Photo by Jack Moreh
You wake upon this morning hastily beginning your day,
You forgot what surrounds you,
You sped through your time,
Sped through when you pray.
You circled and circled
And your mind kept to wonder,
Why does the Lord not accept my rites?
For the problem lies within,
Patience was not stoked upon,
For surely, It can be your might!
We have seen countless times how mastering the concept of sabr; or patience; can be a person’s ultimate grace. It can be mastered easily and one that can grant many keys. For the doors could open but the lock remains. One cannot open these locks, however, if he can’t master the great and fundamental keys to Sabr (patience). For the Rabb(the Lord); blesses baraka (blessings) on those who mastered its way. For surely, The Rabb has shown the beauty of this concept in the words of the holy Quran.
As Verily the Rabb said in the Quran;
“Oh you who believe! Persevere in patience and constancy. Vie in such perseverance, strengthen each other, and be pious, that you may prosper” (Quran, 3:200)
Look deep into this verse! For keeping that patience in tough times could lead to your greatest prosperity. Because in these tough times more than ever, Your Rabb is with you as long as you keep your sabr.
A great Islamic philosopher, Rumi; inscribes to
“Practice patience; it is the essence of praise. Have patience, for that is true worship. No other worship is worth as much. Have patience; patience is the key to all relief.” -Rumi
And truly by all means, it is the key to all relief. If you think deeply, you are best at solving your problems when you take a step back, analyze and create important strategies to solve your problems.
“I just am not seeing success in what I do. It’s just not happening…”
You have to wait for everything! A book I read a while back, The Atomic Habits (A book I recommend reading) by James Clear, describes success as mostly exponential and not linear. Let’s take a real-life example, the gym per se. First, you won’t see gains in the beginning when working out. But as time progresses and you remain consistent, it is then you see your muscle gains. But this progress is undeniably exponential rather than linear. And so is success in life…
“Everyone is gaining success while I'm not?”
Don't be disheartened by that! Why you may ask? Because everyone’s pace is different! For instance, let’s take the example of Colonel Sanders from KFC. You’d see he garnered his success only after age 40. It was when he least expected it! And this franchise that he would gain success in his later years of life would not just be any fast food chain. It would become a global staple for fried chicken!
“Sire, how can one learn to keep patience?”
There are many ways one can master sabr. One way is to develop a mindset of keeping peace and tranquility, especially in times of turbulence. To get to this state, one must put themselves in an environment that promotes that peace and tranquility. One way to put himself into that environment from my experience has been meditation. When one meditates, he is one with his mind and his soul. This helps to alleviate the problems that stand in front of him.
Another way to greatly help would be to indulge in Dhikr and be fully focused when performing prayer. This way a person can connect to his Rabb and keep mindful of all the blessings that Rabb granted.
As verily the Rabb said in the Quran;
“Why would God cause you to suffer if you are grateful and believe? God is always responsive to gratitude, the All-Knowing”(Quran, 4:147)
And doing all of these habits in essence is a form of meditation as it brings a person’s mind and soul with the all mighty Rabb. Which helps a person feel humble and thankful despite the problems in this world that he or she may face.
And through these methods of inner realization and inner peace one can reach the state where he can master sabr in all of its essence. This is accomplished through strengthening one's relationship between themselves and the Rabb. As it can be the key to that inner peace and inner realization. And when one gains those two attributes, behold! he has mastered sabr.