Sabr & Shukr
If you get these two things right in your life, you got your both lives made!
As-salamu alaykum! I’m really excited to post this newsletter! This week’s newsletter is about Sabr (Patience) and Shukr (Gratitude). These are two of a believer's most valuable characteristics. And Allah Subhana Wata'ala promises the greatest rewards to the person who possesses these traits. Sabr & Shukr are also Prophetic Sunnahs. However, many people (including myself) find it difficult to demonstrate these highly commended qualities.
Put on your headphones, play the audio above, and let’s find out why!
Trials
People question Allah often. ‘Allah, why me?’ Because they think Allah is punishing them. Mostly, this is not the case. Putting us through hardships is Allah’s way of evaluating our loyalty to him. But people fail to understand this. They start assuming that Allah hates them for their deeds and that’s why, he’s punishing them. Well, firstly, check this:
وَلَوۡ یُؤَاخِذُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلنَّاسَ بِظُلۡمِهِم مَّا تَرَكَ عَلَیۡهَا مِن دَاۤبَّةࣲ وَلَـٰكِن یُؤَخِّرُهُمۡ إِلَىٰۤ أَجَلࣲ مُّسَمࣰّىۖ فَإِذَا جَاۤءَ أَجَلُهُمۡ لَا یَسۡتَءۡخِرُونَ سَاعَةࣰ وَلَا یَسۡتَقۡدِمُونَ
“If Allah were to punish people ˹immediately˺ for their wrongdoing, He would not have left a single living being on earth. But He delays them for an appointed term. And when their time arrives, they cannot delay it for a moment, nor could they advance it.”
Allah doesn’t like seeing you suffer. Stop this negativity from taking over your mind.
Stop thinking He hates you. This mindset can ruin your entire relationship with Allah. Because you are unable to distinguish punishment from trial. And naturally, we hate the person who punishes us or humiliates us. So, when you do not distinguish punishment from a trial, you start assuming He hates you. Stop it, please. Allah has already promised us that yes, He will most certainly, test us:
وَلَنَبۡلُوَنَّكُم بِشَيۡءٖ مِّنَ ٱلۡخَوۡفِ وَٱلۡجُوعِ وَنَقۡصٖ مِّنَ ٱلۡأَمۡوَٰلِ وَٱلۡأَنفُسِ وَٱلثَّمَرَٰتِۗ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ
“And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient,”
Your behavior when an affliction strikes you shouldn’t be ‘Allah hates me!’. You should know that this is Allah’s promise; ‘He will test me with all sorts of hardships but I must remain patient and grateful.’ Following the aforementioned verse, are these two verses:
ٱلَّذِينَ إِذَآ أَصَـٰبَتْهُم مُّصِيبَةٌۭ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّآ إِلَيْهِ رَٰجِعُونَ
“Those who say, when afflicted with a calamity, ‘We belong to God and to Him we shall return.’”
أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَٰتٌۭ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌۭ ۖ وَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُهْتَدُونَ
“Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is those who are the [rightly] guided.”
What we are learning here is the conduct of a believer afflicted with hardship. Don’t let people tell you Bechara/Bechari(Poor You!) (if you are from some parts of the world where this is very common). If adversity befalls you, don’t think yourself unfortunate. Neither let anyone pity you. Adopt a positive mindset and be grateful that Allah has given you a chance to prove yourself to him; that Allah has given you a chance to strive for His sake for every effort you make for his sake, you will be rewarded for it. The Prophet ﷺ said,
"No fatigue, nor disease, nor sorrow, nor sadness, nor hurt, nor distress befalls a Muslim, even if it were the prick he receives from a thorn, but that Allah expiates some of his sins for that."
You see? You are not unfortunate. You are blessed. When you embrace this way of acting, that’s when you are ready to face your fears in the face. And that’s when you actually learn to differ trial from punishment because you know,
“Allāh does not burden a soul except [with that within] its capacity. It will have [the consequence of] what [good] it has gained, and it will bear [the consequence of] what [evil] it has earned.”
I know what you are thinking. ‘But Sidra, this is easier said than done.’
How to be patient?
So, what is Sabr?
Sabr is failing an exam and not complaining about it
Sabr is holding back those tears for Allah’s sake
Sabr is never being hopeless
Sabr is holding back your anger for Allah’s sake
Sabr is saying Alhamdulillah even when you have nothing (By the way, you will never have ‘nothing’. Even when some days you feel like you have nothing, you can still be grateful for your heart still pumping blood or your lungs still supplying you with oxygen. There’s never nothing to be grateful for.)
Sabr is so much more
Not you, not me. None of us have suffered more than the Prophets before us. The Prophets were the people who were most tested by Allah. And Allah loves His Prophets, right? So you see? Trials are Allah’s way of showing us love. It’s Allah’s way of strengthening our hearts. It’s Allah’s way of telling us that at the end of everything, it is only Him that we will have. Forever.
كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَانٍۢ
“Everyone on earth perishes;”
وَيَبْقَىٰ وَجْهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو ٱلْجَلَـٰلِ وَٱلْإِكْرَامِ
“all that remains is the Face of your Lord, full of majesty, bestowing honor.”
A few weeks ago, I attended an Emotional Intelligence class where our mentor taught us how to be self-aware and more empathetic with people along with a couple of other stuff. Now writing this newsletter, I have come to realize that Self-awareness in a way, is very much related to Sabr. Sabr is not giving in to your emotions and containing yourself. Self-awareness is being mindful of your speech and thinking before you react to a situation. So if we teach ourselves self-awareness, we may, to some degree, develop Sabr too. For example, you had an argument with your classmate and now her emotions are getting the best of her and she’s coming down on you full-steam. You, on the other hand, contain yourself, and even though there are a thousand things popping up in your mind that you could throw back at her and literally burn her to ashes with your words, you decide to remain silent for the sake of Allah. That right there is Self-awareness, God-consciousness, and Sabr in action. However, I understand there are more intense situations we deal with in our lives where we are required to show patience but it’s hard and it hurts. It could be a Dua’a you’re making that’s not getting answered or anything else. In that case, remind yourself of the Legacy of Patience our Prophets (عَلَیهم السَّلام) left behind for us;
وَإِسْمَـٰعِيلَ وَإِدْرِيسَ وَذَا ٱلْكِفْلِ ۖ كُلٌّۭ مِّنَ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ
“And [mention] Ishmael and Idrees and Dhul-Kifl; all were of the patient.”
Yes, patience is hard. But what is easy in life? Anything that has any goodness in it, is hard. The path to Jannah is not going to be easy. The Prophet ﷺ said,
"When Allah created Paradise and Hell, He sent Jibril, peace be upon him, to Paradise and said: 'Look at it and at what I have prepared for its people in it.' He looked at it, then he came back and said: 'By Your Glory, no one will hear of it but he will enter it.' So He commanded that it be surrounded by hardships and said: 'Go and look at it and at what I have prepared for its people in it.' He looked at it and saw that it had been surrounded with hardships. He (Jibril) said: 'By Your Glory, I fear that no one will enter it.'
But the path to hell is easy;
He (Allah) said: 'Go and look at the Fire and at what I have prepared for its people in it.' So he looked at it and parts of it were piled upon other parts. He came back and said: 'By Your Glory, no one will enter it.' So He commanded that it be surrounded with pleasures and said: 'Go and look at it.' So he looked at it and saw that it was surrounded with pleasures. He came back and said: 'By Your Glory, I fear that no one will be saved from it and all will enter it.'"
When Jibril عَلَیه السَّلام saw Jahannam, he was sure nobody would want to end up there. But when he looked at the path that led to Jahnnam, he feared that everyone would end up there. So, yes, it’s hard and it’s meant to be. We gotta toughen ourselves up and choose if we want it easy here and hard there or hard here and easy there. I choose the latter over the former.
الدُّنْيَا سِجْنُ الْمُؤْمِنِ وَجَنَّةُ الْكَافِرِ
“The world is a prison for the believer and a paradise for the unbeliever.”
Patience and Gratitude go hand in hand. This takes us to the third heading of this newsletter.
Nothing to be grateful for
Two days ago, on my way to my college, I was filling out the medical form that was required by my college. It had a long list of diseases and I had to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to each of them (it’s that DHA health form, those of you who know what I’m talking about. I have always hated filling it, and to be honest, whenever the teacher gave it to me to fill it out, I never returned it because it was just so long).
There were around 25 serious diseases listed in the form and Alhamdulilah, I did not have any of them except for the sensitive skin. At that moment, I was so grateful (and so I took a picture) that how could I ever think that Allah Subhana Wata’ala hasn’t given me anything to be grateful for? How can I even think this?
قُلْ هُوَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنشَأَكُمْ وَجَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلسَّمْعَ وَٱلْأَبْصَـٰرَ وَٱلْأَفْـِٔدَةَ ۖ قَلِيلًۭا مَّا تَشْكُرُونَ
Say, "It is He who has produced you and made for you hearing and vision and hearts [i.e., intellect]; little are you grateful."
There are people who don’t have two hands, don’t have two legs, or have brain malformations and other diseases, and yet, they never forget Allah. Do you know why? When you are deprived of something, that’s when you actually learn its value. We, with two hands, two legs, and perfectly working brains, instead of showing Allah gratitude, still complain. Ya’ni.. how much more do we want? There are people who’d give everything to exchange their lives with you. Really. I have come across some myself. They’d do everything to live the life I’m living right now. I, on the other hand, am complaining about how I don’t have A, B, C. The Prophet ﷺ said,
“Look at those below you and do not look at those above you, for it is the best way not to belittle the favors of Allah.”
Even when we show no gratitude to Allah, He keeps bestowing His blessings upon us. I can never do that, you know. Humans can’t keep giving favors to someone if they do not reciprocate them. But Allah keeps giving us more and more and more. And He does not ask us to do crazy stuff for Him in return. Just say Alhamdulilah and that makes Him happy.
“… If you were to count the blessings of Allah, you would never be able to number them all.”
The reason why I believe gratitude and patience are closely related is because you can only have Sabr when you’re content with the decree of Allah. You cannot be frustrated and say, ‘I don’t why Allah put me through this’ and still show gratitude. That is slightly impractical. It is only when you have contentment and trust in Allah’s decree that you are fully able to show gratitude to Allah. So for you to master Shukr, you must first master Sabr. And for those who show gratitude, Allah has promised that He will give them more;
لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ ۖ
“…If you are grateful, I will certainly give you more”
We have all heard this ayah. But this is only the first part of the ayah. People tell us how Allah is اَلرَّحِيْمُ (The Most Merciful) and how Allah is الغفور (The Ever-Forgiving) but people rarely tell us that Allah is also سَرِیعُ الْحِساب (The One Swift in reckoning) and that Allah is also شَدِیدُ العِقاب (The One Severe in Punishment), Yes, without a doubt, Allah is Merciful and He is Forgiving but if our conduct is not good, then Allah can also Punish us. There’s always a balance. If you look in the Quran, you’ll see that when Allah is mentioned as Ar-Raḥīm or Al-Ghafoor, He will be mentioned as Al-Qahhar or Shadeed-ul-Iqab, sooner or later as well. When Jannah is mentioned, sooner or later, Jahannum is also mentioned. That is because Allah wants us to know that yes, he will forgive us because that’s one of his qualities but he also does not want us to forget that if we disobey him, he can also punish us because that is also one of his qualities. So, if we are grateful, he will give us more but if we are ungrateful then? Here’s the second part of the ayah:
وَلَئِن كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِى لَشَدِيدٌۭ
“But if you are ungrateful, surely My punishment is severe.”
With this, I end today’s newsletter. This topic of Sabr & Shukr is very close to my heart. In fact, when I started writing newsletters, I thought the first thing I’d write about would be this but then my research was insufficient and I was not practicing it myself. I might write on the same topic sometime again.
Note
I know some of you are wondering why I posted this instead of posting Gender Crisis pt 2. Actually, my plan was not to post on the same topic consecutively. I’ve been really busy with my college application so I did not have the time to do my research. I’ll post it when I have time and when my research is complete. Funny enough, some of the haters from the last newsletter have actually subscribed to my newsletters. So for you, I shall make it clear, I couldn’t care less about your hateful comments and I am not afraid of your threats. Truth shall prevail. You cannot stop me from writing what is Haq. After all, I too have freedom of speech, don’t I? 😂
By the way, y’all haters got me so many views on the last newsletter. Thank you for doing the promotion. Y’all got me many subscribers too!
And those of you who thought I “ran into the woods” because I didn’t have anything to prove my claim in the last newsletter, know I have a lot to support my claim. I have done my homework. It is you who have not done yours, hence quoting Qur’anic verses and Hadiths to defend musicians. The reason why I stopped myself from proving my point to you is:
It was pointless. If an entire newsletter couldn’t convince you, nothing will until you decide to change yourself
I did not want to have a dispute with y’all in the comment section and ruin the atmosphere of my newsletters
Because that’s what Allah has told me to do;
“The (true) servants of the Most Compassionate are those who walk on the earth humbly, and when the foolish address them ˹improperly˺, they only respond with peace.”
Also, I do not give anyone the right to “rate” my newsletter. My aim is not to create a literary masterpiece. If you have a problem and you find my newsletters below your standards, the door is open, please leave. Thank you very much. I will not let you create drama under my newsletters.
For my regular readers
If there is anything you want me to write a newsletter on, drop it in the comment section. I have depression & anxiety in my mind for the next post. And I know some of you are wondering why this newsletter is so long. Some of you asked for long & detailed newsletters and others asked for short. So, from now on, I’ll be dropping shorter newsletters too, Insha’Allah. Just let me get done with the college registration stuff. Also, I apologize if the ambience audio was a bit troublesome. I’m still trying to figure my way around it.
I hope you found this newsletter beneficial. May Allah Subhana Wat’ala forgive me if I erred or misinterpreted any of the ayahs. Thank you for taking out the time to read.
Ps: Substack is telling me that I’ve crossed the length limit and my fingers are telling me that I really need to stop now. Until next week!
Mashallah, newsletters are so amazing. 👏
Masha'Allah. This newsletter is just beyond amazing. Masha'Allah worth reading.