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wa-ṣbir wa-mā ṣabruka ʾillā bi-llāhi wa-lā taḥzan ʿalayhim wa-lā taku fī ḍayqin mimmā yamkurūna
So be steadfast, and you cannot be steadfast except with Allah [’s help]. And do not grieve for them, nor be upset by their guile.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah An-Nahl – Verse 127
127. “And (O’ Prophet!) be you patient and your patience is not but by (the assistant of) Allah, nor grieve over them and do not distress yourself at what they devise.”
Such an amnesty, forgiveness, and patience will only take effect decisively when no returns are expected. That is, they are all done for Allah’s sake, and, therefore, the Qur’an adds:
“And (O’ Prophet!) be you patient and your patience is not but by (the assistant of) Allah…”
Can man indeed resist when confronting all such heart-breaking scenarios, which dominate him all over, without having the Divine assistance and without benefiting from a spiritual motive while entertaining within himself all the discomfort and pain and yet not lose his patience? It is, of course, possible in case that all is done for Allah and with the benefit of His succour. Once all efforts in the domain of the propagation of faith and calling towards Him in connection with forgiveness and perseverance did not take effect, one should not yet feel depressed, losing patience with a far outcry. On the contrary, the process of propagation must go on patiently and in a state of calmness.
Therefore, towards the end of the holy verse, He declares:
“…nor grieve over them and do not distress yourself at what they devise.”
Such a sorrow and grief are due to their lack of faith and can cause one of the following two phenomena to occur: either it makes one depressed for ever and altogether, or it may make one impatient and cry all the time. Therefore, to dissuade one from having grief and getting depressed or feeling in distress has its origin in both cases; that is, once you are calling towards Allah, you should neither be upset nor should you feel hopeless. Despite all the foregoing qualifications, the obstinate enemy might yet not stop planning his conspiracies and might go on with his dangerous strategies.
In such cases, the true strategy to be adopted is what the Qur’an proclaims:
“Do not distress yourself at what they devise.”
No matter how well calculated and widespread such conspiracies might be while being dangerous, you must not let yourself down and be driven out. Do not imagine you are cornered and surrounded or entrenched, for your support is Allah, in which case, you are able to counteract and nullify all the conspiracies and undo them altogether by provoking the forces of Faith, persistence, wisdom and insight.