Patience and Struggle
10 Rule for Writing Muslim Fiction and Characters Part 3
Welcome back to Fantasy and Faith, where we explore the Magical, the Mythical and the Mystical. I am your host Noor A Jahangir, author of The Changeling King and the Adventures of Some Kid. My new series The Arabian Dreams will be launching this October at FantasyCon 2026. In this episode, I will be exploring some more of my 10 rules for writing Muslim Fiction and Characters. The idea behind these episodes is to equip writers with some background into understanding the Muslim psyche, which should help you understand the themes that are important to Muslim fiction and writing Muslim characters.
A central theme in the Islamic religion is Patience and Struggle. Each of us has faced numerous trials and tribulations throughout our lives and have handled them in different ways. Some of us get really depressed, some of us complain to whoever will listen and others grit their teeth and continue moving forward.
Rule 6: Patience is a Part of Faith (Muslim, Hadith 9083)
O believers! Seek comfort in patience and prayer. Allah is truly with those who are patient. (Q2:153)
Indeed, the second part of this verse, “Allah is truly with those who are patient” was a common refrain for the Prophets of God. Yusuf, peace be upon him, invoked something similar when he was abandoned in the well, and then again when he was unjustly thrown into prison.
Types of patience:
1. Avoiding the prohibitions and sins,
2. Engaging in acts of worship and obedience
3. In the face of afflictions and hardships
The greatest form of patience is to restrain oneself from the things that you desire, that are harmful to you, or are prohibited to you, or are straight up sins. For instance, if you have fallen in love with a woman or a man, as a Muslim you will avoid approaching the object of your desire. If you find yourself in their company, you will resist looking at them or speaking to them. If you are unable to avoid them, then you will resist the temptation to touch them, even if it may seem innocent, because you know it is forbidden to you.
In order to understand this further, we have to consider two terms, Halal and Haraam. Even people who are not Muslim in the West will be familiar with these two terms, but may have only understood them in the most superficial of ways. Loosely, they can be translated as permissible and impermissible. Many non-Muslims think of Halal as being related to the slaughter of animals. This is one element. But even in this regard the concept is much more than the point of slaughter.
Rule 7: Muslim Live a Halal Life and Avoid Haraam
Essentially, all food and drink can be classified as Halal or Haraam. Many far-right extremist want to ban Halal food in the West, which is impossible unless they also ban thinks like soft drinks, vegetables, pulses, lentils, beans, dairy products, etc, etc, you get the idea. There are some things that have been forbidden outright, namely swine and intoxicants, mostly commonly referred to as pigs and alcohol. Intoxicants also extends to other substances that may cause you to lose your inhibitions or ability to think straight. Both of these things are forbidden in the Qur’an numerous times:
2:173: “He has only forbidden you to eat carrion, blood, swine, and what is slaughtered in the name of any other than Allah.”
5:3: “Forbidden to you are carrion, blood, and swine; what is slaughtered in the name of any other than Allah...”
6:145: “Say, ‘I do not find within that which was revealed to me any forbidden food for one who intends to eat it, unless it be dead meat or blood poured forth or the flesh of swine, for that surely is impure...’”
16:115: “He has forbidden you only dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah.”
2:219: “They ask you about intoxicants and gambling. Say, ‘In them is great sin and [yet, some] benefit for people. But their sin is greater than their benefit.’”
4:43: “O believers! Do not approach prayer while you are intoxicated until you know what you are saying.”
5:90: “O you who believe! Intoxicants, gambling, idols, and drawing lots for decisions are all evil of Satan’s handiwork. So shun them so you may be successful.”
Their prohibition is the main reason why Muslims do not partake in them. There is plenty of scientific evidence to support expediency of avoiding Pig and Alcohol, for instance, Healthline list four key dangers of consuming pork as 1) Hepatitis E, 2) Multiple Sclerosis, 3) Liver Cancer and Cirrhosis, 4) Yersinia. The harms of alcohol are well known and according Harvard Health, even a small amount everyday can be harmful over a long period.
It is not permitted for Muslims to eat carnivorous or omnivorous animals or birds. Carnivores carry a higher concentration of toxins and pollution, and parasitic disease, such as roundworm infection. Ethically speaking, killing off apex predators for food has a negative impact on ecosystems and over-hunting has already made many predators endangered. However, as the Qur’anic verses indicate above, a Muslim’s reason not to eat these animals is simply because God has forbidden it. The validation of scientific evidence is nice to have but not necessary for Muslims to act on the commands of God. There is a similar case in Jewish Kosher Law too.
Animals that are Halal to eat have to be treated well throughout their lives. They should be healthy, free from disease and well fed and watered. When they are brought to slaughter they must not see other animals being slaughtered. The person carrying out the slaughter must be skilled and knowledgeable about the process. The person must use a knife that has been sharpened for each animal to avoid causing suffering through the use of a blunted knife. The sharpening of the knife should be done out of sight and sound of the animal. The cut should be swift and deep, cutting the windpipe, the jugular veins and the carotid arteries, whilst invoking “Bismillah, Allahu Akbar,” In the name of God, God is Great. The spinal cord should not be severed. The blood should be drained from the meat completely, as blood is considered impure. If an animal is dead before slaughter, the meat is not permissible for Muslim’s to consume. The aim of the Halal slaughter process is to avoid causing the animal pain and suffering. For this reason, non-stunned is the preferred method of slaughter.
This, as I said earlier, is just one element of Halal. Halal touches every part of a Muslim’s life. A Muslim should engage in Halal relationships after you have matured. You can sit and talk with your direct relatives without an issue, but need to be careful around cousins and people who are not direct relatives (Mother, Father, Brother, Sister, Maternal and Paternal Grandparents, Uncles and Aunts). These relatives are known as Mehrem. You should avoid to the best of your ability engaging in conversations and or friendships with people of the opposite sex. So a Muslim character should not be in an extra-marital relationship, unless the point of the portrayal is to show the negative impacts on society or to have the character repent from these actions later in the story. Halal also relates to wealth and income generation. All forms of gambling are impermissible, usury (or interest) is impermissible, money gained from selling haram meat or alcohol, or narcotics is impermissible. Anything that causes the body harm, like cigarettes is also impermissible. There is even guidance on what is permissible in business, how to conduct a deal, when a sale is considered complete, etc. So Halal is much broader than meat. There are some good opportunities here to explore the complexity of the challenges for Muslims living in countries where Islam is not the main religion. Young people will have to learn to negotiate what they are allowed to do with their non-Muslim friends, and what they have to extricate themselves from. For instance, if your friends invite you for a night out and you know that they are likely to be drinking, going to nightclubs or chatting up members of the opposite sex, then a Muslim would be faced with three choices: 1) you go out and risk becoming involved in something Haraam, 2) you don’t go out with your friends and you are constantly making up excuses to avoid similar scenarios, 3) you decide that these aren’t really the friends for you, and decide to find friends who aren’t engaged in Haraam behaviour. Each of these options would try an individual’s patience in a different way, with the third option being the most trying, but in the end also the most rewarding.
So, avoiding prohibitions and sins is one type of patience. The second type was to engage in acts of worship and obedience. Muslim prayers are not difficult to do. They often take two minutes and can be done pretty much anywhere. The only conditions are that you are in a state of wudhu, which is a form of ritual purification, you are within the time of prayer, your clothes are clean and the place of worship is clean. However, prayer is not completely without challenge. The first prayer of the day takes place before dawn. Its currently June, and in the UK, dawn takes place around 4.40am. Waking up at that time is challenging. Performing the ablution (often with cold water) at that time is challenging. Then trying to go back to sleep after the prayer is even more difficult. Some prayers take place during the school or work day. This is especially the case in Winter, when the afternoon, midafternoon and post sunset prayers take place with a few hours of each other. A Muslim has to explain to their teachers, employers, colleagues and peers that they need to be excused for a few minutes. Making ablution (wudhu) is difficult when you are not at home or in a mosque because the facilities aren’t really designed for wudhu. Another option is to try and maintain wudhu all day, which is difficult and uncomfortable. Then you have to find somewhere to pray that is not going to inconvenience colleagues or peers, and afford you a little bit of privacy too. This is especially difficult for Muslim women and girls because they have to pray in seclusion, whereas men and boys could almost pray anywhere, in a corridor, in a stationary cupboard or, one time, in a server room. Therefore, acts of worship require a level of patience too. I haven’t even mentioned fasting during Ramadan, staying up for night prayers in the Summer, engaging in recommended prayers, giving in charity or performing the Hajj, which are all challenging and test your patience in different ways.
The third type of patience is in the face of afflictions and hardships. This is the most obvious type of patience. God states in the Qur’an:
We will certainly test you with a touch of fear and famine and loss of property, life, and crops. Give good news to those who patiently endure (Q 2:155)
Rule 8: Struggle is a Test of Faith, But This Too Will Pass
Muslims do not view trials and tribulations in the same way as other people do. There are numerous Qur’anic verses and Hadith that extol patience in the face of hardship and in the above verse from Sura al-Baqarah, God warns us that we will be tested in many ways, through fear, famine and loss. He also reminds us that great reward awaits for those who endure them with patience. Indeed, there is a concept in Islam that the more beloved you are to God, the more you will be tested. A Hadith in Ibn Majah (36:98, Hadith 4023) notes:
It was narrated from Mus’ab bin Sa’d that his father, Sa’d bin Abu Waqqas, said:
“I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, which people are most severely tested?’ He said: ‘The Prophets, then the next best and the next best. A person is tested according to his religious commitment. If he is steadfast in his religious commitment, he will be tested more severely, and if he is frail in his religious commitment, his test will be according to his commitment. Trials will continue to afflict a person until they leave him walking on the earth with no sin on him.’”
Therefore, a Muslim character should be tested in your stories based on their level of conviction and belief. This shouldn’t be difficult to do, because heroic characters often face the greatest trials and tribulations in fiction. The difference here is that a Muslim character should not become disheartened and despondent, or if they do, then there should be a gradual turning towards acceptance. Often, this is a hard earned lesson. When one learns it, you are able to bow your head before God when tested, firm in the knowledge that this too will pass. Suffering allows us to appreciate better times and encourages us to seek forgiveness for our sins, and supplicate to God for an easing of suffering and a return to good times. It also makes us more aware of the suffering of others. For instance, during Ramadan Muslims fast from first light to sunset. They spend the day hungry, thirsty and sleep deprived. But rather than focus on their own suffering, they are thinking about the people around the world that suffering similar conditions but not out of choice. As a result, the level of charitable giving increases exponentially during the month of Ramadan.
So lets put it all together and look at a scenario where a Muslim is tested severely, but they persevere.
Ghulam lay amongst the bodies of his enemies. He himself was bleeding from several cuts. He raised his right arm and looked at the incomprehensible stump that was still pumping out blood with each beat of his weakening heart. He blinked and he must have fell unconscious because the sky was darker than it had been moments ago. The creaking of leather armour made him look to the left. Abdullah, also bleeding from several cuts to his legs and arms was crawling over to him.
“Still alive, my friend?” Ghulam croaked through his parched lips.
“Praise be to the All-Mighty. I was coming over to see if you were still breathing,” replied Abdullah.
Behind him, the woman and her daughters were wringing their hands and talking to each other rapidly. Ghulam was happy that they had survived the attack unscathed and unsullied. At last, he had been able to do some good in his life.
“My friend, I need you to carry a message to my family,” said Ghulam.
Abdullah finally made it to his side and starting checking Ghulam’s wounds. He blinked again and it was night time. He was no longer lying in the open amongst a pile of bodies. He was still outside, but he now lay on a reed mat under a woven straw awning. A small fire was burning nearby, providing light and a little bit of warmth. His wounds had been packed and bandaged. The stump of his arm had also been wrapped in bandages but blood was still seeping through it onto the mat beneath him. The wounds to his chest and stomach hurt each time he drew a breath. It felt like there was a heavy weight on his chest. But it was the smaller cuts on his left arm that was causing him the most pain. Weirdly, his right arm felt fine. He could even feel the fingers of his right hand clench and unclench. But his arm was not there.
“You are awake.”
Abdullah stood over him. He had removed his leather cuirass and vambraces and was now dressed in a simple undyed tunic. His arms were covered in bandages, but otherwise he seemed to have come through the battle with Ghulam’s former compatriots well.
“I need you to carry a message to my family,” said Ghulam.
“You said that before, too. You can deliver your message yourself when we return home in a couple of weeks.”
“I am not going home, my friend. My lung has collapsed. I am dying.”
Abdullah pursed his lips together, as if holding back a reassuring platitude.
“I want you to tell my family that I died well. That I died protecting a family in a village like our village. I have hidden a chest of gold in the Dhibu Valley. I will mark the spot on your map. Please, find the gold and take whatever you need but deliver the rest to my family.”
Wordlessly, Abdullah went to his pack and retrieved a map of the region. He unrolled the leather scroll and held it up near Ghulam’s face. Ghulam rubbed the forefinger of his left hand on the stump of his right arm and made a mark on the map. Abdullah examined the spot and then nodded in confirmation. Abdullah was a good man, he would see it done.
Behind Abdullah, a rider on a white horse approached. His face was too brilliant for Ghulam to make out his features.
“Who is that?”
Abdullah looked around and then back at Ghulam in puzzlement.
“We are alone, my friend. The women have gone to find food and water for us.”
The rider’s horse stopped short of Abdullah and the rider beckoned Ghulam to approach him. Beyond him a whole host of riders waited in the sky. Ghulam pointed at them and again Abdullah looked about in confusion.
“There is no God but God,” said Ghulam forcing himself up to his elbow. A pain shot along his left breast and down into his left shoulder. “Muhammad is the Messenger and Servant of God.”
With that proclamation he sat up and then slowly got to his feet. The rider turned his horse and held out a hand to Ghulam. Ghulam took the hand with both of his own and allowed himself to be hauled up behind the bright rider. He looked back at Abdullah, who was squatting down beside a body of a man missing a right arm. Then he looked up to the great host that waited for him and smiled as the horse took flight.
Thank you once again for your time and for your support. There is one more episode to go in this season, which will be coming in two weeks. In the meantime, if you are not yet subscribed, please do so. I want to get to 500 subscribers by the end of 2026. Until the next episode, Keep Dreaming, Keep Writing and Let Your Stories Shine.
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