The Virtues of Patience in Ramadan
Yesterday night, I was opportuned to deliver a lecture on the above titled topic to an audience on WhatsApp, and thereafter decided to share it so that it can be beneficial to more people. Here is a copy of my discussion:
Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh, honourable brothers and sisters in Islam.
I am known as Safiyyah OA, a student, an avid reader and a lazy passionate writer. And tonight, in sha Allah, I shall be reminding you and I of the Virtues of Patience in Ramadan
I am very well honoured to be here and I pray Allah makes this a beneficial lecture for us all.
Patience, by definition, is the ability to wait, or to continue doing something despite difficulties, or to suffer without complaining or becoming annoyed. In Arabic, it is called Sabr, which literally means endurance, although it is more of persistence or perseverance.
In Islam, patience is a quality that comes with many rewards and benefits, and an admirable quality through which we can connect better with Allah(SWT), as we can see in the examples of the prophets and pious predecessors.
In the example of Prophet Ayyub(AS). Prior to his illness, he was an extremely wealthy man, who owned an enormous amount of gold and silver, lands and farms. He also had lots of children. Then he was afflicted with a grave illness that made him lose his wealth, family and children, except his wife who stood devoted by him and took care of him(and here’s a cue for the men in here to strive and marry a woman of khair- goodness).
The illness was so serious that he couldn’t move any part of his body except his tongue and heart, which despite his state, used in remembering Allah. Not for once, did Ayyub(A.S) lament nor get angry at Allah for putting him in such a state. He remained a humble servant, and kept worshipping him as much as he is permitted to.
In the Qur’an, it was mentioned that he kept calling onto Allah with the words "Indeed adversity has befallen me, and you are the most Merciful of the most Merciful"
“And [mention] Ayyub, when he called to his Lord, ‘Indeed, adversity has touched me, and You are the most merciful of the merciful.’” (Qur’an 21:83)
If it was you and I, how would we have reacted? Would we not have said:
"Oh Allah, why? Why me? What have I done? Whom did I offend? Why is my own like this? Other people had money and they spent it in peace and good health, e reach my turn illness took everything away. I would even rather you not give me wealth than give me and turned me to this", forgetting the times we were able to spend our wealth as we like.
But look at how prophet Ayyub reacted, he said: "adversity has touched me...", he accepted it, he owned it, he submitted to Allah for it, and he expressed his powerlessness to Allah about it by begging Him(SWT) to remove it saying “...and you are the most Merciful of the merciful” meaning "only you, my Lord, can cure me of this illness, and if you don’t, there’s NOTHING that can be done about it".
Total submission, ma sha Allah!
And how did Allah responded to his du’a?
“[So he was told], ‘Strike [the ground] with your foot; this is a [spring for a] cool bath and drink.’” (Qur’an 38:42)
He did as commanded, became cured, his wife's youth was restored to become more beautiful and pleasant to him, and he recovered ALL that he lost: family, children and wealth. Allahu Akbar! What a majestic lord Allah is!
Patience! Acceptance! Turning to Allah for help!
Another story that is one of my absolute favourites is the story of prophet Ya’qub when he lost prophet Yusuf.
I’m pretty sure most of us are familiar with the back story of how his brothers arranged to throw him(Yusuf) in a well out of jealousy then went back to their father and told him(Yaqub) that he(Yusuf) had been killed by an animal, a wolf. And when they did, even though he knew they were lying, he didn’t react to them harshly by hurling insulting words at them nor condemning them, he said "...patience is the most fitting"
[Jacob] said, “Rather, your souls have enticed you to something, so patience is most fitting. And Allah is the one sought for help against that which you describe. (12:18)
He also didn’t blame himself for releasing Yusuf to go out with them. He understood, at that point, that this is a test from Allah, that if Allah didn’t want it, their plan will also not have worked out.
So, this is one of the things I’d love everyone here to hold tight, that when things happen, instead of pointing fingers saying "so and so caused it", "it happened because A did xyz". Be patient, accept it as Allah’s test like Yaqub did, seek Allah’s help thereafter, then ‘wait’ and see how you would be rewarded.
I highlighted the word wait as most times, we believe that once we make Du’a, Allah has to accept it immediately, but no, Allah only does, in the perfect timing, which He knows is best for us.
In Yaqub’s case, he had to wait for 40 years or thereafter before he was reunited with Yusuf, and still...his faith never wavered in that 40 years. He was absolutely certain Allah will bring them back together. How many of us can wait that long?
In another verse, when they complained about the way he was always sad because of his loss of Yusuf, he was so sad and cried too much that he became blind as a result of it. This is another learning for us that being patient does not mean not having feelings.
I think a lot of people get it wrong here too, equating patience to numbing the feeling that comes with our predicament. No, it is not. Rather, patience is expressing ourselves with that feeling to Allah. Ya’qub said:
"I only complain of my suffering to Allah"(12:86), meaning, this grief, this sorrow, this loss of my son, only Allah can heal me from it, so it is only Him that I will complain to. What a beautiful example of unwavering faith!
And what happened in the end? Yusuf was returned back to Him, and his sight was restored.
Again: Patience! Acceptance! Turning back to Allah for help!
Then when it comes to the month of Ramadan, what better example than the Soldiers of Badr.
Yes, the first battle in Islam, the battle of Badr, was fought in the month of Ramadan.
A totally unexpected and unprepared for battle. Here's a little backstory:
We all know of how much the Muslims were persecuted in Makkah because of their beliefs, how it became so much that they had to later migrate to Madina so they could practice their faith freely. But the issue is, most of them had to leave Makkah in secret so they won’t be stopped from migrating, which means they left their wealth and belongings in Makkah.
Seeing this, the people of Makkah decided to take advantage and sell off their properties.
Allah revealed this to His messenger and the Muslims were instructed to go out and intercept the caravan on the sales trip with their properties. As Allah would have it, they(the Muslims) missed the caravan. So they decided to camp at Badr before they go back to Madina.
Meanwhile, the unbelievers of Makkah also got a report that Muhammad(S.A.W) and his companions had set out to intercept their caravan. They therefore set out for war, but midway into the journey, another report came that the caravan is safe but, instead of going back home, they decided to head to Badr to celebrate since they were already out. Unfortunately, on getting close to the well, they saw that they had already been beaten to it by the Muslims. Long story short, they decided to war against them.
Here's one thing I'd love you to remember though:
“The Muslims NEVER came out for war. They NEVER prepared for it. Plus they were FASTING. They were also much lesser in number than the unbelievers: 313(Muslims) vs 10000+(unbelievers).”
Just look at that. The odds were totally against them left, right and center.
If it was you, would you had continue with the fight? Seeing situation? Or would you flee?
But...beautiful patience! Acceptance! Turning back to Allah for help!
The servants of An-naseer(The helper) surged on, under the hot desert son, in the midst of the pangs of hunger of fasting, they FOUGHT an army that was 3x greater than them in size, were more prepared and had more resources than them, and they WON, an outstanding victory! Verily, the help of Allah is true!
Allah speaks of their victory in the Qur'an:
Already there has been for you a sign in the two armies which met [in combat at Badr] - one fighting in the cause of Allāh and another of disbelievers. They saw them [to be] twice their [own] number by [their] eyesight.[1] But Allāh supports with His victory whom He wills. Indeed in that is a lesson for those of vision.
(3:13)
Brothers and sisters in Islam:
If you can stand with Allah, wallahi, He will help you.
If you believe in Him with Ikhlas(sincerity), He will NEVER fail you!
If you can be patient with Allah and trust Him, He will come through for you!
If you can leave your affairs to Him wholeheartedly, He will take care of you!
It is His promise, "...and the promise of Allah is true" (30:60)
The stories I narrate to you are not fiction, they are real life stories, and there are many more examples like this. How much I would have loved to discuss them, but time doesn't permit.
Now let’s come down to our times...
I reckon we have students amidst us, and in recent years, most of us have had to take school exams in Ramadan, then we see some students asking: "Can I take days off fasting so I can prepare for my exam?"
Subhanallah! Is your exam harder than a whole battle?
In my case, I'd say wallahi, it is a blessing to even have the exam in Ramadan. You can use that opportunity to pray more for ease of learning, and excellent results. Tell Allah to reward the pain you have to go through, studying with an empty stomach, with an outstanding result.
Talk to Allah! Du'a, tell Him!
Some of us, since the start of Ramadan, we incessantly complain of hunger, physically and on our statuses, as if the whole theme of Ramadan is make us suffer meaninglessly. We need to do better, brothers and sisters!
Ramadan is hard for you? Be patient, accept that you have met yourself in this month and so you will fast as is required of you, then turn back to Allah and ask Him to ease it for you! Complain of your hardships to Allah!
Tell Allah: "Oh Allah, make this Ramadan easy for me, help me to worship you as needed in this month so that I may gain the reward for the one who fasted in this month"
Busy yoursef with beneficial Ibadah: reciting Qur'an, Adhkar, listening to beneficial lectures. Be patient while fasting! That's the point!
If at the end of fasting, the only thing you gained is the food you get to eat, have you really fasted? When the goal of fasting is to increase us in Iman(faith), and make us better Muslims. Allah says:
"O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous"(2:183)
Let the rewards that are embedded in this month be your driving force to be steadfast in your actions. Let the following hadiths ring in your head severally:
- ‘Whoever prayed during the night of Laylatul - Qadr due to Eemaan and seeking a reward, then he is forgiven his previous sins. Whoever Fasts Ramadan due to Eemaan and seeking a reward, then he is forgiven his previous sins.’ [Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood, Nisa’ee, Ibn Majah & Albaani declared it to be Saheeh]
- ‘When Ramadan comes in, the doors of Paradise are opened, the doors of Hell-Fire are closed and the Devils are locked up' [Bukhari & Muslim]
Eyes on the prize! Focus on the reward!
Some of us also have the habit of skipping Sahur because we feel it is 'burden some' to wake up at night to eat, when the Prophet(S.A.W) says:
- 'Eat at the time of Sahoor, since indeed in the eating at the time of Sahoor is blessings.’(Bukhari and Muslim)
- 'Indeed it is Barakah (Blessings) which Allaah has given you so do not leave them.' [Collected by Nisa’ee & authenticated by Albaani]
Be patient, do it right. We have 11 months to eat and drink and just one month, one month, 1/12, not even 1% of our year is required of us YET...
Let us reflect, and change our ways...
Some of us spend a whole lot of our time, sleeping, Ya Rabb. Allah is calling us to success, and we are sleeping? If Elon Musk were to tell us today, to stand in the sun for one day and he would give us all a billion naira each, won't we believe him and do as he instructed?
So why is it that Allah, Arrazzaaq(The provider), with unlimited resources is calling upon us to success and we find it hard to do what He requires of us?
Let us reflect, and amend our ways. ⅓ of the month is already gone, it is not too late to turn back. Let us renew our intentions and practice patience in our worship. Let us not just fast for the sake of it. Let us do better, and use our fast as a means to seek for betterment in our lifestyle: spiritually, morally, personally, academically and financially.
Let us emulate our predecessors and exemplify their kind of beautiful patience, and bi idhnillah, we will come out of this month, a well reformed Muslim.
Alhamdulillah, this is where I will wrap up my discussion. I hope that we have been able to take one or two lessons from here.
May Allah reward the organisers of this program. Indeed, this is a very beautiful reminder, first and foremost for me, like I said to the host when she approached me with this topic, "Do you want me to admonish myself?", because it is honestly a much needed reminder for me as it is for everyone else.
May Allah make this lecture and every other one, a Hujjah for us and not against us on the day of judgement. May He not deny us the rewards of fasting in this glorious month. May He keep us steadfast on His religion and above all, may we witness many more Ramadan in our lives and may He grant us the patience to wither the storms we'd pass through in our journey through the month and beyond.
Barakallah Fikhum, thank you for having me. Jazakumullah Khairan Jazeelan
If you find the lecture beneficial as much as I and others who were present at the lecture did, do give it a clap up to 50 times and share with others so they can benefit.
~Safiyyah OA
