. J (cont.)

.. • ,:;\""'\ J.-. -: ,,,.J ,,, ૪'.ilk ,...J ..... ., "= "' u.ࣙ) f _)':->- .J1b) .I ; • _HJ ୶ ഔ  "Say: Truly, my Lord enlarges the provision for whom He wills of His slaves, and [also] restricts it for him. And whatsoever you spend of anything [for Allah's cause], He will replace it. And He is the Best of Providers" (Saba' 39). The Prophet (peace be upon him) also emphasized this point. He stated that Allah has said, 1 Dirham is a type of currency. 2 Recorded by al-Nasaai, ibn Hibbaan and al-Haakim. According to al-Albaani, it is hasan. See al-Albaani, sahih al-Jaami, vol. 1, p. 675. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi / l / ഒ . . . \ . . . i j - Ȝ Ȝ "Spend, and you shall be spent upon." (Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim.) In another hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) stated, "/ / JC  4.i  C , "Charity does not in any way decrease wealth." (Recorded by Muslim.) "Patience is a brightness." There are two interpretations as to the meaning of the word patience in this phrase. According to some, it is a reference to the fast; in other words, "Fasting is a brightness." The word "fast" has been explicitly stated in one of the other narrations of this hadith. 1 A second interpretation is to understand "patience" in its literal and general shareeah sense.2 This interpretation is the one that will be followed in the commentary here. The Prophet (peace be upon him) described patience as a dhiyaa'. As described above, this implies that it is a type of light but it is not as soothing or easy on a person as noor. This is because patience is not always an easy thing for a person. By definition, it involves restraining oneself and controlling one's actions. It can even be as if one is actually in a burning fire. Things around may be seemingly out of control. However, if he has patience, that will lead him or guide him out of his difficulties in the same way that dhiyaa' or brightness gives light and guidance to a person. Patience, therefore, is like a bright shining splendor that can aid a person through his most difficult hour. Indeed, it may be the only thing that gives him hope of there being light at the end of the tunnel. This light and guidance, of course, comes from Allah as He is the One who is with those who are patient and He is the One whose remembrance is in their heart bringing them comfort. As Allah says, (_ JT Ö bT 0 t;Tj "Have patience. Verily, Allah is with those who are patient" (al-Anfaal 46). Al-Nawawi stated that as long as the person has praiseworthy patience, he will have light and guidance that will keep him along the Straight 1 Fasting involves many of the same aspects as patience. Indeed, a hadith describes the month of Ramadhaan as the month of patience. According to al-Qari, if the hadith is understood to mean the fast, then dhiyaa has been used for fasting because dhiyaa only exists during the daytime, which is the time people fast. However, noor exists in both the daytime and nighttime. See al­ Qaari, vol. 1 , p. 320. 2 The concept of patience was discussed in some detail in the commentary to Hadith Number 19. Hadith #23: "Purification is Half of Faith . . . " Path. 1 This demonstrates the great importance of patience. During times of hardship, people easily stray from the Straight Path as they seek any solution to their problems, whether it is a permissible or forbidden solution. Similarly, during times of ease, when people have the wealth, time and ability to engage in forbidden acts, they need patience to keep them along the Straight Path. Hence, this light of patience at various levels is needed by everyone at practically all times. Al-Sabbaagh points out one more important subtlety in calling patience a dhiyaa'. This, he says, implies that a small amount of patience can overcome a great deal of hardship and "dark times" in the same way that a small dhiyaa' can overcome a great deal of darkness.2 Al-Haitami also mentions that, as was noted above, the Quran has called the sun dhiyaa' and the moon noor. Noor, in this case, simply reflects the light of the source of light or dhiyaa'. In the same way, patience is called dhiyaa' because it is the real source. As explained in Hadith Number 19, patience includes the patience that is required to fulfill the obligatory deeds as well as remain away from the forbidden. Hence, without patience, there is no prayer, ablution, fasting and so forth. Patience in this sense is, in fact, the source for all of the other "light" that comes from prayer and other deeds. Therefore, it is truly the dhiyaa' or splendid and bright source of light.