“O you who believe! Seek assistance through patience and prayer; surely
Allah is with the patient.” (Al-Qur’an 2:153)

1. A farmer plants some seeds, and then has to take good care of them. He
has to work hard regularly to look after and water the plants, then wait
patiently to get his fruits. Some plants take several months and others
might take several years to give their fruits.

A student who wishes to get a certificate has to study for twelve years at
least, and if he wishes to go for a degree, to study for sixteen years, day
and night, whether he is cold or hot, sick or healthy.
If someone wishes to start a business, he has to do hard work, and put in
a lot of effort for a long period of time, striving to overcome all the
difficulties. It is only after a time that he can get the fruits of his
efforts.

The act of a farmer, student and a businessman, all working hard in order to
get the fruits later, is called patience (Sabr).
Patience is the condition to get accurate and perfect performance. It is the
condition of fulfilling goals, and arriving at the target. Patience is the
secret of success.

2. We need patience to overcome difficulties and problems, for example, if
someone falls sick, he needs to take bitter medicine, bear a lot of pain and
maybe even undergo an operation to recover. For someone who has an incurable disease, he has to be very patient because he can only pray and hope for the best.

3. Life is balanced because there is time for everything :
Time for love, time for hate;
Time for gain, time for loss;
Time for health, time for sickness;
Time for birth, time for death;
Time for riches, time for poverty;
Time for rejoicing, time for sorrow;
During all these stages, one needs to have patience, otherwise one may lose
hope in life. Patience is needed in times of happiness an well as in times
of sorrow. It means the ability to control ourselves and maintain our
dignity at all times and under all types of circumstances.

4. In order to receive blessings from Allah (swt) we need to work hard, obey and follow His commands, perform our duties and obligations and refrain from the forbidden. To do all that we need patience. Without patience we cannot keep on the right path and expect Allah (swt) to bestow blessings upon us.

5. In our social life patience is also necessary as all individuals have
their own natures and characters. We meet different types of people;some are educated and some are illiterate; some polite others rude; some honest others liars; you cannot isolate yourself from people, instead, you need to have a lot of patience to survive and continue with your daily life,yet maintain regular contact with different people.
In fact, we need patience to fulfill all our aims in this world and in the hereafter. Patience is highly encouraged in Islam, as mentioned in Al-Qur’an
where the Almighty says : “And give good news to the patient whom, when a misfortune befalls them say : Surely we are Allah’s and to Him we shall surely return. Those are they on whom are the blessings and mercy from their Lord, and those are the followers of the right course.” (2:155-157).

Concentration in prayers and worship 

Here are a few thoughts from His Eminence Ayatullah Behjat (One of the great Alims andMystics of our time) on the issue of concentration during prayers.

Sheikh Muhsin Gharavian was once granted audience in the presence of Ayatullah al-Udhma Shaikh Muhammad Taqi Behjat (may the Almighty prolong his blessed presence amongst us) and asked him: “O Scholar! Despite our advanced age we haven’t have yet experienced the pleasure of worship especially the sweetness of communication with God in salaat. According to your opinion what should we do to experience even a little pleasure of what our Infallible Imams have promised us?”

His eminence nodded his head and said: (Dear son)“Actually this is a universal problem. All of us are plagued with this ailment.”

The Sheikh was not satisfied with the answer and requested him for more
concrete advice: “Our status differs from that which you have achieved, you’ve attained the heights of spirituality while we are the beginners! what should we do?”

His Eminence said: “May be I also wish I could acquire your status!”

Not contented with the self-effacing answer, he requested for more clarification. His Eminence replied: “In order to acquire the necessary concentration in Salaah one should observe

a) certain pre-requisites before Salaah and

b)certain discipline during Salaah.

Explanation:
a) before Salaah one should observe Taqwa (God consciousness)and one should abstain from all sins that lead to darkening of the God-given purity of heart. SINS POLLUTE THE PURITY OF THE HEART and therefore reduce the luminosity of the heart.

b) during Salaah one should erect a “high security wire” around one’s heart such that no unwanted tresspasser (distracting devilish thoughts) is allowed inside the holy sanctuary of the heart. One’s thoughts should be intensely directed towards God and none other than Him should be allowed in. And if one’s thoughts start straying, immediately the moment one comes to know, one should guide these towards the right direction. 

Once His Eminence was asked as to how to increase concentration in one’s daily prayers?

Initially His Eminence put his face down and then raised his head and responded: “The oil in the lamp seems to be low!”meaning that the Ma’refat (awareness) of the All- Magnificent One is not enough (as to experience the sweetness of spiritual communication) and therefore needs to be enriched and one’s Imaan (faith) is weak and hence needs to be strengthened.
Ustad Khusro Shaahi quotes: “Once His Eminence was asked how can we create in ourselves concentration during prayers ?”

His Eminence replied: “One of the factors which help create concentration is by excercising control over our physical senses (ie EYES, EARS, TONGUE etc) throughout the day since concentration can only be created through proper preliminaryrequirements which include the close monitoring of the physical senses.”

On one occasion His Eminence Ayatullah al-Udhma Behjat was asked:
“What should we do in order to obtain the state of total obedience to God’s commands especially His command that states in Sura Muminoon, Verses 1-2 - “Indeed successful are the Believers, those who humble themselves in their prayers” How can a believer acquire this lofty state of humility?”

His Eminence replied: “At the beginning of prayers one should sincerely seek intercession of the Awaited Imam of the time (May the Almighty hasten his re-appearance and include us from his helpers) and perform the prayers in its required manner.” 

And finally when His Eminence Ayatullah Al-Udhma Behjat was asked: “How does one achieve a presence of mind in Salaat and obtain control over one's thoughts and feelings?” 
His Eminence wrote back in reply:
“In His Name, the Exalted the moment when you acquire attention (towards your Lord) do not allow it to disappear.” 

Translated by : Mrs. S. Murtaza Alidina. Contributed by : Tahir Ridha