Ramadan Reveries: Part 3 - Patience

Dear Reader,

Seeing as it's Friday (Jummah), and it's recommended to read Surah Kahf every Friday, I thought I'd share one of my favourite stories from this Surah: a story from the life of Prophet Moses (AS). It's rather long and spans 22 ayat [18:60-82] so I'm just going to give you an abbreviated version, with a bit of background. 

Prophet Moses was raised as a prince in the Pharaoh's household, so he was physically very strong, but he also was a bit hot-tempered and was used to having his way. In his youth he had even killed an Egyptian man, accidentally of course, and with a single punch at that. So after he had Prophethood bestowed upon him, Allah (swt) sent him on a journey to seek wisdom from a man that Allah had gifted with much knowledge. On this journey Moses (AS) took with him one companion, a servant boy, and some salted fish. Allah (swt) told him that when they reach the junction of two seas, will be where they would find the wise man (Al-Khidhr). 

It was a long and arduous journey in the heat and deserts of the middle-east, but Prophet Moses (AS) did not give up and persisted on carrying on walking. One morning, after they had travelled very far, Moses (AS) said to his companion, "bring my some of that fish to eat." The boy, looking rather anguished, replied "Satan must have made me forget, but a little while back, while you were taking a nap by the rock, the fish amazing came back to life, leapt out of the bag and swam away into the sea."

The Prophet Moses (AS) smiled at him and began to back-track, saying "That is a sign from Allah, and exactly what we have been seeking." And it was at the junction of the two seas that they found Al-Khidhr. (Aside: his name actually means 'The Green one', make of that what you will.) Moses (AS) respectfully asked him "May I follow you and be your student, so that you may teach me about good judgement?" He replied "Indeed, you will not have patience with me. And how can you have patience about something you do not know?"

A children's book that also tells this story,
by Saniyasnain Khan 

"InshAllah, you will find me patient. And I will not dis obey your orders." So Al-Khidhr finally gave in to Moses' (AS) request and said "Okay, you may follow me. But do not question me or what I do, until I decide to give you an explanation." And so, they set out on a journey and soon came upon a little village by the river, whose sole source of income came from a boat they used to ferry people and goods across. Al-Khidhr and Moses (AS) embarked upon this boat, but when they were half-way across the river, Al-Khidhr damaged the boat. 


Moses (AS) exclaimed in surprise "Do you want these people to drown, they who have been so good to us? You have certainly committed an awful deed." To which Al-Khidhr only replied "Did I not say that you will not have patience with me?"  "Oh, I'm sorry," Moses (AS) repented, "I forgot. Please, do not make this difficult for me?"

Soon after, they disembarked from the boat and travelled a little further, where they came upon a group of children playing. Al-Khidhr went up to one of the older boys and killed him. Now this was an area with which Prophet Moses was particularly sensitive. Having accidentally killed someone himself, he knew of the dire consequences and feelings of guilt. So when he witnessed what Al-Khidhr did, he replied to him in anger "How can you do such a thing? He was just an innocent child! Truly, you have commited an awful crime."

All Al-Khidhr said was "Did I not tell you that you will never have patience with me?" Thoroughly chastised, Moses (AS) said "If I question you again, you should not keep me as your companion. I have given you my excuse." So they set out once more, travelling, until they came to a village that was rather hostile, and refused to provide them with food or shelter. But as they were leaving the village, they came across a wall that was crumbling and immediately Al-Khidhr began to rebuild it. Moses (AS), thinking that he had learnt his lesson, quietly help him with the repairs. When all was done, Al-Khidhr began to leave again and Moses (AS) couldn't help asking "Will you not take payment from them? Especially after they were so inhospitable to us?" 

"Moses," said Al-Khidhr calmly, "this is where we part ways. But before you leave, I will tell you the meaning behind those deed with which you could not have patience. Firstly, the damages that I made to the boat could easily be repaired, but the place where that boat was heading was ruled by tyrant King, who would have taken possession of the boat, had he found it in an immaculate condition. My deed was the lesser of two evils.

"As for that boy. His parents are good, righteous people and he would have caused them much trouble and heartache if he had grown to maturity. Now, in their grief, they will turn to Allah and He will bless them with another child, who will be purer and better for them. Finally, the wall we repaired belonged to two orphan boys. Beneath the wall, their father had hidden treasure for them. Had the wall crumbled, the treasure would have wrongly been taken by other people of the village. Now the two boys will find it when they are much older and will be able to use the treasure more wisely. And these are the things, with which you could not have patience."      
                   

And along with Moses (AS) we are also taught the lesson of patience. In addition to that, we  learn not to question why terrible things happen. In each of the three scenarios, something that seemed horrible/evil/useless on it's outset, had hidden benefits that would come to light later on, the knowledge of which Allah (swt) had given to Al-khidhr. So next time something bad happens to us, we should not breakdown in fits of rage or depression, but approach it with calm patience. Because it is sent from Allah (swt) and within every trial/hardship/calamity there is a blessing for us, which we cannot see in that moment but that Allah azza wajal knows about. "For indeed, with every hardship comes ease" [94:5].   

Plus, it's true what they used to say: "patience is a virtue." This becomes ever more important in these modern times when the entire world is just a click away. We see our patience and tolerance slowly deteriorating with each passing year: e.g. if the internet isn't loading, we refresh the page a million times. If we don't get the answers we're looking for immediately, we easily become frustrated and angry. If the queue at the shop counter is too long, we search for easier and quicker ways to get things done. If it become just slightly to hot, our immediate reaction is to turn on the fan or remove our clothes. If that elderly gentleman whose short of hearing, cannot understand what we're saying, our manner becomes loud and offensive. In this capitalist society, where "time is money", we no longer have time to be patient.

Allah (swt) knows all this. He foresaw that human nature is prone to impatience. That's why patience is something that is so often and continuously mentioned in the Qur'an. One of the reasons why we should read Surah Kahf ever Jummah is so that, once a week, we are reminding ourselves to be patient with whatever trials and calamities Allah (swt), in all His Wisdom, puts in our path. I've also written about patience before in this post, so check it out if you want to know more about the Qur'an.

May Allah (swt) bless us all with patience in our everyday life, strengthen our imaan with patience so that we may overcome every trial in this life, and reward our patience in the Hereafter. Ameen.

Nida

Perspective, Passion & Purpose

Dear Reader,

Though I only have nine days left before the deadline of an assignment and two exams, I thought I'd take some time out to share this video with you. Mashallah, I was really blown away by the confidence and talent of this sister. I hope she impresses you too and inspires you, as she has inspired me, to change and be the change towards a greater cause. Enjoy:

   

I'd love to read your thoughts on this. Leave them in the comments section below.
Nida

International Women's Day

Dear Reader,

After commenting on a post (by Shelina Zahra Janmohamed) about International Women's Day, I realised I had far more to say than what I wrote in the comment and so I decided to write a blog post about it. Shelina's post basically asked 'which Muslim women inspire you?' Considering this year's theme is Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women, my answer went something like this:

"There are two that I would particularly like to mention, who inspire me for the same reason: their desire to seek and spread knowledge. The first is Aisha (radiallah-hu-anha) the wife of the Prophet Muhammed's (PBUH), and the second is our contemporary Na’ima B. Robert. These two examples just go to show that no matter where you’re from or what time period you live in, knowledge has always been and always will be vital, not only for self-improvement, but also for the progress of society."

You see, I believe that the acquisition of knowledge is the best weapon against oppression. Because, if you are no longer ignorant of your what is going on, if you have knowledge of other cultures and beliefs, you are less likely to be prejudiced and stereotype people, and you are more able to stand up for your rights. In Islam, both men and women are repeatedly encouraged to seek out knowledge, not just about Islam but about all aspects of life. For example, there is a hadith (sayings and doings of the Prophet Muhammed [PBUH]) which states that the Prophet (PBUH) once said:

"If anyone travels on a road in search of knowledge, Allah will cause him to travel on one of the roads of Paradise ... The learned are the heirs of the Prophets, and the Prophets leave neither dinar nor dirham [Arabian currency], leaving only knowledge, and he who takes it takes an abundant portion" Dawud

However, it's not just good enough to accumulate lots of knowledge. You need to do two things once you've gained knowledge:

1) Spread it - hoarding knowledge is selfish! Plus, it's no good to anyone if no one knows about it, right? After all how do expect to bring about change if you don't tell people what you know? For example, imagine the first person who invented a specific language. If he/she hadn't taught other people to read or write that language, then the whole of humanity would have been as illiterate as monkeys today and we wouldn't have all these fancy electronic gadgets that we do now. Okay that example is a bit extreme. Well, how about one of the greatest leaders known to mankind, the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH), also known as Al-Mualim - The Teacher. When he received the first revelation from Allah (SWT) "Read! In the Name of your Lord Who has created (all that exists). Has created man from a clot (of blood). Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous, Who has taught man writing by the pen." (Surah Al-Alaq 96:1-5), he didn't just keep it to himself, he first told his wife Khadija (RA) and then the rest of the Arabs and thus began the spread of Islam, through the spread of knowledge.  

2) Use/apply it - knowledge without application is just information. For example, (given my field of study, this is obviously the first example that I will think up) suppose there was a medical student who finished his degree with flying colours, those 5 years of hard work and coffee and effort, finally paying off. Then at the end of it all he decides that he'd rather not get a job as a doctor, that he'd much rather stay at home and languish away his life in front of a T.V. What a waste! He has all the information on how to treat people but decides not to apply it for the good of his fellow man. I know, I know, he has free will and can decide to do whatever he wants with his life, but honestly, what was the point of all those years acquiring that information if he isn't going to put it to use and turn it into knowledge. Because knowledge, is not just about written words on paper, it also encompasses what we learn through our experiences.

Just the same, what we as Muslims learn from the Qur'an and Hadiths, if we apply it to our lives it becomes knowledge.       

But anyway, coming back to the reason I began this post: I leave you, dear reader, with the question: which women inspire you and why? 

Nida