Stories of Patience :)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Patience is the key that unlocks the door to serenity, it relieves the grips of misery. When a problem befalls a person what is the usual response you hear? How do they react? There face darkens and they complain crying out to the heavens "Why me"? SubhanAllah, this shows us two things...

1.When a person is at their weakest moment they don't turn to anyone but Allah.

2.It shows this life is nothing but a test and Allah confirms this in Surah Baqarah (2: 155)

"Be sure we shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods or lives or the fruits (of your toil), but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere"

Things aren’t always going to be floating our way in perfect harmony. I was listening to this lecture by Sheikh Ahmed Jibril he said;“If were not in a problem were waiting for one this is the Sunnah of this life. But with the right kind of patience it brings brightness upon us.” It really made me think, usually when everything’s going smooth we don’t even think about Allah (Astaghfirullah). But when one problem occurs were at a lost we don’t know what to do. A misery in this life could be a paved road to the gates of Jennah (paradise). Your probably wondering how? First there’s nothing worse than losing a loved one but if you stay patient and steadfast there will be no reward but Paradise.

Abu Moosa al-Asharee (RA) narrates: Allah’s Messenger, (SAW), said, If the child of a servant (of Allah) dies, Allah questions the angels, Have you taken the life of my servants beloved one?
The angels reply, yes.
Allah then asks them, have you taken the fruit of his heart?
The angels reply, yes we took it.
Then Allah asks them, what did my servant say?
They reply, Alhamdulilah Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un (All Praises are due to God, We are to God, and we are to Him returning)
At that Allah will say, Build a home for my slave in Jannah and call it Bayt-ul-Hamd (The Home of Thankfulness).

Story of ‘Urwah Ibn Al Zubair

‘Urwah Ibn Al Zubair had an operation, and the doctor amputated his leg. One friend came to visit him. ‘Urwah thought that the friend came to pacify him for the loss of his leg. So ‘Urwah told the visitor: If you came to give me condolence for the loss of my leg, I already submitted to Allah with patience to reward me for its loss. The guest told him, I came to inform you that your son fell down in a stable, and the animals stepped over him, and he died one hour ago. ‘Urwah said: O Allah! You took one child, and left me many…You took one organ from my body, and left me many organs…O Allah! You tested me with my body, and you were kind to leave me with good health. You tested me with the loss of my son, but you were kind in leaving me the rest of my children.

How beautiful are these stories of Sabr, wallahi it melts my heart. How many of us could have said that if were in such a calamity? Things happen for us to open up our eyes and realize how precious time is. These events that we may dislike takes place to remind us and to come back to Allah at full speed. Alhamdulilah we may not like a thing but its good for us. Patience is something we need to work on every single day. It doesn’t come easy for most of us, especially me. Just like you work out to build your muscles you should work out to build your patience. It’s the same concept if you don’t do anything and sit at home everyday do you think you can compete in a body-building contest? No, of course you wouldn’t (you could join but you wouldn't place). People prepare for years before entering such a contest. Even when they enter they're so nervous and feel as If they could have worked harder. And after its all over they don’t quit, they keep training for the next event. This example isn’t sufficient because the test of patience in this Dunya is more important than any competition. To show the importance of this topic Sabr (patience) its mentioned in the Quran over 90 times! It is a crucial attribute that all Muslims must have and work on.

The Prophet (Salallahu 'akayhi wa salam) said: “How remarkable is the case of the believer! There is good for him in everything, but this is not the case for anyone except for the believer. When the believer receives any good, he is thankful to Allah, and gets a reward. And when some misfortune befalls him, he endures it patiently, for which he is (also) rewarded".