Patience

﴾17 O my son, establish prayer, command what is good, forbid what is evil, and be patient over what befalls you . Indeed, that is of the matters [requiring] intense ability . 18 And do not turn your cheek [in contempt] toward people and do not walk through the earth exultantly . Indeed, Allah does not like everyone self-deluded and boastful . 19 And be moderate in your pace and lower your voice; indeed, the most disagreeable of sounds is the voice of donkeys .”﴿^[1] Abu Abdullah pbuh said, ﴾The Messenger of Allah pbuhap said, ‘Allah does not have a need for whoever does not give Allah a share in his money and body .’”﴿^[2] The Messenger of Allah pbuhap was asked who of the people is the most afflicted in this world, so he said, ﴾The prophets then those like them, then those like the latter . And the believer is put in hardship for as much faith and good deeds that he has, so whoever has the right faith and good deeds, his hardship will be more intense, and whoever is low in faith and has weak deeds, his hardship will be less intense .”﴿^[3] And the Prince of Believers pbuh said, ﴾If a mountain loved me it

would crumble .”﴿^[4] And he said pbuh , ﴾Whoever loves us Ahlul Bayt, let him be prepared for great hardship .”﴿^[5] Thus the believer is tested with hardship and he must use patience as a strong weapen by which he confronts calamities and hardships . And patience in the way of Allah is one of the greatest acts of worship and has many forms: Patience concerning worship, patience from disobedience, patience during calamities, and probably one of the greatest touchstones of patience is to bear the hardship and the calamities that the believing person faces, who is devoted in obedience to Allah; as he faces the falsehood and all it carries from tyrants, ignorant ones, and lavish ones . So be patient, O believing men and women, concerning the harm you face from the tyrants and their lavish and foolish servants, so hold tight to your religion and be patient concerning the difficult life and do not take youselves to where you will perish, for in the hour of death, the person sees this life as if it was only one hour, in which he barely got to know the people in it . And know that a world which is without Muhammad bin Abdullah pbuhap is a world with no good within, so work on reforming your religion, so your world and your hereafter are reformed . The Messenger of Allah pbuhap said, ﴾A time will come to people during which no man’s religion will be safe except he who travels from the summit of a mountain to another, and from one rock to another like a fox with its cubs .” They said, “And when is that time O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “When livelihood is not obtained except by disobeying Allah, at that time celibacy will be permissible .” They said, “O messenger of Allah, you commanded us to marry .” He said, “Yes, but at that time, the perishing of a man is by the hands of his parents . So if he has no parents, it is by the hands of his wife and children . And if he has no wife or children it is by the hands of his relatives and neighbours .” They said, “How is that O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “They will mock him with the difficulties of living and assign him with that which he cannot bear until they lead him to where he perishes .”﴿^[6] O beloved ones bear the hardship and accept little from that which is halal, and refrain from seeking for this world, and do not make peace

with the tyrants and their supporters, as the relief of the family of Muhammad and of you is close, Allah willing . With hardship comes ease, with hardship comes ease . The Messenger of Allah pbuhap said, ﴾Do not be from those who were deceived by this world and tempted by [their] wishes, so the deception attracted them and made them lean on the home of evil [this world], it will cease to exist quickly and transform imminently . Nothing is left from your world in respect to what has passed except the mounting of a rider or the packaging of a milker . So for what purpose are you headed and what do you wait for? I swear by Allah, it is as if what you have become from this world has never occurred, and what you are going to be in from the hereafter will never end . So prepare for the end of this journey . And know that every person shall find the work which he has done, and shall regret that which he did not .”﴿^[7] If nothing from this world was remaining one thousand four hundred years ago, in respect to what has passed, except the mounting of a rider, then know that what is left today from this world is nothing worthy of mentioning, for maybe Imam al-Mahdi pbuh appears this year or the next, so do we remain negligent, preoccupied by requesting this world, and negligent about what is intended to be done to us?! ﴾People are asleep; when they die, they fully attend .”﴿^[8] Abu Thar (may Allah be satisfied with him) was asked, “Why do we hate death?” So he answered, “Because you built your world and ruined your hereafter, and a person hates to move from a building to a place of ruin .”^[9] Allah created us for worshipping thus our time must be for worshipping, and excess time is for requesting livelihood and work, not vice versa . The Messenger of Allah pbuhap said, ﴾O people, livelihood is divided amongst everyone, and no one will take more than his share, so be moderate in requesting . And the lifetime is limited, and no one will exceed what is meant for him … ”﴿^[10]

And he pbuhap said, when he was leaving someone, ﴾O people, approach that to which you are obligated, of reforming for your hereafter, and turn away from what is guaranteed for you in this world of yours … ”﴿^[11] And Ali pbuh said, ﴾You will not miss what is meant for you, so be moderate in requesting . You will never grasp what was kept away from you, so be moderate in earning .”﴿^[12] And he said pbuh , ﴾Your destiny will come to you, so be moderate in requesting . What was meant for you will come to you, so be humble in your earning .”﴿^[13] And he said pbuh , ﴾I wonder about those who know that Allah has guaranteed the livelihoods and that their strife will not add anything to what is meant for them, and yet they are still eager and cautious in asking for the livelihood .”﴿^[14] And know that these narrations do not contradict requesting livelihood and seeking the details of this world, but they are against the requesting which makes you leave the worship, or become a shortcomer in it, or delay the prayer from its correct time, or destroy your body while requesting your livelihood, for your body has a right upon you . And know that whoever exhausts his body will not have the strength for performing worship, for we have to make time for the obligatory and the recommended worship and be prepared for them, especially the night prayer, do not leave it under any circumstances . Imam al-Hassan pbuh said, ﴾O you, do not strive in requesting provision like the one who seeks to overpower . And do not rely on the assignment as the relying of the surrenderer, as requesting the favor of Allah is from the way [of Muhammad pbuhap ], and being general in the request is from chastity . And chastity does not push away provision and caution does not bring closer the favor of Allah, as the provision is divided and death is timely and using caution results in sins .”﴿^[15]