PATIENCE AS WORSHIP

When the time for prayer arrives and the call to prayer (adhan) is heard from the mosque, a believer feels joy that the time has come to perform prayer and earn its reward. Similarly, when the crescent moon of Ramadan is sighted, Muslims rejoice, recognizing that the month has arrived to fast and attain its blessings.

In the same way, there is another great form of worship, referred to in religious teachings as patience (sabr). The Quran says that those who practice patience will receive a reward beyond measure (39:10). A hadith says, “No one has been given a better or vaster gift than patience.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 6470) Patience is a form of worship—indeed, it is among the greatest of all acts of devotion.

The reward for the afternoon (‘Asr) prayer is immense, but it cannot be performed at noon. The extraordinary reward of fasting in Ramadan cannot be gained by fasting in the month of Muharram. Likewise, the worship of patience can only be performed in situations that demand it—it is not possible to offer this form of worship in times of ease and comfort.

So, when does the opportunity for patience arise? It comes when you are provoked, mistreated, or when someone says something that wounds your ego. The opportunity to practice patience arises only in adversity, not in ease.

Most people, when faced with such situations, lose their temper. They fall into negative thinking. But if they were to realize that this is actually a moment for worship, they would greet it the same way they welcome the time for prayer or fasting.

A moment of patience is a moment of spiritual elevation. When such a moment comes, one should believe with certainty that this is the time to demonstrate a great act of devotion—and thereby become deserving of a great reward.