So Be Patient

The story of Nūḥ has been mentioned in many sūrahs of the Qur'an, but the longest version is in Sūrat Hūd. It starts with ayah 25 and goes up till ayah 49. After this long version of the story of Nūḥ that is revealed to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), from ayah 25 till 48, ayah 49 is telling the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him):

Tilka min anbāʾi al-ghaybi nūḥīhā ilayk, mā kunta taʿlamuhā anta wa lā qawmuka min qabli hādhā: this is of the news of the unseen which We reveal unto you; neither you nor your people knew them before this. Allah (swt) is telling Muhammad (peace be upon him) this after this long story. This is the closure; this is the conclusion of the story of Nūḥ. O Muhammad, this is the true news of Nūḥ that is revealed to you; neither you nor your people knew it before.

So what's the lesson? All of this — I'm leading to the next word. What is the lesson? Allah (swt) is saying: fa-ṣbir, be patient. All of this story of Nūḥ, from ayah 25 to 48, is leading to this ʿibrah, to this meaning. Allah (swt) is closing the story of Nūḥ, telling the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him): look at the story of Nūḥ. 950 years of patience, of making daʿwah to his people. He never gave up. He persisted, and he made daʿwah to them in the night and the day. He made daʿwah to them publicly and privately. He made daʿwah to them, and he was alone. He made daʿwah to them, and they were not listening to him.

What is the lesson to learn? Fa-ṣbir: be patient. Inna al-ʿāqibata li-l-muttaqīn: the end — the end result — the winners in the end are going to be who? The ones who have taqwā. This is the lesson. Fa-ṣbir inna al-ʿāqibata li-l-muttaqīn: be patient, and remember that in the end, the ones who will win are the believers. Nūḥ did win, but he won after 950 years; and he couldn't have won if he didn't have patience. So the road is long. The road is long, and it needs a lot of energy — and that energy is ṣabr. If you don't have it, you're going to fall in the middle of the way. You're not going to be able to complete it.

Ask Allah (swt) to give us the patience that we need. Allāhumma-jʿalnā min al-ṣābirīn.