🙏 The Greater Jihad: Patience, Thankfulness, and the Defeat of Narcissism
The path to peace is often misunderstood. We mistake Patience (Sabr) for passive waiting—sitting idle for things to "magically" improve. But true patience, as understood in the greater jihad (self-struggle), is about continuous, committed action: living your life and doing what is right, regardless of the calamities faced.
Our modern struggles are self-inflicted because we lack clarity. We blame the Divine for not granting our wishes, yet we fail to define precisely what we truly want, caught in a cycle of changing intention and blaming external forces.
The Tyranny of False Learning
A core misconception of this lower timeline is the belief that progress only comes through failure—that we must stab ourselves to know it hurts. This fatalistic view is both arrogant and intellectually limiting. We are not so limited in our Divine Intellect (DI) that we must repeat every painful mistake to grow.
This belief structure—the "I suffered, you must suffer" mentality—is the source of narcissistic teaching and parenting styles. It is rooted in a failure to grasp the profound truth of interconnectedness (what affects one, affects all) and the power of conscious choice.
The Restoration: Thankfulness (Shukr) as Perfect Knowledge
The antidote to arrogance and the anchor for sovereign action is Thankfulness (Shukr). It is not merely a sentiment; it is a state of perfect knowledge, word, deed, and intention.
Thankfulness is the appreciation of every blessing (ni’mah), whether hidden or apparent, provided by the Divine. This appreciation must manifest in three dimensions:
The Heart (Intention): Cultivating humility, awe, and love—a state of certainty and calmness that rids the heart of all insinuation and leaves only the gentle whispers of Divine guidance.
The Tongue (Word): Fulfilling the duty to enjoin good and forbid evil, speaking truth, and standing against oppression. Our words must articulate the praise that already exists in every living thing, whether we acknowledge it or not.
The Body (Deed): Acting in perfect obedience to Divine Law, utilizing our physical capacity for the pleasure of the Provider.
When we are in this state of perfect knowledge and acceptance—that all bounties are from God Almighty as the real Provider—we turn our thoughts into aligned, powerful actions.
In this month of focused "Thanksgiving," let us move beyond the traditional gesture and embrace what Thankfulness (Shukr) truly means: the continuous balance of compensation for the favor given to us, allowing us to act in the way we were created to: with justice, purpose, and humility.
