The Three Types of Patience: First, Patience in Obedience to Allah.
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The Shaykh : Indeed, patience is of three types, some higher than others: patience in obeying the commands of Allah, patience in abstaining from the prohibitions of Allah, and patience in enduring the painful decrees of Allah.
Patience in obeying the commands of Allah is for a person to be patient with what he encounters in carrying out obedience, for obedience, O my brothers, is difficult for the self. Not everyone’s self submits to obedience. Also, one’s self may submit to obedience and love the good, but he worships Allah according to his desire rather than according to guidance.
So you find that his religious emotion takes him to the point where he goes to excess in the religion of Allah, exaggerates in the religion of Allah, and imposes strictness in the religion of Allah upon himself and others. This is because he has a strong emotion for the religion and great zeal, but he does not control this emotion and combine it with reason. Therefore, it is said: People are of categories; some have emotion and reason, some have reason without emotion, some have emotion without reason, and some have neither emotion nor reason. Who is the most complete of people? The one who has emotion and reason, for without emotion, a person would not be motivated or move, and without reason, his actions would be clumsy, either in excess or in falling short. When the emotion that urges and encourages him to work and to turn toward [Allah] is combined with the reason that governs his actions, perfection is achieved in every case. We must always advise one another to be patient in obedience.
Patience in obeying the commands of Allah is for a person to be patient with what he encounters in carrying out obedience, for obedience, O my brothers, is difficult for the self. Not everyone’s self submits to obedience. Also, one’s self may submit to obedience and love the good, but he worships Allah according to his desire rather than according to guidance.
So you find that his religious emotion takes him to the point where he goes to excess in the religion of Allah, exaggerates in the religion of Allah, and imposes strictness in the religion of Allah upon himself and others. This is because he has a strong emotion for the religion and great zeal, but he does not control this emotion and combine it with reason. Therefore, it is said: People are of categories; some have emotion and reason, some have reason without emotion, some have emotion without reason, and some have neither emotion nor reason. Who is the most complete of people? The one who has emotion and reason, for without emotion, a person would not be motivated or move, and without reason, his actions would be clumsy, either in excess or in falling short. When the emotion that urges and encourages him to work and to turn toward [Allah] is combined with the reason that governs his actions, perfection is achieved in every case. We must always advise one another to be patient in obedience.