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TAG: Sabr

The Virtue Of Patience And Prayer

After Allah commanded that He be appreciated, He ordained patience and prayer. It is a fact that the servant is either enjoying a bounty that he should be thankful for, or suffering a calamity that he should meet with patience. A Hadith states:

(Amazing is the believer, for whatever Allah decrees for him, it is better for him! If he is tested with a bounty, he is grateful for it and this is better for him; and if he is afflicted with a hardship, he is patient with it and this is better for him.)

Allah has stated that the best tools to help ease the effects of the afflictions are patience and prayer. Earlier we mentioned Allah’s statement:

(And seek help in patience and As-Salah (the prayer) and truly, it is extremely heavy and hard except for Al-Khashi`in [i.e., the true believers in Allah]) (2:45)

There are several types of Sabr ? patience: one for avoiding the prohibitions and sins, one for acts of worship and obedience. The second type carries more rewards than the first type. There is a third type of patience required in the face of the afflictions and hardships, which is mandatory, like repentance.

`Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said, “Sabr has two parts: patience for the sake of Allah concerning what He is pleased with (i.e., acts of worship and obedience), even if it is hard on the heart and the body, and patience when avoiding what He dislikes, even if it is desired. Those who acquire these qualities will be among the patient persons whom Allah shall greet (when they meet Him in the Hereafter; refer to Surat Al-Ahzab 33:44), Allah willing.”

“Say, “O Allah, Owner of Sovereignty, You give sovereignty to whom You will and You take sovereignty away from whom You will. You honor whom You will and You humble whom You will. In Your hand is [all] good. Indeed, You are over all things competent. You cause the night to enter the day, and You cause the day to enter the night; and You bring the living out of the dead, and You bring the dead out of the living. And You give provision to whom You will without account.” (3: 26-27)

The Roller-Coaster Ride And Key To Patience

As we travel through life, we find ourselves in one of two situations. Either something good is happening in our lives, in which case as Muslims our role is to thank Allah for the blessing, or something bad or something we dislike is happening to us, and our role then is to be patient. This is the formula for a happy life, a life cruising towards earning the pleasure of Allah. Sabr (patience) or Shukr (gratitude), the worry stops here.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:

“Strange is the affair of the believer. Verily, all his affairs are good for him. If something pleasing befalls him, he thanks (Allah) and it becomes better for him. And if something harmful befalls him he is patient (Saabir) and it becomes better for him. And this is only for the believer.” (Saheeh Muslim)

Ibn Al-Jawzi said, “If this world was not a station of tests it would not be filled with sicknesses and filth. If life were not about hardship, then the prophets and the pious would have lived the most comfortable of lives. Nay, Adam suffered test after test until he left the world. Nuh cried for 300 years. Ibrahim was thrown into a pit of fire and later told to slaughter his son. Ya’qub cried until he became blind. Musa challenged Pharaoh and was tested by his people. ‘Isa had no provision except the morsels his disciples provided him with. And Muhammad (peace be upon him) met poverty with patience as his uncle, one of the most beloved relatives to him, was slain and mutilated, and his people disbelieved in him … and the list of prophets and the pious goes on and on.”

Why Abu Bakr Believed In The ‘Impossible’

IMAGINE for a minute that you are in the Makkah of pagan times, over 1400 years ago. The Ka’ba is full of idols, revered by people to such a degree that they are willing to kill anyone who dares to question their authority, or suggest that their help can neither bring benefit nor harm. Only one man in the history of Makkah has had the ‘temerity’ to do so: He claims that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and that he is His Messenger and receives revelation from the Heavens above.

One morning, Abu Jahl, a pagan leader and sworn enemy of the Messenger of Allah, spots him sitting in the shade of the Ka’ba, deep in thought. ‘’So, what’s the latest news from heaven?’’ he inquires sarcastically.

To his astonishment, the Prophet (peace be upon him) – fresh from a miraculous journey where he was taken from Al-Masjid Al-Haram (The Inviolable Mosque) in Makkah to Masjid Al-Aqsa (The Farthest Mosque) in Jerusalem in the space of a night – starts narrating an account of the wondrous signs he was shown in the Heavens and Earth.

Abu Jahl listens incredulously for a while, and thinks this is his chance to prove what the pagans have been claiming all along: that the Prophet (peace be upon him) is mentally unsound (Allah’s refuge is sought). He asks the Prophet: “Will you repeat what you just told me to others?” When the Prophet agrees, a huge crowd gathers around him, jeering and shaking their heads in disbelief at such an impossible claim.

Within minutes, word gets around and all of Makkah reverberates with the story of the Messenger’s claim of going to Jerusalem, ascending to Heaven and returning within a night. When the story reaches Abdullah Bin Abi Quhafah, his first reaction is to think that the pagans have concocted another lie against the Prophet (peace be upon him). However, when the person who brought him the news insisted that the Prophet himself has said this, he said: “If he has said this, then it must be true.”

Anger Management According To Qur’an And Sunnah

How To Control Anger?

1 – Seeking refuge with Allaah from the accursed Shaytaan when feeling angry.
Al-Bukhaari (3282) and Muslim (2610) narrated that Sulaymaan ibn Surad said: I was sitting with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and two men were trading insults, One of them was red in the face and his veins were standing out. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“I know a word which, if he said it, what he is feeling would go away. If he said, ‘I seek refuge with Allaah from the Shaytaan,’ what he is feeling would go away.”

2 – Changing one’s posture when feeling angry.
Abu Dawood (4782) narrated that Abu Dharr (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to us:

“If one of you gets angry when he is standing, let him sit down; if his anger disappears, all well and good, otherwise let him lie down.”

Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.

3 – Bring to mind the reward for patience, forbearance, and restraining your anger,
for that is the characteristic of the pious who are promised Paradise,

as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

133. Be quick in the race for forgiveness from your Lord, and for a Garden whose width is that (of the whole) of the heavens and of the earth, prepared for the righteous,–

134. Those who spend (freely), whether in prosperity, or in adversity; who restrain anger, and pardon (all) men;- for Allah loves those who do good;–

[Aal ‘Imraan 3:133-134]

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“Whoever restrains his anger when he is able to act upon it, Allaah will fill his heart with pleasure on the Day of Resurrection. ”

Narrated by Ibn Abi’l-Dunya; classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Targheeb, 2623.

Cures for Anger

When talking about cures for anger, it’s important to think about why we get angry in the first place.

A lot of the time, people get angry because they lose control of a situation. Anger is their attempt to regain control, but in actuality, does not help at all. It actually makes it worse because when a person is angry, he has shown weakness. He puts himself at a disadvantage both in dealing with people (in a debate, for example), and also in dealing with shaitan. He becomes a much weaker prey for shaitan.

This is why our beloved Prophet saws said,

“The strong is not the one who is physically powerful, but indeed, the one who controls himself when angry.”

If anger is a problem for you, it may be helpful for you to write down all the times that you can remember that you got angry…then look for a common factor that made you angry, or rather made you act on your anger.

Feeling anger is normal, and the act of being angry is not in and of itself necessarily sinful. It’s what you do with that anger that makes it a problem.

And while we’re on the subject, there’s an amazing lecture (As always mA) by brother Nouman about the characteristics of the people of Jannah, as taken from verses in Surah aal Imraan.

One of them is that they swallow their anger. Brother Nouman analyzes why the word ’swallow’ is used, and not ‘control’, etc.

When we are eating something, and let’s say someone is coming, and we don’t want them to know we were eating, so we quickly swallow the food.. will the person know we were eating? No, right? If there are no signs, like chewing, etc, the person will not even suspect that we were eating.

So in the same way, Allah SWT tells us that the people who shall enter Jannah swallow their anger, or make it completely go away…to the point where the people around them do not even suspect that the person is angry. Subhan Allah.

Usually, when someone is angry, and they’re trying to control themselves, you’ll see them shaking, or turning red, or holding themselves back. And then someone will go and ask them if they’re ok.

So the best thing to do is when you feel anger coming up from inside you, quickly swallow it and make it disappear. Of course, it won’t be that easy, but if you make it your habit, it will become easier and easier to do. And it’s important to note that Allah SWT tells us that the people of Jannah swallow their anger, not that they don’t have anger.