As an Islamic virtue, patience has an additional spiritual quality to it. To endure hardships for the sake of Allah, consciously making the intention that, by being patient and by not complaining, one will hopefully receive rewards from Allah Ta’ala in the hereafter. After all, many resilient people in this world calmly endure pain and hardship, but relatively few people do so for the sake of Allah.

As for our Prophet ﷺ, He was a paragon of patience. For him, being chosen to be the seal of Prophets meant, not an easy life, but a life of difficulties and hardships, of trials and tribulations, of pain and suffering. In fact, no one in the history of mankind faced as many hardships as did our Prophet ﷺ. Death would have been easier than the personal tragedies the Prophet ﷺ experienced throughout his life, and yet he never complained, but instead remained steadfast, patient, and thankful to Allah. In being patient, he was obeying Allah 's command:

And endure patiently [O Muhammad], your patience is only from Allah. (16: 127)

He ﷺ patiently endured being an orphan, being poor, and whilst facing hunger. He was patient when he was forced to leave his homeland, his house, and his family. He was patient when he was being persecuted, when his companions were being tortured, and when some of his family members and companions were killed. He was patient when his enemies waged war against him, when Bedouins acted ignorantly with him, when Jews plotted against him, when hypocrites conspired to harm him, when many of his own relatives left him and declared war upon him.

He was patient in other ways as well. He patiently resisted the temptations of this world, the allure of riches, and the appeal of being strong and powerful. He turned away from all of the above because, instead of those worldly attractions, he longed only to please Allah.

In every aspect of his life, and in every stage of his prophet hood, the Prophet ﷺ was patient. Patience, in fact, was his armour against everything that is harmful in this life. Every time he remembered what his enemies said, he recalled the words of Allah Ta’ala:

So bear patiently [O Muhammad] what they say. (20: 130)

When situations became almost too difficult to bear, he remembered the saying of Allah Ta’ala: So [for me] patience is most fitting. (12: 18)

And every time he faced almost certain destruction at the hands of his enemies, he remembered the verse, Therefore, be patient [O Muhammad] as did the Messengers of strong will. (46: 35)

He had a level of confidence in his patience that Allah Ta’ala will surely help him and that Allah will reward him for his travails and for his patience. His was the patience of a man who knew that Allah was with him and that Allah was all the help he needed in life. As such, nothing- no harsh word, no curse, no rude behaviour, and no physical torture - could shake him, faze him, perturb him, or even annoy him.

When his uncle Abu Talib died, he was patient. When his wife Khadijah (RA) died, he was patient. When Hamzah (RA) died, he was patient, even though Hamzah (RA) was killed in an especially gruesome manner. When he was forced to leave Makkah, he was patient. When his son Qasim died, he was patient. When most of his people rejected his message, he remained patient. When his pure and chaste wife Ayesha (RA) was accused, he remained patient, seeking help from none except Allah. When his people labelled him a poet, a sorcerer, a madman, and a liar, he remained patient. When they cursed him, persecuted him, waged war against him, and physically assaulted him, he remained patient. In short, he was, and continues to remain, the Imam (leader) of those who practice patience, and the ideal role model of those who are thankful.

Darul Ihsan Centre