Patience: The Safeguard of Steadfastness

Patience holds a great place within the framework of faith and is among the noblest acts of the heart. The believer must understand the rank of patience in the religious system in order to strengthen harmony in the structure of faith and, consequently, steadfastness on the path to Allah (swt).

Patience is not merely an act of worship practiced when needed — in performing obedience, avoiding sins, and facing trials — rather, its true essence is that it serves as a regulating safeguard, preserving uprightness within the bounds of moderation.

The servant’s need for patience first arises from within the self: resisting impulsiveness, controlling emotions, and restraining desires. The ultimate aim of patience is steadfastness on uprightness, and its highest objective is to be for Allah alone. For this reason, Allah, Exalted is He, said to His Prophet: “And for your Lord, be patient” (74:7).

This indicates that any action requiring patience must be rooted within the framework of faith — seeking Allah’s pleasure, hoping for His reward, and striving to perform it in a manner that pleases Him. As for patience exercised outside the framework of faith, it brings no good and may even be blameworthy — such as one who says, “Be patient with your child’s wrongdoing, for he/she is young.” This is misguidance and falsehood.

Moses, peace be upon him, could not remain patient with what the righteous servant did, because such patience would have conflicted with what Allah had revealed to him. The righteous servant recognized this and affirmed it when he said, “Did I not tell you that with me you would never be able to have patience?” (18:75). This inability to remain patient was, in fact, evidence of the perfection of Moses’ sincerity and the strength of his faith.

Thus, patience is a mechanism that regulates the movement of life, aligning it upon the path of Allah. In practice, it is equivalent to conscious accountability within the framework of pure monotheism (Haniffiya). If we reflect upon Ibrahim, the Hanif (monotheist), as his Lord praised him, we find that the aim of his patience was to preserve his complete submission to Allah (swt). Every deed he attributed to Allah, he performed seeking His pleasure, thereby remaining steadfast upon uprightness, constantly moving away from deviation and falsehood — and that is Haniffiya (pure monotheism).

This sincere accountability, which realizes pure monotheism, activates patience, making it like a cradle upon which action is established. Patience, within this framework, stabilizes the self, reassures the heart, clarifies the path, and facilitates the attainment of discernment, until the servant plans and decides with clear insight, pursuing only what draws one nearer to Allah.

Look at Ibrahim, peace be upon him: he endured the fire because in it was closeness to God, and he endured leaving his family and offspring in a barren valley because it was obedience to God’s command and a means of drawing near to Him. And our Prophet, peace be upon him, endured the harm of his people in order to convey his Lord’s message, as his Lord commanded him, saying: “So endure patiently, as did the Messengers of Firm Resolve” (46:35).

Among the impacts of this patience — which serves as a regulating safeguard and an organizing mechanism for steadfastness, and which is both an act of worship and a character trait the servant adopts — is that it manifests in humility and calmness. It elevates a person above attachment to worldly possessions and makes contentment with the divine decree easier to attain.

Patience causes the servant, in all circumstances, to remember Allah, seek His pleasure, and make steadfastness upon pure monotheism the primary concern. The heart becomes attached to Allah, turned toward Him and magnifying Him; thus, the world becomes small in one’s eyes. What Allah gives from it or withholds does not affect the heart, for the heart is with Allah and its ultimate concern is Allah. The servant knows that whatever befalls him/her is from Allah.

Patience also increases one’s resolve and eagerness to accumulate what pleases Allah. The believer’s aspiration is not limited to performing good deeds alone; rather, it includes seeking the continuation of their effects and their permanence even after one’s death — as Ibrahim, peace be upon him, did when he said: “And grant me an honorable mention in later generations” (26:84). Such a good reputation implies the enduring impact of Ibrahim’s deeds, peace be upon him, throughout the life of this world.

Life is short, but its impact endures, and the blessing of life lies in the extension of one’s impact. The role of patience in this is that it sharpens focus, strengthens one’s resolve toward goodness, and directs efforts toward serving the Hereafter. Thus, the servant hastens to perform good deeds — especially those whose benefits continue even after death.

Whoever does not adorn themselves with this system — the system of patience — will be afflicted with constriction and hardship, as Allah says: “So be patient with your Lord’s decree, and do not be like ˹Jonah,˺ the Man of the Whale, who cried out ˹to Allah,˺ in total distress” (68:48).

This system of patience preserves the mechanism of pure monotheism and maintains divine companionship: “Indeed, Allah is with the patient.” Thus, the servants are not left to themselves. If they neglect this mechanism, they are left to their own devices, and being left to oneself means being left to weakness, exposure, sin, and error. As the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said in his supplication: "I bear witness that if You leave me to myself, You leave me to loss, or to weakness, exposure, sin, and error. I trust only in Your mercy, so forgive all my sins, for none forgives sins except You, and accept my repentance, for indeed You are the One who accepts repentance, the Most Merciful."

Failure to strive to preserve the comprehensive framework of patience leaves a person dependent solely upon themselves!