The Virtue of Patience: An Example from African American History
We have in scripture a short verse that clearly articulates a special aspect of The Almighty’s creation. This facet of nature is all around us, yet we pay little attention to it in our ordinary activities. It is patience.
In scripture, we find, “ O you who believe! Persevere in patience and constancy: compete in such perseverance; strengthen each other; and fear The Almighty, that you may prosper.” (Qur’an 3:200).
The above verse reminds us to be patient, endure all circumstances, and take a firm stand in our steadfastness. It then tells us to worship and be fearful of our Creator. This verse concludes by telling us that this process of patience and steadfast perseverance leads to our ultimate success in life.
The scriptural story of Job gives an exemplary narration of the importance of patience in human life. He suffered loss of wealth, family, and health, yet he refused to denounce his Omnipotent Creator. After years of patient endurance, The Almighty restored his family, health, and material possessions.
We have other examples in nature. When a small acorn falls from an oak tree, it is about one inch in length. It falls into the soil, lays dormant for a while, and then sprouts into a small oak tree. As the years pass the sapling continues to grow in majestic proportions until it reaches maturity, at a height of fifty or sixty feet.
In the case of Job and the oak tree, some difficulties had to be faced. Prophet Job was advised to renounce his faith in The Almighty. Likewise, the oak tree faced being eaten as a small sapling or destroyed by droughts or other severe weather. Nevertheless, both survived and stand as examples of the virtuous rewards of patience.
The Almighty wants us to recognize the beauty of patience in our lives as well. This, however, may be difficult, especially in this instant gratification world in which we live. But we have an impressive example in the African-American experience.
They are a people who were stripped of their language, culture, material possessions, and even their humanity. Forced to live as animals and treated as personal property, this God-conscious multitude survived.
In a space of four hundred years, they were transplanted like the acorn, faced destruction at the ebbs and tides of political agendas, and were taught to love, idolize, and internalize cultural practices that would lead to their self-destruction.
Yet, by the Grace of The Almighty, they survived. They have climbed from their dehumanized status to positions of power and influence in our nation. As clear an example as this is of The Almighty’s ability to raise a people from the lowest esteemed of society, some of our government leaders rather than celebrate their strength of purpose, want to diminish, and even erase this history.
With this monumental blessing from The Almighty, i.e. patience and endurance, comes a great responsibility. There must rise within their ranks capable individuals who are prepared to exercise divinely inspired moral and ethical leadership.
It is beneath the level of human dignity granted to these people to exercise vindictiveness toward their former oppressors. The Almighty’s divine intervention brings them the finest human qualities wherein vengeance is not included.
Because of the Divine blessing of patience they have received, America’s former enslaved population is charged with the responsibility of championing the movement toward a world of diversity, equity, and inclusion: One in which men and women are judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skins.
