then they patiently endured the rejection and the hurt they suffered until Our help came to them” (Al-Anʿām 6:34). In other words, they were abused until Allah’s victory finally reached them.

When a person possesses true faith and undertakes the duty of enjoining good and forbidding evil, he is bound to be harmed. His obligation is patience, and if he remains patient, the ultimate outcome belongs to the God-fearing. A servant may be tested in proportion to his religiosity: Allah may give power to those who harm him as a trial and an examination, as He says, “Among the people is he who says, ‘We believe in Allah,’ but when he is harmed for Allah’s cause he regards the persecution of people as though it were the punishment of Allah” (Al-ʿAnkabūt 29:10).

That is, when someone is hurt for Allah’s sake—because of his religion, his enjoining right and forbidding wrong, and his call to goodness—he treats the trial like torture, then turns back on his heels; may Allah protect us.

This resembles His statement: “And among mankind is he who worships Allah on the edge; if good befalls him he is content, but if a trial touches him he turns on his face—he loses both this world and the Hereafter. That is the evident loss” (Al-Ḥajj 22:11).

Some people, then, worship Allah only on the margin; their devotion is not firmly rooted. As long as ease continues and no hardship or injury reaches them, they carry on comfortably. But if they are struck by a doubt, an affliction, or anything similar, they reverse course—Allah forbid—and thus forfeit both this life and the next.

Therefore, it is obligatory to bear patiently any harm endured for Allah’s sake.

As for harm that relates solely to worldly matters and dealings with people, you are free to choose: if you wish, be patient, and if you wish, take your rightful due. Patience is superior—unless your patience will only encourage the aggressor to persist in his wrongdoing, in which case reclaiming your right is preferable.