We usually hear that Allah (swt) is with those that are patient, and that is usually true. 

Allah (swt) did reveal, 

“Surely, Allah is with those who are As Sabirun (the patient).” [Qur’an, 8:46]

This is an assured promise for a believer that is especially going through a difficulty. 

I was born with a physical disability, so I grew accustomed to people saying that I should be patient, and that Allah (swt) is with those that are patient.

The word 'patient' can sometimes sound ambiguous to an adult, that to a child, it can be more confusing. 

I was not sure how to tell if I was being patient when facing a difficulty, and sometimes I grew used to some of the everyday barriers that I faced, that I did not know if I was still being patient if I did not feel like I was in difficulty. 

If I am comfortable with my disability, but still struggle to get around, does that mean I was in a scenario of patience? 

I usually associated patience with having to face discomfort and enduring an agonizing circumstance. I thought it would have to be a scenario where you feel the need to complain and a situation where you want to urgently get out.

I was born with a physical disability, so I did not know a life without it. I, therefore, did not feel that urgency to want to get out of my circumstance. I do not feel like I am in agony, despite the everyday barriers that I have to face. 

This made it harder to tell if I was being patient, or if I was in a scenario that required patience. 

I grew to see with time that a quality of those that are patient are those that do not complain of their circumstance. It does not necessarily mean that you feel the need to complain, or that you do not naturally feel frustrated. You are still being patient for having to endure and wait. 

It is sometimes frustrating to have to wait for hours during hospital appointments, and that I have to sometimes take longer routes to access a venue. It is sometimes frustrating to not be able to access a building, and wait for help to do so when using a wheelchair. 

My everyday life requires me to constantly wait. 

I need to wait for assistance to move, and I need to wait a lot longer to complete a task. 

I am used to waiting, so it is easy to feel like I am not in a scenario that requires patience, regardless of my circumstance considered not easy. 

Disability is rather considered difficult. 

A lot of us may be currently going through something that is considered difficult, for a long time, that it starts to feel like a norm. 

It starts to not feel difficult, despite it being considered difficult. 

This is especially a reality for all of us during the pandemic. 

The pandemic is putting us in a situation where we have to wait and even do more to complete everyday tasks. 

We at first found this new reality very difficult and felt the need to be patient. 

The pandemic put us in a scenario where we face restrictions, but now, we are somehow used to these restrictions. 

The fact that we now have a system to cope in a post-pandemic world, does not mean that we are not still having to be patient. 

We are still being patient, simply because we know that there was a possible way of life that was more of ease. 

The fact that we cannot attain that ease means that we are waiting. 

We are in a scenario where we are having to wait just like I am in a scenario to find out what it feels like to have physical strength without any barriers. 

The fact that we are waiting means that we are being patient. 

I like to trust that Allah (swt) is also with those that wait.

We are all hoping, praying, and waiting for Jannah tul firdous.

We are all waiting to meet Him.

Ya Allah (swt), please count this as us being patient.

Please include us amongst the As-Sabirun.

Ameen.

Writer by-line: Sa’diyya Nesar is the author of 'Strength from Within,' TEDx speaker, and poet that lives life with a physical disability