ÜÇÜNCÜ FEN · ÜÇÜNCÜ BÂB · ÜÇÜNCÜ FASIL · Dördüncü Madde
Fourth Point
Regarding the aspects and benefits of patience and forbearance, and the harms of lamenting and wailing (complaining).
O beloved! Know that the friends of Allah have said: Patience is a bitter but beneficial medicine; whoever takes it, enduring its bitterness, gains all its benefits and eliminates every harm. It is a medicine that an intelligent person forces himself to take because of its benefits. He endures its bitterness with the thought that one hour of pain will bring a year’s worth of sweetness.
Patience is divided into four categories:
1- Patience in obedience to Allah.
2- Patience in abandoning sins.
3- Patience in refraining from the frivolous pursuits of the world (avoiding deception).
4- Patience in the face of trials and hardships.
Whoever endures and perseveres in these four matters gains immense benefits, including obedience to Allah, attaining one’s intended goal, living righteously and achieving great rewards. It is freedom from sins and tribulations in both worlds. Furthermore, it is relief from difficulties and hardships such as financial hardship that one may encounter in this world.
Through patience and obedience, a person attains lofty stations and ranks, his degree rises, and he gains many benefits, such as attaining the intimacy of Allah.
Thanks to patience, a person escapes the torment of undesired misfortunes, quarrels, the distresses of lamenting and wailing, the hardships of the world, punishment in the Hereafter, pursuing desires and whims, the deceptions and traps of enemies, and countless calamities. He attains his desire, obtains the felicity of both worlds, and reaches the station of acceptance (of Allah’s will).
He who lacks patience and is overcome by anxiety and agitation is deprived of all these benefits and is exposed to every kind of distress, filled with sorrow and grief, and inclines towards his desires. For such a person, whose will is weak, cannot perform his worship and duties fully in order to attain intimacy (with Allah). Rather, he remains heedless or fails to persevere in refraining from what Allah has forbidden and thus perishes in ruin. Or, he fails to persevere in avoiding the fleeting pleasures of the world and strives to acquire them, thereby finding calamity. Or, he cannot endure the misfortunes that befall him and laments and wails, thus losing many virtues that he would have gained through patience. Often, his lamenting and wailing cause the reward of patience to vanish; a misfortune doubles, one part being the misfortune itself, and the other being the loss of patience. As it is said: "To be deprived of patience in the face of misfortunes is more difficult and severe than the calamities themselves." So why should one lament and wail, which causes what one possesses to vanish and does not bring back what has slipped away? Rather, refrain from lamenting and wailing so that if one thing leaves you, another will not be lost.
We can summarize this matter with the saying of Imam Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): "If you are patient, what is decreed for you will occur anyway, but you will receive your reward for your patience. If you are not patient and lament and wail, fate will still run its course, but you will be deprived." For everything that happens and creates is the Exalted Creator (Hâlik and Bârî) Allah, who knows predestination and decree; His judgments encompass everyone at their appointed time.”
Therefore, those who strive with measures and precautions while lamenting and wailing are deprived of blessings (such as peace of mind). So let entrustment, acceptance, patience, and forbearance be the gain of the knowers. For these are signs of gnosis.
Poetry from the Masnavi
1- O you who decided to travel the path step by step! You are a hamin, a hamin, a hamin, a hamin.
2- You look at the branch, unaware of the root. We are branches; the essence is the decrees of fate.
3- Fate makes even the revolving sky lose its way. Fate makes hundreds of Utarid fools.
4- It constricts the world of solutions. It melts iron and ore, turning them into water.
5- Allah said to Job in generosity: “I have given you patience in every hair.”
6- Come to your senses, look at your patience so much! You saw patience; see the one who gives patience.
7- When the revolving of the stone mill began, water also came after a while.
8- The dust saw it and rushed towards it, and the wind was trapped in the midst of the dust.
9- With prolonged thought, you will see agitation. Rarely does fire look at awareness.
10- See how many times the millstone revolves; let your gaze be sharp on the water.
11- You say that you see, but his sight is enough for all its signs.
12- When the branch saw it briefly, it was amazed and should have been in the ocean.
13- He who sees the branch speaks a secret. And he who sees the ocean becomes astonished.
14- He who sees the branch is in a revolving state. And he who sees the ocean becomes free from worry.
15- He who sees the branch has his head spinning. And that is enough for him to see the ocean.
16- He who sees the branch makes intentions. And he who sees the ocean makes the heart an ocean.
17- He who sees the branch will be in calculation. And he who sees the ocean becomes free from obligation.
18- He who sees the branch brings it into speech. And he who sees the ocean becomes healthy and safe.
19- He who sees the branch becomes petrified. And he who sees the ocean becomes relieved.
20- He who sees the branch is intoxicated by it. And he who sees the ocean turns towards the light of grace.
7 – Since you have witnessed the turning of the millstone, now behold the river's water.
8 – You have seen the dust and earth rising into the air; now perceive the wind between them.
9 – Unless you have observed the cauldrons boiling over, gather your wits and glance at the fire.
10 – How long will you continue to witness the turning of the mill? Extend your gaze outward and see the swiftly flowing water.
11 – You persist in saying "I see," but there are countless clear signs of that seeing.
12 – You have glimpsed the foam upon the sea somewhat vaguely. If astonishment is due, look at the ocean itself.
13 – He who sees the foam speaks secrets. He who beholds the sea falls into wonder.
14 – He who observes the foam begins to wander and circle about. He who sees the sea passes on in purity and stillness.
15 – He who perceives the foam becomes a wanderer. He who sees the sea *is* Itself.
16 – He who looks upon the foam formulates intentions. He who beholds the sea turns his heart towards the ocean.
17 – Those who see the foam cling to calculations. He who sees the sea loses his will.
18 – He who observes the foam begins to speak. He who beholds the sea transcends "we" and "I."
19 – He who watches the foam is drawn away. He who sees the sea arrives at tranquility.
20 – He who gazes upon the foam becomes intoxicated by it, losing himself. He who sees the Sea becomes a Light from Hu.