A lady of admirable patience during the severe trials of misfortune which befell her related these trials as follows:
“My husband slaughtered a goatfor Qurbaani. My two little sons saw their father slaughtering the goat. The elder of the two boys took his brother into the woods to demonstrate how his father had slaughtered the goat. He laid his brother down and slaughtered him. After he had realised what he had done, he ran into the mountains. A wolf attacked and killed him. His father set out in his search, but got lostin the desert and died of thirst. Meanwhile, after my husband had gone in search, I left my baby in the house and went to the door to see if my husband was perhaps returning. The infant crawled to the stove and upturned the pot of boiling water which fell on him. As a result of this incident, the baby died. When news of these disasters reached my eldest married daughter, she came in haste to me. When she heard what had happened, grief and shock overwhelmed her. She collapsed and died. Now here I am all alone.”
Someone said to her: “How are you able to bear all this grief?” She said: “Whoever is able to differentiate between sabr (patience) and panic will most assuredly find an avenue in between. The result of sabr is goodness. The one who panics receives no reward.”
