Surat-al-Baqara 2:155
"And most certainly shall We try you by means of fear, and hunger, and loss of worldly goods, of selves and of [labour's] fruits. But give glad tidings unto those who are patient in adversity "
"And most certainly shall We try you by means of fear, and hunger, and loss of worldly goods, of selves and of [labour's] fruits. But give glad tidings unto those who are patient in adversity "
From the Tafseer al Kabir of Imam Razi
This verse is related to the verse of the same Surat 2: 45 "And seek support with patience and the prayers" meaning seek support as we will be testing you.
1. Earlier in verse 2:
152, Allah swt states " And be grateful unto Me, and deny Me not."
Added to " If you show yourself grateful, we will increase our [gifts to
you]". He informed thus that obedience to the proscribed rules leads
to blessings. He revealed that the following of those rules involves tests,
which require patience. Those tests function as follows: He gives gifts
and demands gratitude and sends trials and commands patience, in order for a
human being to reach the rank of Gratitude and Patience together. The Prophet
(saaws) stated: " Faith is 2 halves, one half patience and the other half
gratitude".
2 . How can we
attribute the acts of trials and tribulations of creation to Allah swt?
Earlier in the
same Surat Allah swt states 2: 124: "And remember that Abraham was
tried by his Lord with certain commands "; the wisdom of using this
verse as an introduction to the present one is so that the believers become
familiar with the notion of trials and so that their terror decreases.
This also serves to inform them that they will be tried without any doubt so
that whoever among the believers is a hypocrite will move away from the new
revelation for fear of trial. Exclusive Devotion to Allah (Ikhlas) and turning
to the door of Allah (swt) during a state of trial and difficulties is a
greater proof of sincerity than Ikhlas when life opens its door to the
believer.
3. Know then that all
that you may encounter in life of what you may like or dislike can be divided
into 1) what exists now 2) what existed in the past 3) and what will exist in
the future. If what went on in the past goes through your mind we call that
memory or remembrance, and if it is present, we call it taste or Wajd (also
used to denote states of rapture), the latter is so named because it is a state
that you find in your self (WJD root= Found) , and if you think of something in
the future and your thinking overcomes your heart, we call it expectation. If
the expected is disliked, it causes a pain in the heart named fear and anxiety
while if the expected is beloved it causes repose, so that repose is hope while
fear is the pain of the heart awaiting what it is disliked by it.
4. Hunger from famine,
loss of belongings and of selves, of family members; and loss of fruits refers
to the death of children according to Imam al-Shafei.
"But give glad tidings unto those who are patient in adversity "
Know then that
Patience under those circumstances is a duty as He knows that all of those
trials and hardships occur in justice and wisdom; as for those who are not
settled in their faith, those are the ones described in Surat al-Hajj 22 :11 "There are among
men some who serve Allah, as it were, on the verge: if good befalls them, they
are, therewith, well content; but if a trial comes to them, they turn on their
faces: they lose both this world and the Hereafter: that is loss for all to
see! "
Difficulties that are
due to the injustice of others must not be borne with, guarding against them or
fighting those injustices is allowed, even commanded.
Imam al Ghazali
stated: "Know then that Patience is a quality of human beings not expected
in angels or in animals; the former because of their perfection, the latter
because of their imperfection. The animals are preys to their instinctual
desires, which are not opposed by an intellect, so that one could not observe
in them a steadfast opposition between the force of the intellect and the
desire, a state which is what we call Patience (Sabr). As for the angels, they
are dedicated to the longing for the Divine Presence and the enjoyment of the
station of Nearness from the Presence (Qurb); they are not prey to instinctual
desires, which require the opposition of other forces.
As for man, in his young age he is as an animal, with desires for food, then for play, etc.. sexuality surfaces eventually, at this stage he still lacks the strength of Patience completely. With maturity, one sees the emergence of the force of the intellect calling to him to move away from the bare instinctual needs and to seek the other spiritual pleasures. It is this action of opposition that is called Patience.
Know also that there are two types of patience: the physical, which includes privations and tolerance for hard work and pain, and the psychological which entails holding back from the Nafs (worldly self) the various elements of instinctual and characterological desires; all those types of situations have been described under the rubric: patience, by Allah swt as he stated:
Surat al-baqara 2: 177:….. "and [truly pious are] they who keep their promises whenever they promise, and are patient in misfortune and hardship and in time of peril: it is they that have proved themselves true, and it is they, they who are conscious of God."
Al-Qaffal stated: " Patience does not imply that one does not feel the pain of what is disliked and it does not preclude the hatred of it, for that is not possible. It is rather that, patience is forcing the Nafs (the worldly self) not to show terror, by holding back sorrow and its manifestations even if profuse tears or change of color should appear”. The Prophet stated: " Patience is at the first impact"after which most people will show signs and traces of their sorrow and sadness which are expected.
As for man, in his young age he is as an animal, with desires for food, then for play, etc.. sexuality surfaces eventually, at this stage he still lacks the strength of Patience completely. With maturity, one sees the emergence of the force of the intellect calling to him to move away from the bare instinctual needs and to seek the other spiritual pleasures. It is this action of opposition that is called Patience.
Know also that there are two types of patience: the physical, which includes privations and tolerance for hard work and pain, and the psychological which entails holding back from the Nafs (worldly self) the various elements of instinctual and characterological desires; all those types of situations have been described under the rubric: patience, by Allah swt as he stated:
Surat al-baqara 2: 177:….. "and [truly pious are] they who keep their promises whenever they promise, and are patient in misfortune and hardship and in time of peril: it is they that have proved themselves true, and it is they, they who are conscious of God."
Al-Qaffal stated: " Patience does not imply that one does not feel the pain of what is disliked and it does not preclude the hatred of it, for that is not possible. It is rather that, patience is forcing the Nafs (the worldly self) not to show terror, by holding back sorrow and its manifestations even if profuse tears or change of color should appear”. The Prophet stated: " Patience is at the first impact"after which most people will show signs and traces of their sorrow and sadness which are expected.
Allah swt mentioned
patience in more than 70 verses of the Qur'an and praised it as a virtue, some
of the verses are:
32: 24 "And We appointed, from among
them, leaders, giving guidance under Our command, so long as they persevered
with patience"
28: 54 "These shall be given their wage twice over for that they patiently endured"
7:137" The fair promise of thy Lord was fulfilled for the Children of Israel, because they had patience and constancy"
39:10 "God will recompense the deeds of those who have exercised patience without keeping an account".
28: 54 "These shall be given their wage twice over for that they patiently endured"
7:137" The fair promise of thy Lord was fulfilled for the Children of Israel, because they had patience and constancy"
39:10 "God will recompense the deeds of those who have exercised patience without keeping an account".
Allah swt has promised those who are patient
that He will be with them:
8: 46 "Exercise patience; God is with those who have patience".
8: 46 "Exercise patience; God is with those who have patience".
He also promised them what he did not promise
anyone else:
2 :157 "They are those on whom (Descend) blessings from Allah, and Mercy, and they are the ones that receive guidance."
2 :157 "They are those on whom (Descend) blessings from Allah, and Mercy, and they are the ones that receive guidance."
And among the best
Ahadith on the subject in addition to what has been mentioned above, the
Prophet (saaws) stated: " The best of what humans have been endowed with
are certainty of belief and patience; whosoever has been given a generous
proportion of them should not worry about what he may have missed of night
prayers or days of fasting."
He also stated: "
Faith is Patience" similar to his saying: "Al-Hajj is
Arafat".
From all of the above
we can deduce that:
1. Trials are NOT punishment, as Allah swt has promised them to the believers including the companions of the Prophet.
2. When those trials are received with patience, they result in great advancement in the Path towards Allah swt.
3. All trials are from Allah swt despite what the people of dualism might say in attributing illnesses and problems to other than Allah and the astrologers who attribute them to the stars.
1. Trials are NOT punishment, as Allah swt has promised them to the believers including the companions of the Prophet.
2. When those trials are received with patience, they result in great advancement in the Path towards Allah swt.
3. All trials are from Allah swt despite what the people of dualism might say in attributing illnesses and problems to other than Allah and the astrologers who attribute them to the stars.
