Lesson 4 of 6 · One protected stretch of sleep
The concession and the practical action arrived together
Maryam, in labour and alone, is not simply told to be patient. She is told to shake the trunk of the tree towards herself, she is given the stream and the dates, and she is told to eat and drink and be comforted. The relief and the instruction to move arrive in the same passage.
Alongside that, the report below is the one people quote for the phrase about the strong believer, and its middle is the part that gets dropped. Seek help from Allah, and do not lose heart. Seeking help is instructed. It is not a lesser option for people who could not manage the better one.
The same report names the loop that runs at three in the morning. If only I had done it differently. It says that opening that door is not a good idea, which is a far kinder sentence than the way it usually gets used.
Qur’an and Sunnah
The relief and the instruction to move arrive in the same passage. Here is the first half of that. She is given the stream at her feet.
فَنَادَىٰهَا مِن تَحۡتِهَآ أَلَّا تَحۡزَنِي قَدۡ جَعَلَ رَبُّكِ تَحۡتَكِ سَرِيࣰّ ا
but a voice cried to her from below, ‘Do not worry: your Lord has provided a stream at your feet
Qur’an 19:24
And here is the instruction. Shake the trunk of the tree towards yourself. In labour and alone, she is not simply told to be patient.
وَهُزِّيٓ إِلَيۡكِ بِجِذۡعِ ٱلنَّخۡلَةِ تُسَٰقِطۡ عَلَيۡكِ رُطَبࣰ ا جَنِيࣰّ ا
and, if you shake the trunk of the palm tree towards you, it will deliver fresh ripe dates for you
Qur’an 19:25
Eat and drink and be comforted. The provision and the moving come in the same breath.
فَكُلِي وَٱشۡرَبِي وَقَرِّي عَيۡنࣰ اۖ فَإِمَّا تَرَيِنَّ مِنَ ٱلۡبَشَرِ أَحَدࣰ ا فَقُولِيٓ إِنِّي نَذَرۡتُ لِلرَّحۡمَٰنِ صَوۡمࣰ ا فَلَنۡ أُكَلِّمَ ٱلۡيَوۡمَ إِنسِيࣰّ ا
so eat, drink, be glad, and say to anyone you may see: “I have vowed to the Lord of Mercy to abstain from conversation, and I will not talk to anyone today.”’
Qur’an 19:26
The report people quote for the phrase about the strong believer, and its middle is the part that gets dropped. Seek help from Allah, and do not lose heart. Seeking help is instructed. It is not a lesser option for people who could not manage the better one. The same report names the loop that runs at three in the morning, and says that opening that door is not a good idea.
Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:A strong believer is better and is more lovable to Allah than a weak believer, and there is good in everyone, (but) cherish that which gives you benefit (in the Hereafter) and seek help from Allah and do not lose heart, and if anything (in the form of trouble) comes to you, don't say: If I had not done that, it would not have happened so and so, but say: Allah did that what He had ordained to do and your" if" opens the (gate) for the Satan
Sahih Muslim 2664graded sound, sahihaynthe Arabic and its grading
Translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem, The Qur'an, Oxford University Press, 2004.