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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| The virtues of Sabr |
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| Sabr |
| 10/28/03 at 09:24:26 |
| [slm] I hope this reaches all of you in the best of health and eeman. Ramadan Mubarak to all my brothers and sisters on the board. :-* Here is an article that I think is most appropriate for Ramadan .May Allah make us among those who are patient. Ameen The Virtues of Patience Imām Ahmad (d.241H) said: "Allāh has mentioned sabr (patient perseverance) in over ninety places in His Book." [2] And there occurs in the authentic hadīth: "Sabr (patient perseverance) is light." [3] The Prophet sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam also said: "No one has been given anything more excellent and more comprehensive than sabr." [4] 'Umar - radiallāhu 'anhu - said: "We considered the best part of our lives to be that in which there was sabr." [5] 'Alī - radiallāhu 'anhu - said: "Indeed sabr is from īmān (faith). Its position is like that of the head with respect to the rest of the body." Then he raised his voice and said: "Verily, there is no īmān (faith) for the one who has no sabr." [6] The Meaning of Patience The word sabr (in the Arabic language) is from sabara - to be patient and to persevere, and it indicates to holding back and restraining oneself. (In the Sharī'ah sense) it implies: restraining the soul from being agitated; restraining the tongue from complaining and restraining the hands from slapping the cheeks, tearing the clothes and doing other similar actions. This has been mentioned by Ibn al-Qayyim (d.750H). [7] And know that sabr (patient perseverance) is of three kinds: [i] sabr whilst (fulfilling) the orders of Allāh, [ii] sabr whilst (abandoning and keeping away) from the prohibitions of Allāh, and [iii] sabr with the Decree of Allāh with respect to afflictions and difficulties. Guidance for the Hearts Allāh - the Most High - says: "And whosoever believes in Allāh, He guides his heart aright. And Allāh has full knowledge over everything." [8] And this āyah begins with: "No affliction occurs, except by the permission of Allāh." About this Ibn 'Abbās said: "By the command of Allāh - meaning: by His Will and His Power."[9] So the meaning of this āyah is: No affliction occurs except by His Mashiyyah (Will), His Irādāh (Desire) and His Hikmah (Wisdom) - as Allāh says: "No affliction occurs upon the earth, nor in yourselves, except that it is written before We bring it into existence. Indeed, this is easy for Allāh." [10] And Allāh says: "Give glad-tidings to those who have sabr. Those who - when afflicted with a affliction - say: Indeed, we belong to Allāh and to Him shall we return. They are those on whom are the blessings from their Lord and His mercy. They are the ones who are guided." [11] And Allāh's saying: "And whosoever believes in Allāh, He guides his heart aright." means: "Whosoever - when afflicted with a affliction - knows it is by the Decree of Allāh and His Power, and thus patiently submits to it, then Allāh rewards such a person by guiding their heart aright. So this is the root cause of all happiness, and the foundation of excellence in this world and in the Hereafter. And Allāh promises such a person (a reward) for what He has taken from them." [12] And Allāh's saying: "And AIlāh has full knowledge over everything." is a reminder that such a affliction is by His Knowledge which necessitates His Wisdom, which obligates sabr and being contented with His Decree. Abū Dhibyān said: We were with 'Alqamah [13] and this āyah was recited to him: "And whosoever believes in Allāh, He guides his heart aright." So he said: "It is the man who - when afflicted with an affliction - knows it is from Allāh, so he is pleased with it and submits to it." [14] In the above narration is a proof that actions are a part of īmān (faith). Sa'īd ibn Jubayr (d.104H) said about: "And whosoever believes in Allāh, He guides his heart aright." He said: "That (at the time of a affliction) a person says: Indeed, to Allāh we belong and to Him shall we return." In the above āyah is an explanation that having sabr is the cause for the heart's guidance; this being the reward for the sābir (the one having patience). Complaining against the Decree of Allāh The Prophet sallallāhu 'alaybi wa sallam said: "Two characteristics of the people are from disbelief: attack on one's genealogy and bewailing the deceased." [15] Meaning: that these two characteristics are actions of kufr (disbelief), since these are actions of jāhiliyyah (pre-Islāmic ignorance) which continue to remain in people. And no one will remain safe from them, except for the one to whom Allāh grants safety, and the one to whom Allāh grants knowledge and īmān (faith). However - it should be known - that whosoever has within him a branch of kufr (disbelief), then it does not cause the person to become a kāfir (disbeliever) with absolute kufr; just as a person who has within him a branch of īmān (faith), is not called a mu'min (believer) with absolute īmān . Indeed , there is a difference between the word kufr having the definite article attached to it (i.e. al-kufr) and the word kufr without the definite article - as occurs in the saying of the Prophet: "There is nothing between a servant and between al-kufr and ash-shirk, except abandoning the Prayer." [16] The saying of the Prophet sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam: "Attack on one's geneology," means: finding faults and defects. Entering into this also is a person's false denial of another man's genealogy by saying: "This is not the son of such and such," and the person knew that this denial was false. And his saying: "And bewailing the dead." means: raising the voice in lamentation and wailing and in enumerating the virtues of the deceased. All of this is a form of complaining against the Decree of Allāh and is against having sabr - such as the saying of the one bewailing: "He was my close friend," or "he was my aid and supporter." So in the above hadīth is a proof for the obligation of having sabr, and a proof that there is a type of kufr (disbelief) which does not cause its doer to become a kāfir. Tender Hearts and Compassionate Tears The Prophet sallāllāhu 'alayhi wa sallam said: "He is not one of us who strikes the cheeks, tears the clothes and calls with the call of jāhiliyyah (pre-Islāmic ignorance% |
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