Your Fourth Question: What is the wisdom and purpose of the verse, “Allah is with those who patiently persevere?”

YOUR FOURTH QUESTION

What is the purpose and aim of the saying,

Allah is with those who patiently persevere?

T h e A n s w e r : As required by His Name of All-Wise, Almighty Allah placed in all things an arrangement like the steps of stairs. An impatient man does not act with slow deliberation, and so either skips some of the steps and falls, or leaves some deficient; he cannot mount to the roof of his goal. Thus, greed is the cause of loss. Patience however is the key to all difficulties, and the saying, “The greedy is subject to disappointment and loss,” and the Hadith, “Patience is the key to happiness,”¹ have become like proverbs. That is to say, Almighty Allah’s grace and favour is with the patient. For patience is threefold:

The First is to patiently persevere in refraining from sin; this patience is taqwa, and manifests the meaning of the verse:

Allah is with those who fear Him and restrain themselves.²

The Second is patience in the face of calamity; this to place one’s trust in Allah and to submit to Him. It is to be honoured by the manifestation of these verses:

Allah loves the patient.³ * Allah loves those who put their trust in Him.⁴

As for impatience, it amounts to complaining about Allah, and to criticizing His actions, accusing His mercy, and not liking His wisdom. For sure, man is weak and powerless, and weeps complainingly at the blows of misfortune, but his complaint must be to Him, not about Him. It should be like the words of Jacob (Upon whom be peace):

He said: I only complain of my distraction and anguish to Allah.⁵

That is to say, he should complain to Allah, not lament saying: “What have I done that this should have happened to me?” as though complaining to other human beings about Allah; to excite the sympathy of impotent humans is harmful and meaningless.

The Third Sort of Patience is patient perseverance in worship, which raises a person to the station of being beloved of Allah. It urges a person towards perfect worship of Allah and servitude of Him, which is the most elevated station.
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1. al-Manawi, al-Fayd al-Kabir vi, 298 no: 9318; al-‘Ajluni, Kashf al-Khafa’ ii, 21.
2. Qur’an, 2:194, etc.
3. Qur’an, 3:146.
4. Qur’an, 3:159.
5. Qur’an, 12:86.