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Life, in general, is a constant waiting game. We are always waiting for something - a taxi, a text message, the next meal, the next holiday, an opportunity, forgiveness, etc etc.
But how do we wait?
Do we put our lives on pause as we wait?
Do we burden ourselves by persistently overthinking as we wait?
Are we distracted while we wait?
I believe the "wait" gets torturous the moment we start questioning Allah's plans for us. Because that is when our Trust in our Rabb starts shaking, and so the real test is in the wait.
And what we do as we wait says a lot about our faith. When we wait with 100% trust in Allah's plans, gratitude takes over the place of anxiousness. Because we know with full conviction that as we wait, He is gently preparing us for what He has already perfectly planned for us.
And when we wait with beautiful patience, we understand that Allah keeps no one waiting unless He sees that there is only goodness within the wait. Sometimes the ultimate reward is not so much in what or who we've been waiting for, but rather in how we've been delicately transformed and blossomed as we wait.
It is also unfortunate that "waiting" is usually associated with stagnation, hopelessness, pain, and/or uncertainty. But the Quran repeatedly highlights that whoever practices patience not only has Allah as her Ally but is also beloved by Allah and whom Allah SWT regards as successful.
But how exactly do we wait with beautiful patience, just like Prophet Yakub AS?
Allah SWT taught us what is beautiful patience through the very word itself - Sabr. In Arabic, the word "Sabr" means to confine or to contain - and according to Ibn Qayyim, it is to contain the soul from despair and worry and to confine the tongues from complaints and discontentment.
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| Source: flikr |
Meaning, as we wait for anything and everything in our lives, I pray that Allah SWT allows us to busy ourselves by filling our souls with getting to know Him and Rasulullah ﷺ so that it leaves us no time to worry or be in despair over what may or may not happen in the future. I pray that our tongues be constantly moist in Gratitude and Remembrance of Him so that it leaves us no space to sigh or to complain.
I also pray that He will grant us the guidance and clarity to know when something or someone deserves our patience, or our gratitude and goodbye.
Also, if you think about it, what do you call someone who waits?
A wait-er. And what does a waiter do?
She serves. And perhaps that may just be it: as you wait, serve. Serve your parents, serve your family, serve your Community, but ultimately, serve Allah - and then see how your wait will stop being painful, but peaceful instead.
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People, life may be a constant waiting game, but if we play it right, and if we play it well, we can win not just an entire level but possibly the "highest score" of attaining Jannah, too, In Sha Allah.
To waiting more gracefully,
Source: received through WhatsApp message.