Chapter 10: Ahâdîth about patience
Umm Salamah said: I heard the Prophet (SAAS) saying, “There is no Muslim afflicted
with calamity who says ‘To Allâh we belong and to Him is our return; O Allâh reward
me for this calamity and compensate me with what is better for me,’ but Allâh will
compensate him with what is better for him.” She said: “When Abû Salamah died, I said:
‘Who among Muslims is better than Abû Salamah? His household was the first to migrate
to the Messenger of Allâh!’ Anyhow, I said what what the Prophet (SAAS) taught us to
say, and Allâh compensated me with the Messenger of Allâh. The Prophet (SAAS) sent
Hâtib ibn Abî Balta‘ah to ask for my hand in marriage on his behalf, but I told him that I
had a daughter, and that I was a very jealous woman. The Prophet (SAAS) responded:
‘As far as her daughter is concerned, I shall pray to Allâh to make her independent, and I
shall pray to Allâh to take away her jealousy.’ So I married the Messenger (SAAS).”
(Muslim)
Abû Mûsâ al-Ash‘arî said: The Prophet (SAAS) said: “When a child of a man dies, Allâh
asks the angels, ‘Did you take the soul of My slave’s child?’ They reply, ‘Yes.’ He asks
them, ‘Did you take away the apple of his eye?’, and they reply, ‘Yes.’ The He asks:
‘What did My slave say?’ They tell Him: ‘He praised You and said: “To Allâh we belong
and to Him is our return.” ’ Allâh says: ‘Build a house for him in Paradise and call it
Bait al-hamd (the house of praise)’.” (At-Tirmidhî, Ahmad and Ibn Hibbân)
Anas (RA) narrated that the Prophet (SAAS) said: “Allâh said: ‘If I test My slave by
depriving him of his two precious ones (meaning the eyes or eyesight), and he faces
that with patient perseverance, I shall compensate him with Paradise.’ ” (al-Bukhârî)
From Â’ishah (RA) via ‘Urwah and az-Zuhri: “The Prophet (SAAS) said: ‘No affliction
befalls a Muslim but Allâh forgives his wrong actions because of it, even if it be no more
than a thorn’.” (al-Bukhârî and Muslim)
Sa‘d ibn Abî Waqqâs (RA) said: “I asked the Prophet (SAAS) who among the people are
most severely tried? He said, ‘The Prophets, then the right acting people, and so on down
through various categories of people. Man will be tested according to the strength of his
faith. The stronger his faith, the more severe his trial, and the weaker his faith, the lighter
his trial. The believer will be continually tested until he walks on earth with all his wrong
actions forgiven’.” (al-Bukhârî)
Anas (RA) narrated that a son of Abû Talhah (RA) fell ill and died one day when Abû
Talhah was away from home. When Abû Talhah’s wife realized that her son had died,
she covered him with a blanket, and left him lying by the wall. Abû Talhah came home
and asked how the boy was, and his wife told him: “He has calmed down and I hope he is
resting,” so Abû Talhah thought that the child was getting better. That night he slept with
his wife, and in the morning he got up and performed ghusl. When he was about to go
out, he wife told him that his son had died. So Abû Talhah went and prayed with the
Prophet (SAAS), then told him what had happened. The Prophet (SAAS) responded by
saying, “May Allâh bless this last night of yours.” A man from Ansâr said, “I have seen
nine children of the man who was born as result of that night, and all of them have read
the Qur’ân.” (al-Bukhârî)
Abû Sa’îd al-Khudrî (RA) reported that the Prophet (SAAS) said: “No-one can be given
a better an more abundant gift than patience.” (al-Bukhârî and Muslim)
Patience at the time of sickness
Abû Sa‘îd al-Khudrî (RA) said: “I entered upon the Prophet (SAAS) when he was sick
and had a high temperature. I put my hand on the cover with which he was covering
himself and I could feel the heat of his fever. I said, ‘How strong is your fever, O
Messenger of Allâh!’ He said, ‘We Prophets are like that: our pain is multiplied so our
rewards will be multiplied’.” (Ahmad)
Jâbir ibn Abdullâh (RA) said that the Messenger of Allâh (SAAS) enterer upon a woman
and asked her, “Why are you shivering like that?” She said, “It is because of fever,” and
cursed the fever. The Prophet (SAAS) said, “Do not slander fever, because it takes away
many wrong actions, just as the blacksmith’s bellows remove dross and impurities from
iron.” (Muslim)
Ziyâd ibn Ziyâd, the mawlâ (freed slave) of Ibn ‘Abbâs (RA), narrated from one of the
Sahâbah, who said: “We entered upon the Prophet (SAAS) when he was ill with fever.
We expressed our sorrow for his pain, and said, ‘May our mothers and fathers be
sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allâh! How severe is your pain!’ He replied, ‘We
Prophets are afflicted many times more strongly.’ We said, ‘Subhân’allâh!’ He asked,
‘Do you find this strange? There were some Prophets who were killed by ringworm.’ We
said, ‘Subhân’allâh!’ He asked, ‘Do you find this strange? The most severely tried of
people are the Prophets, then the right acting people, the those who are less right acting,
and so on.’ We said, ‘Subhân’allâh!’ He said, ‘Do you find this strange? They used to
enjoy their times of trials and afflictions as you enjoy your times of ease.’ ”
Masrûq narrated from ‘Â’ishah (RA) who said: “I have never seen anyone endure more
severe pain than the Prophet (SAAS). When he fell ill, his pain became so severe, to the
extent that he could not sleep for nineteen nights.”
‘Â’ishah (RA) narrated that the Messenger of Allâh (SAAS) said: “Truly fever makes
wrong actions fall away from a man like leaves fall from a tree.” And it was narrated that
the Prophet (SAAS) said: “The likeness of the believer when he suffers from illness is like
iron when it enters the fire; the dross is removed, and the good elements stay.”
It was narrated that Abû Ayyûb al-Ansârî (RA) said: “The Prophet (SAAS) visited a sick
man of the Ansâr, and when the Prophet (SAAS) asked how he was, he said, ‘O
Messenger of Allâh, I have not closed my eyes for seven days.’ The Prophet (S) told him,
‘Have patience, my brother, for if you do, you will be rid of your wrong actions as easily
as you acquired them.’ The Prophet (SAAS) also said: ‘The time of illness cancels out the
time of wrong actions.’ ”
Anas (RA) narrated that the Prophet (SAAS) said: “When a slave of Allâh becomes ill for
three days, he will come out having shed all his wrong actions, and will become as
sinless as the day he was born.”
And it was narrated that the Prophet (SAAS) said: “The
prayer of the sick person will never be rejected, until he recovers.”
It was narrated that the Prophet (SAAS) said: “By the One in Whose hand is my soul,
there is no qadâ’ that Allâh decrees for the believer but it is good for him. If Allâh
decrees that he will go through a time of ease, the believer will be grateful, and that is
good for him. If Allâh decrees that he will suffer some affliction, he will be patient, and
that is also good for him. This applies only to the believers.” (Ahmad)
Chapter 11: Sahâbah on the virtues of patience
As-Safar said: “Abû Bakr fell ill, so some people visited him and asked whether they
should call a doctor for him. He said, ‘The Doctor has already seen me.’ They asked,
‘What did he say?’ Abû Bakr said, ‘He said, “I do what I want”.’ ” (Meaning, that Allâh
is his “Doctor” and can make him sick or healthy as He wills) (Ahmad).
‘Umar ibn al-Khattâb (RA) said: “The best days we ever lived were by virtue of patience,
and if patience were to take the shape of a man, he would be a noble and generous man.”
‘Alî ibn Abî Tâlib (RA) said: “The relation of patience to îmân is like the relation of the
head to the body. If the head is chopped off, the body becomes useless.” Then he raised
his voice and said: “Certainly, the one who has no patience has no îmân, and patience is
like a riding-beast that nevers gets tired.”
‘Umar ibn ‘Abdu’l-‘Azîz said: “Allâh never bestows a blessing on His slave then takes it
away and compensates him by giving him patience, but that with which he has been
compensated is better than that which has been taken away from him.”
The story of ‘Urwah ibn al-Zubayr
‘Urwah ibn al-Zubayr came to visit the Khalîfah al-Walîd ibn ‘Abdu’l-Malik. With him
was his son Muhammad, who was one of the most handsome of men. The young man had
dressed up for the occasion in fine clothes, and had his hair in two plaits or braids. When
al-Walîd saw him, he said, “This is how the young people of Quraysh look!” and by so
saying, put the evil eye on him. Before he left, the young man fell ill. When he was in the
stable (preparing for the journey) he fell down, and the horses trampled him to death.
Then ‘Urwah got gangrene in his leg, and al-Walîd sent doctors to him, who suggested
that the leg should be amputated, otherwise the gangrene would spread to the rest of the
body and kill him. ‘Urwah agreed, and the doctors began to remove his leg, using a saw.
When the saw reached the bone, ‘Urwah fainted, and when he came around, sweat was
pouring down his face, and he was repeating, “Lâ ilâh ill-Allâh, Allâhu akbar.” When the
operation was over, he picked up his leg and kissed it, then said, “I swear by the One
Who mounted me on you, I never used to walk to any place of wrong action or to any
place where Allâh would not like me to be.” Then he gave instructions that the leg should
be washed, perfumed, wrapped in a cloth and buried in the Muslim graveyard.
When ‘Urwah left al-Walîd and returned to Madînah, his family and friends went to meet
him at the outskirts of the city and to offer condolences.
The only reply he made was to quote from the Qur’ân: “…truly we have suffered much fatigue at our journey” (alKahf 18:62).
He did not say any more than that. Then he said, “I will not enter Madînah,
for people there either rejoice over the afflictions of others, or else feel envy for their
blessings.” So he went to stay in a place at al-‘Aqîq. ‘Îsâ ibn Talhah came to visit him
there and said, “May your enemies’ fathers perish!” and asked him, “Show me the
affliction for which I have come to console you.” ‘Urwah uncovered his stump, and ‘Îsâ
said, “By Allâh, we were not preparing you to wrestle! Allâh has saved most of you: your
sanity, your tongue, your eyesight, your two hands, and one of your two legs.” ‘Urwah
told him, “Nobody has consoled me as you have.”
When the doctors came to perform the amputation, they had asked ‘Urwah whether he
would drink intoxicants to ease the pain. He said, “Allâh is testing me to see the extent of
my patience. How could I go against His commands?”