Wednesday, January 15, 2020

What It Means - Day 303

"And whoever remains patient, Allah will make him patient. Nobody can be given a blessing better and greater than patience."
Muhammad, Hadith

Islam stresses many things, but one of the biggest is patience. As we've discussed, this is one of the single biggest things that drew me to the faith in the first place. When I go back and look at the surahs or ahadith that I cull out an inordinate number of them deal with patience. Traditionally, it's not a virtue in which I excel. That said, I'm struggling with some stuff lately so need to focus on this even more. Now, the question is whether we can be too patient? Islam is not necessarily a reactionary faith, and we have to be out in the world. We've discussed that there's not a traditional Sabbath in the faith, so there's no day of rest. Instead, even on Friday, we need to be actively engaged in this world. And we are also enjoined to stand up against injustice. We don't sit anything out. But at the same time we are endlessly told to remain patient, so it is a delicate balancing act.


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