Late Night Talk
1 / 9
The True Meaning of Patience | Late Night Talk
Join Dr. Omar Suleiman and Sh. Yaser Birjas every night during the last 10 nights of Ramadan as they reflect on lessons and gems from Ibn Al-Qayyim’s The Excellence of Patience and Gratitude.
End Ramadan with Generosity. Automate your donation for the last 10 nights.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. I would like to welcome you all over here at Valley Ranch Islamic Center for these beautiful nights, inshallah ta'ala, our late night khatirahs in this month of Ramadan. Alhamdulillah rabbil alameen, every year we gather together in this beautiful place discussing some of the matters of the heart. And we take guidance from some of the great scholars of Islam, such as Ibn Rajab, rahimahullah wa ta'ala, Ibn al-Jawzi, and others. And as usual, we would love to introduce you, inshallah, to one of those great scholars and one of the writings in regards to the hearts and the matters of this life that is very important for us, inshallah wa azza wa jal. Our book with us this year is the book of Ibn Qayyum al-Jawzi, rahmatullahi ta'ala alayh, known in Arabic as Uddat al-Sabirin wa Dakhirat al-Shakirin. In English translation, it's called The Excellence of Patience and Gratitude. So those who would like to follow with us, inshallah ta'ala, we're going to be selecting a few chapters. Every night we will announce it, bismillah wa azza wa jal, so that at least we run over most of the topics that Imam Ibn Qayyum, rahimahullah, introduced to us in regards to the subject of patience and gratitude. Alhamdulillah rabbil alameen, there is no doubt these sessions will never be complete without the presence of Sheikh Omar, my partner, my colleague, and my rival. I have to add that one. But inshallah with all seriousness, it can never be complete without sharing this conversation over these beautiful topics. Alhamdulillah rabbil alameen. Our resident scholar here at Valley Ranch Islamic Center. So inshallah ta'ala, as you guys follow with us inshallah on this book, I just want to give an idea. As you listen and you take inshallah ta'ala notes, make sure that you share these notes with other people. Because sometimes it doesn't really, it doesn't stay strong or become firm in our hearts or
minds until we really share it with other people. Using your own words when you learn something and you share it with other people makes it inshallah ta'ala stronger and you retain it better and you benefit from it more inshallah So as you learn something, please make sure to share it. And if you would like to tag Valley Ranch Islamic Center inshallah, tag Sheikh Omar, myself, or Yaqeen Institute as well too. That would be amazing so we can spread the knowledge and the khair inshallah ta'ala. Sheikh now, welcome back to these late night khatirahs. I don't consider you a rival, I don't know why you would say something like that. May Allah forgive you, it's the 21st night of Ramadan. Ameen, rabbil alameen. And it wouldn't be complete without you Sheikh. I love you for the sake of Allah. I'd give you a hug but we'd mess up the cameras. Alhamdulillah, I'm lucky that we actually talk about patience. Alhamdulillah. So it's very good that we start with this inshallah ta'ala. So Imam Ibn Qayyim, he wrote this book, In the literal translation of the title actually, it means actually the tool or the toolbox for those who persevere in patience. The ammunition for those who are grateful. So he's speaking about tools and etiquettes and tips, basically how you can become patient and how you can become grateful to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Because we're going to learn that as he speaks on the subject. He goes, look, when it comes to iman, being a true believer, your entire life, your entire life is between patience and gratitude. Half of your iman is patience and the other half is gratitude. And we're going to explain that inshallah through these evenings. But at the very beginning, he began with chapter one on the meaning of patience and then chapter two, which we're going to start with inshallah ta'ala, the essence of patience and what the scholars, they said about it. So sheikh, we take it from there inshallah. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala preserve you and protect you and accept from everyone in this gathering. Allahumma ameen.
One of the things that we do that's unique is that we read these the way we read Mutun to our teachers. We read it as we read the book. So I know that some of you have it in English or you have a translation. Of course, there are going to be discrepancies between the Arabic and the English and sometimes even between the different copies of the book. I have the Egyptian one. Sheikh Yassir has a cleaner one. I was just asking him. It might be one of the Syrian copies. So sometimes a word or two actually might be even different between the two. But I actually, Sheikh Yassir, I was remembering, subhanallah, I actually used to give this book, translation of it, to people in prison. So in Louisiana, there were a few brothers that I actually gave a copy of this book to in English. It was one of the few early books of Tazkiyah that was translated into English. Gave it to a few brothers in prison. And one brother, you know, he showed me the first time he came out of prison, subhanallah, he had it in his hand, and he said, you know, this was the best thing that you sent me. So I think one of the things about Ibn al-Qayyim, rahimahullah, and it's not the first time. Can I share a comment on that story a little bit? Yeah, please. So you send it to these people who are in prison so they can find that level of patience and gratitude in such circumstances. If you remember also in this dunya, at dunya, sujn al-mu'min. Right. This is truly the prison of a believer. This world is the prison of the believer. So we're all prisoners in this world. We all need that understanding of patience and gratitude, subhanallah. So we all need the book regardless of where we are in this dunya. And many of these books were written in prisons. Subhanallah, many of them were written in prisons. Ibn al-Qayyim, rahimahullah, in fact says that when we used to get overwhelmed by the dunya, we used to go visit our teacher, Ibn Taymiyyah, rahimahullah, in prison, and he'd make us feel better. And truly, you meet people that are in prison that have found a different form of liberation. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala free all of our brothers and sisters, especially those that are political prisoners that are jailed because of taking a stance of truth, whether in the Muslim world or here.
With Ibn al-Qayyim, rahimahullah, because it's not the first time that we've chosen him as our author for the book that we're reflecting on, just a few things about Ibn al-Qayyim, rahimahullah, and I'd love to hear from you as well, sheikh. We talked about al-Fawa'id a few years ago, maybe two years ago we did al-Fawa'id, which were some of the useful sayings, it was like the journal of Ibn al-Qayyim. This book is about the same size as al-Fawa'id, 200 pages or so, written more personally. So he wrote books that were encyclopedic in almost every subject. You can find a book from Ibn al-Qayyim, rahimahullah, like an encyclopedia, whether it's on the Qur'an, or Zad al-Ma'ad and Sirah, or Ilam al-Muwaqqa'in when it comes to Islamic law and jurisprudence. You can find some of those bigger books, and then you can find some of these very small, personal, beautiful writings. But he structures spirituality in a way that you can take difficult concepts and you can understand them from the Qur'an and the Sunnah, without ever becoming like a robotic academic. So the Jannah series this year that I'm doing, almost all of it, in some way, is in Had al-Arwah ila Bilad al-Afraah, Ibn al-Qayyim, rahimahullah's book on the journey of the soul to the abode of joy. So he always has something, so I'd love to hear from you, just your personal reflections on Ibn al-Qayyim, rahimahullah. I love Ibn al-Qayyim, rahimahullah, he's one of my favorite authors, mashallah, in this subject. Because when you read his books on spirituality, whether it's Madarj al-Saliqeen, or this book here that we have with al-Fawa'id, he really speaks, he writes and he speaks from his heart. The other thing, when you hear him, and when you read his book, and I use the word hear him, really, because when you read his books, you're literally thinking that he's speaking to you. Sometimes he would go off the academic way of writing, and he was speaking to you in a way that as if you were sitting with him. So he's really having a conversation. So when you read his books, you feel that he is sitting there with you, and he's having a conversation with you.
Just like having this conversation about the subject, is one of the beautiful things about his writing, rahmatullah, he takes you on a journey through the subject without even noticing that you're learning something academic, but in a very, very, very simple way, and also on a very personal level. The other thing, Ibn Qayyim, rahimahullah, I believe he was the interpreter of Ibn Taymiyyah, rahmatullah. When Ibn Taymiyyah writes on these principles, he has an extremely high level of intellectuality, so his language, when he writes, it's word for the elite. Like he writes sometimes words, sometimes I have to read the page ten times just to understand what he's trying to say. But subhanallah, when you see Ibn Qayyim, rahmatullah, he brings the difficult topics of his teacher, the philosophical, strong topics that he was speaking about, and he puts them in a way for the layman to understand. And here, when it comes to this subject, we're all laymen. Because these ulama, subhanallah, were speaking in a level that for us is like, whoa. Although that level we're going to read from Ibn Qayyim, rahimahullah, is introducing these amazing subjects to the average person. And we're going to see this, inshallah, azawajal. So we'll start, inshallah. So we're actually in the second chapter. On the reality of patience and what the scholars, what people have said about them. He says, He said that it has already been shown in this book what it means from a linguistic perspective. In summary, the idea of restraint. So he establishes the idea of patience as restraint in the first chapter. And in this chapter, he really focuses on the reality of what it means.
So I'm going to read the translation and I'll clarify if I see anything in there that's a little off. He says, And then he starts to go through some of the sayings of the ulama before him. He said that Junaid was asked about what it means. And he said that it is to swallow your bitterness without frowning. So swallow ta'abus, literally like abasa. Swallow the pain that you have and do not show a frown. And you can interrupt. I wanted to just mention, subhallah, the sayings that we're going to be reading from these ulama. They're all personal experiences. Like these ulama, whether it's like al-Junaid, al-Nun, and other scholars that we're going to read, their definition of patience. Each are giving a shade of the meaning of patience. So they're not saying exclusively this is the definition of patience. But rather they're giving you shades of the patience. All of us go through difficulties. Some of us go through difficulties with family, with spirituality, with a relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, with ourselves. Physical sometimes, psychological. We all go through trials and difficulties. And as a result, when it comes to patience, in regard to these issues, each one of them is different. So the ulama, when they define patience here, they're speaking from personal experience as if they're telling you,
Look, to me, that's how I see patience. Al-Junaid, when he says, Look, swallowing this bitterness without frowning. What does that mean? Like you're going through difficulty and no one even knows that you're going through difficulty. How so? Because you're so patient, so patient that no one is paying attention that you're going through hardships. Unfortunately, some people, when they go through hardship, what do they do? They post it online. They go public. They talk to everybody. They just want everyone to validate them and feel good towards them or this or that. So they just kind of publicize their agonies. And they're not showing restraint. They're not showing patience. So he says, Look, true patience is when you swallow the bitterness of your test without making people notice that in your face. Who can handle this? Who can handle this? And subhanAllah, every saying that Ibn al-Qayyim is going to mention is a more internalized version of it. So he starts with the most external. Al-Haqiqah, the reality, is the most internalized version of something. Whereas he's saying at the very exterior, first and foremost, there's no frown on your face. So he starts off with this, and you'll notice that every saying gets a little harder, harder. Then he starts to sort out between the sayings where he agrees and disagrees actually himself, which shows you to your point, Shaykh, that this is a lot of personal experiences, a lot of people that are talking about how they experience patience as well. And they are as-Salihin. They are the righteous people that came before us. وقال ذنون هو التباعد عن المخالفات والسكون عند تجرع غصص البنية وإظهار الغنى مع حلول الفقر بساحات المعيشة So he says that the Nun al-Misri, رحمه الله, says that it is to keep away from مخالفات, from violating and transgressing what Allah سبحانه وتعالى has not allowed us to,
to remain calm when experiencing the hardship of calamity, so calmness on the inside, سكون, and to demonstrate affluence even if poverty is affecting one's life. So you'll notice the first saying speaks to the facial expression. The second saying is really talking about a more internalized calmness that the Nun, رحمه الله, is mentioning. And he's also saying to actually portray something that is not of you. And this is something that we learned from Ibn Sa'ud, رضي الله عنه and others, to show wealth even when you're in poverty as a means of almost warding off anyone from noticing some of these things. I think also part of the difference between what al-Junaid says and the Nun, al-Junaid speaks about patience from an internal way. Like, you know, you can swallow it without showing any expression. The Nun is speaking about also patience in regards to actions, like attabawd al-mukhalafat, like you distance yourself from everything that is prohibited. So it's there, it's tempting, and it's easy even to cross the line and go and satisfy yourself with that. But when you restrain yourself, you exercise patience to stay away from these mukhalafat, these actual prohibitions. So there's action over here. It's not just like, you know, you go through some of the qadr of Allah, tests of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى, which requires some of you just to show patience, swallow it, and just no expression on your face. But here, it's an action. It requires action from you when it comes to see these temptations over here. And stay calm when you are swallowing the pain of all these trials. And that's from the qadr of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى. And obviously, and then when it comes to being in public, when you're being in public, no one knows about your trials. Unfortunately, we live in a society that it seems that everybody goes through some hardship and difficulty. They rush immediately to publicize that so that can gain, you know, public sympathy, unfortunately.
And from their friends, from their relatives, from the people. But to stop, pause, reflect, and have the guts to face the challenge, you know, and try themselves to deal with it on their own until, alhamdulillah, they overcome these hardships. So that's what it refers to. You show yourself, alhamdulillah, you're self-sufficient, you're strong enough to handle this, even though you're going through some really hardships in public. And there is, of course, a limit to it, which Ibn al-Qayyim rahimallah is going to balance out. So he's starting off with sort of like the ideal, like this idea of like, look, there is some level of trial you have to face alone. That every one of us is in this perpetual state of trial. Obviously, there is a place to where you then go and you seek help for that trial, and you make it known to someone to help you along the way, which he'll get to. But this is sort of like the default, the standard of the believers, that you're going through things. You keep that as much as you can between you and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. وَقِيلَ الصَّبْرُ هُوَ الْوَقُوفُ مَعَ الْبَلَاءِ بِحُسْنِ الْأَدَبِ وَقِيلَ هُوَ الْفَنَاءُ فِي الْبَلْوَةِ بِلَا ظُهُورِ شَكْوَةٍ So he said that some scholars have said that it is remaining steadfast, so istiqamah, it's remaining steadfast despite your stress, with noble character, bi husn al-adab. And another meaning, he said, it is a person who has trained himself, or rather to be self-sufficient in tribulation without complaint. And then, وَقَالَ أَبُو عُثْمَانُ الصَّبَّارُ هُوَ الَّذِي عَوَّدَ نَفْسَهُ الْهُجُومَ عَلَى الْمَكَارِهِ Abu Uthman explained the word as-sabbar, the one who is patient, a person who has trained himself to meet any adversity. وَقِيلَ الصَّبْرُ الْمُقَامُ مَعَ الْبَلَاءِ بِحُسْنِ الصُّحْبَةِ كَالْمَقَامِ مَعَ الْعَافِيَ
ومعنى هذا أن لله على العبد عبودية في عافيته وفي بلائه فعليه أن يحسن صحبة العافية بالشكر وصحبة البلاء بالصبر Beautiful, subhanAllah. Now, the first thing that Imam Ibn Qayyim here, when he talks about these definitions, he goes الوقوف مع البلاء بحسن الأدب That when you face trials, you face it with noble character. Now, noble character here means with two. First of all, with the one who is testing you with that. And who is that, jama'ah? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. How many of times have we heard from people when they are tested with something, no matter what it is, what do they say? The first thing you hear from them is just like saying, why me? Why this happened to me? Why this? Why that? We always question Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's judgment. That's not husn al-adab, that's not a noble character with Allah azza wa jal. Other people, and I keep saying this to people and I keep hearing it from people. Whenever you ask them, how are you guys doing? They say, alhamdulillah, I can't complain. I said, you already complained. Once you say the word, I cannot complain, you already complained in a subtle way. Worse than that, people they say, alhamdulillah, it can be better. What exactly are you saying? That is not adab with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. This is not a noble character with Allah azza wa jal. You're already complaining. To me, don't complain to me. You want to complain, complain to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Because what you're doing right now is you're complaining about Allah azza wa jal to a human being. So part of husn al-adab with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is that we don't really exercise any aversion to Allah's test in that fashion. The second adab is adab with the people. That no matter how difficult things are, you keep your noble character. Some people, subhanAllah, on the moment of a trial, what happens to them? They lose it. They lose themselves.
They lose their cool. They lose their akhlaq and their manners, and they forget whom they're talking to. Until they recover from that shock, and then they realize the mistakes that they have done. So he says, as-sabr over here is when a person is going through difficulty or hardship, they show husn al-adab. Noble character at all times over here. Even though you're going through difficulty, but you don't even care about it. Because you want to make sure that you don't show any aversion to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's test that he's putting upon you. And he says here, there's an act of worship that Allah has for you in afia and in bala. When you are spared and when you are trialed. So when you are spared and when you are tried, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will switch you between those two states. So that you can properly realize the abudiyah, the worship of both of those states. In the state of afia, when a person is spared, a person is grateful. When a person is in trial, a person is patient. And then he goes through, wa qala Amr ibn Uthman al-Makki, as-sabru huwa thabatu ma'a Allah. Wa talaqia balaihi bil-rahbi wa da'a. Wa ma'na haza anahu yatalaqa al-bala'a bisadrin wasi'in la yatalaqahu bil-diqi wa tasakuti wa shakwa. He says that, Amr ibn Uthman said that patience is to remain steadfast with Allah. And to accept any trial from Him with composure. And magnanimity here would really mean generosity, still giving back. You know a lot of times when you feel like the world has been cruel to you, what do you do? You shut down so you don't give anymore. You kind of self-loathe in that feeling of being hurt. And so no one deserves to see any goodness from me. Speaking to the point that Shaykh Yasir just mentioned. Adab with Allah and adab with the people.
And he says that the sense is that one should relieve afflictions with an open heart. And to seek to avoid expressing annoyance, irritation, or complaint. Wa qala al-khawas al-sabru al-thabatu ala ahkam al-kitabi wa al-sunnah. He said that, al-khawas rahimahullah said patience is to stay firm on the rulings of the Qur'an and the sunnah. Qala al-ruwayn al-sabru tarkush shakwa fassarahu bil-nizamihi. He says that, al-ruwayn said that patience is not resorting to complaint. He defined it with its outcome, meaning the way that a person acts afterwards. Would you like to say something here, Shaykh? Yes, if I want to just focus on one thing. When he said al-sabru al-thabatu ala ahkam al-kitabi wa al-sunnah. The essence of patience is to remain steadfast on following the example of the Qur'an and the sunnah of the Prophet. So what Imam al-Khawas over here, what he's defining for us is measurement. Like it's a measuring stick right now. How do I know that I am exercising patience properly? How do I know that? Am I really being patient right now? Because what you're telling me is so broad concept right now because people have different capacities. Some of us are psychologically stronger than the other ones. Some of us are physically stronger than the other ones. So what really defines for me if I am being patient or not? So al-Khawas, rahimahullah ta'ala, has given us that measuring stick. He goes, look, patience is when times of troubles, times of fitna, times of difficulty, you still adhere to the Qur'an and the sunnah of the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wa sallam. Why? Because when people are tested and they become emotionally compromised, what happens to them? They also become vulnerable and they're willing to compromise some of the rules of the haq and the sharia and it's justified because of their emotional trial. So if someone, may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect them, may Rabbul Ameen, lose their job. Now they lose their job in an economy that is now not doing so much well. They freak out.
They become panicking right now. They're worried. They're so anxious. And as a result, when it comes to any job opportunity, no matter if halal or haram, that comes their way, what do they say? Well, you know, I don't have another option. And they just take it. Well, that's not patience. Because he said, look, you want to measure patience? Measure it with the Qur'an and the sunnah of the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wa sallam. And the beautiful thing also that was mentioned earlier, he said, that your companionship with the trial is as beautiful as your companionship at time of alhamdulillah of safety. What does that mean? When we are alhamdulillah in good condition, how do we feel about it? We're in good shape. We worship. We do good. Alhamdulillah, it's easy for us to come to the masjid, speak well and be grateful and so on and so on. That same attitude you should maintain when you go through alhamdulillah, through trial, that you're also, you're grateful, you know, you're still composed. Who can do that? It's hard, but it's not impossible. And that's what they're referring to. You want to really measure your patience? These are the two things. Number one, in terms of trials, are you maintaining the exact same behavior and demeanor as you are when you are in good times? Or do you flip to a different personality? You become a whole different creature when you go through difficulties. So what are you exactly there? That's number one. Number two, when you go through difficulties, does it make you compromise your religious values? In terms of you're following the example of the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam? That is your measure and stake for being patient. It's not like you lose it and after some time you come back and say, We have to be patient right now. No, we're going to have to make sure that we do it right inshallah. And that's the description of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. Like there is no Meccan Muhammad and Madani Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam.
There is no Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam after Badr, but then the one after Uhud was harsh on us. There is no after Khandaq versus after Hudaybiyyah. He's just Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam. And the ilmah mentioned this with Yusuf alayhi salam. In fact, Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah mentions this, that both the people in prison said, Inna naraka minal muhsineen, we find you to be an excellent person as well as the people that saw him on the throne. Inna naraka minal muhsineen, the same words are used. Like you're a person of great character. If your character is circumstantial, then your character is hostage to those circumstances. And when he's saying, Fassarahu bidazimihi, look, it's measured by the outcome. The proof is in the pudding. The proof of these qualities actually being your qualities is whether they stand the trial of circumstance or not. And even the visualization here, like think of a sohbah, like a guest walks into your house, meet hardship. All right, hardship is here. Hardship requires a certain type of hosting. If he's a person, you have to host hardship in a certain way. Meet ease, you have to host ease in a certain way. And that's really the visualization that these ilmah are mentioning. Wa qala ghayruhu al-sabruhu wa al-isti'anatu billah. Some of them said that patience is that you seek help from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Wa qala Abu Ali, al-sabru kasmihi. Abu Ali said patience is exactly what the name suggests. Qala Ali ibn Abi Talib radiyallahu anhu, al-sabru matiyatun la takbu. Ali ibn Abi Talib radiyallahu ta'ala anhu, he's narrated to have said, let's see how they translate it here. I'm looking for it in this particular translation here. Okay. That patience is a mount that never stumbles. It's a mount that never stumbles. So if you're riding on patience, then it's never going to stumble. It's something that you can bear.
Now, here's where it gets, because some of you are like, where's the patience here? This sounds like just deal with it and suck it up and, you know, and deal with the hardship as it comes. Now Ibn al-Qayyim rahimallah starts to get to his intervention, right? So he's sharing with you statements of the past. Wa qala Abu Muhammad al-Jurairi, al-sabru an la tufarriq bayna hal al-ni'ma walmihnati ma'sukoon al-khaatiri fihima. He said that, Abu Muhammad al-Jurairi said, Sabr means that a person should be indifferent, should not differentiate between a state of blessing and a state of adversity. His heart remains at peace in both conditions. And this is where Ibn al-Qayyim rahimallah says, Qultu, I say, and this is the confidence of an author and also the beauty and the balance of Ibn al-Qayyim rahimallah. You'll always find him to list out the sayings of the scholars. And then to say, well, this one gets a little unrealistic. And you find Ibn al-Qayyim to be a very practical author. And subhanallah, I find personally so much hope in Ibn al-Qayyim's writings because some of the sayings, especially when you read like the sayings of Sufyan al-Thawri rahimallah and al-Fudayr ibn Ayyad rahimallah. It's like, I'm the worst person in the world. I have no chance. And Ibn al-Qayyim rahimallah will kind of balance it out to say, look, these people reached a certain place. But let's also look at it from the Qur'an and the Sunnah. قُلْتُ وَهَذَا غَيْرُ مَقْدُورٌ وَلَا مَأْمُورٌ فَقَدْ رَكَّبَ اللَّهُ الطِّبَاعَ عَلَىٰ تَفْرِيقِ بَيْنَ الْحَالَتَيْنِ وَإِنَّمَا الْمَقْدُورُ حَبْسُ النَّفْسِ عَنِ الْجَزَعِ لَا اسْتِوَاءَ الْحَالَتَيْنِ عِنْدَ الْعَبْدِ He said that, I say, it is neither possible to do that, nor is this what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala commanded. Allah has given the people the ability and commanded them to distinguish between these two states of being in a state of blessing and being in a state of hardship.
And he's saying that what a person is capable of doing is restraining himself basically from transgressing. But Allah is not telling you to remain in the same state in both conditions because that's not human. You're not supposed to be the same person in blessing and in hardship in the sense of your stress, your anxiety. وَسَاحَةُ الْعَافِيَةَ أَوْسَعُ لِلْعَبْدِ مِنْ سَاحَةِ السَّبْرِ كَمَا قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَالدُّعَاءِ الْمَشْهُورِ إِنَّمْ يَكُنْ بِكَ غَضَبٌ عَلَيَّ فَلَا أُبَالِي غَيْرَ أَنَّ عَافِيَتَكَ أَوْسَعُ لِي He said, and these two states are not the same, and this is attested to even by the Prophet ﷺ in the well-known du'a, and he's quoting the famous narration of Ta'if. By the way, there is no chain of narration to the du'a of Ta'if, but it's been transmitted so many times, and we can take the lessons from it, where the Prophet ﷺ says, If you are not angry with me, then I do not care, meaning I'll stay the course. If this hurt in Ta'if is not a manifestation of your anger towards me, I will remain steadfast, I'll stay the course. But your aafiyah, being in a state of well-being, is better for me. I prefer to be in a state of aafiyah. I prefer to be in a state of being spared. Even the Prophet ﷺ says that, وَلَا يُنَاقِضُ هَذَا قَوْلُهُ ﷺ وَمَا أُعْتِيَ أَحَدٌ عَطَاءً خَيْرًا وَأَوْسَعٌ مِنَ الصَّبْرِ فَإِنَّ هَذَا بَعْدَ نُزُولِ الْبَلَاءِ لَيْسَ لِلْعَبْدِ أَوْسَعُ مِنَ الصَّبْرِ وَأَمَّا قَبْلَهُ فَالْعَافِيَةُ أَوْسَعُ لَهُ مِنْهُ And he says, and then Shaykh Yasir can, inshallah, I'd love for you to comment on this. He said, this doesn't contradict when the Prophet ﷺ said that a servant of Allah has not been given a greater gift and a more expansive gift than patience.
The Prophet ﷺ said, the best blessing you can be given and the most expansive and comprehensive blessing that you can be given is the gift of patience. But he's saying that's after trial happens, that's after trial happens, after a person is put to test. However, to be in a state of well-being is obviously preferable. The Prophet ﷺ told that Abbas ﷺ asked Allah to be spared in this life and in the next. So you don't seek out the hardship, but if you are tested with hardship, the greatest blessing then is patience. Shaykh, now what do you have to say about this? Ibn Qayyim ﷺ is being very, very realistic. Nowadays we see people go through trials and the easy thing to tell people is what? Come on, you're a believer. You cannot do this. You shouldn't be saying these things and so on. But he says, look, in terms of feeling the same at ease with trials as if you were, alhamdulillah, in terms of safety and prosperity, that is not impossible. He said that's not possible. It's actually impossible. But the thing, and Allah ﷻ is not even commanding us really to have the same state of heart in these situations. But what he's commanding us, which we are capable of achieving and accomplishing, he goes, which means not losing it in terms of hardships and difficulty, which is exactly what the Prophet ﷺ expressed for us when he lost his child, Ibrahim, as he was dying in his arms. And subhanAllah, you can imagine the pain that the Prophet ﷺ was going through. And that is a testament for all of us, or an evidence that if anyone deserves to be spared the pain of going through a trial, it should be the Prophet ﷺ for his sacrifice, for the deen of Allah ﷻ, for the ummah, right? But he was the one who tested the most. And still as he was holding his son, couldn't do anything, and he's seeing his son is just kind of like breathing his last breaths in his arms,
he starts crying ﷺ. And Abu Abdur-Rahman ibn Auf looks at the Prophet ﷺ and says, Ya Rasulullah, what's going on? What is this? Even you do that? And that's when the Prophet ﷺ expressed to us the meaning of what Ibrahim is speaking about over here. He goes, look, He said four things he mentioned. He goes, look, What does that exactly mean? The state of heart to be in a moment of sadness and grief is natural. It's fitrah. As a matter of fact, if you don't have those feelings, there's something wrong with you. So he says, yeah, you have those two different states at different times. But what patience is, is when you control and you restrain your actions, whether it's a statement that you would say or something that you would do. So that's what the Prophet ﷺ says. Therefore, we say nothing except that which is most pleasing to Allah ﷻ. Crying is natural. Saying, I have control over it. So he says, I control that and I don't say anything except for the most pleasing to Allah ﷻ. So that's the translation really from the words of the Prophet ﷺ. What does it mean? You can have these two different feelings in the different states. When I'm doing well, alhamdulillah, it's okay to feel comfortable, to feel at ease. When I'm going through hardship, it's okay to feel pain and to feel grief. But then how do you translate these two things, these actions? That is what matters to us here. There's a wisdom here, Shaykh Naam. And by the way, I think what's so comforting about these words is that sometimes when you're a believer and your greatest priority is to please Allah ﷻ, you get depressed over your depression, sad over your sadness. Like I'm a mu'min, why should I be feeling this way?
Why am I feeling sad? Why am I stressed? Why am I scared? Why do I feel anxiety? Shouldn't I be a believer? Shouldn't I not feel these feelings? Because you hear some statements and you think, well, sabr is, I'm clearly not having sabr. SubhanAllah, every single prophet of Allah mentioned in the Qur'an in their hardship, Allah mentioned their inner fear, their inner vulnerability. Whether it was Musa alayhis salaam on the run, or Yusuf alayhis salaam in the well, or Yaqub alayhis salaam waiting for Yusuf alayhis salaam, or Ayyub alayhis salaam, or Ibrahim alayhis salaam when he was leaving his father after being thrown in the fire, every single prophet of Allah is described with the trait of sadness and fear and brokenness on the inside. And that's why Ibn al-Qayyim rahim Allah is saying this is so important to clarify and to say it over and over again. And he says, وَقَالُ أَبُو عَلِيَّنَا الدَّقَاقُ حَدُّ الصَّبْرِ أَلَّا تَعْتَرِضْ عَلَىٰ تَقْدِيرٍ He said that Abu Ali al-Daqaq said that what is required of patience is that a person, or the definition of patience is that a person does not question the qadr of Allah. That's where it starts. You don't question the qadr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You're not going to question the decree of Allah as the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam did not say, why Allah did you give me Ibrahim and then take him away from me this way. At no point is there a question of the decree of Allah. He says going on, فَأَمَّا إِظْهَارُ الْبَلَاءِ عَلَىٰ غَيْرِ وَجْهِ الشَّكْوَةِ فَلَا يُنَافِسْ صَبْرٍ He said that look at Ayub alayhi salam, the fact that these things, talking about your calamity, making it very clear that you're in calamity, that you're in pain, does not contradict being a patient person. He said because Allah described Ayub alayhi salam as إِنَّا وَجَدْنَاهُ صَبِرًا We found him to be a patient person.
But then also says that Ayub alayhi salam said مَسَّنِيَ طُرُّ That I've been struck with pain. Even if it came after a long time. He admitted his pain to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. قُلْتُ فَسَّرَ اللَّفْظَ بِلَازِمِهَا He said, so I'm saying that he has explained once again the outcome, that patience is defined by a very practical outcome, not an internal feeling here. Do you question the decree of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala when these things happen? And he says, وَأَمَّا قَوْلُهُ عَلَى غَيْرِ وَجْهِ الشَّكْوَةِ فَالشَّكْوَةِ نَوْعَانَ أَحَدُهُمَا الشَّكْوَةِ إِلَى اللَّهِ فَهَذَا لَا يُنَافِي الصَّبْرِ كَمَا قَالَ يَعْقُوبُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامِ إِنَّمَا أَشْكُوا بَثِّي وَحُزْنِي إِلَى اللَّهِ مَعَ قَوْلِهِ فَصَبْرٌ جَمِيلٌ He said that complaints are of two types. There's the type of complaint that is to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and that does not negate patience. He says, as Yaqub alayhi salam said, I complain of my pain and my sadness to Allah with his statement, فَصَبْرٌ جَمِيلٌ What a beautiful patience. So he's telling his sons, I am complaining, but I'm not going to complain to you. I am in a state of complaint right now. I am hurting, I am crying, but I'm crying to Allah and I'm complaining to Allah. And at the same time, he also said to them, فَصَبْرٌ جَمِيلٌ وَقَالَ أَيُوبُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامِ مَسَّنِيَ الضُّرُّ مَعَ وَصْلِ اللَّهِ لَهُ بِالصَّبْرِ And he said, and Ayub alayhi salam mentioned that harm has struck me with the way that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala described him with patience. وَقَوْلِ سَيِّدُ الصَّابِرِينَ صَلَوَاتُ اللَّهِ وَسَلَامُهُ عَلَيْهِ اللَّهُمَّ إِلَيْكَ أَشْكُوا ضُعَفَ قُوَّةِ وَقِلَّةَ حِيلَةِ الْحَدِيثِ And he said, and the saying of the master of all of the messengers, Muhammad salallahu alayhi wasalam, when he said,
Oh Allah, to you I complain about my lack of strength and about my incapability, about my pain and my humiliation. Should I keep going, sheikh? Let's talk about the second part, sheikh. قَالَ شَكْوَ الْمُبْتَلَ بِلِسَانِ الْحَالِ وَالنَّوْعِ الثَّانِ وَالنَّوْعِ الثَّانِ شَكْوَ الْمُبْتَلَ بِلِسَانِ الْحَالِ أَوِ الْمَقَالِ فَهَذَا لَا يُجَامِعُ الصَّبْرِ بَلْ يُضَادُهُ وَيُبْطِلُهُ He says, describing the second type of complaint, he said it's the one that's affected by or that's made by an affected person by words and by deeds and this is not compatible with patience, rather it opposes it and it is detrimental to it. He says, فَالْفَرْقُ بَيْنَ الشَّكْوَاهُ وَالشَّكْوَى إِلَيْهِ He said, and so the difference is between complaining about Allah and complaining to Allah. He said that's where the difference is actually going to be found and he mentions that we will come back to this in a future chapter. Sheikh Nasrullah, if I would summarize this before we start taking questions, inshallah from the audience here. Ibn Qayyim, rahimahullah, he beautifully explains the different categories of patience, the different categories of patience at different levels, or at least he says when people face trial or face calamity, they are at one of those four levels. Number one, he said, مَقَامُ التَّصَخُط That's the complaints, which is the second part that Ibn Qayyim, rahimahullah, was talking about. Complaining بِلِسَانِ الحَالِ وَالْمَقَالِ What does that mean? When you ask them, they cannot spare a moment but complain verbally. They keep talking about their issues and they always complain about their situation. And honestly, there are some people like that. You never listen to them, but they make you feel everything is negative, yakhir. So you talk to them, they complain about everything,
complain about the weather, complain about prices, complain about everything. They have absolutely no patience to anything. And sometimes they complain بِلِسَانِ الحَالِ which means in their demeanor, their behavior, their way of dealing with things, it can tell you they're not satisfied, they're not actually showing any patience regarding these trials. So that's the first مَقَامُ مَقَامُ التَّصَخُط He says this is absolutely prohibited. You're not allowed to complain against Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in that fashion. You complain to Allah, it's different. Number two, he says قَالَ مَقَامُ الصَّبْر The station of patience. And what is the station of patience? He says in the summary of the patience of patience, he goes, Look, you deal with the situation, you hold your grief and your pain in your heart, but you say nothing about it. Which means you're not satisfied with what you go through. I'm not happy with the trial I'm going through. You don't have to be happy with being ill or sick or losing your job, but don't say anything about it in that fashion. This is patience and this is the bare minimum as an obligation for the believer. Number three, قَالَ مَقَامُ الصَّبْر مَقَامُ الرِّضَى This is now the station of satisfaction. What does that mean? It's not just like I keep quiet about it. No, I don't hold anything in my heart against this trial. And that's what we were talking about earlier, a station that is higher a little bit. For those who lack, for them being in the trial, they keep the same demeanor, the same noble character, as if when they were in good times, alhamdulillah, it's a higher level. That's called مَقَامُ الرِّضَى. You are internally satisfied, not necessarily pleased, but satisfied with the trial without saying anything. Then he goes, there's مَقَامُ that is higher than this. قَالَ مَقَامُ الشُّكُر
The station of gratitude. It's not a matter of being quiet anymore right now. No, internally, you're satisfied with Allah's judgment, and you're not keeping quiet about it. No, you're speaking, but you're speaking gratitude. So when people go through a trial, when you ask them, what's going on? Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah. They just lost a loved one. They just lost a loved one. And you talk to them, they go, alhamdulillah rabbil ameen. Alhamdulillah, at least it didn't hurt my kids, didn't hurt this, didn't... They're always positive, they always see what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is blessing them with, not what Allah is testing them with. Who can get to that level? That's a high level, of course, of self-discipline and training. Hopefully, inshallah, as we go through the book, he's going to come to talk about the level of gratitude and shukr as well, inshallah. I want to mention just one more small section of this chapter, because it's a really beautiful definition he gives. He says, صبر ثبات القلب عند موارد الاضطراب والصبر والجزع ضدان ولهذا يقابل أحدهما بالآخر قال الله تعالى عن أهل النار سواء علينا أجزعنا أم صبرنا والجزع قرين العجز وشقيقه والصبر قرين الكيس ومادته فلو سئل الجزع من أبوك لقال العجز ولو سئل الكيس من أبوك لقال الصبر I'm not even going to try to read the translation because if I read the translation it's going to upset me. He says that الصبر ثبات القلب عند موارد الاضطراب He said that patience is actually the stability of the heart when hardship is faced. And he's actually making a distinction between happiness in the heart and steadiness of the heart. And that's an important distinction. He says that Allah makes this comparison in the Quran when he talks about the people of hellfire and he complains الجزع. الجزع is to be extremely paranoid, lost.
What would you translate it as? Panicky. Just panicky. Like really really panicky. So he says that the way Allah described the people of hellfire سواء علينا أجزعنا أم صبرنا They said, you know, look, it's the same for us. We're going to be punished whether we panic or whether we are patient. So he's saying the fact that Allah put panic and patience as two separate opposing qualities tells you something. And he says والجزع قرين العجز He says that جزع, that panicking, it is the partner of العجز, just complete inability. You can't get anything done if you're constantly living in that type of anxiety, that level of panic. So there's a level of panic that's not sadness. There's a level of panic that completely shuts you down. And he's saying that that جزع is the partner of panic. And he said فلو سئل الجزع من أبوك لقال العجز He said that if الجزع, panic, was to be asked, who is your father, it would say العجز, incapacity. ولو سئل الكيس من أبوك Case here is referring to intelligence, clarity, the ability to still see things for what they are, not perspective. So if perspective was to be asked who is your father, perspective would say my father is patience. I'm born out of patience. Perspective is born out of patience. Steadiness is born out of patience. Panic is born out of a lack of patience in this regard. So he's saying sadness is one thing, but that sadness and that grief is not just not questioning the قدر of Allah سبحانه وتعالى. There has to be a manageable level here that you try your best to at least get to a point where you're still able to move forward, you're still able to act with clarity and perspective. And that's really where the Qur'an and the Sunnah give us some clarity, that you still have sort of your boundaries outlined.
And of course he goes through some of the other types of patience. And in conclusion here, Shaykh, I mean just I think as he goes through the types of patience, he says look, some people have patience with some things and not others. Just because you're patient in one regard doesn't mean that you're patient in others. So he says some people are patient with the most difficult trials in life, but they have no patience with their desires. SubhanAllah, like they're so patient with difficulty and hardship and being beaten down and just tried with their faith. But then you give them access to their desires, and they have no patience with their desires. So he starts going through, he says listen, patience is a quality that has to overwhelm all of your faculties at some point. And that's what Ali radiAllahu anhu is saying. It's that mount that you ride that doesn't stumble. SubhanAllah, in modern terminology, I believe, what Imam Ibn Qayyim radiAllahu anhu is referring to right now is the correlation and the connection between the mind and the heart. When you're in an emotional state, it makes your vision foggy. So that's why when people are in an emotional state, they don't think straight. And so he says over here, look, when you're now going through a trial, you go through different emotions. Part of it is you start panicking, you start getting paranoid, you start getting scared and afraid, and sometimes getting angry. It doesn't matter what type of emotions. When we are in an emotional state, it completely blocks the way of thinking. So that's why he says that patience keeps clarity. And it's important for you at times of trials to be patient so you can start thinking straight. And if I would like to conclude one of his statements as well too, Ibn Qayyim radiAllahu anhu, he concludes this meaning and this concept by saying, Look, عند المصيبة, and this is an extremely important statement from him, He goes, عند المصيبة يذهل الإنسان عن العلم.
Like, what helps people stay firm at times of calamities, times of trials? He says, at the time of calamity, people become completely oblivious and heedless of the knowledge that they have. It doesn't matter how much knowledge you have. It doesn't matter if you know this is right or wrong. At a time of calamity, because that knowledge goes out of the window because you're not thinking straight anymore. You're now panicking, you're feeling, you're just going through all these now emotions. And if you don't restrain yourself with patience, those emotions will take over and again fog your vision and you start acting and behaving irrationally completely. So he said, therefore, the only thing that holds people firm at times of calamity, he says, the strength of their iman. Not the strength of their knowledge. The strength of their iman. But the question is, where does the strength of iman come from? It comes from the practice of what you know. It comes from the practice of that knowledge. What does it matter if you attend all these halaqat and all these classes and you feel so emotionally high in that moment, and the moment we now go offline, we go back again to old habits? If this knowledge you're earning tonight is not going to help you change bad habits, make commitment for yourself and to others to be a better person by tomorrow, if that's not going to honestly make you make any change, that knowledge is not going to be practiced and it's not going to result into increasing your iman. And as a result, you can memorize all these amazing, beautiful statements of Ibn Qayyim. But at times of calamity, I guarantee you, it will be useless to you. Because the iman has not been strengthened by the practice of what we know. So it's extremely important to understand that all what we're talking about over here
will increase your knowledge. Increasing your iman, that's your business. I have to share one more thing. JazakAllah khair. Beautiful words. SubhanAllah, the strength of your iman, not the strength of your ilm in those moments. And we see that. You see someone who hasn't read a bunch of philosophical literature, maybe is even completely illiterate, but when musiba strikes them, when tragedy comes to them, right away, inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'oon, alhamdulillah ala kulli hal, alhamdulillah, you know, we're patient. Look at those mothers in Palestine. SubhanAllah, with the types of tragedy that they face, some of them can't read. I mean, I have people in my family that are illiterate. But if tragedy hits them, right away, alhamdulillah, inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'oon, they know exactly what to say, because they've been seeking refuge in the Quran this entire time, whereas, you know, we have all this knowledge and lectures and books, but the knowledge is not what's going to ground you in those moments. But I'll say this, subhanAllah, it's very important, because ibn al-qayyim is being real as well. When we're emotional, we're not rational. And you need suhbat al-saliheen, you need righteous people around you. One of those reasons is because they can help you see clearly when you really can't see clearly for yourself. And we see this consistently with the companions of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam. When these difficult moments strike, that there's the clear-sighted person who's able to make sure the ship stays steered the way the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam commanded that it stays steered. Guess who that person was 100% of the time when he was alive? Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiAllahu anhu. He was that person 100% of the time when he was alive radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. When the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam dies, I mean, what do you do? What do you do, right? How painful is that? How lost can you become? How unreasonable and irrational can you become in those moments of heightened emotion?
Unable to think of your next course of action. So we saw some of the sahaba shut off, and we saw some of the sahaba panicking. I mean, this is the reality, that human moment. Some of the sahaba shut down. Some of them were panicking. Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu still had that clarity, and he always had that clarity 100% of the time subhanAllah radiAllahu anhu. He's never unreasonable. He's always just clear. Even when he's emotional, he has that clarity, and that's why he's a Siddiq. That's the truthfulness that he has. But you gotta have righteous companions, you gotta have righteous friends, people around you that can sit you down and say, you're not thinking about the straight right now. You're thinking emotionally, you're going through a hard time, I love you, my nasiha to you is stop, calm down, be more calculated. Take a step back before you take your next step, because that next step forward might be an unproductive and an aggressive step. So that's part of wasbir nafsaka, wasbir nafsaka ma'allatheena yad'oona rabbahum bilghadati wal'ashi yuriduna wajha Keep yourself patient with the companionship of the righteous as Allah tells us in the Quran. To put the QR code, if anyone wants to ask a question, you can write it down up there. We're going to collect these questions, inshallah, and they're going to be shown over here. Just to start off quickly, inshallah, if someone's ready with their hands, bismillah, go ahead. How do you balance between patience and complacency?
So whether you're going through a trial, whether it's health or whether it's legal or career or anything, it's also good to sometimes have some impatience, some stress, some anxiety, some sense of urgency to deal with that. How do you balance wanting to be patient but at the same time needing to be impatient? So the question, beautiful question, how can we differentiate between being patient and being complacent right now? Like, I mean, what does that mean? If something happens to me, I'm not supposed to take any action to change that? Well, and actually that's what he's saying. Al-jaza is panic, so you're not actually running in the right direction. You're just kind of running around, back and forth pacing, and you're not really getting anywhere. Whereas, wastadr, be patient, stay the course, istiqamah is resiliency. So when you're resilient, you naturally have a sense of urgency, but that urgency still fits within a proper direction. And we all need people around us, again, that can help us make sure that we're still seeing clearly, we still have that proper direction or else the notion of shura consultation would not be there, the notion of righteous companions that keep you patient would not be there. So patience actually means that you still move, but you move thoughtfully, with case, with clarity, and with consistency, and you don't just kind of throw everything all over the room and don't get anywhere. Now, if I may ask the sisters, if you guys are going to be posting any questions, change the color of your Padlet, so I know it's coming from the sister's side, so I don't actually read from the brother's side all the time, inshallah ta'ala. Put a different color for it, inshallah azawajal. So I have a question over here. Someone is saying, is analyzing what mistakes led to you into a trial a lack of patience? Like, look, I'm in trouble right now, whether it's financial or relationship, whatever that is. If I go back and reflect on what happened, what did I do wrong, and so on, that's lack of patience, or what do we call that?
So just like there's a difference between anadim, regret, and despair, in tawbah, in repentance, there's a difference between recalculating and self-sabotaging here. So, first in terms of repentance, Iblis comes from ablasah, he despaired. He never returns back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So, remorse versus regret. Remorse is, I know I messed up, and I'm never going to come back. So I'm just going to stay in this low place. Anadim, regret is, a type of regret that brings you back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So again, and this is what Ibn al-Qayyim rahim Allah means here, by its outcomes, things are measured by their outcomes. Healthy regret is measured by its outcome. Unhealthy remorse is measured by its outcome. It's what produces the action that brings you back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Therefore, when you're revisiting things of your past, the Prophet ﷺ said, لا تقول كلمة لو Don't say the word if only, because once you start to say if, the doors of shaytan are opened. Meaning what? What's a healthy level of going back? A healthy level of looking at some decisions that were made in the past, that you might have done everything that you thought you should have done to arrive at the right decision. So in the realm of tawbah, this is just, you regret and you move closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. In this realm, you go back and you say, if only this would have happened, this would not have happened, that's despair. If only this happened, then maybe this wouldn't have happened. However, a healthy level of recalibrating is, I learned the lessons from that last time, because when I did this, this happened. Therefore, I'm going to try to do things in a different way now, so I can have a different outcome. And having tawakkul in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, trust in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the whole way, knowing that you might end up in the same situation two years from now,
and then you'll recalculate and recalibrate again. But never think that if only this would have been done, it would have been a different outcome, because the outcome was decreed, but your decision-making can also become better. A question comes from one of the sisters. What do you do if a problem is something that is wrong with the system? It's not a test from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Rather, there's wrong in the system, whether it's an organization or a masjid. When should we complain publicly? What if you give feedback, but you feel invisible because they're not listening to you? You're a woman, or revert, or something like that. So, how do we differentiate that? I've been complaining about your office for a long time. The system is rigged. Nice one. But on a serious note, because I don't want to diminish the question from the sister either, but that's the light-hardness of this. But at the same time, Allah allows things to happen for a reason. That doesn't mean you shouldn't work towards recourse when it's clear. If there's something that's faulty, something that's wrong, you still do, you know, الأمر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر in joining good and forbidding evil, but you also understand that there are certain levels of evil that are allowed to exist in this world that are still within the realm of Allah azawajal's wisdom, and there's an outcome that's expected from you, that you still have to respond in a certain way. So you still try to eradicate evil when you see it, but at the same time, you understand that wrong is still going to be allowed to happen sometimes. We don't blame Allah for that wrong, but we trust Allah with that wrong. We don't blame Allah for that wrong, we trust Allah with that wrong, that there is an ultimate place of recourse, and that is the akhirah, that is the hereafter, and we do our best in this dunya to change what we can. If I may add one more thing, sheikh, the Prophet ﷺ said in the hadith,
Allah has written that everything should be done with ihsan, which means everything needs to have a specific measure where we say it's actually done perfectly or done properly. And if that level of ihsan is missing, it justifies our criticism, which is the amr al ma'ruf al na'am al muqar comes in. So if you, for example, have an organization that is supposed to be running in a specific direction, or a specific, let's say, vision, the guidelines are clear. But then you see that the organization is not running in the direction that it's supposed to. Does that mean if I complain I'm not being patient right now? No, you're doing your duty right now, of doing your amr al ma'ruf al na'am al muqar. When does it become impatient? If you've done your part, and they didn't listen to you, and now you start, for example, doing something that would make things worse. That is not justified. So in this case, you're losing patience right now. Because your job is not really to enforce change, your job is to give the amr al ma'ruf al na'am al muqar, to give the guidance. If you are in a position where you can change the muqar with hands, then yeah. If not, you just did your part by speaking about it, insha'Allah, wa ta'ala. A question from one of the brothers, insha'Allah. Does internally and automatically asking Allah, why, in your heart, when calamity hits at first strike, does that take away our patience? Does he fail the test by internally questioning him? Do you mind if I say that? So this goes back to what we mentioned of the four categories Imam Ibn Qayyim talked about. If you start complaining, that's called tasakhut, and that's unacceptable, it's prohibited. But if you have that patience, meaning internally you're not satisfied with it, you're not happy with it, but you do not speak a word about it, that's patience, and that is the bare minimum that is required from you. Anything else beyond that is not a recommendation for you.
Like what? That you take it with ease, because you trust Allah's judgment, no matter what Allah is testing you with, I know Allah has a hikmah and wisdom behind it, so I should be happy with that. Now that's rida, the next level. And then when you start speaking in a better way, like whatever Allah tests you, alhamdulillah, Allah is testing me, Allah loves me. That's a whole different level. That level you're talking about, it's still a level of patience at the bare minimum. You're not complaining, but you're not happy with it either. Wallahu anhu. It's the things that happen internally, whether it's the whispers of shaytan within, or the whispers that have now found a place within your heart or your soul. It's when you verbalize and when you act upon them, and so that's where the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said that's sarih al-iman, clear faith when you actually don't like it. The sahaba said to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, we have these thoughts that for us to say them, like it would be better for us to throw ourselves off of somewhere. There's a self-hatred, and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam puts them to ease in saying it bothers you, like you're upset that these thoughts are even happening. And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is saying that's actually clear faith, that's clear iman. And so you take what could be a reason for self-hate, and you actually make it a means inshallah ta'ala of progression in your relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala instead. A question from the sisters, in a state of confusion in a situation with someone, is it advised to let that person directly know how you feel? Does that count as complaining or clarity? Like you have a situation with somebody, and you felt being wronged, if I express my feelings towards them, does that mean that I'm not being patient with them? Not necessarily. I think that this is, and I'd love to hear you on this as well, Shaykh, when you're dealing with people.
Conveying, when you're cool-minded, when things are kind of calm, things that bother you in a relationship, things that you feel like are potential triggers for something, to convey that in calm, without letting it become explosive or insulting, is actually not a problem. When you're talking to someone, like, look, I just wanted to let you know, this did bother me, I didn't say it at the time, I'm not trying to be insulting, I know you didn't mean it this way, but look, this does bother me, no hard feelings, but just for the future. I think that's healthy to an extent. I don't think that there's anything necessarily wrong with that. It's always, even among the sahaba radiyallahu ta'ala anhum, they actually had some encounters with each other that's not to the character that we know of, in terms of the sahaba radiyallahu ta'ala anhum, they were human beings after all. So therefore, again, we always need to look at patients at these different levels. It's not just one thing, it's a spectrum. The bare minimum is you don't talk, but I'm holding grudge in my heart. Better than that is just let it go from the heart, forget about it, because your work with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is greater. And then of course you speak better and do even better, that's even greater to reconcile with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, with the individuals as well too. Is that an obligation to do that? Nope, that's not an obligation. The obligation is just when you speak, you don't speak ill. That's all. Last thing here, a request came from someone saying, can we kindly include stories from the sahaba about sabr and how they particularly dealt with it, so that we can learn from them on a particular level inshallah wa ta'ala? Well, the book itself has two long chapters, about almost 200 pages, subhanallah. Stories from the Quran, from the Sunnah of the Prophet, from the life of the sahaba and the salaf. Imam Ibn Qayyim compiled everything in two big chapters. I highly recommend that you go to the book inshallah wa ta'ala, read those amazing stories, so you can learn from the example inshallah wa ta'ala.
I know we have so many questions that we'd like to ask. We have so many questions we'd like to ask, but for the sake of time, because the tahajjud is coming in 45 minutes inshallah, we'd like to give the people inshallah the chance to take their individual ibadah inshallah wa ta'ala. Hopefully inshallah the next few nights we'll have more time to take more questions. We start a little bit late tonight, so hopefully tomorrow inshallah we'll start on time and finish on time, so that you can use your time wisely for individual ibadah. Jazakumullahu khairan, see you tomorrow inshallah wa ta'ala. Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Al Fatiha.
Welcome back!
Bookmark content
Download resources easily
Manage your donations
Track your spiritual growth
1 items
1 items
1 items
25 items
50 items
9 items
