Navigating through Allah's Plan

Patience     

     "Patience is a virtue"-we have all heard that saying somewhere at some point in our lives. But, what exactly does it mean to be patient? Patience is to bind or restrain and to hold back. It is to accept and tolerate whatever we are going through without getting upset. It is waiting without complaint.We, humans in this world are being tested with the good and bad. We often see ourselves going through one trial after another. One is always in need of patience to pass through those trials and gets the best result at the end if he endures patience. Allah (SWT) has mentioned patience in the Qur'aan 90 times. Some of our scholars have stated that patience is half of faith.

     Patience is to test the Nafs. It is to hold back the desires of our Nafs and control it. We tend to forget that this world is temporary; nothing is going to last. The people aren't going to last, wealth isn't going to last and even the hardships aren't going to last. This world is a station before we reach the Hereafter. If we are patient now it will benefit us in the Hereafter. If life wasn't about hardship we wouldn't know the importance of comfort. All the Prophets would have lived a comforting life. Adam (AS) suffered test after test after leaving Jannah. Nooh (AS) cried for 300 years. Ibrahim (AS) was thrown in to a pit of fire and later told to slaughter his own son. Ya'qoob (AS) cried until he became blind. Musa (AS) challenged Pharaoh and was tested by his own people. Isa (AS) had no food except the morsels his disciples provided him. Our Beloved, Prophet Mohammed (SAW) met poverty with patience. His uncle, Hamzah (RA) was slaved and mutilated in front of his own eyes. His people disbelieved in him. So, we have to remember that whatever happens to us is by the will of Allah (SWT). Everything whether good or bad is a test of this world. It is decreed upon us by Allah (SWT). How do we expect to live a comforting life when the ones before us who were better suffered and were put through one hardship after another?! 
     Much of what befalls us is actually and can be a direct result of our sins. He, Allah (SWT) says in the Quran: "whatever misfortune befalls you is because of what your hands have done." We need to understand that whatever bad happens is a test from Allah and also the good things that happen are a test from Allah. You only know the value of good after you go through the bad. Allah (SWT) says: "We tested them with good blessings and evil calamities to see if they return to Faith." We need to endure patience at the beginning of a calamity. Prophet (SAW) said: "verily patience is at the first sight of calamity." These hardships are beneficial for us because they wash our sins away. They distinguish the believers from the disbelievers. In another Hadith from the Prophet (SAW), he said: "This world is a paradise for the disbelievers and a prison for the believers." Not always will we have good times in this world. If we choose to have fun and do everything in this world then the Hereafter for us won't be easy either. What we do in this world creates our Hereafter. The hardships endured with patience have a beautiful reward at the end and that reward is granted in the Hereafter-Jannah! 

     Ali (RA) has stated: " verily patience is to Imaan what the head is to the body." If the head is cut off the body is basically of no use. He also said in a loud voice: "verily there is no Imaan for he who has no patience." So, Imaan and patience go hand in hand. Patience is a guidance for a person. It leads in the right direction.
     May Allah make us patient on Deen! Every single day of our lives we are being tested on what good we can do. We are also being tested on if we have pride in what we do; do we show off? When you start overcoming these tests with patience, it brings you closer and closer to Allah (SWT). May Allah forgive us for the times we were ungrateful and impatient! It is not for a Muslim to blame Allah for all the bad things that happen. Rather, one should think and realize what act they may have done in the disobedience of Allah that caused a hardship to come their way. Patience is the characteristic of a believer. Allah has promised that He will reward those who are patient, in full.