How Paradise Keeps Us Patient

That Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم is his final messenger. We ask Allah to send his peace and blessings upon him, the prophets and messengers that came before him, his family and companions that served alongside him, and those that follow in their blessed path until the Day of Judgment. And we ask Allah to make us amongst them. Allahumma ameen.

How Paradise Keeps Us Patient

Dear brothers and sisters, over the last couple of weeks we've talked about a familiar theme, but perhaps at a little bit of a deeper level when it comes to some of the concepts of supplications — du'a — that we are to make in times of hardship, and why we make the supplications that we do.

To refresh your memory, we started off with the du'a:

"Oh Allah, I seek refuge in You from being in a state of grief or from being in a state of anxiety — grief over the past, anxious over that which is still to come. And I seek refuge in You from being incapable, or being unwilling through laziness — being unable to do for myself even though I have the means to do so. And I seek refuge in You from being cowardly or being stingy, holding back when I have. And I seek refuge in You from being overburdened by debt and from being subjugated to man."

We talked about last week how the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم's reason for hating debt so much was because of some of the bad characteristics that have akhira-oriented consequences — consequences in the hereafter — if you take on debt habitually. You start to lie to those that you owe money to, you start to find ways out of things, and you get good at lying, you get good at breaking promises, and you start to acquire traits that are undesirable and that ultimately could harm you in the hereafter as well. So not just that it is unpleasant in this life.

We should try to put ourselves in a position where we are not in a state of debt. Nor should we hate the poor or say that this is Allah's punishment to you, that Allah loves the rich and hates the poor — no. Rather, a person seeks to be in the most favorable and independent state as possible so that they can be only vulnerable to the Creator. And at the same time they activate themselves towards those who have no choice and who are in a state of poverty and debt.

The Missing Element: Paradise

So we've talked about these things, and I want to move on to what I think is the most important part of this discussion, because it is missing in our discourse on patience. When we talk about consoling people — including ourselves — we often restrict our comforting words to the idea of things getting better, or things being better than we can perceive, in the worldly sense. Meaning what? We say to someone who is going through hardship, including ourselves, we say to ourselves: Allah knows what I don't know. Perhaps you hate something and it's better for you. There is a wisdom to this entire plan that I cannot comprehend.

That's how we comfort ourselves, and we should indeed take comfort in knowing that Allah knows what we don't know. We see the pixels — He sees the whole picture.

We also often comfort one another and comfort ourselves by saying:

"Verily, with hardship comes ease." And we talk about ease in the worldly sense: things are going to get better for you, things are going to look up, something's going to happen that's going to switch this entire equation, and Allah will support you, and you have been promised victory in this life, or to overcome your state of hardship in this life.

So we have those things and they are important in the equation of patience. However, there's something remarkable about the consistency of the Quran and the Sunnah about Jannah — Paradise — specifically, Jannah being a part of the equation of patience. In fact, being its most necessary component. The most necessary component of patience is Paradise.

Now, I want to pause here for a moment. We talk about justice all the time, and the believer should not excuse injustice when it happens around them. The believer has to orient themselves with empathy and a strong sense of righteousness — righteous indignation — when they see a wrongdoing taking place, and they activate themselves to try to rectify that wrongdoing in this life, especially when it's happening to others. So this is not to say that we escape worldly rectification in the name of a better afterlife. But when we ourselves go through this life as individuals or as a community through hardships, the number one component of patience is Paradise.

And this is throughout the Quran and the Sunnah. And I'll even share with you some things that are very well known to you — the stories that I'll share with you in the next few minutes are probably known to most of you and you've heard them many times — but focus on the familiar components.

The First Strike: Patience at Its Hardest

Number one: the hadith of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم where he said to the woman that was grieving:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1283; Sahih Muslim, Book 11, Hadith 2179)

"Patience is at the first strike."

What does that look like as a community when a community is hit hard? What it looks like is Uhud — when the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is still covered in blood. He almost died. He lost his uncle. He lost some of his most beloved companions. And the believers have tasted worldly defeat for the first time in the context of battle — and of course it was because of those that disobeyed the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and came down from the mountain of the archers and left them vulnerable from the back after they had initial victory.

So that's another part of this. But as-sadmat al-ula — the first strike — is when my loved ones are still out there and the blood is still fresh and I can see them mutilating their bodies. And I hate to be vivid and vulgar, but let's be honest: what are we seeing right now with our brothers and sisters in Gaza and in so many other parts of the world? Just some things that break the heart.

As-sadmat al-ula is that we have now retreated to the mountains and we are looking at the battlefield when these disgusting actions are taking place — when these people who have no moral fiber are pouring wine on dead corpses and mutilating our loved ones — even though in the previous battle, despite us being the persecuted ones, we let their prisoners go for teaching people how to read, and showed them a benevolence and generosity that was unheard of in the Arab world. But now this is what they're doing to us.

And when Abu Sufyan calls out to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and Abu Bakr and Umar — and we all know the words — the words are: "U'lu Hubal! May Hubal be exalted!" He exalts the idol.

As-sadmat al-ula — we've just been struck. Does the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and Abu Bakr and Umar need time to process what has happened so that they can respond? No — immediately: "Allahu a'la wa ajal — God is greater than Hubal, more exalted than your idol Hubal."

Abu Sufyan says: "Wait a minute, this is our victory parade, you're not supposed to respond." He says: "We have 'Izza," naming another idol, "and you have no 'Izza." The answer right away: "Allahu Mawlana — God is our protector. You have no protector."

"Wait a minute, this is our victory parade — you're supposed to be hurt right now, you're supposed to be confused and lost." And so he shouts out: "The day of Uhud for the day of Badr — we got revenge on you, we win!"

What's the response from the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم?

(Musnad Ahmad; referenced in Sirah Ibn Hisham and Tafsir Ibn Kathir on Surah Al 'Imran)

"Your dead ones are in the Fire. Our dead ones are in Paradise."

Think about that. That is as-sadmat al-ula — the first strike — for a community, and how the community of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم responds at the first strike of patience. And it revolves around what? Jannah. Paradise.

The Family of Yasir: "Your Appointment is Paradise"

How consistent is this in the discourse of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم? When he walks by in his most painful moments in Mecca, where they are persecuting the weakest amongst the believers — Sumayyah رضي الله تعالى عنها, a Black woman who had no tribe to protect her, who had no wealth to protect her, who was being punished cruelly by the Pharaoh of that society, Abu Jahl — and Sumayyah رضي الله تعالى عنها as she's going through that, and Yasir as he's going through that, and as Ammar is going through that, the worst types of torture and disgusting things — and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم can't physically do anything. He's unable. This is al-'ajz — this is what al-'ajz is. We're stuck. We're under persecution.

And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم — who, by the way:

He loves us more than we love ourselves. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم saw people in pain and he saw animals in pain and it broke his heart صلى الله عليه وسلم. It made him cry, and it led him, alayhi salatu wasallam, to do things to offer recourse. He saw the woman on the enemy side that was killed unjustly and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم stops his army and demands justice for the woman on the other side — an unknown woman from the enemy side. How about Sumayyah?

Watching Sumayyah be tortured, and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم says:

(Al-Hakim, Al-Mustadrak, Vol. 3; referenced in Sirah Ibn Hisham)

"Be patient, O family of Yasir. You have an appointment in Paradise. Paradise is waiting for you. Jannah is waiting for you."

Asiya: "Build Me a House in Paradise"

And as Asiya عليها السلام was being tortured by her Pharaoh — the wife of Fir'aun himself, as he was torturing his own wife Asiya عليها السلام — she looked up to the sky. She didn't have the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم to say to her "sabran ya Asiya, your mawa'id is in paradise." But what was the first thing that came to her mind?

"Oh Allah, through all of this — just build me a house with You in Paradise." And Allah showed her her home in Paradise as she left this world.

The Angels' Glad Tidings: "Fear Not, and Do Not Grieve"

"Indeed, those who say 'Our Lord is Allah' and then are steadfast — the angels come down to them: 'Do not fear' — remember, we seek refuge in Allah from al-hamm wal-huzn, from grief and anxiety — 'don't be afraid, don't grieve.' And glad tidings of the Paradise that you have been promised."

The first thing you hear from the angels as a guarantee is: abshiru bil jannah — glad tidings of Paradise. Illati kuntum tu'adoon — the paradise that you have been promised. It's there for you. This promise that was given to you.

Allah did not promise you — as an individual — that you're going to see perfect justice in your life in this life. And sometimes, you know how we comfort ourselves — we think about just the Day of Judgment and payback. "I'm going to see that tyrant on the Day of Judgment, and I know the Day of Judgment is there and that tyrant will face their consequences."

But just as I take comfort in knowing that the tyrants and the wrongdoers and the oppressors will face their consequences in the hereafter — what am I looking forward to? The reward after that, for me. That Jannah. If I am patient, that Paradise. If I am steadfast. Allah promised us that Paradise if we are patient. Allah promised us that Paradise if we are steadfast. Over and over again in the seerah of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم.

The Woman with Epilepsy

And sometimes it's not even injustice. It's when you're at the end of a sickness. It's when it's over. It's when there doesn't seem to be a way out.

The answer from the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم every time is Jannah, is Paradise. The woman who had epilepsy who comes to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and complains about her condition — and Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم would make du'a for shifa, for healing, for people all the time, and he would heal people that seemingly were not healable — but with this particular woman, he says to her: "If you want, I will ask Allah to cure you. But listen — for you only, this is not for everyone — Allah has something for you. If you are patient, you have Paradise waiting for you." She said: "No. No, I'm going to be patient."

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5652; Sahih Muslim, Book 45, Hadith 2576)

Haritha ibn Suraqah: The Highest Level

Haritha ibn Suraqah رضي الله تعالى عنه — the young man who died in Badr — and his mother comes to the battlefield. And Haritha was very close to his mother, extremely close to his mother. And she says to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم: "Oh Messenger of Allah, I need to know where my son is." SubhanAllah. "I need to know where he is — not where he is on the battlefield. In kana fil jannah sabarta — if you tell me right now he's in Paradise, I'm going to be patient. But if he didn't make it, then I'm going to cry more and more and more and more."

And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم tells her: "Jannah is not just one level. Jannah is multiple levels. And your son Haritha is in al-Firdaws al-A'la — in the highest level of Jannah."

May Allah grant it to all of us. Allahumma ameen.

She said: "In that case, I'm patient. I'm okay then."

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2809)

Imam Ahmad: "The First Footstep in Paradise"

Imam Ahmad رحمه الله's son comes to him and says: "When does this hardship stop? Mata raha — when do we breathe? When do we relax? When do we get a break?"

Imam Ahmad رحمه الله says to his son:

"The first footstep we take in Paradise — that's it. We'll be good at that point."

Attaching Yourself to Paradise

Dear brothers and sisters, I'm sharing this particular part because it is in every part of the Quran and every part of the Sunnah. When we comfort ourselves, when we comfort others — which is even more important than comforting ourselves — to remind about Paradise, to remind about Jannah, and to be certain in Jannah. Not to feel like it's guaranteed to you, but to be certain that it is there, and to strive towards it, and to seek its reward, and to seek its bounty. And if you attach yourself enough to that, then everything else gets put into perspective.

Allah tells us in Surah Al-Ghashiyah, when He's talking about the people as they enter into Paradise:

You know, everyone talks about a need to disconnect now. What's a vacation now? A vacation doesn't really matter as much about the scenery as it matters about your phone not being with you now, right? "I just don't want to be bothered. I want to not have any concerns. I want to not have any worries. I want to relax." The sunset and sunrise are beautiful outside your window too — you just want to relax, you want to get a break.

And if you think about a great vacation that you had as a kid or as an adult, and you knew that two weeks from now there's this vacation that we're going to take — we've already booked the tickets, we've already seen the pictures, we know it's there, we know the vacation is coming — doesn't that get you through your workload? "All right, I'm going to work really hard for the next few weeks, because I know at the end I'm going to take this amazing vacation."

Sabran, fa inna mawa'idakum al-jannah — patience. Paradise has an appointment for you. It has a slot for you. It has a spot for you.

Ask Allah for Paradise

And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

(Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2572; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4340)

"Whoever asks Allah for Paradise three times, Paradise responds and says: 'Oh Allah, enter him into Paradise.'"

May Allah grant it to us. May Allah grant us the best of this life and the best of the next. May Allah protect us from harm in this life and in the next. May Allah allow us to always have perspective and patience. And may Allah make us amongst the recipients of His promised Paradise. May Allah grant us Paradise with our beloved Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and the prophets and the righteous ones that came before us and that will come after us. May Allah gather us all in Jannat al-Firdaws. May Allah grant us patience always and grant us perspective always. May Allah allow us to act with righteousness in our good times and in our bad times, and to seek that which He has promised us of His reward in our good times and in our bad times. Allahumma ameen.

Aqoolu qawli hadha wa astaghfirullaha li wa lakum wa li sa'iril muslimeen, fastaghfiruhu innahu huwa al-Ghafoor al-Raheem.

Alhamdulillah, wassalatu wassalamu 'ala Rasulillah, wa 'ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala.

Dear brothers and sisters, again — just a reminder: comfort each other, comfort ourselves with Paradise. Ask Allah for it. Seek the best in this life, seek justice in this life, but be comforted with His reward in the afterlife.

"No God except You, glory to You, indeed we were of those who were unjust."

Fadhkurullaha yadhkurkum, washkurohu 'ala al-ni'am, wa la dhikrullahi akbar, wallahu ya'lamu ma tasna'oon. Wa aqimus salah.