A person needs to be patient in performing
righteous deeds because instinctively, the soul is averse to many acts of
worship. As regards the Prayer, due to the soul’s nature of laziness and
preference of comfort, especially if such coincides with hardness of the heart,
inclination to lusts and mingling with heedless people. With all these defects
and others, the individual may perform the Prayer hesitatingly; and even if he
does, he would be doing it burdensomely and absent-mindedly, heedlessly; just
waiting to get off it like someone sitting by carrion.
As for giving out obligatory charity, since the
soul is naturally covetous and stingy, the individual may find it difficult
handing it out. The same applies to the Pilgrimage and fighting in Allah’s
cause.
The individual requires patience in three
circumstances:
First: Before
commencing the act of worship; by correcting the intention, being sincere,
avoiding the motives of show off and popularity seeking. He must have the firm
will to fulfill the rights of the obligation.
Second:
Patience while performing the act of worship. A servant should be patient in
avoiding all the things that will lead to deficiencies and negligence in the
act. He should also patiently recall the intention and be mindful of His Lord.
He should not forget His orders because performing the obligation is not all
that matters; not forgetting the One who gave the order while carrying out the
order matters a great deal.
He should constantly remember Him while
observing His obligations; this is the worship of the sincere servants of
Allah. He needs patience in fulfilling the rights of worship by observing its
pillars, its obligatory aspects and recommendations as well giving Allah’s
remembrance therein. He should not allow his god-consciousness of his heart to
impede him from worshipping Him with his limbs; and he should not allow the
worship with the limbs hinder him from giving god-consciousness before his
Lord.
Third:
Patience after completing the act of worship; and this can be done in the
following ways:
One:
Patience in refraining from the things that nullify the individual’s act of
worship. Allah the most High said: “O you who believe! Do not render in
vain your charity by reminders of your generosity or by injury.” [Soorah al-Baqarah: 264]
Two: He
should be patient in refraining from looking at it, having a high opinion of it
and being proud of it. This is because such is more harmful to him than many
apparent sinful deeds.
Three: He
should give patience to avoid transferring the acts of worship from a secret
book to an open one because someone may perform a good deed secretly between
himself and his Lord and it will be recorded in a secret book, and if he
informs about it, it becomes transferred to an open book.
So, one should not think the mats of patience
are folded just after completing the act of worship.
Source: ‘Uddah
as-Saabireen wa Dhakheerah ash-Shaakireen, by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah
