Can we say that a person who does not have to be patient in his life, will not reach the heaven?

Question

Quran, in many places of itself, is really focusing on this fact that the heaven is for believers because they was patient in their Earth's life. For example please read these [23:101]:

فَإِذَا نُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ فَلَا أَنسَابَ بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ وَلَا يَتَسَاءَلُونَ ﴿١٠١﴾فَمَن ثَقُلَتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُولَـٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ ﴿١٠٢﴾وَمَنْ خَفَّتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُولَـٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ فِي جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدُونَ ﴿١٠٣﴾تَلْفَحُ وُجُوهَهُمُ النَّارُ وَهُمْ فِيهَا كَالِحُونَ ﴿١٠٤﴾ أَلَمْ تَكُنْ آيَاتِي تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْكُمْ فَكُنتُم بِهَا تُكَذِّبُونَ ﴿١٠٥﴾قَالُوا رَبَّنَا غَلَبَتْ عَلَيْنَا شِقْوَتُنَا وَكُنَّا قَوْمًا ضَالِّينَ ﴿١٠٦﴾رَبَّنَا أَخْرِجْنَا مِنْهَا فَإِنْ عُدْنَا فَإِنَّا ظَالِمُونَ ﴿١٠٧﴾قَالَ اخْسَئُوا فِيهَا وَلَا تُكَلِّمُونِ ﴿١٠٨﴾إِنَّهُ كَانَ فَرِيقٌ مِّنْ عِبَادِي يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا آمَنَّا فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَا وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ الرَّاحِمِينَ ﴿١٠٩﴾فَاتَّخَذْتُمُوهُمْ سِخْرِيًّا حَتَّىٰ أَنسَوْكُمْ ذِكْرِي وَكُنتُم مِّنْهُمْ تَضْحَكُونَ ﴿١١٠﴾إِنِّي جَزَيْتُهُمُ الْيَوْمَ بِمَا صَبَرُوا أَنَّهُمْ هُمُ الْفَائِزُونَ ﴿١١١﴾

So when the Horn is blown, no relationship will there be among them that Day, nor will they ask about one another. (101)And those whose scales are heavy [with good deeds] - it is they who are the successful. (102)But those whose scales are light - those are the ones who have lost their souls, [being] in Hell, abiding eternally. (103)The Fire will sear their faces, and they therein will have taut smiles. (104)[It will be said]. "Were not My verses recited to you and you used to deny them?" (105)They will say, "Our Lord, our wretchedness overcame us, and we were a people astray. (106)Our Lord, remove us from it, and if we were to return [to evil], we would indeed be wrongdoers." (107)He will say, "Remain despised therein and do not speak to Me. (108)Indeed, there was a party of My servants who said, 'Our Lord, we have believed, so forgive us and have mercy upon us, and You are the best of the merciful.' (109)But you took them in mockery to the point that they made you forget My remembrance, and you used to laugh at them. (110)Indeed, I have rewarded them this Day for their patient endurance - that they are the attainers [of success]." (111)

These show that the believer's life is as hard as and as down as much that even some people take them mockery and laught at them!

I know that a lot of Muslims not only have such a life but also have very better life than others Muslims and non-Muslims. An example is Saudi Arabia's King and his sons and family and in general political people in Islamic's countries. They have control on world's Oil and so rich and so an easy and very different, patient-free life. I think such people will not reach the heaven at all according to these sentences from Qur'an. Am I wrong?

Answer 1

Firstly, any person reaches jannah by the Mercy of Allah. Secondly, all the Qur'an is telling us is that the reward of being patient is to reach jannah. From this you cannot logically conclude the inverse statement, that those who are not patient will not reach jannah.

Thirdly, there are many kinds of patience. Imam ibnul Qayyim (rahimahullah) noted that patience is required in basically 3 areas:

1. Patience in worshipping Allah and following His commands
2. Patience in abstaining from forbidden actions
3. Patience in accepting Allah’s decree and ruling (His qaḍa and qadr).

So just because you can't see anything happening to other people which would require patience that way that you see it doesn't mean that there is nothing in their lives that requires patience. Who knows what is happening in their private lives. Perhaps someone is struggling to pray salat on time every day, and is dealing with that with patience. Perhaps someone is struggling with the urge to splurge, and is being patient with that urge. We don't know these things about individual people, so let us not make assumptions.

Answer 2

As much as I can recognize from the mentioned verses of Surah al-Momenoon that you named them, seemingly it is named some items such as being patient as an item which could help people for going to the paradise.

Or for instance in the verse 111 of Surah al Mo’menoon which has said concerning the patience:

نِّي جَزَيْتُهُمُ الْيَوْمَ بِمَا صَبَرُوا أَنَّهُمْ هُمُ الْفَائِزُونَ ﴿۱۱۱

Indeed, I have rewarded them this Day for their patient endurance - that they are the attainers [of success]." (111)

Thus as the name of the Surah below is al-Momenoon, and by paying attention to its verses, it could be inferred that being patient is related to Momenoon who believe in Allah and they are patient in the way of Allah by believing in him and … And the other side of the verses which is uttering about the individuals who will be in the hell. So in some of the mentioned verses, it has names some charactersitics from the persons who will be in the hell, such as:

• The persons whose (good) practices are low (related to 23:103)

• The persons who denied the verses of Allah (23:105) أَلَمْ تَكُنْ آيَاتِي تُتْلَى عَلَيْكُمْ فَكُنتُم بِهَا تُكَذِّبُونَ

• The persons who were misled. (23:106) قَالُوا رَبَّنَا غَلَبَتْ عَلَيْنَا شِقْوَتُنَا وَكُنَّا قَوْمًا ضَالِّينَ

So, perhaps being patient was a factor from the factors of Saved people who will go to the heaven as it has mentioned in the verse 111 (of Surah al-Momenoon)

إِنِّي جَزَيْتُهُمُ الْيَوْمَ بِمَا صَبَرُوا أَنَّهُمْ هُمُ الْفَائِزُونَ ﴿۱۱۱

Indeed, I have rewarded them this Day for their patient endurance - that they are the attainers [of success]." (111)

Eventually concerning your question which inquired “Can we say that a person who does not have to be patient in his life, will not reach the heaven?”, the response could be that apparently the concept of patient in the mentioned matter is related to being patient in the field of believing in Allah. Consequently I assume it ought to be specified in regard to the patience that what sort of patience has inquired in the question.

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Reference:

• http://tanzil.net