Without patience...

Without patience, the truth and steadfast logic of the exalted school of religion would not have been understood. The divine learning (revelations) of this school which blessed humanity would have lost its colour with the passage of time. The ultimate hope of victory of truth over falsehood, which provides fresh life-giving blood for powerful hands and steadfast steps of believers, would have been silenced.

And the laws and guidelines of religion which control and check the human tendencies of transgression would have become inactive. The heroic field of valour and martyrdom for the sake of Allah and religion would have been converted into a graveyards of ideologies. The international congress of Hajj would have remained empty.

The humming, sensational and confidential communications of the burning lovers (believers) in the middle of night, with the Beloved (Allah) would have been silenced, the beautiful scene of "Jihad-e-Akbar" with the self ("great self-struggle"), namely fasting and self-restriction would have lost its charms. The arteries of the economy of the Islamic state would have dried up, and charity and alms-giving for the pleasure of Allah would have been ignored.

Without patience all the higher educational and ethical values of Islam (piety, trust, and righteousness) would have been forgotten; and in essence, each parameter of religion which requires action and efforts, would have remained deprived of them. Because religion requires practice, which is not possible without patience. Therefore what provides life-giving fresh blood to this giant complex, or what provides motion to this train is nothing else but patience.

With the above discussion, the substance and meaning of this divine inspiration could be clearly understood. According to some documented narrations related to the infallible Imams, the importance of patience has been defined as follows: "Patience out of faith is like a head to a body." The head of a person holds the most critical importance as far as life is concerned. One may tolerate the absence of different parts in the human body such as hands, feet, eyes, ears etc.

But if the head which is the controlling room for the whole nervous system, does not exist or is crippled, then all the parts and systems of the body will become crippled. The body may remain alive, but in reality it will not be different than a dead body. Sometimes, it may be that a part of the body may perform an outstanding task.