The Importance of Patience in the Qur'an: Facing hunger or poverty

In addition to testing people with fear, a loss of property or their business, or illness and other things, Allah may also test them with poverty and hunger.

However, it should be realized that Allah creates a different test for every person. For this reason, not everyone will face all of these tests in the same way and under the same conditions. In fact, Allah creates the secret of the test by sending the same test to people in a wide variety of forms and in unexpected ways. Those who have true faith and devotion are prepared to face these difficulties in all of their forms by relying on the power of their faith and their submission to Allah.

In such situations, the unbelievers' behavior is far from resignation. They forget that only Allah gives the countless blessings that they encounter in this world, and so they show Him no gratitude. In fact, if even one blessing is removed, they rebel against Allah and show ingratitude. In communities that are far from religion, one can find such examples on a regular basis. Rich people who become poor lose many blessings that Allah has bestowed upon them in the past. Ignoring the fact that their houses, cars, clothes, foods, and drinks were Allah's gifts to them, they believe that all such things belonged to them alone. Unable to learn the intended lesson and ask Allah to grant new blessings, they do not put their trust in Allah and thus turn a beneficial test against themselves.

On the other hand, those who are aware of these truths and show steadfast patience, who remain pleased with our Lord when rich or poor, hungry or fed, will be rewarded with Allah's mercy. Allah proclaims the good news that those faithful people who are grateful to Him will have their blessings increased:

"And when your Lord announced:

The Qur'an also informs the faithful who are tested by hunger and poverty, as follows: Or did you suppose that you would enter Paradise without facing the same as those who came before you? Poverty and illness afflicted them, and they were shaken to the point that the Messenger and those who believed with him said:

Allah tells us that these people were afflicted with poverty and illness and sought refuge in His help. We must always remember that He gives the good news that for those who are patient and meet such a test with good behavior, whatever the circumstances, His help is very near at hand. We know this because He promises that while testing the faithful, He will ease their burden. This situation, as proclaimed in "For truly with hardship comes ease" (Surat alInshirah, 5), ensures that the faithful are pleased with what Allah has given, and that they will continue to show patience even in their darkest hours.

In the following hadith, our Prophet advises believers to be patient and trust Allah: "Be mindful of Allah, [for] you will find Him before you. Get to know Allah in prosperity, and He will know you in adversity. Know that what has passed you by was not going to befall you, and that what has befallen you was not going to pass you by. And know that victory comes with patience, relief with affliction, and ease with hardship." (Tirmidhi) We can see some of the finest examples of such behavior among the Prophet's Companions. In order to win Allah's approval, they remained patient on His path despite thirst, poverty, and intolerable hunger, and continued to struggle along with our Prophet. Allah mentions the reward that they would receive in exchange for their superior morality, which they displayed by remaining patient in the face of exhaustion, as well as the hunger and thirst they experienced in their sweltering desert surroundings, as follows:

As we can see, Allah announces that the patience displayed by the faithful who are being tested will be rewarded, and that none of their good acts will be overlooked, on the Day of Judgment. He also proclaims His mercy toward the faithful by describing them as those

When struck with illness

In societies characterized by the lack of Qur'anic morality, it is considered quite normal that people's behavior will change according to circumstances. They will exhibit good behavior when they can meet all of their physical and spiritual needs easily and ensure their own comfort, but will change completely when faced with any problem that may endanger their comfort. They cannot meet even a temporary affliction with patience. This becomes very clear in the case of illness.

How people behave during times of illness, hunger, exhaustion, and similar events are clear indications as to whether they do—or do not—possess sound morality. Given this fact, difficult times are very valuable opportunities for people to prove their faith in, devotion to, and trust in our Lord. Allah states that among the conditions for true morality and true goodness is showing correct behavior by being patient in times of trouble and sickness (Surat al-Baqara, 177). When faced with such a problem as illness, what enables the faithful to behave steadfastly and with patience is their deep attachment to and faith in Allah. Prophet Ibrahim expressed this truth by saying "and when I am ill, He heals me" (Surat ash-Shu'ara': 80).

Like Prophet Ibrahim, believers also know that Allah creates both the illness and the cure, and so they are not seized with despair when they fall ill. On the contrary, they are grateful to our Lord for those years in which He allowed them to live in health. Understanding that a healthy life is only one of Allah's many gifts to them, they continue to behave gratefully even when they are ill. They also continue to be extremely grateful and steadfast in cases of accident and injury. They hope that after they enter Paradise, Allah will re-create them in such a fine form that it cannot be compared with their worldly bodies. This is their hoped-for reward for their steadfast patience when confronted with various difficulties. For this reason they do not forget that whatever they have suffered here will entitle them to a great recompense in the afterlife.

Those who are precluded from having faith, due to their attachment to the world, cannot show patience in the face of such events and so sink into great hopelessness and grief. For example, those with crippled limbs say that they would rather die than live with such a body; some even try to commit suicide. Believing that this life is the only one that they have, they think that living with certain defects and deficiencies makes life meaningless. Even if they do not try to commit suicide, they develop a very unpleasant personality and try to create problems for those around them. Whether they accept their situation or not, there is no way that they can avert such an event. If they put their trust in Allah, however, they may hope that He will allow them to be reborn in Paradise with a brand new body that is flawless, imperishable, and cannot be damaged. But if they do not trust in Allah, their present life and their future life in the Hereafter will be destroyed, for their ignorance will cause them to rebel against Allah and be "rewarded" with Hell.

The behavior of those who live the Qur'an's morality is completely different. When they are injured, lose an organ, or experience a similar disaster, their behavior does not change. Knowing that they are being tested and that the end result will be positive, they remain patient and do their best to earn Allah's approval. Even if they can no longer make any physical effort to realize this goal, they try to develop ideas that can benefit people and remind them of the Hereafter.

Those who turn away from Allah when they become ill or when they are injured are not aware of their great error, for only Allah can heal them or rescue them from their illness. Doctors, medicines, and treatments can be provided only with Allah's permission. Understanding this, the faithful face their illness with patience and patiently ask Him for a cure. They also make the best possible use of doctors, medicines, and treatments, and always remember that these will be of benefit only if Allah wills it.

The Qur'an gives the example of Prophet Ayyub, who always sought refuge in Allah when faced with illness. Allah praises his morality, as follows:

His patience and devotion to Allah are described, as follows: And Ayyub, when he called out to his Lord, [said]:

The superior morality shown by Prophet Ayyub when he was faced with this situation can be understood from his sincere prayer to Allah. When he was in trouble and sick, he turned to Allah with steadfastness and patience, knowing that only He can achieve anything and without forgetting that he is subject to Allah's mercy and compassion.

As we can see in these and all other cases, Allah helps those who are patient. One verse expresses this assistance, as follows:

When facing injustice

Those who do not follow the Qur'an's morality cannot exercise true justice, because they do not consider that they will have to account for all of their actions in the afterlife, and so feel no need to be scrupulous in this matter. Since they follow their earthly desires rather than their consciences, they make impulsive, instead of rational, decisions. When they become angry, they immediately succumb to their anger and seek revenge. When a situation threatens their advantages, they do not hesitate to behave unjustly to protect their own interests. Such acts fill the newspapers and the television newscasts. Someone attacks his boss when he is fired, slanders somebody who has interfered with her business, spreads malicious gossip about his fiancée who broke up with him, or responds to a person who threatens her with even worse threats. We meet such people all the time. They respond to a bad act or an injustice in the same manner and violate the morality called for by the Qur'an. Indeed, sometimes people may even try to kill those who have interfered with their interests.

The faithful may be subjected to the unjust behavior of such people as part of their lifelong test. Unlike those given as examples above, they do not respond to injustice with injustice or to wrongdoing with more wrongdoing. But this does not mean that they stand by idly and do nothing to fight such injustice. However, rather than making rash decisions and jumping to conclusions, they act at all times in a well-balanced manner that comes from their trust in Allah. Their patience and steadfastness in such cases springs from their awareness that Allah controls everything and possesses eternal justice. Allah tells us that on the Day of Judgment, everybody will have to account for what they did while in this world, and that no injustice will be done to them. Hence, those who committed injustice thoughtlessly or behaved in an unfair manner will receive their "reward" on that day. Allah's eternal justice is described, as follows:

Thus the faithful who know this law of Allah are patient in the face of injustice, thanks to the serenity that they have inside themselves. In the following verse, Allah promises that in exchange for this patience, He will bring help:

The Qur'an relates that Prophet Yusuf faced many injustices throughout his life, but that because of his devotion and patience, Allah helped him and gave him strength. All that happened to him from his childhood onward was designed to test his patience and that of his father, Prophet Ya`qub. First, Prophet Yusuf was thrown into a well by his jealous brothers. After this, a passing caravan found him and took him to Egypt, were he was sold as a slave. The Qur'an speaks of Prophet Ya`qub's patience when confronted with this event, and of his request to Allah for help against this plot: They then produced his shirt with false blood on it. He [Ya`qub] said:

In addition to this, Prophet Yusuf was slandered by the wife of his master, the Egyptian vizier. Even though his innocence was perfectly clear, Prophet Yusuf was thrown into prison, where he remained unjustly imprisoned for many years. However, he never forgot that Allah was testing him and so took refuge in Him, asked for His help, and exhibited outstanding patience. He did not forget that Allah will eventually confound the schemes of the unbelievers and that the faithful will be successful. In return for his steadfast devotion and patience, Allah gave him blessings that would please him both in this world and in the afterlife: The king said: "Bring him to me straight away, so that I may draw him very close to me." When he had spoken with him, he [the king] declared: "Today you are trusted, established in our sight." He [Yusuf] said:

Years after these events, Allah brought Prophet Yusuf face-to face with his treacherous brothers. He stated his faith in Allah, despite the injustice that he had suffered, and the compassion that Allah showed him, as follows: They asked: "Are you Yusuf?" He said:

All of this material related in the Qur'an about Prophet Yusuf is an important example of the ultimate hidden causes that can be revealed by patience, because the help that Allah gave to him is equally available for those who are faithful. Allah thwarts the plots devised for the faithful and responds to the injustices committed against them.