The Importance of Patience in the Qur'an: Encountering slander and hurtful words

Allah says that among the tests believers may face are troubling statements made by the unbelievers, as follows:

All Prophets throughout history have met with slander and accusations from the peoples to whom they were sent. In particular, the leaders of these people who deny faith take the lead in such behavior and try to incite the unbelievers against the believers. The most important reason for this is that the true religion offers a moral code that may deprive them of some worldly advantages that they obtained by unjust means. Since they hold a superior position in their communities in terms of wealth, rank, and status, they can easily exploit their people and convince them that injustice and wrongdoing are reasonable.

But he turned away with his forces, saying:

What Pharaoh and his circle said to Prophet Musa was not unique to them, for all Prophets and Messengers whom Allah sent to teach His religion face the same accusations of lying and sorcery, being madmen or poets, or seeking profit for themselves. The fact that the faithful always have the same insulting words thrown at them, regardless of time or place, is not coincidental. On the contrary, these are tests that Allah created to observe their patience and steadfastness.

The Qur'an tells us of such situations, as follows: Equally, no Messenger came to those before them without their saying:

Allah tells us that such insults were hurled at Prophet Muhammad and his Companions: When they are told: "Believe in the way that the people believe," they exclaim:

The ruling circle of those of his people who did not believe said:

They are surprised that a warner should come to them from among themselves. The unbelievers say:

When they were told,

Faced with all of these slanders, Allah's Prophets and pious servants behaved with outstanding patience, took refuge in Him, and asked for His help. The Qur'an gives the following example of this: Say:

In the Qur'an, Allah responds to the behavior of the unbelievers who seek to abuse the Prophets, as follows:

As stated above, Allah points out that He expects the faithful to live by the Qur'an's morality regardless of what difficulties they may encounter, and to keep advising and reminding people about the faith. Thus, the faithful ignore all such behavior and move forward with devotion, patience, and true knowledge. In fact, without knowing it, the unbelievers' behavior only strengthens the believers' faith and increases the joy and excitement they feel about their religion.

Proclaiming their religion

In the Qur'an, Allah informs us of the Prophets' life-long patience in order to show us how to live a life of superior morality. This is a great blessing for those who believe and seek the road to Him. During their lives, the Prophets informed their household members and relatives, as well as the people at large, about Allah's religion. While inviting people to the true faith, every Prophet gained a number of enemies and suffered from their verbal and physical assaults. But such assaults could not weaken them; rather, they passed their whole lives showing patience and determination in preaching Allah's religion.

One of these Messengers was Prophet Ibrahim. Throughout his life, he was tested by various incidents that demanded patience. Despite all of the unfavorable incidents that Allah set before him, he always displayed devotion, submission, and great patience. For example, his people, who worshipped stone idols, tried to burn him alive for inviting them to the true faith and Allah, the One. The Qur'an recounts this test, as follows: They said: "We heard a young man mentioning them. They call him Ibrahim." They said:

They said: "Build a pyre for him and fling him into the blaze!" They tried to outwit him, but We made them the lowest. He said:

As stated above, Prophet Ibrahim's tribe wanted to cast him into the fire. However, in exchange for his display of patience and devotion, Allah protected him by ordering the fire to become "coolness and peace for him," as follows: We said:

This incident is a help to Allah's servants who are patient and steadfast for Him, and it is one of the finest examples of what great blessings our Lord can grant to Muslims in return for their patience. Prophet Ibrahim's life story contains many other examples of patience and devotion, for he continued to announce Allah's existence and invite people to embrace the true faith until the end of his life. Even though no member of his tribe responded to his call, Prophet Ibrahim never abandoned his mission and thereby showed great patience. He obeyed Allah's instructions in this matter and, while showing great effort and determination, continued to summon people to the faith. We can see his sincerity in the following verse: Remember when he said to his father: "Father, why do you worship that which can neither hear nor see and is of no use to you at all? Father, knowledge that never reached you has come to me, so follow me and I will guide you to the right path. Father, do not worship Satan. Satan was disobedient to the AllMerciful. Father, I am afraid that a punishment from the AllMerciful will afflict you, and turn you into a comrade of Satan." He said:

Another Prophet who made a patient and determined effort to explain Allah's religion to his people was Prophet Nuh. He approached his people in many different ways, but could not make them believe. Even though his people rejected him and put a great deal of pressure on him to make him stop preaching Allah's religion, all of their efforts failed, for he remained patient and put all of his trust in Allah. The Qur'an proclaims his outstanding patience while communicating Allah's religion, as follows: Before them, the people of Nuh denied the truth. They denied Our servant, saying:

Certainly these examples can teach a lesson to all Muslims today. By sending the Qur'an to inform us of these events, Allah instructs us never to abandon our patience and always to follow the Prophets' examples of patience.

Just as among the tribes of old, it is possible that now and in the future believers will encounter similar situations and people who know nothing of religion, deny the faith, and have only a limited ability to comprehend it. In every age there may be people who deny Allah's existence and the afterlife. Muslims are required to explain to all people His existence and the truth of creation without becoming tired of doing so. They may encounter people who say: "I'm an atheist and so reject Allah's existence," feigning ignorance of all of the truths or scientific proofs that have been explained to them. Or some people may be unable to save themselves from the negative effects of the surrounding ignorant society and thus find it hard to understand the truths that are explained to them. In such a situation, being steadfast in preaching religion by trying every method, like Prophet Nuh, and taking all kinds of risks, like Prophet Ibrahim, are very important forms of worship, because strong patience in explaining the faith may help some people see the light and be saved in the afterlife.

Believers undertake this important service with the sole intention of helping to improve the afterlife of those around them, and they carry it out with great patience and no expectation of reward in this world. Of course, Muslims will not go unrewarded for this sincere effort in this world or the next, which they undertake regardless of the real or potential obstacles. Even if their efforts do not cause one person to embrace the faith, Allah will give them beauty and serenity in this world and great rewards in the afterlife.