Religious Principles and Psychological Analysis of Patience

Extremely vulnerable to the hardships of life, an impatient man would fail to maintain his mental health and fall victim to mental disorders. Patience is defined as resistance against difficulties and hardships of life as well as internal obstacles. Its degree fluctuates over time. Therefore, the teaching of patience gains great importance. The Holy Qur’an uses a number of methods to teach patience: It directly urges the believers to exercise patience and advise each other to do so, it states its advantages, or provides the believers with some examples. Likewise, psychology suggests differential reinforcement, relaxation, self-instruction, modeling, and identification as patience-teaching methods. Patience helps one to achieve the truth, grow in resistance against hardships, maintain mental balance, and love the others. Hardiness is a similar concept. However, patience directs one’s attention to all positive and negative consequences of the hardships of life and reduces his sense of impotence and stress. It also encourages him to devote more effort to overcoming the obstacles and, thus, reduces his pessimism towards the world and increases his love towards the others. Patience is, then, an effective method to come over depression. Moreover, it reminds him of the bounties of God to make him feel happier.