ÜÇÜNCÜ FEN · ÜÇÜNCÜ BÂB · ÜÇÜNCÜ FASIL · İkinci Madde
The Second Article
Concerning the limits of patience and forbearance, their realities, tastes, and blessings.
O esteemed one! Know that the Friends of Allah have said: Patience is restraining the soul from its desires and preventing them. Patience is departing from the soul’s pleasures through striving (mujahada). Patience is continuing steadfastness and resolve in freeing oneself from the soul's childish desires.
Patience is of two kinds: one, patience with undesired circumstances; the other, patience in separation from the Beloved. As much calamity befalls the heart, so much patience descends upon it. To be patient with calamities is to attain one of the most excellent divine gifts bestowed upon humankind. Knowledge provides benefit, and patience repels afflictions. Beautiful patience is a great reward. Patience is the veil that covers blemishes in the hearts. Be grateful in abundance and patient in scarcity. Be dignified in times of turmoil and upheaval, and be patient in moments of severity. Be gentle in moments of anger, and be patient in times of fear.
With patience, calamity does not occur, and he who is patient does not feel pain from calamities. He who is patient with affliction shows acceptance of divine decree (qadar). Acceptance makes patience easy. Calamities become like honey for the patient, and cornelian cherry preserves are a delight to the steadfast. The patient achieves victory. The essence of faith is patience. The essence of Islam is acceptance.
If you see that the Divine has rained down afflictions upon you, know with certainty that He is admonishing you. When you attain a blessing, be grateful. When you are afflicted by calamity, be patient. To wail and lament when calamity arrives is heavier and more difficult than the affliction itself. Indeed, lamentation is more burdensome than patience. Patience is abandoning complaint in the face of sorrow and distress. Patience is accepting calamity with acceptance. For the patient, absence and presence are one through blessing. The head of the patient is safe.
Patience is a beautiful sign. Calamities are Allah’s taxes; therefore, to complain about what befalls you is the greatest error. Calamity is good, for it is a gift from the Eternal One. Patience is a blessed elixir that ultimately brings well-being.
Nazm (Poem)
1- Desire poverty and annihilation, O possessor of faithfulness,
That you may find delight from the treasure of eternal subsistence.
2- Annihilate yourself; this is the certainty of poverty. Do not utter "I," "you," or "he"; this is annihilation.
3- Abandon pride, be filled with it through your heart and soar with it. In place of pride, praise the Majesty (Kibriya).
4- Become dust, become pure; never see yourself at all,
That beautiful tutty may emerge from your soil.
5- If you surrender this soul to love,
You will become a thousand souls, pleasing and boundless.
6- The breath of love gives the heart such a delightful life,
It is the soul of the world, that life-bestowing moment.
7- Know that there is only one Allah, who creates and does all things;
Whatever happens, accept it with heartfelt pleasure.
8- Since He is the Giver and the Taker of everything,
Forget about humankind and praise the Creator.
9- Return to the Real (Haqq) wholeheartedly, be patient,
And know the gifts that come from Him.