Be patient and be thankful - Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani

Bismillah.

The truthful person offers thanks for the blessings he receives, endures with patience the punishments, carries out the commandments and keeps away from the prohibitions. Thus, the hearts are developed. Offering thanks for receiving blessings increases them and enduring with patience the punishments removes and mitigates them.

Endures with patience the death of children and other family members, the loss of property, the loss of good reputation, the failure of worldly goals and the harm caused by creatures, and then you will receive a great deal of good.

When you thank for being in easy circumstances and be patient when having hard times, the wing of your faith will become fully fledged and strengthen, and your heart and innermost being will fly to the door of your Lord.

How can you lay claim to faith when you have no patience? Have you not heard the saying of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w, "Patience is to faith as the head is to the body." If you do not have patience, then your faith is without a head and hence its body is worthless. If you know the One who sends the affliction, you would bear His affliction. If you know this world, you would not fall into disobedience by seeking it.

O Allah! Guide everyone who has gone astray!
Forgive everyone who is disobedient
Give patience to everyone who is afflicted.
Guide to thankfulness everyone who is free of afflictions.
Ameen.

- Ghawth al-Azam Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani
in Jila' al-Khatir (Purification of the Mind)
translated by Prof. Shetha al-Dargazelli and Dr. Louay Fatoohi

O son, today I shall proclaim the bounties of my Lord. After being drowned in a prolonged qabdhu state (career-wise), He has kindly placed me in basthu. Praise be to Allah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim. What I've learned over the past three years is that when He does not seem to be giving, He in fact, gives. And it's not about what I want, because "Allah does what He wills" (Ibrahim: 27) "And it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you. And it may be that you like a thing which is bad for you. Allah knows and you know not." (Al Baqarah: 216) Alhamdulillah wa shukrulillah. My love and thanks to my family and true friends for being with me through thick and thin. May Allah reward your kindness with the best bounties He has ever given to His chosen servants.