On Patience

Patience is a virtue

I can recall myself having often cited this adage when doing simple things like waiting in a queue at a petrol pump or shop. However there is a deep wisdom behind these four words that stems in the realm of the acquisition of moral qualities.

Our brains are naturally finely tuned to develop habitual responses and programs, and where one is determined to harness the potential of our minds; patience plays a great role and seems like a good place to start.

I believe The Holy Qur’an, among many things, to be a book of neurology. I believe that The Holy Qur’an presents the perfect way to nurture one’s mind both physically and spiritually from birth until ripe old age.

The Holy Qur’an speaks of steadfastness and patience as being one of the hallmarks of belief and that one must go through a period of suffering and if he is patient, God will reward him.

The Holy Qur’an speaks of Prophet Job (Ayyub) as being adversely affected by suffering but he never lost his faith in God. God consequently rewarded him on account of his patience and bestowed upon him increased spirituality and divine favors.

I would like to share a small incident which is related to patience. I am currently in the middle of filming a theological documentary series. About a month ago my brand new Sony digital camera decided to stop working. I was unable to even connect it to my computer to retrieve my files! Now I was stuck in a dilemma. Do I send it back to the manufacturers and lose my precious files or do I wait it out to or do I try to open it up and see if I can fix it?

After contemplating, I decided that my video footage was too precious to lose so I busied myself in prayer and life in general. I tried on the odd occasion to switch it on but to no avail. Two days ago I had the feeling that I need to do something about it otherwise my project will be stuck in limbo for donkeys years. As I tried once more to switch it on, to my astonishment it worked and I breathed a sigh of relief!

For me, having faith throughout this time enabled me to grow in my belief and conviction of God. Whether or not my camera was going to switch on anyway is a different issue. What is important is that I tried to exercise true patience and on account of it I feel that God allowed my camera to work and in doing so drew me closer to Him.

Sometimes at the stroke of a calamity ones faith can be put into a menacing trial but we must always remember that God doesn't give us what we can not handle, however, patience and perseverance withholds the test of time and eventually comes out on top.

In Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad’s, the worldwide spiritual head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, most recent Friday Sermon he emphasised the virtue of patience and instructed all the community members to acquire this moral gem. Hence, members of the Ahmadiyya Community in particular strive to attain this fundamental aspect of our moral character and try to reflect the light of the moral excellence shown by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). He is described in The Holy Qur’an as one who possesses the highest moral character.

The Holy Qur’an couldn’t have said it more concisely…

"O ye who believe! be steadfast and strive to excel in steadfastness" [Holy Qur'an, 3:201]

On Repentance

Allah Almighty says in The Holy Qur’an:

“O ye who believe! turn to Allah a sincere turning; maybe your Lord will remove from you your evil and cause you to enter gardens beneath which rivers flow, on the day on which Allah will not abase the Prophet and those who believe with him; their light shall run on before them and on their right hands; they shall say: Our Lord! make perfect for us our light, and grant us protection, surely Thou hast power over all things.”

In this verse, God Almighty refers to the act of repentance as something we are required to do for our own good. Allah mentions that the type of repentance would have to be sincere and true. I find it interesting that Allah has mentioned it this way because so many a time have I sought forgiveness simply by saying ‘sorry’ without actually divulging into a detailed thought on it. Here, I will try to present my understanding of the term “Taubatun-Nusuuh”- or True Repentance.

In Arabic, Taubah (repentance) means 'returning', and that is why in the Holy Quran God's name is also Al-Tawwab, which means, He Who is Oft-Returning with compassion. This means that when a person discarding sin turns to God with a sincere heart, God Almighty turns even more to him. 

In a well-known Hadith Qudsi, related also by Bukhari it is written, “The Holy Prophet said: Allah said: If the servant draws near to Me a hand span, I draw near to him an arm’s length; and if he draws near to Me an arm’s length, I draw near to him a fathom’s length. And if he comes to Me walking, I come to him running.”

This shows how God is receptive to the effort of His servant. This is also in accord with the law of nature. God Almighty has made it part of human nature that when a person turns to another with a sincere heart, the latter's heart is also softened for him. This is what we all experience when we are asked for something from a dear friend; our hearts begin to experience a sense of warming in the direction of the subjects intentions. Then, how can reason accept that when a servant turns towards God Almighty with a true heart God should not turn to him?

It should be borne in mind that there are three conditions for repentance, without fulfilment of which true repentance is not achieved.

The first condition is to get rid of wicked desires which arouse evil propensities. Desires have great influence. Every action is preceded by a desire. This is something which the verse “And every man has a goal which dominates him” (2:149) alludes to. Thus the first condition for repentance is that evil thoughts and desires should be discarded. For instance, if a person has an illicit relationship with a woman and desires to repent, it is necessary that he should conceive of her as ugly and should call to mind all her low qualities. As desires and fancies exercise a powerful influence; the practice of conception is elemental to the success of true repentance.

The second condition is remorse. Everyone's conscience admonishes him over every evil, but an unfortunate person leaves his conscience suspended. Indeed we read in a hadith (from Tirmadhi No 1311) that a sin is that which pricks at your conscience.This is true as we all know that we have an inherent system of right and wrong embedded with our very nature. We know when we have done wrong because we feel the guilt that sin places in the heart. Therefore, remorse serves as the driving key of repentance and serves as a gateway to the last stage.

The third and final condition is a firm resolve that he will not revert to those vices ever again in the future. If he adheres to this resolve, God will bestow upon him the strength for true repentance and he will be rid altogether of his vices which will be replaced by good morals and praiseworthy actions. This is a moral victory. It is for God Almighty to bestow the power and strength for it for He is the Master of all power and all strength, as He has said: All power belongs to Allah (2:166)

Topics researched in these books of The Promised Messiah-

Spiritual Treasures, vol. 23. pp. 125-126

Malfoozat, Vol. I, pp.132-134

How God satisfied my heart

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Alhamdulillah, I am a convert to Ahmadiyyat. By the Grace of Allah I was born into an Ahmadi Muslm family. I believe, however, that being born into an Ahmadi Muslim family does not constitute one to entirely be an Ahmadi.  The reason for this is that I believe we have to learn about faith through questioning and only when we do that will true belief enter our hearts. 

We read in The Holy Qur’an that the Prophet Abraham asked Allah, “My Lord, show me how You revive the dead”. Allah responded by asking, “Do you not believe?” to which Abraham replied, “Yes, but (I ask you) in order that my heart may be at rest.” One may infer from these verses that Abraham  did not fully believe, but this is not the case as he desired for his heart to be satisfied. 

This is the story of how Allah satisfied my heart.

When I was in my mid teens something happened in my life which made me question God’s existence.  One of my dearest friends (May Allah bless his soul) suddenly passed away in secondary school after contracting a violent form of cancer. This lead to me to raise a series of questions regarding things such as the existence of God, God’s Benevolence, evil and suffering, life after death and religion in general. I have to admit, there was a time where I cursed God in the foulest language because I was angry at the way things were in my life. Little did I know that this was going to serve as the basis of my hearts satisfaction in Allah, Islam and Ahmadiyyat.

So my journey started. I began to look for the answers to my questions in every major respective faith. I looked into Buddhism and even started practising meditation. I looked into Christianity and began to attend Sunday service. I looked into Judaism but my heart was not at all content. I then thought to myself that I should look into that religion that I was born into. After all, what would I say to God if I didn’t explore the religion which was right in front of me?

That year, my mother purchased a copy of the Holy Qur’an with English Translation from the annual Jalsa Salana UK for me. Till then I had only read the Qur’an when I was a child. So I made a promise to God. I said that if I do not find truth in this book then I have not found truth in anything and hence I would not have found truth in God.  My sincere prayer and my heart’s yearning for the truth laid a foundation.

By Him in whose hand is my life, when I finished reading The Holy Qur’an, I was not the same person I was when I started. I wanted to be like those mentioned in The Holy Qur’an. I wanted to be among those who on the Day of Judgement Allah could point to and say, “You know those people I was talking about... Here they are... Enter My Garden for I am well pleased with you.” My friends at the Mosque, at school and ‘on the street’ also noticed a change in my personality and mannerisms.

Reading The Holy Qur’an made me realise that God did indeed exist. One of the reasons why I believe this is because of the many sciences mentioned in The Holy Qur’an such as embryology, astrology, mathematics, anthropology, spirituality, logic and reason. A man who did not know how to read could not have made up such intricate truths without knowledge from an Almighty God. This is my simple reasoning to which I believe The Holy Qur’an as the Word of God and proof of the existence of God. The Holy Qur’an is indeed the miracle of Islam.

Now, after my faith in God had been somewhat established, I sought to reason why there are so many divisions within Islam. It seemed that many of the sects of Islam were very far from the true teachings of The Holy Qur’an. It was during this time I began researching  by reading the books of The Ahmadiyya Jama’at and questioned my friends and their Imams at their respective mosques. Until this day, I have not come across anyone who can refute anything of the Ahmadiyya theology. Through following what The Promised Messiah, Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad had said we can establish a living relationship with God; and by The Grace of Allah, I have experienced firsthand the sweetness of true faith. Alhamdulillah. 

This is the reason why I began this by stating that I am a convert to Ahmadiyyat. I hope now that those who read this understand why I said that even though I was born into an Ahmadi family everyone needs to question his faith and learn about it just as Abraham did.

The Holy Qur’an says that we should always be ready to accept the Truth where we find it. This means that it is incumbent on every true seeker to not only hold this belief but to express it that he is ready to accept the truth for ‘Only Allah knows who is misguided and who is on the straight path.’ I have held this belief in Ahmadiyya Islam for well over a decade now and as the late Munir Hamid Sahib (May Allah raise his status in Paradise) said: "It is Allah Who bought me into this movement, and I'm not leaving until Allah takes me out." My craving for the Truth and seeking of His Love obligates me to accept it where my heart finds it.

My humble prayer is for everyone to become a faithful seeker of Truth. May God enable us all to be guided on the straight path. May God imbue in us His love and make it dearer to us than ourselves, our families and cold, refreshing water, Allahumma Amin.