Chapter 3: Five Categories of Patience
Patience can also be divided into categories following the five categories of deeds,
namely wâjib (obligatory), mandûb (encouraged), mahdhûr (forbidden), makrûh
(disliked) and mubâh (permissible).
Obligatory (wâjib) patience
1. Patience in abstaining from forbidden (harâm) things and actions,
2. Patience in carrying out obligatory deeds,
3. Patience in facing adversity which is beyond one’s control, such as illness, poverty,
etc.
Encouraged (mandûb) patience
1. Patience in abstaining from disliked (makrûh) things,
2. Patience in performing acts of worship which are liked and encouraged (mustahabb)
3. Patience in refraining from taking revenge.
Forbidden (mahdhûr) patience
1. Patience in abstaining from food and drink until death.
2. Patience in abstaining from eating harâm meat, carrion and blood, when the alternative
is death and starvation. Tawus and Ahmad ibn Hanbal said, “Whoever has no choice but
to eat carrion, harâm meat and blood, but refuses to eat it and dies as a consequence, will
enter Hell.”
3. Patience in refraining from begging. There is a dispute as to whether begging from
people is forbidden or permissible. Imam Ahmad said that this kind of patience and
abstention is allowed. He was asked, “What if a person fears that if he does not do this,
he will die?” Imam Ahmad answered, “No, he will not die. Allâh will send him his due
provision (rizq).” Imam Ahmad did not allow begging: when Allâh knows the need of a
person and his sincerity in abstaining from begging, Allâh will send him rizq. Other
scholars, including some of Imam Ahmad’s companions and Imam ash-Shafi‘î said, “It is
obligatory on such a person to beg, and if he did not beg, than he would be a wrongdoer,
because by begging he protects himself from death.”
4. Patience in enduring things that may lead to death, such as predators, snakes, fire and
water.
5. Patience at times of fitnah when the Muslims are fighting Muslims. Patience in
abstaining from fighting at such a time, when Muslims are killing Muslims, is mubâh
(permissible), indeed it is mustahabb (liked and preferred). When the Prophet (SAAS)
was asked about this, he said, “Be like the better of the two sons of Ādam.” In other,
similar reports he said, “Be like the slave of Allâh who was killed, and not like the one
who has killed,” and “let him (the killer) carry his own wrong action and your wrong
action.” In another report, he said, “If the sword is too bright, put your hand on your
face.” Allâh has told us the story of the better of the two sons of Ādam, and how he
surrendered himself and did not fight back, and how Allâh commended him for that. This
is different to the case when Muslims are fighting kâfirûn: in that situation the Muslim
has to defend himself, because the meaning of Jihad is to defend himself and Islâm.
Disliked (makrûh) patience
1. Patience in abstaining from physical appetites (food, drink, sex) to the extent of
causing damage to one’s health.
2. Patience in doing a makrûh deed.
Permissible (mubâh) patience
Patience in abstaining from mubâh deeds.
Chapter 4: Good Patience and Bad Patience
Bad patience means having patience in keeping away from Allâh and His love and His
will, because this prevents a person from fulfilling his potential of attaining perfection
and doing what he was created for. This is the worst type of patience, and the most
difficult, because there is no type of patience stronger than that of the person who
wilfully keeps away from his Creator, as apart from Him there is no life at all. No-one is
as careless as the person who has no interest in what Allâh has prepared for His friends
(awliyâ’) in the hereafter, that which no eye has ever seen nor ear has ever heard, and has
never been imagined by any person. Once a man who admired a zâhid (one who does
without) for his zuhd (doing without) and lack of interest in this world said to him, “I
have never seen a man who has as much zuhd (doing without) as you so.” The zâhid told
him, “Your zuhd is much stronger than mine, for my zuhd concerns the world, and this
life is short and unstable, but your zuhd concerns the hereafter, which is eternal.”
A man asked Shiblî, “What type of patience is more difficult?” Shiblî said, “Patience
through seeking the help of Allâh.” The man said, “No.” Shiblî said, “Then patience for
the sake of Allâh.” The man said, “No.” Shiblî said, “Patience in seeking the pleasure of
Allâh.” The man said, “No.” So Shiblî asked, “What is it then?” and the man answered,
“Patience in keeping away from Allâh.” Shiblî screamed in such a way that he nearly
died.
Good patience consists of two types: patience for the sake of Allâh and patience by the
help of Allâh. Allâh said:
“Now await in patience the command of your Lord: for verily you are in Our
eyes…” (at-Tûr 52:48)
It is impossible to have patience for the sake of Allâh without patience by the help of
Allâh:
“And be patient, for your patience is but by Allâh…” (an-Nahl 16:127)
This âyah tells us that patience cannot be achieved without the help of Allâh, which
means that in addition to the help of Allâh we need the companionship of Allâh, as in the
hadîth [qudsî]:
“I am his hearing with which hears, his sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he strikes.”
The help of Allâh is bestowed upon the believer and the wrongdoer alike, both of whom
receive blessings and rizq. This hadîth describes something more, the companionship of
Allâh, which the believer will attain when he performs nafl (supererogatory) acts of
worship until Allâh loves him. When he reaches that status, and Allâh is his hearing with
which he hears and his seeing with which he sees, he does not move or do anything but
Allâh is with him. Whoever reaches this level can have patience for Allâh’s sake and
endure severe hardship to please Him. The person who does not reach this level will not
have this degree of patience; his level of patience will be in accordance with his share of
Allâh’s companionship. The believer who enjoys Allâh’s companionship will reach
levels of patience that are impossible for others. Those who have patience are the winners
in this world and the next, because Allâh is with them:
“for Allâh is with those who patiently persevere” (al-Baqarah 2:153).
Emulating the attributes of Allâh
If a person loves an attribute of Allâh, then this will help him to reach Him. Allâh is asSabûr, patient, and there is none that is more patient and forbearing than Him. It was
reported that Allâh revealed to Dâwûd (AS), “Have my attributes, as one of My attributes
is that I am sabûr (patient).” Allâh loves His attributes and characteristics, and He loves
to see the effects of His attributes on His slaves. As He is beautiful, so He loves beauty;
as He is all-forgiving, He loves forgiveness; as He is generous, He loves generosity; as
He is all-knowing, he loves the people of knowledge; as He is strong and powerful, so a
strong believer is more beloved to Him than a weaker one; as He is sabûr (patient), so He
loves those who have patience; as He is shakûr (grateful), so He loves those who give
thanks. As He loves those who have His characteristics, so He is with them, and this is a
special and unique type of companionship.
No contradiction between patience and complaining to Allâh
To be continued In shaa Allah