In Surat al-'Asr, Allah says, {Verily, man is in loss, except those who believe and do good deeds and encourage one another towards truth and encourage one another towards patience}.(104:2-3)
Patience is a sign of the Muslim character. I know a lady who taught me a great deal. She probably does not even know how much she affected me, for it was not anything she said. It was purely her actions.
This lady had a daughter who was about 11 or 12 years old. She had been sick for a few years. The young girl had been taken to the hospital because her heart and lungs were giving out on her. This had become a routine for them. She went to the hospital, they treated her, and she went home. This time, however, it was different. This time, the doctor took the family into a small room - the consultation room. He told this woman that this time there was nothing that could be done. The damage had become too extensive. Essentially all that they could do was keep her comfortable. This lady started to cry, to get really upset. Then, unexpectedly, she was extremely calm. This lady lived up to her name, Sakeenah (peace), for she showed the utmost in tranquillity. She said,
"No! I will not do this. Allah does not expect this of me. Doctor, tell me what I have to do."
By Allah, the doctor, who was used to the grief expressions of the Kuffaar (non-Muslims), was astonished. He had to pull himself together before he could continue. I know he had never seen anything like this. What a beautiful da'wah (call to Allah) this woman gave, may Allah increase her reward.
She avoided the easy route, the one no one would have blamed her for taking. After all, she was a mother about to lose her beloved daughter, but the thought that came to her was, "What would Allah want?" Glory be to Allah, Allah reward her. This woman, in her love to Allah, in her show of patience, taught me better than a thousand books or a hundred lectures. She showed me what true Muslim patience is. As expected, the young girl died soon after. Sakeenah cried a mother's tears, but she was never excessive in her grief, and she was a marvellous example to her other children. They too showed honour and deen (religiosity) in their mourning of the young girl.
This is Islam, and this is patience. This family taught all of us in the community how to deal with hardship in its hardest form. They helped others to know the right way, and if Allah (subhaanahu wa ta'ala) wills, they gained the reward from Allah for teaching us as well as for their simple obedience to the Almighty.