Why grieve when you have the six ingredients?

 

The author of Ease after Difficulty mentioned the story of a wise person who was afflicted by calamity. His brothers went to him and tried to console him over his loss. He answered, “I have put together a remedy that is composed of six ingredients they asked him what those ingredients were, and he answered,

 

"The first is to have a firm trust in Allah, the Almighty. The second is resigning oneself to the inescapable fact that everything that is decreed will happen and will follow its unalterable course. The third is that patience has no substitute for the positive effect it has on the afflicted. The fourth is an unwavering belief in the implications of this phrase: Without showing forbearance, what will l accomplish?’ The fifth is to ask myself why should I be a willful party to my own destruction. The sixth is knowing that from one hour to the next, circumstances are transformed and difficulties vanish.”

 

Do not grieve if others inflict upon you harm or pain, nor should you grieve if you are oppressed or are the subject of envy.

 

Shaykh al-lslam (Ibn Taymiyah) said:

"The believer does not seek quarrel or revenge; nor does he find blame or fault in others." l

 

Do not despair if you face obstacles or problems; rather, forbear and be patient.

"O’ time, if you have any of that leftover,

 

From which you bring down the worthy- then let me have it. “

 

Patience, as opposed to anxiety, bears the fruit of comfort; and the one who does not voluntarily show patience will have it forced upon him by circumstances. Al-Mutanabbi said:

 

"Time has showered me with trouble until

The arrows on my heart have formed a cover,

That now when I am struck with an arrow,

The blade of it strikes into the shaft of another,

Now I live without a care for troubles,

Since I have not profited by caring."

 

Do not be distressed if someone refuses you a favor, or if you are frowned upon, or if the miserly person refuses you.

 

lf, by refraining from asking others, you prevent the sweat of humiliation from pouring down your face, then a wooden hut or a tent of cloth is better for you than a spacious house and a beautiful garden, material things that will only bring you worry and disquiet.

 

Tribulation is similar to sickness: it must run its course before it goes away, and the one who is hasty in attempting to remove it often causes it to augment and increase. It is imperative that the one who is afflicted be patient; he must wait with hope for relief, and he must be persistent in his prayers.