TOLERANCE, FORBEARANCE
AND PATIENCE
The only practical formula for social harmony and progress is tolerance, forbearance, and patience. Human civilization cannot evolve without this.
Whenever a person lives along with others, differences are bound to appear between them, some time or other. Complaints might arise from time to time. This will happen in the family, in a society, in a country, and at the global level, too. At whichever level a person lives and establishes interpersonal relations, it is unavoidable that there will occasionally be unpleasantness.
What should be done in such a situation? The answer to this question is tolerance.
In such a situation, people and groups should deal with others according to the spirit of tolerance and forbearance.
Tolerance does not mean inactivity. Neither does it mean that a person opts for a lesser solution when a better course of action is possible. The truth is that in this present world, tolerance is the only feasible and sensible choice. Tolerance is our practical need, rather than being some passive retreat.
A person often finds certain circumstances unpleasant and starts angrily fighting against them. He thinks that this struggle will bring into existence a more propitious situation. However, this is not so. A person’s inability or unwillingness to be tolerant can only have a negative outcome.
According to the Creation Plan of God, the present world is designed so that one repeatedly has to face unpleasant experiences, inside and outside the home. Now, if people were to fall to wrangling on all such occasions, they would fail to advance along the path of human progress. That is why religion has placed great emphasis on forbearance and patience. In this way, avoiding unpleasantness, a man may continue his journey towards the higher goal of self-realization and God-realization.
The Quran repeatedly stresses patience:
“Endure with fortitude whatever befalls you.” (31:17)
“Have patience. God is with those that are patient.” (8:46)
Patience and forbearance mean exercising restraint in trying situations. This great virtue enables an individual to proceed towards worthy goals undeflected by adverse circumstances or repeated provocations. If he allows himself to become upset by opposition, taunts, or other unpleasantness, he will never reach his goal. He will simply become enmeshed in irrelevancies.
The only way to deal with the irksome side of daily living is to exercise patience. Patience will ensure that whenever one encounters a bitter experience, one will opt for the way of tolerance rather than the way of reaction. This will enable one to absorb shocks and continue undeterred on their onward journey.
Besides being a practical solution to problems faced in the outside world, forbearance and patience are also a means for positive character-building. One who fails to exercise patience gives free rein to negative thoughts and feelings and develops a negative personality. In contrast, one who remains patient is so morally bolstered by his positive thoughts and feelings that he develops a positive personality.
The relevance of this discussion for relations between members of different religious communities is obvious.
