agreed, and
the doctors began to remove his leg, using a saw. When the saw reached the bone,
‘Urwah fainted, and when he came around, sweat was pouring down his face, and
he was repeating, “Lâ ilâh ill-Allâh, Allâhu akbar.” When the operation
was over, he picked up his leg and kissed it, then said, “I swear by the One
Who mounted me on you, I never used to walk to any place of wrong action or to
any place where Allâh would not like me to be.” Then he gave instructions
that the leg should be washed, perfumed, wrapped in a cloth and buried in the
Muslim graveyard.
When
‘Urwah left al-Walîd and returned to Madînah, his family and friends went to
meet him at the outskirts of the city and to offer condolences. The only reply
he made was to quote from the Qur’ân: “…truly we have suffered much
fatigue at our journey” (al-Kahf 18:62). He did not say any more than
that. Then he said, “I will not enter Madînah, for people there either
rejoice over the afflictions of others, or else feel envy for their
blessings.” So he went to stay in a place at al-‘Aqîq. ‘Îsâ ibn Talhah
came to visit him there and said, “May your enemies’ fathers perish!” and
asked him, “Show me the affliction for which I have come to console you.”
‘Urwah uncovered his stump, and ‘Îsâ said, “By Allâh, we were not
preparing you to wrestle! Allâh has saved most of you: your sanity, your
tongue, your eyesight, your two hands, and one of your two legs.” ‘Urwah
told him, “Nobody has consoled me as you have.”
When
the doctors came to perform the amputation, they had asked ‘Urwah whether he
would drink intoxicants to ease the pain. He said, “Allâh is testing me to
see the extent of my patience. How could I go against His commands?”
Beautiful patience (sabr jamîl – Yûsuf
12:83) and panic
Mujâhid
said: “Beautiful patience is patience without any panic.” ‘Amr ibn
Qays said: “Beautiful patience means to be content with
adversity and to surrender to the will of Allâh.”
Yûnus ibn Yazîd said: I asked Rabî‘ah ibn
‘Abdu’l-Rahmân: “What is the ultimate of patience?” He said: “To be
outwardly the same at the time of affliction as one was the day before it
struck.” (This does not mean that a person does not or should not feel pain or
anguish; patience in this instance means that one refrains from panicking and
complaining.)
Commenting on the meaning of beautiful patience, Qiyas ibn al-Hajjâj said: “The person who is suffering from some affliction should behave in such a way that nobody is able to distinguish him from others.”
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