Ethics

People have been created impatient, for they want their desires to be fulfilled at once. But God has determined a time and place for everything, and no one can bring it forward or postpone it. This is why believers must remain patient. Prophets as well as believers have proven their patience to the day they died.

God commands: "Be patient for your Lord" (Qur'an, 74:7). Patience is a form of worship, and the believers' patience is a beautiful one (Qur'an, 70:5). Those who remain patient during this short life are promised the following reward: We will test you with a certain amount of fear and hunger, loss of wealth, life, and fruits. But give good news to those who are patient. (Qur'an, 2:155)

Patience is a moral quality that strengthens believers mentally as well as physically. The Qur'an states that at the times of our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace), 20 patient believers could defeat 200 enemies on the battlefield. This clearly demonstrates how much strength the believers gain by remaining patient. This is revealed in the following verse:

If there are twenty of you who are patient, they will overcome two hundred; and if there are a hundred of you, they will overcome a thousand of those who do not believe. (Qur'an, 8:65)

The Torah emphasizes the importance of patience and declares that such people are superior. The power of the patient is described as follows: Better a patient man than a warrior... (Proverbs, 16:32) The Bible teaches this as well: ... be patient, bearing with one another in love. (Ephesians, 4:2) ... help the weak, be patient with everyone. (1 Thessalonians, 5:14)

Adapted from: "A Call for Unity" by: "Harun Yahya"