In the light of the Quran, my answer is, “Adopt the method of patience, and then, with God’s blessings, you will be successful in this world, and in the Hereafter, too.”

The fact is that there is a permanent divine guide within man. And that is man’s conscience. The human conscience is an unerring guide. It always guides man in the direction of the right path. But in addition to this, man has various types of desires. In the Quran, the conscience is called nafs al-lawwama and desires are called nafs alammara. Man’s conscience gives him, at every moment and opportunity, the right guidance. But along with this, man’s desires seek to drag him in their direction. In this way, a conflict emerges between man’s conscience and man’s desires. In this conflict, often desires overpower the conscience, and man, ignoring the voice of his conscience, runs after his desires. This happens both in the case of worldly affairs as well as the affairs of the Hereafter.

In such a delicate situation, it is patience that proves of benefit to man. If you are able to be patient, you can control your desires. In this way, you will not deviate from the Straight Path. Following your conscience, you will be able to carry on journeying in the right direction till you arrive at your destination. That is why the Quran (39: 10) says “Truly, those who persevere patiently will be requited without measure.” In practical terms, in life, the importance of a passive attribute is more than that of an active attribute. Someone who knows only to act but not to stop can never obtain any higher level of success in life. Life is like a car. If a car does not have a brake, then, no matter how otherwise good the car is, it cannot reach its destination. The importance of patience in life is like the importance of a brake in a car.

Source: Spirit of Islam May 2017