PATIENCE INSTEAD OF REACTION — Fundamental teaching of Islam

The Prophet’s name was Muhammad, meaning the praised one or the praiseworthy. But when the Quraysh of Makkah became his most dire opponents, they themselves coined a name for the Prophet, ‘Muzammam,’ on the pattern of ‘Muhammad,’ Muzammam meaning condemned. They used to heap abuses on him calling him by this epithet of Muzammam. But the Prophet was never enraged at this distorted version of his name. All he said in return was: “Aren’t you surprised that God has turned away the abuses of the Quraysh from me. They abuse a person by the name of Muzammam. Whereas I am Muhammad.” (Ibn Hisham, 1/379). This shows that Islam does not teach one to be easily provoked, even in cases of extreme provocation. On another occasion the Prophet of Islam was in the Masjid al-Nabwi in Medina, the second most sacred mosque in Islam, when a bedouin, that is, a desert Arab, entered the mosque and urinated inside it. It was obviously a very provocative matter. But the Prophet was not at all provoked. After the nomad had urinated, the Prophet simply asked his companions to bring a bucket of water and wash the place clean. (Fathul Bari, 1/386). The present world is designed in such a way that here one has repeatedly to face unpleasant experiences, inside as well as outside the home. Now if people were to fall to wrangling on all such occasions, they would fail to advance along the path of human progress. That is why Islam has placed great emphasis on patience, so that by avoiding all unpleasantness, man may continue his onward journey towards the higher goal of God-realisation. The Quran repeatedly stresses the need for patience. “Endure with fortitude whatever befalls you.” THE QURAN 31: 17 “Have patience. God is with those that are patient.” THE QURAN 8: 46 “Perdition shall be the lot of man except for those who believe and do good works and exhort one another to justice and to fortitude.” THE QURAN 103: 2-3 The only way to deal with the irksome side of daily living is to exercise patience.