ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Heart Comforter Patience and Aftermath In language, patience means one restraining himself during periods of panic about something the advent of which is hated and about fretting on its account.

This takes place when one prevents his inner self from being perturbed, his parts from unusual motion, and it falls in three types: First: General patience: Self-restraint as a way for showing forbearance and demonstrating firmness during trials and tribulations so people will be regarded by men of reason and by the general public as accepting whatever comes up in the life of this world while being unaware of the advent of the Hereafter.[^1] Second: Patience of the ascetics, the true worshippers, the men of piety, the men of clemency, due to their expecting rewards for it in the Hereafter; surely those who persevere will be granted their rewards without count.[^2] Third: Patience of the Gnostics, for some of them are pleased when something hated takes place to them due to their belief that the One Whom they adore has singled them out for it from among all other people, so they have become recognized (by the honor of His having cast a look at them): "… Give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere and, when afflicted with calamity, say, 'To Allah do we belong, and to Him do we return'.

They are the ones on whom God's blessings and mercy (descend), and they are the ones who receive guidance” (Qur'an, 2:155-157). This type is exclusively relevant to accepting whatever the Almighty decrees, and we will discuss it in a special chapter. The first type has no rewards in it because it is not done for the sake of Allah. Rather, it is done for the sake of people; it is in reality mere pretension: Everything said about pretension applies to it.

But impatience is worse because human souls incline to emulate their peers, the ones with whom they mix, they like, so they would thus disseminate patience among them. If they see the conditions of those who persevere, their souls will incline to emulate their norms of conduct, and this may become a cause for their perfection and thus benefit may be reaped in the same type system even if the persevering person himself may not be perfect.

Patience, in the absolute sense, is applied to the second type.