Chapter 5: The
Patience of noble people and the patience of ignoble people
Every
person has to exercise patience in order to face difficulties, whether he does
so willingly or unwillingly. The noble person exercises patience willingly,
because he realizes the benefits of patience, and he knows that he will be
rewarded for his patience and will be criticized if he panics. He is aware that
if he does not have patience, panicking and impatience will not help him to
regain missed opportunities, and will not take away things he dislikes. Whatever
is decreed and is qada’ wa qadr cannot be prevented from happening, and
whatever is decreed not to happen cannot be made to happen. So an attitude of
impatience and panic actually causes harm.
A
wise man said: “A man with wisdom as soon as adversity appears does that which
a foolish man does after a month (i.e. he resorts to patience).”
The
ignoble man exercises patience only when he realizes he has no choice. After
wasting a lot of time and energy and panicking and struggling, he realizes that
his impatience will not help him. Then he exercises patience in the same way
that a person who has been tied up to be whipped exercises patience.
The
noble person practices patience in obeying Allâh, whilst the ignoble person
exercises patience in obeying the Shaytân. So ignoble people have the greatest
patience in following their own whims and desires, and have the least patience
in spending in the way of Shaytân and no patience when it comes to spending
even a few pennies in the way of Allâh. They will endure many difficulties in
order to follow their own whims and desires, but cannot bear even the least
difficulties in order to please their Lord. They will endure slander for the
sake of committing wrong actions, but cannot exercise patience in putting up
with slander for the sake of Allâh. Such people will avoid enjoining the good
and forbidding the evil for fear of what people will say about them for doing
so, but they will expose their honour to slander and bear it most patiently for
the sake of following their own whims and desires. Similarly, they are not
prepared to practise patience in devoting themselves to Allâh, but when it
comes to devoting themselves to Shaytân and their own whims and desires, they
will exercise remarkable patience. Such people will never be noble in the sight
of Allâh, and on the Day of Resurrection they will not be raised with the
people of nobility and decency.
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