Patience and gratitude - Al Quran wa Sunnah

Translations of Qur’ânic quotations have been adapted from the translation by Yusuf Ali.
However, the archaic style of the translator has been modernized, so that “thou” has been
changed to “you”, “doeth” to “does”, etc.
Abbreviations of the blessings customarily pronounced by Muslims following the names
of the Prophet and Sahâbah are used in the text, as follows: SAAS = salla’llâhu ‘alayhi
wa sallam (may Allâh bless him and grant him peace), following mention of the Prophet
Muhammad (SAAS); RA = radiy’allâhu ‘anhu/‘anha/‘anhum (may Allah be pleased
with him/her/them), after the name of a Companion or wife of the Prophet (SAAS).
Finally, a note on gender usage: although the text of this book tends to use masculine (he,
him) in describing human situations, this is in no way intended to exclude the female
readers. This use of masculine reflects the Arabic usage, where - grammatically speaking
- the masculine may always include the feminine, as in al-Muslimûn (masculine plural),
which can include the female as well as male Muslims. Repeated use of “he or she” or
“him or her” would have made the language of the book very stilted and tedious to read.
The advice and suggestions given by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah may be understood to
apply equally to males and females.
Author’s Prologue
Praise be to Allâh, the Patient (as-Sabûr), the Thankful (ash-Shakûr), the Most High (al-
‘Aliyy), the Greatest (al-Kabîr), the All-Hearing (as-Samî’), the All-Seeing (al-Basîr), the
All-Knowing (al-‘Alîm), the All-Powerful (al-Qâdir), Whose power controls every single
creature and Whose Will dominates every single event. His Call to people to prepare for
the Hereafter has been so strongly that even the dead could hear it. I bear witness that
Muhammad is His Slave and Messenger, the best of His creation who did not spare any
effort to advise this Ummah, the most patient in accepting the decree of Allâh and the
most grateful for His blessings. Truly he conveyed the Message of Allâh and proclaimed
the Truth, and endured in the way of Allâh that which no human being had ever endured.
He followed Allâh’s commands patiently and gratefully, until he gained the pleasure of
Allâh and attained the highest degree of patience, such as had never before been reached.
Patience, or patient perseverance, is obligatory, according to the consensus of the
scholars, and it is half of faith (îmân), the other half of which is gratitude (shukr).
Patience is mentioned in the Qur’ân around ninety times. The relation of patience to îmân
is like the relation of the head to the body, and the one who has no patience has no îmân.
Allâh has commanded patience for the Believers in the following âyah: