One quality that great people in the history of the world have in common is patience. It seems that Allah tries and tests His anointed ones with tribulations to build this quality in them as a kind of vaccine in preparation for the vicissitudes of their missions in life. In the Qur’an, Allah tells us what He describes as “the best of stories” in Surah Yusuf. The equivalent of this in the Bible is the story of Joseph. This narrative is loaded with many qualities and lessons essential to authentic and lasting success; In this essay I focus on one: PATIENCE.
In verse 18 of this surah, Jacob reacts to the news of his son Joseph’s death: “They stained his shirt with fake blood. He said,” No, but your minds have made up a story (that can happen) with you, (because for me) patience is the most appropriate: against what you affirm, it is Allah (alone) Whose help can be sought “.
Here is Jacob looking at his sons in a stained shirt telling him that his beloved son had been eaten by a wolf when he knew from the beginning that they were up to no good. How would you have reacted if you were in Jacob’s place? Jacob chose to be patient with decorum. In fact, it is true that “patience is not about how long you wait, but how well you behave while you wait.”
The curse of humanity is that patience is the only good that is in short supply in our lives. Knowing us well, Allah said in verse 19 of Surah Al-Ma’arij “Indeed, man (disbeliever) was created very impatient”; Why do we worry and make anxiety our hallmark even when Allah told us in no uncertain terms in verse 155 of Surah Baqara: “And surely we will test you with some fear and hunger and a loss of wealth, lives and fruits, But it gives good results? news for the patient: “What is the cause of the tragedy that unfolds daily in the waters of the Mediterranean these days if not the impatience of man?” and it is this same lack of patience that prompts the greed and hostility provoked by man’s cruelty towards his fellow man: immigrants grow impatient and rush towards the greedy human traffickers whose impatience in acquiring material wealth puts thousands of lives at risk; and then host Europeans. In their impatience with the seekers of their comfortable shores, they fail to take adequate measures to avoid the tragedy of wasting young lives.
Show me a person who is impatient and impulsive and I will show you one on the way to some drowning in the turbulent waves of this fallen world. Look at the history of any great person, from Jesus to Muhammad, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Junior, and Barack Obama, and you will see a hint of patience. In fact, the adage is true: “patience can hurt you, but it is still a virtue.”
Zinedine Zidane is one of the best players who has ever played football; He lost his cool because of a fool and then his exit from the game was not great at all. Beware the traps of agent provocateurs.
As I write these thoughts, a topic of importance to me is being processed. It has taken some time now, but just when I thought it would materialize today; I get a text message to say that the whole process has stopped once again. My first reaction was anger and the desire to yell at those in charge of this process; But on second thought, I wondered: Is Allah trying to teach me more lessons in patience? I will endeavor to be patient as I take concerted pragmatic steps toward solving this problem. I’m not the most patient guy in town, but I know my weakness and I’m trying to develop this quality of the truly great.
And now, how can we discuss patience without remembering the icon of this virtue, the Prophet Job, of whom Allah said in verses 83-84 of Sura Anbiyaa: And [mention] Job, when he called to his Lord: “Truly, adversity has touched me, and you are the Merciful of the merciful.” So we responded to him and removed what afflicted him from adversity. And we gave him [back] their family and their fellow men with them as a mercy to Us and a reminder to worshipers [of Allah ].
I agree that patience is not the easiest virtue to acquire or maintain. In fact, patience is easier to talk about than to live it, especially during difficult times. But of the many rewards that Allah has promised to the righteous, it is this virtue that He promises will be there with those who exercise it. Be patient; Be persistent in taking decisive and fair steps toward your goals. It is Allah who said in Surah Baqarah “O you who have believed, seek help through patience and prayer. Indeed, Allah is with the patient.” And as stated elsewhere in Surah Ali Imran, “Allah loves those who are steadfast in patience”!