By Shaykh Abdul ‘Azeez ibn Baaz (rahimahullah)

Therefore, the only thing that will save you and protect you from Fitnah, by the permission of Allaah, is: judging by the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (salAllaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam), and that is by returning back to Ahlus-Sunnah and the scholars of the Sunnah, who have the understanding of the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (salAllaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam), and studied very well, knowing their rulings and adhering to them.

Therefore, it is obligatory upon every individual in the Ummah — including mankind and jinn, Arabs and non-Arabs, men and women — to judge by the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (salAllaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam), and to adhere to the methodology of the Salaf of the Ummah…

…As for the hadeeth that is narrated from the Prophet (salAllaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) regarding sitting down at time of Fitnah, this is known with the people of knowledge and its details are as follows:

The Messenger of Allaah (salAllaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said:

“There shall soon be a Fitnah: the one who sits in that time is better than the one who stands, and the one who stands is better than the one who walks, and the one who walks is better than the one who hastens to it. And the closer you get to it, the closer it would get to you. Therefore, whoever is able to seek refuge in a shelter, let him do it.”

[Bukhari (3602), Muslim (6886); narrated by Abu Hurairah (radiAllaahu ‘anhu)]

The temptations that are meant in this hadeeth are the ones that are vague and ambiguous, and the way of truth in them is unknown; rather it is mixed up. Such are the temptations which the believer is advised to abstain from and stay far away from it with whatever way necessary.

And this is similar to what is stated in his (salAllaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) statement:

“There shall soon be a time in which the best wealth of the Muslim man will be his sheep which he will carry along with him to the peak of the mountain and the falling places of rain, fleeing with his religion from Fitan.”

[Bukhari (19), narrated by Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (radiAllaahu ‘anhu)]

When the Prophet (salAllaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) was asked: Who is the best among the people? He (salAllaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) replied:

“A believer who strives his utmost in Allaah’s Cause with his life and property.” They asked: “Who is next?” He (salAllaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said: “A believer who stays in one of the mountain paths worshipping Allaah, and leaving the people secure from his mischief.”

[Bukhari (2786), Muslim (1888), narrated by Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri]

The intent behind ‘Fitan’ in the above mentioned hadeeth are the bewildering ones, and it is upon the believer to stay away from them. But if it is a situation when the oppressor is obvious from the oppressed, and the truth is obvious from falsehood, in this case, it is obligatory upon him to follow the truth and be at the side of the oppressed, and oppose the oppressor and falsehood.

As the Prophet said: Aid your brother whether he is an oppressor or oppressed. He was asked:

“O Messenger of Allaah, how can I help him when he is an oppressor?” He said: “Prevent him from opression; that is helping him.”

[Source: The highly beneficial book The Position of the Mu’min At Times of Fitnah, by Shaykh ‘Abdul-Azeez bin ‘Abdillaah bin Baaz (rahimahullaah)]

By Shaykh Abdur-Rahman Sa’di

It is established in the Sahih that the Prophet (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallaam) said,

“Amazing indeed is the affair of the believer, all is good; if he is in times of ease, he shows gratitude and this is good for him; when he is in times of adversity, he is patient and steadfast and this is good for him. This only applies for the believer.” ¹

Gratitude and patience gather together all good and the believer is acquiring this goodness at all times and profiting in all circumstances. In the Sahih it is recorded that the Prophet (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallaam) said,

“The believer is not afflicted by any concern, worry or harm except that it would be a means for Allaah expiating his sins.” ²

So at times of ease the believer attain two blessings: the blessings of having that time of ease and the blessing of being grateful for it. The latter is the greater blessing. At times of adversity the believer attains three blessings: the expiation of sins, being patient, and the adversity being made easy for him to face. This is because when he knows that he will have his reward with Allaah, the matter becomes easy for him to bear.

[Source: Transcribed from: The Tree of Faith, Pp. 78-79, Shaykh Abdurahman Al-Saa’di]

Footnotes

1 Muslim [#2999]
2 Al-Bukhari [#5641, 5642] and Muslim [#2573]

As for Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Hadeeth, it is not known that any of their scholars or any of their pious, righteous commfolk left off their belief or their sayings; rather they were the best of people in patience. Even if they are trialed or tested with various trials and tribulations, they remained firm. And this is how the Prophets and their followers were from before.

— Shaykhul Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullah) [Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, Vol. 4, pg. 50]

A simple word, yet profound in depth of meaning, and more often than not difficult to implement.

O Allah, I ask you to grant me the patience to bear my trials with ease, and the strength to overcome them.

Indeed when a person faces calamities with patience [but] without hoping for a reward from Allaah, the calamity will become an expiation for his sins. And if he shows patience along with hoping for a reward [from Allaah], then along with being an expiation for his sins it becomes a good recompense and reward. And the meaning of hoping for Allaah’s reward [al-Ihtisaab] is that a person believes that he will soon be rewarded for the patience [he is showing], so he makes good his thoughts about Allaah and thus Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, will give him [a reward] according to what he thought of Him.

— Shaykh Uthaymeen [At-Ta’leeq alaa Saheeh Muslim, p. 342]. (via hakuna-mataataa)

(Source: byyourmercyallah)

Narrated Anas: The Prophet said, ‘The real patience is at the first stroke of a calamity.’

— [Sahih Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 23, Number 389]

(Source: mrs-aljabry, via sabbrr)

hakuna-mataataa:

Close your eyes, remind yourself that He is watching. Your efforts, your deeds, your patience will never go wasted. Remind yourself It’s all being written down for later reference. Open your eyes and keep going. Look past the struggles, look past the pain. Remind yourself of how good it would feel to have it all one day come back to you to elevate you in your status. Don’t let go. Don’t give up.

(via merubinsu)

Every person has to exercise patience in order to face difficulties, whether he does so willingly or unwillingly. The noble person exercises patience willingly, because he realizes the benefits of patience, and he knows that he will be rewarded for his patience and will be criticized if he panics. He is aware that if he does not have patience, panicking and impatience will not help him to regain missed opportunities, and will not take away things he dislikes. Whatever is decreed and is qada’ wa qadr cannot be prevented from happening, and whatever is decreed not to happen cannot be made to happen. So an attitude of impatience and panic actually causes harm.

— Ibn Al-Qayyim (rahimahullah) [Patience and Gratitude By Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah. An abridgement of his original work entitled, “Uddat as-Sabireen wa Dhakirat ash-Shakireen”]

The two hardest tests on the spiritual road are the patience to wait for the right moment and the courage not to be disappointed with what we encounter.

— Paulo Coelho

(Source: vanished, via at-tholibah-deactivated20120415)