Compete in Patience (Sabr)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

It has never been easy to be patient, but it's probably harder now than at any time in history. In a world where messages and information can be sent across the world instantly, everything is available with only a few clicks and touches on the keypad. Alhamdulillah, patience is a virtue that can be cultivated and nurtured over time.

So, what's the purpose of building patience abilities? In a word, happiness. We can't be happy without patience. We can't be successful without patience. We can't go through life without patience. Well worth the effort. But effort, indeed, it takes.

We can all work to develop more patience. An important idea here is that developing patience is just that. Developing a skill. We aren't born with it. Think of a hungry infant- shrieking with all it's red-faced, rigid-bodied impatient demand for satisfaction.

After all, we can't just sit down at a piano and play it without ever learning to play and practicing, practicing, practicing. That practicing includes 1) paying attention to when we are not patient, 2) being kind to ourselves for not being "perfect" already, and 3) changing the automatic judgmental, critical thoughts and feelings.

Just imagine how it would feel if we never felt rushed, or hurt by another person's impatience with us. And how it would feel if we were never (well, almost never) irritated or impatient with someone - either someone else, or ourselves. What would that be like? Is it worth practicing patience?

Allah Almighty commanded us to be patient under all conditions and circumstances. Not only that, we are instructed to compete in patience, be on standby and high alert as much tougher challenges are ahead, and observe Taqwa (fear of Allah) which is the essence of everything we do and on which depends the Divine acceptance of what has been done. At the heart of our progression, as Muslims, whether we are in the state of Islam, Iman or Ihsan, the vehicle that drives that progress is Taqwa.

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱصْبِرُوا۟ وَصَابِرُوا۟ وَرَابِطُوا۟ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ ﴿٢٠٠

O you who have believed, persevere and endure and remain stationed and fear Allah that you may be successful. (200)

[Qur'an, AleImran 3:200]

Sabr is the effort made to control and defend one's slippery self against what is temperamentally unpleasing. Sabr takes three forms:

1. Patience with Duties: It means that everything commanded by Almighty Allah and His Messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace) must be obediently pursued, no matter how burdensome the adherence to them may appear to be. The aim is to keep one's self almost riveted to carry out injunctions despite hindrance.

2. Patience against Sins: It means holding the desiring self back from whatever has been prohibited by Allah and His Messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace), no matter how desirable and appealing it may be.

3. Patience in Hardship and Distress: It means enduring in hardship and forbearing in pain and avoiding excessive anxiety. Such patience requires that all pain and comfort be taken to have come from Allah and from this realization comes the strength to keep one's self under control.

May Allah make us of the patient and taqwa, and give us the best of ability to act in accordance with His Commands. May Allah grant us success in this life and the next, and save us from trials and tribulations in this life and the next. Ameen.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.

And Allah knows best and He alone grants success.

Wassalaam