benefited them in both their religion and their worldly affairs. Even work pursued for worldly purposes contains goodness and earns reward when one intends it as a means of gaining strength for obedience—so how much greater is the reward for work done for the Hereafter. The essential point is that you must not squander time; rather, employ it in whatever will profit and benefit you.
“And they exhorted one another to the truth”: they enjoined what is right, forbade what is wrong, called people to Allah, taught beneficial knowledge, and spread learning and goodness among the people—becoming callers to Allah.
“And they exhorted one another to patience”: they remained patient in the face of whatever befell them. Linguistically, ṣabr (patience) means restraint; here it signifies restraining the soul upon obedience to Allah, and it comprises three kinds:
- Patience in obeying Allah.
- Patience in refraining from what Allah has prohibited.
- Patience with the painful decrees of Allah.
As for the first—patience in obeying Allah—the soul leans toward laziness and comfort. Therefore, a person must compel it to remain steadfast in obedience, in performing the prayers, in fasting, and in striving in Allah’s path, even though the soul may dislike these matters; he must persevere and restrain it to remain obedient to Allah.