In His Name, the Most High
This is the fourth part in a detailed discussion on patience. The discussion is built on the seminal work (based on a series of lectures) by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khamenei. The book is published as ‘Discourses on Patience’.
Video of the Majlis (Sermon/Lecture)
This write up is a companion to the video majlis (sermon/lecture) found below:
Contents
Majlis - Patience - Part 4
Nohe/Nasheed - Husayni Mawlaaya, Ya Husayn
Ziyarat/Dua - Dua Ahl ath-Thugur
The Fields of Patience
As we have discussed in the previous parts, patience may be defined as the resistance offered by man on the road towards perfection, against the forces of mischief, corruption and degradation.
We will now, work to recognise the fields of patience, where its practice is most crucial. Naturally, we would like to study the domain of patience in accordance with the Islamic teachings, narrations (ahadeeth, traditions) of the Prophet Muhammad and his pure family, peace and blessings be upon him and them all, as well as from the Holy Quran, wherein the practice of patience has been lauded greatly, and the one who practises patience has been promised a great reward in this world and the next.
There is no doubt, that an ignorant soldier or a mercenary fighting in the battlefield against the bearers of glad tidings of Truth and Justice, and even losing his life for the sake of orders issued by his master; or a tyrant, a hoarder of wealth, a holder of an important position, standing against the Truth for the sake of power, wealth, position or various sections or special interest groups who offer resistance for the sake of their vested interests, such an ignorant soldier or mercenary would not be, in fact, practicing patience for the sake of human ideals but are in reality would be actively opposing the Truth.
Superficially, we might see such cases as being framed as ‘an example of practising patience’. But, this is quite opposite to, and indeed antithetical to the patience practiced by pious individuals on the road towards perfection for the sake of attaining closeness and abiding by the teachings of God.
If we however, are to look at the lexical meaning of patience; then both cases can be deemed to share it equally.
In such cases, patience is not practiced for the accomplishment of human perfection and ideals, but rather for their suppression.
Here the resistance that was made, was not against the forces of mischief, corruption and degradation, but instead it was against the shining manifestations of human perfection.
Therefore, this domain of patience is not the domain as defined in the traditions or within the Holy Quran.
It could, therefore, be concluded that patience maybe defined as a means of achieving perfection, excellence and exaltedness, where a human endeavours and makes sincere efforts for the ultimate goal of creation, to become a true servant of God.
His personality, ultimately becomes a manifestation of all the hidden potential of human talents and characteristics. In other words, he achieves the status of becoming a ‘perfect human being’ (al-Insaan al-Kamil).
At this stage, all the internal and external obstacles (as discussed earlier), which complement each other, and in any case are manifestations of Satanic traits, stratagems and tactics, are resisted by the person on his journey, moving ever forwards.
On this road, there are all kinds of dangers, headaches, obstacles and more that await the traveller. The opposition provided by them varies in proportion to the travellers location, movement and duties.
Sometimes, for discharging a duty, one is confronted with a direct obstacle. other times, he maybe confronted by an indirect barrier on his path.
For the mountain climber, trying to scale the highest peaks, confrontation with rocks, thorns, thieves and wolves - for example - are all tantamount to a negative force interfering with his ascent.
But, sometimes a beautiful scene, a comfortable soft bed, a shaky (or weak) companion are also negative forces of another sort, that force the mountaineer to abandon his ascent.
More so, at other times, it could be his own sickness, or he has to care for a sick companion, or he might be confronted with another mishap, which ultimately forces him to terminate his expedition.
This last case, maybe regarded as an indirect obstacle in his path.
The analogy of the mountain climber is also true for the journey of man on the road to perfection.
He is confronted with three kinds of obstacles during his journey.
If the compulsory duties and obligations of religion maybe considered as the instruments and steps required for the forward march on the road to perfection, the forbidden acts within religion may be regarded as a diversion from the straight path.
And, if the unforeseen bitter happenings of life, at the time of restlessness and instability are considered responsible for slowing down and ultimately cutting short his journey, then the obstacles and opposing motives could also be divided into the following three categories:
Desires and passions, which are responsible for the negligence of compulsory religious obligations.
Desires and tendencies, which encourage man to indulge in sinful activities.
Unforeseen, unhappy happenings which result in breaking his resolve, courage and steadfastness.
Patience, means resistance against all three types of barriers, and providing moral courage and the necessary momentum for the traveller to continue his journey ever forwards on the road towards perfection.
It offers resistance against those desires and tendencies that discourage a man from performing his compulsory obligations.
Patience, enables resistance against the desires for indulging in sinful forbidden activities and provides the zeal and strength to be able to tolerate the unforeseen and unhappy occurrences, which threaten to break his determination and resolve.
With the explanation we have just discussed, one may appreciate the context of this important narration (hadeeth) from the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings be upon him and his pure family, as narrated by the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali, peace and blessings be upon him, which is as follows:
“The Prophet of Allah has said: ‘Patience is of three kinds:
Patience in tragedies and unpleasant events,
Patience in the performance of compulsory obligations, and
Patience against sin”
At all of the above mentioned occasions, such as the occurrence of a tragic unfortunate happenstance, resulting in the loss of life, property, or both - as an example, a situation requiring the performance of compulsory obligations, and an alluring sinful pleasure tempting him to indulge in a forbidden act; a type of patience is required where the human being could manifest or display the most superior and heroic potential of his hidden exalted qualities.
In order for us to fully and completely understand these three types of patience, and given their criticality and importance in the human condition and journey, we will now discuss them all in depth.
In this paper we will cover the first - which is Patience in the Performance of Obligations (Obedience) - and in the next part (Part 5) we will cover the subject of Patience against Sin, and following that in Part 6, we will cover Patience against Unpleasant Events (tragedies, disasters, catastrophes).
Patience in the Performance of Obligations (Obedience)
All duties and compulsory obligations are accompanied with some headaches and/or inconveniences. In other words, they demand some amount of effort and involvement (positive or negative), which are at odds with the easy going and comfort loving nature of the human being.
Starting from the personal compulsory religious obligations such as prayers and fasting, to the financial obligations of ‘khums’ and ‘zakaat’, as well as collective social obligations such as the hajj, the separation from family and loved ones, sacrificing all the comforts and pleasures of life, and sometimes even self-sacrifice itself becomes a necessity.
Of course, this does not match or to quote a colloquialism ‘this doesn’t jive’ with the easy going and comfort loving nature of man. This holds true for all the laws of the world, be they heavenly or man-made (secular), be they right or wrong.
Although in principle, the law itself has been a necessity and for the same reason it is accepted by mankind, but generally nowhere, has it ever been accepted as something convenient, desirable or sweet by humanity.
The same holds true for the most common international laws and regulations. the benefits of which are clear for all, and their violation can result in serious consequences. An example of this, that everyone can understand, are basic traffic laws.
Passing through a red light results in the most horrible accidents, sometimes even leading to a loss of life, or lives.
Although everyone is fully aware of the consequences of traffic law violations, despite being aware of them, it is common that while waiting at a red light, the inner human nature is not comfortable, and feels a great inconvenience; sometimes there are even whispers that ‘this traffic light is broken, it is stuck on red’.
The case is similar, for when a person cannot drive through a short cut, because a traffic sign might prohibit them going the wrong way down - for example - a one way street, again this can feel very uncomfortable.
Although, the compulsory religious obligations are based on upon the inherent human nature (fitrah, innate self), and are without exception, designed and crafted to meet its genuine demands, and indeed, are in reality a means and instruments to lead a human towards perfection and exaltation. Despite that, it must be said that in practice, it requires effort, and can create the illusion of difficulties.
For example, in order to perform the compulsory daily prayers, one has to spend some time, he must clean his hands and face before the prayer, that is perform his ablutions (the wudhu), he has to meet the baseline requirements regarding the dress code and indeed location of the prayer, all of which must be in accordance to the religious guidelines.
It is clear, that - even prior to the act of praying - the above are in conflict with the easy going nature of humanity.
During the performance of the daily prayers, to control ones thoughts and to achieve that peace of heart and mind, strictly for prayers, instead of becoming preoccupied with other thoughts, worldly matters, why is that frame crooked, what is that draft, etc, etc, anything other than God, this is very important.
Indeed, in order for the prayer to be deemed meaningful, and accepted by God, and valuable to the human praying, it is important to strive to ensure that all other thoughts and ideas, all distractions should be thoroughly closed off during prayer.
Indeed, in his book ‘the Secrets of the Prayer’ (Sirr as-Salaat), Imam Khomeini, may God bless his pure soul, describes the presence of the heart as follows:
“During prayers, one must try to completely cut off the heart’s preoccupation with worldly affairs. If a person is submerged in love and desires of this world, naturally his heart is busy continuously from one involvement to another.
The heart behaves like a bird, jumping from one branch to another.
As long as we have this tree of worldly ambitions and desires (hubb ad-dunya) in our heart, it will behave in a restless manner. If, by our struggles, practices, efforts and reflections regarding the severe consequences and losses of succumbing to these distractions.
If we can successfully cut this tree of worldly ambition or desires, then our hearts would become reposed, and be at peace. It will take us towards attaining perfection.
As the person tries to free himself from the charms of this world, from the temptations of this world, the more he succeeds in cutting the branches, the roots and stems of this tree in his heart, he will see that the result is that the presence of the heart will be enhanced buy the same proportion (to his fighting to free himself).”
Furthermore, Imam Khomeini goes on to explain the term ‘hubb ad-dunya’ thusly:
“There are people who do not possessing anything at all of this mortal world, but they still could be the persons totally submerged in the love of this world. While on the contrary, one maybe like Prophet Sulayman ibn Dawood (Solomon the son of David), the king of kings and possessing all the treasures of this universe, but at the same time may not be a man of this world, and be completely distant from it.”
Off course, achieving the aforementioned state of heart and mind requires a lot of efforts, a lot of energy, a lot of discipline and is a difficult undertaking.
Another example is that of fasting, which requires the tolerance of hunger and thirst for long periods. To resist and struggle against the appetite for eating and drinking, to restrain the eyes from looking at forbidden things of beauty, and to resist sexual passions are difficult tasks requiring tremendous amount of resistance.
In spite of possessing appetising foods and drinks, to be able to impose a voluntary self-restriction, to spend a long summer’s day with an empty stomach and dry lips, of course, this requires a lot of strength, a lot of power and a lot of strong and resolute determination.
Then there is the idea of hajj, which requires tolerating the inconveniences of the process of obtaining the visas - which especially now has become extremely complicated, not to mention significantly more expensive, then there is the journey, the long distance, separation from home and relatives, friends and colleagues, the joining into groups of unknown companions, and the large amount of expense and time required.
If hajj is performed only for the sake of attaining nearness to and for the pleasure of God, without any motive of leisure, or ‘eating at a halal MacDonalds’ or marvelling and being intoxicated by the opulence and decadence of some of the buildings and the trappings of luxury on offer there, then this will also require a great deal of patience and self-sacrifice.
The obligations regarding ‘enjoining the good’ (amr bil ma’rouf') and ‘forbidding the evil’ (nahi anil munkar), as well as jihad (striving for the Truth), require a great deal of hardship, sacrifice, fortitude and patience.
Speaking the Truth in the face of the forces of falsehood, of corruption, of evil, is the most dangerous, unpleasant and bitter act. It can be thought akin to standing in front of a brutal tyrant, who’s unsheathed sword is ready to come down on the head of any proclaimer or promoter of Truth.
It can be thought of as being like facing enemies who are savage beasts, the glint of their electrifying eyes and swords stun and terrify the heart and soul of superficial observers. Or to be able to offer resistance against the waves of corruption and diversion of a nation, a class, or of mankind as a whole, is the hardest, most dangerous and most menacing task of all.
Similarly, it is the case with other Islamic obligations, which are accompanied by headaches, hardships and inconveniences, but at the same time, and without exception, all of which are beneficial and essential as a means of guaranteeing the salvation and prosperity of humanity.
Certainly, for those who have recognised the straight path (sirat al-mustaqeem), have tasted the sweetness of walking on the difficult road for the sake of God, and the sacred and exalted aims of humanity, all of these difficulties are in fact not only tolerable, they are also desirable.
The same prayer for the men of God, who have tasted the sweetness of fervent prayer and remembrance of God is something sweeter than honey.
The Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his pure family, at the time of prayers, would become restless and eager, such that he used to tell his companion, Bilal - who was the one who made the call to prayer, and who himself had made a great and sacred resistance in his journey towards the Truth - the Prophet would tell Bilal:
“Oh Bilal, please recite the call for prayer (the Adhaan), and make my heart and soul peaceful”
The same struggles for the sake of God (jihad fi sabeel Allah), for the self indulgent people, those without any insight for the ultimate consequences, is extremely harsh and undesirable, but for someone with high spiritual insight and power, such as Imam Ali, peace and blessings be upon him, is sweeter than honey.
For him, all inconveniences and hardships in this struggle result in strengthening his power of resistance and steadfastness.
He himself describes the astonishing state of his morale in Sermon 56 (In the company of the Prophet) of Nahjul Balagha as follows:
“Together with the holy Prophet we fought our own fathers, sons, brothers, and uncles, (but all these unpleasant events had the least influence upon us), except that these increased our faith to surrender ourselves completely to God and made the hard things tolerable for us.”
But in general, these difficulties and hardships as they are experienced by those with weaker spiritual insight and for those who are not possessed of the required determination and will-power, are deemed bitter and undesirable.
Now, what is to be done regarding these difficulties that exist in discharging religious obligations?
Since the offering of the daily prayers, the compulsory daily prayers, is difficult, presence of heart during prayers and curbing the roaming and wondering thoughts us even harder. Since fasting, jihad, hajj, charity, enjoining the good, forbidding the evil, and other social obligations, require pains and inconveniences, then should these all be declared as invalid or void?
Should we therefore, be allowed to live our lives according to the desires of the heart, which is filled with passions and a spirit that yearns for, and indeed loves great ease, luxury and all the comforts of life?
It is here that, the true Islam of Muhammad, tell us ‘No!’. Instead, patience must be practiced. Patience in obedience must be practiced against those passions that seek to lure the heart away from the prayer mat, from the masjid, from the alter (mihrab), luring the heart away and preoccupying it with countless amusements, making the entire notion of prayer something devoid of depth, indeed rendering it somewhat meaningless, and akin to a series of aerobic exercises.
Patience must be practiced, in earnest, and with great resolve, against these kinds of desires, and every effort must be made to ensure that prayers are offered with presence of the heart and mind, with concentration and understanding. This is such that they are accepted by God, and indeed are fruitful for us.
Patience must be offered against any negative and indeed arguably extremist tendencies, that tempt us to enjoy eating and drinking on a hot dry day, instead of fasting.
Patience must be practiced in confrontations with the enemies on and off the battlefields, where the dangers and threats show their real faces and there is a direct kinetic threat of the red death.
The pleasures and sweetness of life, memories of children, relatives, the faces of loved ones, the worldly trades and businesses in one way or another can attract the attention of man, thereby weakening his resolve or attempting to attract his attention.
In such situations great resistance must be offered against these forces and obstacles; and indeed all efforts must be made to remove such obstacles, barriers, distractions and such from the path.
Patience must too be offered in the face of the arrogant tyrant, who’s eyes burn with anger and rage, and who’s transgressions and corruption has pushed a nation to the brink of catastrophe. Such a tyrant must be opposed by every responsible individual. In this situation, from an Islamic judicial perspective, it is a compulsory obligation for everyone to work to over throw such a despot within their capacity and abilities.
Patience should be practiced against the insidious whispers of Satan, who with a plethora of deceptions will try to close charitable hands, by reminding one of their own personal needs, rather than helping others, who will incite desires for material things, and other worldly ambitions and will ultimately seek to prevent a person from moving towards and performing righteous activities.
Indeed, he will try to emphasise that the light in ones own home is more important than that in another’s house. Here, patience comes into the picture by offering the necessary resolve to resist such desires, to rise above such obstacles, to enable one to successfully discharge his financial, religious and societal obligations.
Yes! Patience should be practiced. Yes! One should be patient in obedience and the fulfilment of these religious commands. Resistance should be offered against the Satanic whispers and passions that constantly call and encourage transgressions.
Each case, where such resistance is offered, assumes a special meaning, and a special importance in proportion to magnitude and greatness of that specific situation or scenario.
In one scenario, resistance might mean to be steadfast in facing the enemy on the battlefield, or it may be in confronting the self, and sometimes it may be to struggle with the pangs of poverty and other difficulties and to be able to rise above them.
Therefore, patience means to be able to offer resistance in all the above circumstances. Patience never allows us to surrender, to bend the proverbial knee, to be insulted or humiliated, to give up the initiative and to become the prisoner of events and eventualities.
Examples of Patience in Obedience in the Lives of the Infallible Imams
Amongst the key phrases that has been strongly emphasised in the salutations that are made to the Imams is that of patience. We say:
“You (Oh Imams), remained patient and this patience was practiced with pleasure for the sake of God.
You accepted the heavy load of carrying the Truth, and in spite of all the difficulties and hardships you delivered it to its final destination”
Truly, the responsibility of guiding humanity and explaining to them the true religion of Truth, resisting tyranny, corruption and transgression during the time of our Imams, as in any time, was and is an extremely difficult and challenging task. One that requires great patience and strong determination.
If the practice practiced by the Imams would have been such that, although unhappy about the bad condition of their times, with hearts bleeding for the worsening plight of the Muslims and Islam, indeed of the oppressed per-say, had they confined themselves to the safe boundaries of their homes, without taking any real steps, any concrete steps towards the destruction of evil and towards the betterment of the situation in favour of the community, then this type of patience would not have been anything of great significance, it would not have had any special distinction, prestige or honour.
There is nothing special in such inert behaviour, and anyone can do that with ease, and off course this is what is practices by weak and uncommitted people.
The prominence and glory which distinguishes the lives of the blessed Imams, and the special characteristics which are repeated when reciting the salutations to them, as mentioned, was their patience in being obedient to God.
This is an area in which many regular people find themselves helpless, and can not tolerate the hardships and therefore fail to achieve that honour and distinction.
The Holy Quran on Patience in Obedience
It would not be out of turn to remind here that amongst the tens of verses in the Holy Quran regarding patience, and the patience of those who have been patient, there are many verses that speak explicitly of Patience in Obedience.
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ حَرِّضِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَى الْقِتَالِ ۚ إِن يَكُن مِّنكُمْ عِشْرُونَ صَابِرُونَ يَغْلِبُوا مِائَتَيْنِ ۚ وَإِن يَكُن مِّنكُم مِّائَةٌ يَغْلِبُوا أَلْفًا مِّنَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ لَّا يَفْقَهُونَ
O Prophet! Rouse the believers to battle. If there are twenty steadfast (patient) among you, they will defeat two hundred; and if there are a hundred of you, they will defeat a thousand of those who disbelieve; because they are a people who do not understand.
Quran, Surah al-Anfaal (the Chapter of the Spoils of War) #8, Verse 65
The above verse emphasises the importance of offering resistance, and being steadfast while confronting the interior motives within the self, which act as obstacles in the path of a soldier facing an enemy in the battlefield.
The patient people mentioned in the verse, are those that neither the flashing swords, the missiles, the ‘bunker buster bombs’, nor the angry faces and rhetoric of the enemies and the red death, nor the memories of friends and children, and pleasures and the charms of life, stop. Nothing can stop them in discharging their obligations to engage in bloody hostilities in the battlefield in defence of the oppressed. And none of the above fears make even the slightest dent in their iron will in obeying God.
Another verse from the Holy Quran regarding the importance of Patience in Obedience is as follows:
وَلَمَّا بَرَزُوا لِجَالُوتَ وَجُنُودِهِ قَالُوا رَبَّنَا أَفْرِغْ عَلَيْنَا صَبْرًا وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَنَا وَانصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ
And when they confronted Goliath and his troops, they said, “Our Lord, pour down patience on us, and strengthen our foothold, and support us against the disbelieving people.”
Quran, Surah al-Baqarah (the Chapter of the Cow) #2, Verse 250
This verse refers to a group of believers, who in order to discharge a compulsory obligation had readied themselves to confront an enemy in the battlefield. They are asking God to bless them with the spirit of endurance, of resistance, of steadfastness in facing the obstacles in their path, and thereby bestow upon them the fruits of their endurance, which is achieving victory over their enemies (the oppressors).
This verse very explicitly and clearly explains the meaning of patience in obedience.
There are many such verses in Quran, and a very detailed discussion of them is outside the scope of this discussion.
This is how we can understand - and of course - much more can be discussed on patience in obedience; but this will suffice for now.
As is the norm in these papers; it is always important to reflect and remember the epic of Ashura, and the countless lessons contained therein, especially when it comes to patience in obedience.
Earlier, we had spoken about Imam Ali, when he referenced the fervent and beautiful remembrance of God, as being ‘sweeter than honey’, yet in Kerbala, we remember the son of Imam Hasan, the grandson of Imam Ali, Qassim ibn al-Hassan; who was a very young man.
According to some accounts he was aged 14, others say 16, suffice it to say he was a very young man. Yet, his level of understanding, made him realise and articulate that to make the sacred resistance on the day of Ashura, which would almost certainly result in his death, in his martyrdom; was sweeter to him than honey.
This really warrants great reflection; and indicates that the power of patience possessed by this young man, against all the myriad of desires that would have been fighting him internally - not to mention the countless arrows, swords and spears that would have attacked him externally as he came out on the battlefield - was truly profound.
I am reminded of the young children of Palestine, who stand tall against the mighty tanks of the Zionist terrorist occupation, and throw stones at them, knowing the great danger they put themselves in, but knowing that this is more beautiful, and to go down standing is infinitely better than to live a life where you have betrayed everything, and have succumbed to the tyrants.
And this was the martyr Abu Ibrahim, Yahya Sinwar, who even to the last moments of his blessed life, never bent the knee, stayed standing, and resolute against the cowardly forces of Zionist child killing terrorists; looked them square in the eye; and told them, “you can kill me, but you can never corrupt me, you can never break me, for I have my strength, and I have my God, and you have nothing, and hell is your eternal abode”
And from Him alone is all ability and He has authority over all things.
To Ruhullah, Abu Hadi, Hajj Qassem, Abu Ibrahim, Abu Mahdi and Zulfiqaar, you taught us, you helped us, you guided us, and even though you left us, you are with us, and will always be, until - by His grace - we are reunited at the most beautiful well of Kawthar, along with Abu Turab.