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࢔o.....AJ ...lA࢈i)-4 ࢉࢊ "The mujaahid2 is the one who struggles against his soul for the sake of Allah. "3 This type of jihad also requires a great deal of patience and perseverance for the person to be victorious in such internal struggles. Without patience, he is doomed to failure. Without any patience, he may become a slave to his passions and desires.4 The Types of Patience that a Person Needs to Be Successful There are different "types" of patience that a person needs to be completely successful. These include the following: First is patience or perseverance in performing good deeds, especially the obligatory deeds. In reference to the definition of sabr as given by al-Bugha and Mistu, an intelligent person knows that he must perform these deeds as part of his worship of Allah and, more importantly, Islamic law has required him to perform certain deeds. He must not fail in the performance of the obligatory deeds. The performance of the obligatory deeds, however, requires patience and perseverance on the part of the Muslim. Take, for example, the prayer five times a day. Allah says about them, 1 Quoted in ibn Raj ab, Noor, p. 1 04. 2 Meaning, the one who makes jihad. 3 Recorded by Ahmad, al-Tabaraani and ibn Hibbaan. Al-Tirmidhi also has something very similar to it. Al-Albaani calls it sahih. See al-Albaani, sahih al-Jaami, vol. 2, p. 1 133. 4 Cf., ibn Rajah, Noor, p. 1 06. Hadith #1 9: "Young man, I shall teach you some words ... " "Establish worship at the two ends of the day and in some watches of the night. Lo, good deeds annul bad deeds. This is a reminder for the mindful. And have patience for Allah wastes not the rewards of the good" (Hood 1 14-1 15). And Allah also says, "And enjoin prayer upon your family and be patient in offering them [the prayers]" (Taha 132). Ibn Katheer points out that patience is especially needed for performing the prayers constantly and correctly.' This is one of the implied meanings of the verse, : . ·- ' G-1\ u \ Ž 1 нH\; .-,L I :: "\ I ;r : .:JI 1:Ŭ.࠿ ··࢓ µ u ) ࡣ . ࢒ '..Y-'° + i:f.. ࡡ - '-' .. ,,. ,,,. '-- k ,,,. / / ,,,. "O you who believe, seek help in patience and prayer. Truly, Allah is with those who are patient" (al-Baqara 153). Perhaps the need for sabr (patience) is just as clear with respect to some of the other obligatory deeds. Fasting, for example, is clearly an action that requires patience. But patience is also needed for zakahwhich implies the giving up of part of one's wealth and putting one's trust in Allah-- and the pilgrimage to Makkah is filled with different aspects that require patience. The second type of patience is perseverance or patience in remaining away from sinful acts. This type of patience is the one that really distinguishes the righteous person or the person with taqwa from the rest of the Muslims. As noted earlier, it is not unusual for both the wicked or evil person and the pious person to perform the obligatory duties, but it is really only the pious person that keeps himself away from sins and evil deeds. The Prophet (peace be upon him) pointed out the importance of this type of patience. He stated that the road to Paradise is paved with hardships while the road to hell is paved with desires. 2 It is very easy for a person to succumb to those desires unless Allah has blessed him with the patience to stay away from them. The third type or aspect of patience is perseverance in the face of what Allah decrees or does not decree for a particular individual. Allah has created this world such that there are times of joy and happiness as well as times of 1 Ibn Katheer, Ta/seer al-Quran al-Adheem (Kuwait: Jamiyyah Ihyaa al-Turaath al-Islaami, 1991), vol. 3, p. 189. 2 This is stated in a hadith recorded by al-Bukhari. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi misery and sadness, and times of health and well-being as well as times of sickness and malady. When some afflictions come to a person, the only outlet is patience and contentment with what Allah has given the person. But, as Allah has described, not all humans are able to have such fortitude, J?J. ,..; ... ,.\ J ;;; ; \: \; QJ I ࢑ J. ; ? ࡀ". "1 }. ;;; ; \: I े 'ঢ়৞ }. ; jl>- ; }. ; ; .,;--\ C I .i........ :; • m ..... J · - .i........ :; m ..... - · " ::i . !-J .. _.. .r. ; .. _.. / ࢍ ; u; ,,.. / ;;;,., ""' .,. ,., ;;; oмT; ߀߁ ޽ D E::UI F GI ':}5 ৚ ੴ "Verily, man was created anxious, fretful when evil befalls him and, when good befalls him, grudging--- save worshippers who are constant at their worship ... " (al-Maarij 19-22).