Patience Without Reckoning: Night Devotion, Seeking Knowledge and Living with People

Occasion: Transcription of a Fajr khatira delivered on 20 July 2025 Source: A transcription of a video khatira by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — Watch the original video on YouTube

The Context in Which the Verse Appears

And now, may Allah greet you and be pleased with you all. Our pause is with the noble verses that were recited in the Fajr prayer, among them the words of Allah, Blessed and Exalted: ﴿إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّابِرُونَ أَجْرَهُم بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ﴾ (Indeed, the patient will be given their reward without account).^[1] And we should always look at what is called the context: in what context did this verse appear? So we see before it the words of Allah the Exalted: ﴿أَمَّنْ هُوَ قَانِتٌ آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ سَاجِدًا وَقَائِمًا يَحْذَرُ الْآخِرَةَ وَيَرْجُو رَحْمَةَ رَبِّهِ قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ﴾ (Is one who is devoutly obedient during periods of the night, prostrating and standing, wary of the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord... Say: "Are those who know equal to those who do not know?").^[2]

So we ask: in this verse there are almost two basic topics; the first is the state of the one devoutly obedient during the night, prostrating and standing, wary of the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord, and the second: ﴿قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ﴾ (Say: "Are those who know equal to those who do not know?"). So is the patience sought in the verses patience in the night devotion?

Patience in Standing at Night

Night devotion is the most complete and ideal model of worship in the lives of the righteous; the servant connects with his Lord in his seclusion in which no one shares with him, so the servant is alone with his Lord, and the heart communicates with Allah, Blessed and Exalted, and tears pour forth, supplications rise, souls respond, and hearts find rest and tranquility and grow pure, glory be to the All-Creating, All-Knowing, in pure secrets with Allah in the seclusion of the night. And it is right for us to believe in what the Prophet ﷺ promised when he told us that standing at night is the honor of the believer; in it he sees his self, in it his inner reality is manifested, in it his soul grows calm, and in it hearts humble themselves to Allah, Blessed and Exalted.

Patience in Seeking Knowledge

Then you see the other matter, which is learning knowledge, and it is a hardship that many people cannot bear. Therefore the effort required in seeking knowledge is harder than the effort required in standing at night. And you realize that because standing at night may at some stage turn into a routine matter, into a "comfort zone" in which the soul rests and calms, so the servant performs what he performs without much effort. As for knowledge, it is revision, study, memorization, review, movement and steadfastness; it is a striving against the self in which the work of the mind mixes with the work of the heart and the movement of the body, and it is neither light nor easy, and it is a very long process.

And a person may stop standing at night whenever he wishes while he is satisfied with what he wanted; if he prayed two rak'as and then was content, he has gained a share, and if he prayed four and then was content, he has gained a share, and if he prayed ten and then was content, he has gained a share. But knowledge is a path that begins and does not end, and whoever wants to stop in it has been ignorant of his place in knowledge; and whoever senses that he has had enough and that he can stop now is in the most complete degree of ignorance. For knowledge, the further you go into it, the more you see poverty in yourself, so you increase in eagerness to gain more of it.

Patience with Creation

However, the patience intended here is patience with creation, which is the patience that settles its owner in his condition, and it is harder than the two previous cases. I repeat this once more: the patience intended in the verse is the patience that settles the servant in the condition he is in, whether that is night devotion, or seeking knowledge, or patience in itself with the conditions of creation.

Where Is the Limit?

When Allah the Exalted says: ﴿يُوَفَّى الصَّابِرُونَ أَجْرَهُم بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ﴾ (the patient will be given their reward without account), where is the limit? Where is the end? It is "the infinite," if that expression is correct in pure Arabic. And this infinity has a meaning beyond doubt: if the reward is without account, then the patience must also be without account; so you are patient with everything, and with everyone, and in every condition, patience that does not end, patience accompanied by true seeking of reward with the True Allah, glory be to Him, the Exalted.

I will not prolong it for you, but the deeds sought from servants in their worldly life all require patience, and whoever has acquainted himself with patience has been able to adorn himself as he addresses creation, as he addresses himself, as he worships Allah. So be patient and seek reward, Allah said: ﴿اصْبِرُوا وَصَابِرُوا وَرَابِطُوا﴾ (Be patient, and outdo others in patience, and be stationed),^[3] then came the promise from the Lord of the worlds: ﴿لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ﴾ (that you may succeed).

I ask Allah the Exalted to write for us a share of this worship, and to make its effect in our hearts, our souls, our minds and our bodies. O Allah, amen.

--- ^[1]: Editor's documentation: Sūrat al-Zumar, verse 10. ^[2]: Editor's documentation: Sūrat al-Zumar, verse 9. ^[3]: Editor's documentation: Sūrat Āl ʿImrān, verse 200. The speaker mentioned the two parts separately and did not mention what lies between them.