Every person has to
exercise patience in order to face difficulties, whether he does so willingly
or unwillingly. The noble person exercises patience willingly, because he
realizes the benefits of patience, and he knows that he will be rewarded for
his patience and will be criticized if he panics. He is aware that if he does
not have patience, panicking and impatience will not
help him to regain missed opportunities, and will NOT take
away things he dislikes. Whatever is decreed and is qada’ wa qadr cannot be
prevented from happening, and whatever is decreed not to happen cannot be made
to happen. So an attitude of impatience and panic actually causes harm.
A wise man said: “A man
with wisdom as soon as adversity appears does that which a foolish man does
after a month (i.e. he resorts to patience)”.
The ignoble man exercises patience only when he
realizes he has NO choice. After wasting a lot of time and energy and panicking
and struggling, he realizes that his impatience will not help him. Then he
exercises patience in the same way that a person who has been tied up to be
whipped exercises patience.
The noble person practices patience in obeying Allaah,
whilst the ignoble person exercises patience in obeying the Shaytan. So the
ignoble person has the greatest patience in following their own whims and
desires, and has the least patience in obeying their Lord. They have the
greatest patience in spending in the way of Shaytan and no patience when it
comes to spending even a few pennies in the way of Allaah. They will endure
many difficulties in order to follow their own whims and desires, but cannot
bear even the least difficulties in order to please their Lord. They will
endure slander for the sake of committing wrong action, but cannot exercise
patience in putting up with slander for the sake of Allaah. Such people will
avoid enjoining the good and forbidding the evil for fear of what people will
say about them for doing so, but they will expose their honour to slander and
bear it most patiently for the sake of following their own whims and desires.
Similarly, they are not prepared to practice patience in devoting themselves to
Allaah, but when it comes to devoting themselves to Shaytan and their own whims
and desires, they will exercise remarkable patience. Such people will never be
noble in the sight of Allaah, and on the Day of Resurrection they will not be
raised with the people of nobility and decency."
[The
Patience of Noble People and the Patience of Ignoble People: Ibnul Qayyim al-Jawziyyah]
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