A commander who wanted his soldiers to fight without hesitation gave them exactly one option: win. This closing session names the effects patience produces, opening with the Muslim commander Tariq ibn Ziyad, who, after crossing into enemy territory, ordered every one of his own ships burned on the shore behind him. With retreat physically removed, only one direction remained. It is the clearest possible image of what patience does internally: it does not just help a person survive hardship, it removes the option of running from it — producing what the session calls an invincible spirit, a state the tradition says must be built in advance, before the tragedy arrives. It closes on Sayyedah Fatimah al-Zahra, peace be upon her, and her family, who, while fasting through Ramadhan themselves, gave away their only food for three consecutive days to a poor man, an orphan and a captive, breaking their own fast on water. The Qur'an records this directly, promising them "a garden and silk" for their patience. From here the session turns to the injustice done to her after the Prophet's death, closing by tying her patience to the patience still being lived out today, carried forward to Imam al-Mahdi. What does patience actually build inside a person that hardship alone cannot? What the evening covers Burn the ships. Tariq ibn Ziyad's decision to remove his own army's option to retreat. Patience prepared in advance. The narration warning that patience assembled after disaster strikes is already too late. Three days on water. Sayyedah Fatimah al-Zahra's family giving away their food to a poor man, an orphan and a captive. Self-reliance and reliance on God. Why the session insists the two are not opposites.
In this session
إِنْ كَانَ قَلَّ زَادِي فِي الْمَسِيرِ إِلَيْكَ فَلَقَدْ حَسُنَ ظَنِّي بِالتَّوَكُّلِ عَلَيْكَ وَ إِنْ كَانَ جُرْمِي قَدْ أَخَافَنِي مِنْ عُقُوبَتِكَ فَإِنَّ رَجَائِي قَدْ أَشْعَرَنِي بِالْأَمْنِ مِنْ نِقْمَتِكَ وَ إِنْ كَانَ ذَنْبِي قَدْ عَرَضَنِي لِعِقَابِكَ فَقَدْ آذَنَنِي حُسْنُ ثِقَتِي بِثَوَابِكَ وَ إِنْ أَنَامَتْنِي الْغَفْلَةُ عَنِ الاسْتِعْدَادِ لِلِقَائِكَ فَقَدْ نَبَّهَتْنِي الْمَعْرِفَةُ بِكَرَمِكَ وَ آلائِكَ وَ إِنْ أَوْحَشَ مَا بَيْنِي وَ بَيْنَكَ فَرْطُ الْعِصْيَانِ وَ الطُّغْيَانِ فَقَدْ آنَسَنِي بُشْرَى الْغُفْرَانِ وَ الرِّضْوَانِ.
O Allah, although my provisions for coming to You are meager, my reliance upon You has always been of good expectation; and although my sins have cast me into fear of Your punishment, my hopeful gaze assures me of safety from Your retribution; and although my disobedience has placed me in the path of Your chastisement, my fair trust in You makes me aware of Your reward; and although heedlessness has lulled me into the sleep of negligence from preparing to meet You, my acquaintance with Your generosity and Your gifts has awakened me; and though excess in sin and rebellion has darkened the bond between You and me, the glad tidings of Your forgiveness and Your good pleasure have become my intimate companion.
Mafatih al-Jinan, Supplications (Duas), Munajat 5: The Whispered Prayer of the Devotees, Line 2
