THE RELIGION OF HUMANITY: Islam’s Ethical and Spiritual Outlook

The reward for the afternoon (‘Asr) prayer is immense, but it cannot be performed at noon. The extraordinary reward of fasting in Ramadan cannot be gained by fasting in the month of Muharram. Likewise, the worship of patience can only be performed in situations that demand it—it is not possible to offer this form of worship in times of ease and comfort. So, when does the opportunity for patience arise? It comes when you are provoked, mistreated, or when someone says something that wounds your ego. The opportunity to practice patience arises only in adversity, not in ease. Most people, when faced with such situations, lose their temper. They fall into negative thinking. But if they were to realize that this is actually a moment for worship, they would greet it the same way they welcome the time for prayer or fasting. A moment of patience is a moment of spiritual elevation. When such a moment comes, one should believe with certainty that this is the time to demonstrate a great act of devotion—and thereby become deserving of a great reward. THE ETHICS OF JUDGING OTHERS There is a verse in the Quran: “Believers, avoid much suspicion. Indeed, some suspicion is a sin.” (49:12) Suspicion is broadly divided into two categories: positive assumption (husn al-zann), which is permissible, and negative assumption (su’ al-zann), which is forbidden. (Tafsir al-Mazhari, Vol. 9, p. 54)