The Wisdom of Life

The Wisdom of Life How do we know if by following religion we have become hardliners? Hardliners are a result of religion, but a result of erroneous interpretation of religion. When you only define religion in terms of form, it makes you a hardliner. If you define it in terms of spirit, you will not become a hardliner. I have a 15-year old son who is very short-tempered. How should I convey the importance of patience to him? You do not have to change the boy, you have to change yourself. All children become so as a result of the pampering of their parents. You and your spouse should stop pampering your child. All parents without doubt and without exception pamper their children. Even my father used to pamper me when I was a child and whenever my uncle used to stop my father from doing so, the latter would say that he did not do any pampering at all. My father died when I was six years old and I was a pampered boy until then. Is there a limit to patience? What if some community takes advantage of our situation? Patience is a form of worship – then why a limit has to be assigned to it? Patience is held as the highest worship in the Quran, so will it have any limit? When there is no limit to the reward to patience, why should there be any limit to patience? The highest reward in the Quran is for keeping patience and therefore there can be no limit to it. Exercising patience is actually continuing a process of personality development, something that must continue unhindered in our lifetime. Patience is not a standalone act, but a part of life.