"Patience is most essential ingredient on the road to success"   
 

Enduring difficult circumstances, persevering in the face of complication and unpleasant issues without exhibiting the destructive trait of anger especially when under strain are all common characteristics of patience. A virtue that seems so simple to follow and act upon, and is mentioned and praised upon in every religion, is not only essential and vital to our everyday lives but also not as easy to take on as it sounds. Patience can take on in numerous forms, with the most prevalent and common one being, being patient through trials and hardships without losing hope and faith in Allah SWT. As Allah states in the holy Quran, chapter 8 verse 46:

“Indeed Allah is with those who patiently endure”.

Here through the Holy Quran, Allah is not only giving a guaranteed promise that He will assist those who are patient in difficult situations, but also provides a beautiful lesson, that being patient is a virtue that is never left without an award.

When the verse states that Allah is with those who patiently endure, it is trying to explain that Allah SWT is truly on the lookout for those persevering through difficulty and that at one point, the patient will be rewarded with ease and solutions for their hardships.

This is also mentioned by the prince of the Imams and the Commander of the faithful, Imam Ali AS, as he stated in one of his inspiring and magnificent hadiths:

“Be sure that there is something waiting for you after much patience, to astonish you to a degree that you forget the bitterness of the pain”

Here the Imam is trying to expand on what Allah has already promised in his Holy Book, as he states that those who persevere through hardships while still having faith in Allah, will be rewarded with such ease that they will forget the pain they endured during the time of their hardships. Here Imam Ali is also trying to expand on the idea of Allah’s mercy and the greatness of His love towards us, as he states that the reward from Allah to those who are patient is so great that they will be so astonished they will forget the discomfort and pain they felt during their hardships.

Now one might wonder, is being patient only going to benefit me because I had faith in Allah and I was simply patient? Or does patience actually benefit me as a person? As a virtue, patience helps an individual grow both mentally and spiritually. Mentally, patience assists in countless of things including decision making, happiness and thinking process. As for spiritual growth, patience assists in the development of a human as a persevering and active individual, who focuses on the growth of their abilities so that they are used for the correct purposes. This is an obvious result of patience, for Allah does not advise his creations to take on a specific virtue without having positive and life changing results.

Now patience is not only awarded during one’s lifetime, but also the afterlife in paradise. Many of the most powerful role models that exist in Islam that possess all moral excellence and properly portray the virtue of patience to perfection were in fact rewarded after their death. Role models like the Ahulbayt AS, took on the toughest challenges and were faced with such harsh conditions, that only they out of all of Allah’s creations could handle. During their lifetime, they were not rewarded with wealth or anything of materialistic value instead they left this world and moved onto paradise, where the actual rewards remain. By being patient, the Ahulbayt AS left behind a powerful legacy filled with inspirational messages and lessons for the world in its entirety to benefit from and are remembered and commemorated by generations after generations.

One of the greatest examples of Ahulbayt’s patience is the powerful story of Imam Hussein’s patience. If one were to list the amount of examples from the life of Imam Hussein that one would witness the virtue of patience, there simply wouldn’t be enough time nor words to describe the patience of this great Imam. However, we will try to include a few of the many inspirational examples that portray patience from the life of Imam Hussein AS. The most common example that the world is familiar with in terms of Imam Hussein’s patience would be on the day of Ashura, where he was killed along with his companions and several members of his holy household. However, many don’t realize that there are several of different occasions other than the day of Ashura that reveals the greatness of Imam Hussein’s patience. Ever since he was a child, Imam Hussein AS, along with his family, went through many tough obstacles and challenges. The first one being the murder of his mother, Sayeda Fatima Al Zahra AS, who also happens to be the greatest woman to have ever existed out of all of the worlds that exist. Imam Hussein AS along with his brother Imam Hassan witnessed the brutal way their mother was killed, and saw with their own two eyes the hatred some had towards them. They later witnessed the way the people at that time oppressed their father Imam Ali AS, as they took what was rightfully theirs. This requires a lot of patience, and even though Imam Hussein was very young, he still became an inspiration to millions across generations by revealing that having high hopes in Allah and being patient through tough obstacles does not have anything to do with age nor circumstances.

These are two very broad and general examples from the early life of Imam Hussein AS and the way he was patient and hopeful regardless of the severity of the situations he was in. In addition to his early life we also witness Imam Hussein’s patience on the day of Ashura, which was the most heart breaking day for the world to witness. This patience was so great and beyond what a human could possible handle that it remained and will continue to remain, and will inspire and continue to inspire for the rest of eternity. From being patient against those who went against the religion of Islam, to standing in front of thousands of people who have severe hatred towards him and the holy message he held, to seeing his companions and family members including his six month old child being killed in the worst ways possible, to knowing what was to become of his family after his death, Imam Hussein AS’s patience is worthy of being called the greatest example of patience, as he endured this without losing any of his faith nor hope in Allah. Instead on the day of Ashura we witness the Imam saying, “Oh Allah, please accept what we have done."

This is what one should truly follow and look up to when going through a tough situation or obstacle, for one should always remember that far greater people have been through much harder situations without losing a touch of their faith in Allah SWT.

In conclusion, through examples from the Holy Quran, the hadiths of the Imams as well as examples from the life of members of the Ahulbayt AS, one learns that patience is truly a virtue that not only benefits an individual during their life in this world but also in the afterlife as well. Patience helps an individual grow both spiritually and physically, hence having an overall impact on one’s life. Through examples from the life of Imam Hussein AS, one learns that no matter how difficult the situation might be, one must be patient and never lose hope in Allah SWT.