Chapter II: Patience and Gratefulness
(a) To control the evil inclinations of nature requires the constant exercise of patience. Their numbers are few and they say: God is our Lord and they are firm in this. They are the truthful ones. They are addressed by God as thus: O satisfied soul, return to thy Lord well-pleased with Him and well-pleasing Him -89: 28.
(b) To surrender to the forces of devil and all inclinations towards religion are routed. They are the heedless ones and their numbers are many. The enemies of God rule over their souls.
God says about them: I would have guided everyone had I wished, but My promise will come out true: I will fill up Hell with man and jinn -9:112. God says regarding them: Turn away from those who turn away from My remembrance and who do not wish except the pleasure of this world's life. The signs of this life are despair and hopelessness. For that reason, the Prophet said: Wise is he who humbles himself and acts for what will come after death and fool is he who follows his low desires and hopes against God.
(c) To continue struggles between two forces-forces of good and forces of evil. Sometimes the forces of good prevail and sometimes forces of evil. Such a man has mixed up good with evil.
PATIENCE IN CONSIDERATION OF SEVERITY AND EASE: The first kind of patience is not acquired without great efforts and the second kind of patience does not require such efforts. God says: He who gives charity and fears God and takes to patience and considers good as good, I shall make his path easy - 92 : 7. The practice of patience leads to contentment which is therefore higher than patience. The Prophet said: Do divine service with contentment. If you are unable to do it, there is
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abundant good in keeping patience in fighting with your baser self. A friend of God said: A patient man stands on three stages.
In the first stage, he gives up following his baser self. In the second stage, he remains satisfied with his fate and this is the rank of one who renounces the world. In the third stage, he likes what his Master does about him and this is the rank of the truthful and this is the stage of love. The stage of love is higher than that of contenment and the stage of contentment is higher than that of patience.
PATIENCE IN CONSIDERATION OF LAWS: Patience is divided into compulsory optional, unlawful and abominable things in consideration of laws. To keep patience from unlawful things is compulsory and to keep patience from the abominable things is optional. To keep patience at a difficulty which is prohibited is also prohibited. He is like a man who keeps patience seeing that his hand is being cut off, or the hand of his son is being cut off, or he is like a man who keeps patience even seeing that a stranger is cohabiting with his wife. Such kind of patience is unlawful. So patience is sometimes good and sometimes bad.