Author: Abdul Hai Lay'yan
The Divine Education Model in the Family of the Prophets (part 108)
Educational Lessons from the Story of Luqman the Wise (AS)
Lesson Twenty: Calling People to Islam and Guiding Them to the Path of Reform Requires Patience and Steadfastness
Allah the Exalted relates Luqmān’s advice to his son: ﴿وَاصْبِرْ عَلَىٰ مَا أَصَابَكَ﴾ [1]) Translation: “And be patient over whatever befalls you.”
This verse teaches that patience in the face of hardships and persecution encountered while calling people to Allah (SWT) is an essential and indispensable virtue.
Therefore, regardless of the difficulties, hostility, and pressure that those who invite others to establish prayer, promote righteousness, and forbid evil may face from sinners, wrongdoers, or even disbelievers, they must remain patient and steadfast. By doing so, they will attain Allah’s immense reward and follow the noble example of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and the Messengers of firm resolve (AS).
Allah (SWT) says to His noble Messenger (PBUH): فَاصْبِرْ كَمَا صَبَرَ أُولُوا الْعَزْمِ مِنَ الرُّسُلِ﴾ [2]) Translation: “So be patient, just as the Messengers of firm resolve were patient.”
Moreover, the placement of enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong immediately after establishing prayer conveys a profound educational lesson. Through prayer, a believer establishes a living connection with his Lord, from whom he derives strength, courage, steadfastness, and spiritual resilience. Prayer equips the believer with the faith and determination necessary to fulfill the mission of calling others to goodness, offering sincere counsel, and guiding people toward righteousness.
A person who truly understands the essence of prayer can neither approve of wrongdoing nor remain indifferent to it. Instead, such a person strives to prevent evil, loves righteousness, and actively encourages others to embrace it.
Prayer performed in accordance with the guidance and Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) is among the most effective means of fulfilling the mission of daʿwah and inviting people to Allah the Exalted.
If prayer does not cultivate within a person the spirit of daʿwah, sincere advice, and reform, it becomes a lifeless act of worship devoid of its true transformative impact, reduced merely to a series of outward movements. [3]
Likewise, the placement of enjoining good and forbidding evil between prayer and patience in this verse is both deliberate and profoundly meaningful.
Allah (SWT) says: يَا بُنَيَّ أَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَانْهَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَاصْبِرْ عَلَىٰ مَا أَصَابَكَ﴾ [4]) Translation: “O my dear son! Establish prayer, enjoin what is right, forbid what is wrong, and patiently endure whatever befalls you.”
This sequence reflects remarkable divine wisdom. Luqman (AS) first instructed his son to establish prayer so that, before entering the struggle against falsehood and corruption, he would be spiritually nourished through worship and his relationship with Allah.
Only after commanding him to enjoin good and forbid evil did he advise him to exercise patience, for patience is the essential condition for perseverance in carrying out this great obligation.
Patience enables a caller to Islam to remain steadfast in the face of people’s misconceptions, stubbornness, hardened hearts, and rejection of the truth.
It also strengthens the believer to endure verbal abuse, physical harm, financial hardship, and personal trials that may arise while striving in the path of Allah.
Accordingly, prayer, enjoining good and forbidding evil, and patience constitute the three fundamental pillars in nurturing every sincere Islamic caller and social reformer. Prayer is the source of spiritual strength; enjoining good and forbidding evil represents the practical fulfillment of one’s religious and social responsibility; and patience is the guarantee of perseverance, endurance, and ultimate success along this noble path.
To be continued…
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References:
[1]. The Qur’an, Sūrah Luqman (31), verse 17.
[2]. The Qur’an, Sūrah al-Ahqaf (46), verse 35.
[3]. Al-Khālidī, Ṣalāḥ ʿAbd al-Fattāḥ, Maʿa Qaṣaṣ al-Sābiqīn fī al-Qurʾān al-Karīm: Dirāsāt fī al-Īmān wa al-Daʿwah wa al-Jihād, vol. 3, p. 186.
[4]. The Qur’an, Sūrah Luqmān (31), verse 17.
