𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢, 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 natural beauty that surrounded me, 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭 towards a 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥 on the water.
I wondered how it was withstanding 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴, the rough water and the turbulent weather.
The bird was so still, whilst everything around it appeared so unsettled. At the first sign of movement in almost twenty minutes, the bird simply bent down in such a quick, yet gentle motion and guess what it held in its beak? ….. a fish!
This fish was caught from what appeared to be such an obstacle, a powerfully large, cascading wave!
The bird had 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 so 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒕 SubhanAllah. Indeed Allah does reward those who are patient!
We are reminded here of the verse from Surah Al Ma’arij 70:5 when Allah says:
فَٱصْبِرْ صَبْرًۭا جَمِيلًا
“So be patient with a beautiful patience”
But what does this term ‘𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆’ really mean?
We know as Muslims that we will face times of hardship, that we will encounter difficulties, loss, grief or times when we simply have to wait, like that bird on the surface of the sea.
Our trust in Allah means that we understand that any form of adversity must hold some good in it for us. Everything that happens to a believer is good for us, even if in the moment it looks or feels extremely bad. We know that it is part of Allah’s plan for us, yet it can still be challenging to accept it as such.
Having a beautiful patience means looking objectively at the trial we face, maintaining a level of optimism and assuming a good opinion of Allah, no matter how hard things feel for us.
We shouldn’t despair or panic and we should try not to overly complain, for we know, deep down that their is goodness in whatever our Rabb sends our way.
The Prophet ﷺ said, “Whomever Allah intends good, He afflicts him with trials.”
[Bukhārī (Beirut: Dār Ṭawq al-Najjāh, 2002), 7:115, #5645.]
We must remember that Allah is healing us , forgiving us and strengthening us as believers through the trials that he sends our way.
To have a beautiful patience is to accept our trials without agitation and not allow those trials to stand in the way of our servitude to Allah. It shouldn’t restrict us from our obligations nor should it distract us from remaining steadfast on the path to pleasing Him.
This does not mean that we cannot be upset in difficult times, or that we can’t experience frustration when waiting for an extended period. But if we are consistently calming and preparing ourselves with prayer, dhikr and daily adkar etc, then we may feel in a better spiritual state to receive these blows, without them shattering our hearts.
We must remember also that The Prophet ﷺ said:
Whoever is afflicted by a pressing need and complains to people, his need will never be satisfied. Whoever is afflicted by a pressing need and complains to Allah, eventually Allah will provide for him, sooner or later.
[Al-Tirmidhī, Sunan al-Tirmidhī, 4:141, #2326]
To have a beautiful patience is to confide wholeheartedly in our Lord, trusting that only He can truly bring our refuge.
In the case of the bird, waiting quietly to catch its sustenance, no sound was heard, in fact, there was peace. There was an understanding, that what was written, would come.
We know that Allah strongly links patience with prayer and this is the biggest indicator as to what we should do when we are experiencing hardship. We also know that WITH the hardship comes ease, so being mindful and practising gratitude for the good within the trial is also important.
Remember the transient nature of this world when things feel tough and know that developing a beautiful patience (whilst it may take lots of practise) will expiate sins, raise your status and by Allah’s will alone, grant you more success in the hereafter in sha Allah.
May Allah allow us to be of those who receive their tests with an unshakeable trust in His decree and may He allow us to gracefully manage whatever afflictions come our way as a means to drawing closer to Him, ameen.
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