Isbir wahtasib
- Author died
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- Editions
- Dar al-Qasim
Isbir wahtasib (Be Patient and Seek Reward) is a devotional work on patience (sabr) and enduring trials (bala'), authored by the contemporary Saudi scholar and writer Abd al-Malik ibn Muhammad al-Qasim. The book forms the fourth installment in the author's moral guidance series titled Ayna Nahnu min Ha'ula'? ("Where Are We Compared to These?").
Purpose and Scope
The work is intended as a source of consolation for the afflicted and an encouragement to practice steadfastness and seek divine reward (ihtisab) when facing tribulations. In his dedication, the author addresses the book to those beset by life's difficulties, those who have lost children, loved ones, parents, or companions, and every grieving believer.
In the introduction, al-Qasim notes that this worldly life is inherently an abode of testing and distress. He identifies four widespread shortcomings regarding trials in modern times:
- A lack of contentment, patience, and anticipation of divine reward, with some individuals merely forgetting their grief passively over time.
- Outright panic and discontent, as though worldly life were intended solely for uninterrupted ease.
- Restricting the intention of seeking divine reward to major catastrophes—such as bereavement—while neglecting everyday hardships, down to the pricking of a thorn.
- Presuming that affliction occurs only during hardship, while overlooking that prosperity and wealth are themselves tests if they are not utilized in acts of obedience.
Structure and Contents
The book is structured around fundamental theological concepts related to trials, their legal rulings, practical remedies for managing grief, and historical narratives from early Islamic figures.
Nature and Categories of Affliction and Patience
Al-Qasim classifies the calamities that befall a person into four domains: physical health and life, wealth, honor, and family or loved ones. He underscores that worldly hardship is inevitable for all people and that the Prophets experienced the severest afflictions, followed by the righteous. Among all trials, he identifies tribulations in one's religion (al-musiba fi al-din) as the most severe form of loss.
Linguistically defined as restraint, patience in Islamic practice entails restraining the self from despair, the tongue from complaining to creation, and the limbs from prohibited expressions of grief such as slapping cheeks or tearing garments. The author differentiates between sabr (patience), which is obligatory and involves enduring pain without discontent, and rida (contentment), which is a higher, recommended state characterized by inner serenity and the acceptance of divine decree. Legally, patience is divided into obligatory (refraining from sins, fulfilling obligatory acts, and enduring involuntary afflictions like illness), recommended (refraining from disliked matters and enduring harm without retaliation), permissible, disliked, and prohibited.
Remedies and Etiquettes of Coping with Calamity
The author outlines practical remedies and cognitive measures to alleviate the pain of calamities:
- Recognizing that worldly life is fundamentally a realm of trial.
- Reflecting that the affliction could have been worse.
- Finding solace in the example of others who suffered comparable or greater hardships.
- Hoping for divine compensation and focusing on the promised rewards for the patient.
- Remembering that whatever God decrees contains hidden goodness and expiates sins.
Among the prescribed etiquettes, al-Qasim emphasizes exercising patience at the initial shock of the calamity, keeping quiet about personal ailments when possible, and avoiding broadcasting misfortunes to people. He clarifies that silent weeping and feeling natural sorrow do not violate patience or contentment, citing the weeping of the Prophet Jacob over Joseph.
Sources and Style
The book relies heavily on scriptural citations from the Quran and the Hadith, as well as quotations from early figures (al-salaf). It incorporates sayings and anecdotes from Companions such as Umar ibn al-Khattab, Ali ibn Abi Talib, and Abu al-Darda', alongside early scholars including al-Hasan al-Basri, al-Fudayl ibn Iyad, al-Ahnaf ibn Qays, and Shurayh al-Qadi. It also draws on classical treatises on the subject, notably Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya's 'Uddat al-sabirin and al-Manbiji's Tasliyat ahl al-masa'ib. The work is written in an accessible, exhortative style interspersed with lines of poetry on resilience and trust in divine wisdom.
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