Patience

Narrated Suhayb ibn Sinan, the Roman


Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) said: There lived a king before you and he had a
(court) magician. As he (the magician) grew old, he said to the king: I have grown
old, send some young boy to me so that I may teach him magic. He (the king) sent to him
a young man so that he might train him (in magic). On his way (to the magician) he (the
young man) found a monk sitting there. He (the young man) listened to his (the monk's)
talk and was impressed by it. It became his habit that on his way to the magician he met
the monk set there so he was late in coming to the magician. He (the magician) beat
him because of the delay. He made a complaint about it to the monk and he said to him:
When you feel afraid of the magician, say: Members of my family detained me. And when
you feel afraid of your family you should say: The magician detained me. It so happened
that there came a huge beast (of prey) and it blocked the way of the people. He (the young
boy) said: I shall find out today whether the magician or the monk is superior. He picked
up a stone and said: O Allah, if the affairs of the monk are dearer to Thee than the affairs
of the magician, bring death to this animal so that the people will be able to move about
freely. He threw that stone towards it and killed it and the people began to move about (on
the path freely). He (the young man) then came to that monk and informed him. The monk
said: My son, today you are superior to me. Your affairs have reached a stage where I find
that you will be soon put to the test, and in case you are put to don't reveal my identity.
That young man began to treat the blind and those suffering from leprosy and he in fact
began to cure people of (all kinds) of illness. When a companion of the king, who had
become blind heard, about him, he came to him with numerous gifts and said: If you cure
me, all these things collected together here will be yours. He said: I myself do not cure
anyone; it is Allah Who cures. If you affirm faith in Allah, I shall also supplicate Allah to cure
you. He affirmed his faith in Allah and Allah cured him. He came to the king and sat by his
side as he used to sit before. The king said to him: Who restored your eyesight? He said:
My Lord. Thereupon he said: It means that your Lord is One besides me. He said: My Lord
and your Lord is Allah; so he (the king) took hold of him and tormented him until he
revealed the identity of boy. The young man was thus summoned and the king said to
him: O boy, it has been conveyed to me that you have become so proficient in your magic
that you cure the blind and those suffering from leprosy and you do such and such things.
Thereupon he said: I do not cure anyone; it is Allah Who cures. He (the king) took hold of
him and began to torment him. So he revealed the identity of the monk. The monk was thus
summoned and it was said to him: You should turn back from your religion. He, however,
refused to do so. He (ordered) a saw to be brought (and when it was done) he (the king)
placed it in the middle of his head and backed it until it fell apart. Then the courtier of the
king was brought and it was said to him: Turn back from your religion but he refused to do
so. Therefore the saw was placed in the middle of his head which was backed until it fell
apart. Then young boy was brought and it was said to him: Turn back from your religion. He
refused to do so and he was handed over to a group of his courtier. He said to them: Take
him to such and such mountain; make him climb that mountain and when you reach its top
(ask him to renounce his faith) but if he refuses to do so, then throw him (down the
mountain). So they took him and made him climb the mountain and he said: O Allah, save
me from them (in any way) Thou likest. The mountain began to quake and they all fell down
young man came walking back to the king. The king said to him: What has happened to
your companions? He said: Allah has saved me from them. He again handed him to some of
his courtiers and said: Take him and carry him away in a small boat and when you reach
the middle of the ocean (ask him to renounce) his religion, but if he does not renounce his
religion throw him (into the water). So they took him and he said: O Allah, save me from
them and what they want to do. It was not long before the boat overturned and they were
drowned but he came walking back to the king. The king said to him: What has
happened to your companions? He said: Allah has saved me from them. He also said to the
king: You cannot kill me until you do what I ask you to do. And he said: What is that? He
said: You should gather people on a plain and hang me by the trunk (of a tree). Then take
an arrow from the quiver and say: In the name of Allah, the Lord of the world; then shoot
an arrow and if you do that then you would be able to kill me. So he (the king) called the
people to an open plain and tied him (the boy) to the trunk of a tree. Then he took an
arrow from his quiver placed the arrow in the bow and then said: In the name of Allah, the
Lord of the young boy; he then shot an arrow and it hit his temple. He (the boy) placed his
hands upon the temple where the arrow had hit him and he. The people said: We affirm
our faith in the Lord of this young man, we affirm our faith in the Lord of this young man,
we affirm our faith in the Lord of this young man. The courtiers came to the king and it
was said to him: Do you see that their faith is in the Lord? He (the king) commanded
ditches to be dug at important points in the path. When these ditches were dug, and the
fire was lit in them it was said (to the people): He who not turn back from his (boy's)
religion will be thrown in the fire or they will be told to jump in it. (The people courted death
but did not renounce religion) till a woman came with her child and she felt hesitant about
jumping into the fire the child said to her: O mother, endure (this ordeal) for it is the Truth.


The most important lesson of this Hadith is that whatever difficulties one has to face on the path of Islam, he should endure it with patience and determination; and if the interest of Islam requires, one should sacrifice his life for it.

Guidelines

"Good deeds are not equal to the evil ones. Repel other's evil deeds with your good deeds. You will see that he with whom you had enmity, will become your close friend.
But none will attain this quality except those who patiently endure and none will attain this quality except those who are truly fortunate."

Chapter: 41, Verses 34-35, Al-Quran

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