By Babatunde Jose
Caliph Umar bin Khattab said: “The best life is that which is accompanied by patience.” ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib said: “Truly, patience is to faith as the head is to the body. If the head is severed, the body becomes wasted.” While Al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib said: “Patience is a treasure from the treasures of goodness, a treasure that Allah does not give away except to a slave (of His) whom He regards as being worthy.” And Allah, the Exalted, said: Only those who are patient shall receive their rewards in full, without reckoning. (Quran 39: 10). See also Job 42:10 in the Bible; 1 Corinthians 13:4; Philippians 4:6.; Ecclesiastes 7:9. And Romans 12:12. “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer”. These are worth reflecting upon.
For those who are down today, do not grieve because there is another life to come. The day will come when Allah gathers the first of the creation and the last of it. The knowledge of this occurrence alone should reassure you of Allah’s justice. It was Immanuel Kant, the German philosopher, who said, ‘The drama of this life is not complete; there must be a second scene to it, for we see the tyrant and his victims without seeing justice being executed. We see the conqueror and the subjugated, without the latter finding any revenge. Therefore, there must be another world, where justice will be carried out.” Ash-Shaykh ‘Ali at-Tantawi, commenting on this, said: This statement suggests a confession of the existence of a Hereafter where judgment will take place.
An Arab poet said: “If the minister and his delegates rule despotically, and the judge on earth is unjust in his judgments, (as we find in this clime today), then woe, followed by woe after woe upon the judge of the earth from the judge Who is above.” See (Quran 40: 17). And Psalmist said: Cease from anger and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. Psalm 37:8-9
Do not feel overly stressed when work piles up, Robert Louis Stevenson said: “Every person is capable of performing his daily tasks, no matter how difficult they are, and every person is capable of living happily during his day until the sun sets: and this is the meaning of life.”
Stephen Leacock said: “The young child says: when I will become a bigger boy. The Boy says: when I become a teenager, and when that time comes, he says: when I will marry. What about after marriage? And what comes after all these stages? One’s thoughts constantly follow the tune of the following: when I will be able to retire. But when one reaches old age and looks back, he is scorched by a cold wind. He lost out on his whole life that dwindled away without ever living inside of it. And thus, we learn, only when it is too late, that life is to be lived in every breathing minute and hour.” Such is the state of those who put off repenting from their sins.
One of our pious teachers said: “I warn you of delaying and saying that I will do it later, for procrastination is the thief of time.” Ref; (Quran 15: 3) (Quran 24: 40) (Quran 76: 3). Dante said: “Consider that this day will not occur again.” But better and more beautiful and complete is the hadith; “Pray as if it is your farewell prayer.” Whoever puts it into his mind that today is his last day, will make a fresh repentance, will do good deeds, and will strive to be obedient to his Lord.
Many of our people bestride the land like colossi, master of all they see, tyrannical and uncaring for the plight of the common man. They have forgotten that they are mere mortals and like mortals, they will leave this realm one day to face their maker. What will be their reward? They amass and accumulate senselessly without recourse to what will become of their pyric treasures. On the day they are interned, nothing will follow them to the grave: In the words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. Ecclesiastes 1: 1-5.
Contemplate these verses: And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out [from every difficulty]. And He will provide him from [sources] he never could imagine. And whosoever puts his trust in Allah, then He will suffice him. (Quran 65: 2-3) Allah will grant after hardship, ease. (Quran 65: 7) See also (Qur’an 2: 137), (Qur’an 25: 58, (Qur’an 5: 52) and (Qur’an 53: 58)
Depression weakens the body and the soul and as Alexis Carlyle, a Nobel-laureate in medicine, said: “Working people who do not know how to deal with anxiety and stress are more prone than others are to a premature death.” Indeed, everything that takes place occurs according to a divine decree. A person must nonetheless take the necessary steps to avoid difficulties, and so Carlyle rightly points out that anxiety is one of the factors that lead to the body being damaged.
And those who pardon men; verily, Allah loves the good doer. (Quran 3: 134) Among the more salient lessons that we should learn from this verse is that we should have a sound heart, peace of mind, calm nerves, and a feeling of happiness.
Doctor William Mark Gaungil, while addressing the Federation of American Dentists, remarked: “Unhappy feelings like anxiety and fear possibly affect the distribution of calcium in the body, and in consequence, can lead to tooth decay.” William James said: “God forgives us our sins, but our nervous systems do not.”
May Allah speed us in the performance of good deeds and reward us with His mercy, forgiveness, generosity and bring us closer to Him. Amin!
Barka Juma’at and Ramadan Kareem.
