#THURSDAY_LECTURE #TOPIC:- THE VIRTURES OF FORBEARANCE All praise is to Allah, The Most Generous, The Forbearing. I bear witness that there is no deity save Allah, having no associates. I also bear witness that Muhammad is His dearest Servant and Messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon His Prophet Muhammad, his family, his companions and those who will follow them in righteousness until the Last Day. As to what follows, I urge you and myself to be ever conscious of Allah and to construct our lives in accordance to what He has ordered us, as He says, And We have instructed those who were given the Scripture before you and yourselves to fear Allah . (Annisaa:131). Dear Muslims, Forbearance is a subdivision of faith and a sign of the noble characteristics of Islam. It exemplifies some of the finest human qualities: self-restraint in challenging situations. As such, it is highly regarded by The Almighty Allah and His Messenger Muhammad (pbuh) who once said to Ashaji Abdul Qais, you possess two qualities that Allah loves. These are clemency and tolerance. Forbearance is also a characteristic which is perfectly embodied by The Merciful Himself as mentioned in the following verses: And Allah is Forgiving and Forbearing. (Al Baqara:225); for Allah is Responsive, Clement . (Attaghabun:17). Some of the realisations of Allahs clemency is His patience not to punish His Creation by surprise because of their negligence. Instead He will give them time until they repent to Him as He says, And your Lord is the Forgiving, full of mercy. If He were to impose blame upon them for what they earned, He would have hastened for them the punishment . (Al Kahf:58). Allah, the Most compassionate, has praised his Prophet Ibrahim (pbuh), who was known for his leniency with his people although he suffered their abuse. In this regard, Allah the Most Exalted says, Indeed, Abraham was forbearing, grieving and [frequently] returning [to Allah ]. (Hud:75). His son, the Prophet Ismail (pbuh) inherited this lofty character and was accepting Allahs orders. He did not object to any of them. Rather he keenly submitted himself to his Creator will. So in return Allah The Most High recompensed him dearly: So We gave him good tidings of a forbearing boy . (Assafat:101). Dear Believers, Our Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had also been lenient in his words, actions and temperament. This is evidenced by Zayd ibn Saana in his account of his conversion to Islam. He said, There were no signs of prophethood that I had not seen in Muhammad when I looked at him, except for two. [I came to know later that] he tended to be lenient than severe. And the more he sustained injustice the more tolerant he was. I used to come up to him to know about the reasons for his clemency and the causes of his anger. It was reported that Zayd had once lent the Prophet Muhamamd (pbuh) some money that he gave to some poor Muslims. So he came to claim the loan back a few days before the due date of payment. He grabbed the Prophet by his mantle and robe, and said, Muhammad, are you not going to give me my due? You and your clan Banu Muttalib never pay debts on time. Upon hearing this, Umar (may Allah be satisfied with him) flew in anger. He scolded Zayd, and was nearly to beat him. Calmly looking at Umar, Muhamamd (pbuh) said to him, Umar, this is not what we needed to hear from you. You should have advised me to pay my debts in time and asked him to seek repayment in a respectful manner. Now take him, repay him his debt from my money and give him an extra twenty measures of date. Zayd, a Jewish man, was so pleasantly surprised by the Prophets good behaviour that he immediately embraced Islam. Dear Muslims, We can also be forbearing in our daily life if we show high degree of patience. This brings us to the importance of educating ourselves to tolerate the faults of others and be lenient with our family, friends, colleagues and everyone we know. This should apply to all life situations, including when we are driving. Our Guide Muhammad (pbuh) said, The strong man is not the one who can win a physical fight. The strong person is rather the one who controls himself when angered. Moreover, we can embody forbearance if we succeed in giving up rage for placid composure. The latter is a comfort for hearts and a source of joy. Anger, on the other hand, is synonymous to evil. It brings enmity and hatred, ruins cordiality amongst people, destabilises households and disrupts peoples interests. It was narrated that a man came to the Prophet (pbuh) and said, O Messenger of Allah, advise me. He (the Prophet, pbuh) said, do not get angry. The man [later] recalled saying, I thought about what the Prophet (pbuh) said and I realised that anger combines all kinds of evil. Furthermore by showing mercy and compassion we will be able to attain Paradise. It was reported that Abu al Dardaa said to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), advise me on a work to earn me Paradise. The Prophet (pbuh) said, do not get angry and you will enter Paradise. Another reason for attaining forbearance is to watch over our acts and avoid any of their disliked outcomes. Our Prophet (pbuh) said, whoever controlled rage while able to act upon it, then Allah will call him while all creation is a witness, until he gives the choice of any Huris (fair females-as mates for the pious in Paradise) he wishes. Please know that a Muslims wisdom blossoms if he is tolerant and accepting. Thanks to his gentle attitude towards people he can win their support and sympathy. Similarly through his patience and quietude, he will be able to overcome any psychological problems that may bother him. So by emerging free from such a kind of stress, a forbearing person is most willing to accept others and forgive their faults. Having these noble qualities, a Muslim can rise above trivialities and avoid engaging in irrelevant confrontations with others. No matter what challenges he faces, he can remain patient. Moreover even though he is powerful he pardons those who have treated him badly. He does all of this by conviction. Truly, Allah The Most Merciful will highly reward people with such commendable behaviours in this life and the Hereafter. Al Ahnaf ibn Qais (may Allah rest his soul in peace) was an example of forbearance. He embodied the best of manners, hence earning him a high status amongst his community. He used to say, Whoever harms me, I consider three things: if he is higher than me in status, I will acknowledge his favours. If he is like me, I will treat him fairly as it should be. If he is below in rank, I will simply pardon him. May Allah make us one of those who have forbearance. O Allah, help us to obey You and those You have ordained upon us to obey, in compliance with Your Injunctions: O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you . (Annisaa:59). May Allah bless you and me with the ability to implement the Holy Quran and the Sunna of His Messenger Muhammad (pbuh). I say this and pray to Allah, the Almighty, to grant us forgiveness. Supplicate to Allah for forgiveness for He is the Most Forgiving and the Most Merciful. [#Ameen]
Posted on: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 09:17:45 +0000
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