― “Do not ask for leadership, for if you are given it because you requested it you will be left to manage it on your own, whereas if you are given it without having asked, you will be aided in it. And when you swear an oath and then perceive something better than it, do what is better and make expiation for your oath.”

It is likewise authentically reported in the two Ṣaḥīḥs that he said regarding the plague: “If you hear of it in a land, then do not go into it; and if it breaks out in a land while you are there, do not leave it.”

And in the two Ṣaḥīḥs he also said: “Do not long to meet the enemy; rather, ask Allah for well-being. But when you do meet them, stand firm, and know that Paradise lies beneath the shade of the swords.”

Statements such as these show that a person should not pursue matters that will impose upon him obligations he might later be too stingy to fulfil. Many people make covenants with Allah concerning certain affairs, yet most of them are tried by breaking those covenants.

When a person is tested, he must be patient and steadfast, and not grow weary until he becomes one of the men who keep their promises and discharge the duties that are incumbent upon them. In all of this patience is indispensable. Thus patience is obligatory, by unanimous agreement of the Muslims, with respect to carrying out what Allah has made obligatory and refraining from what He has forbidden. This includes patience when calamities strike, so that one does not flee, and patience in withholding the soul from following its desires in what Allah has prohibited.

Allah mentions patience in His Book in more than ninety places and couples it with prayer, as in His words: “Seek help through patience and prayer; truly it is difficult except for the humble” (al-Baqarah 2:45), and: “Seek help through patience and prayer; indeed Allah is with those who are patient” (al-Baqarah 2:153). He says as well: “Establish the prayer at the two ends of the day and at approaches of the night … and be patient, for Allah does not allow the reward of those who excel to be lost” (Hūd 11:114-115); “So be patient over what they say, and glorify your Lord with praise before the rising of the sun and before its setting” (Ṭā-Hā 20:130); and “So be patient; surely the promise of Allah is true, and seek forgiveness for your sin …” (Ghāfir 40:55).

He has made leadership in religion the fruit of patience and certainty, saying: “And We made them leaders guiding by Our command when they were patient and had certainty in Our signs” (al-Sajdah 32:24). Indeed, the whole religion consists of knowing the truth and acting upon it. Acting upon it requires patience, and even seeking its knowledge requires patience. Muʿādh ibn Jabal said: “Adhere to knowledge, for seeking it for Allah’s sake is worship, studying it is praise, searching for it is jihad, teaching it to one who does not know is charity, and reviewing it is glorification. Through knowledge Allah is known and worshipped, glorified and declared One. Allah elevates people by knowledge, making them leaders and guides; others follow them and defer to their judgment.” He thus counted the pursuit of knowledge among the forms of jihad, and jihad cannot be undertaken without patience.

For this reason the Exalted said: “By the Time, surely man is in loss, except those who believe and do righteous deeds and enjoin one another to truth and enjoin one another to patience” (al-ʿAṣr 103:1-3); and He said: “And remember Our servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—men of strength and insight” (Ṣād 38:45).

Hence, beneficial knowledge is the foundation of guidance, and acting upon the truth is sound judgment.