Patience and gratitude are usually treated as two separate virtues, and the pairing here is deliberate. Between them they cover every circumstance a person can be in: what he does when things are hard, and what he does when they are not.
The Prophet ﷺ described the believer's situation in exactly those terms — that all of it is good for him, because if something pleasing reaches him he is grateful and that is good for him, and if something harmful reaches him he is patient and that is good for him. This book is an extended examination of that.
What It Contains
The author intended something comprehensive, extensive and useful, and the material reflects it:
- Points of benefit from the exegesis of the Qur'an, referenced to their sources
- Traditions of the Prophet ﷺ, with references
- Reports from the pious predecessors, with references
- Juristic issues supported by evidence
- Indications toward the spiritual path
Who It Speaks To
The author describes the book's intended effect with some precision, and the list is worth repeating because it identifies four different readers.
It is pleasing to the reader. It is plain to whoever reads it thoroughly. It is engaging to the distressed — the person in the middle of something. It is stimulating for the neglectful — the person who has stopped noticing. And it is encouraging for the one ready to work.
All of this will be obvious, he says, to the one who contemplates it and is endowed with sound intellect.
Who It Is For
Anyone in a difficulty that is not going to resolve quickly. Anyone whose circumstances are comfortable and who suspects he has stopped being grateful for them. Students of knowledge, khateebs and study circles.
Related Reading
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