Oh you of little resolve, where do you stand upon this path?
Aadam found it difficult and Nuh lamented because of it,
While Allaah’s Khaleel Ibraaheem was thrown into a pit of fire due to it.
Isma’eel was laid upon his side ready to be sacrificed for its sake,
And while upon it Yusuf was sold for a cheap price and then falsely cast into prison for many years.
Zakariyah was sawed in half, and Yahya was slaughtered due to it.
Ayyub suffered great distress, while Dawood cried copiously, and ‘Isaa cured the wretched poor of their diseases and walked with wild beasts due to it.
And how many, how many forms of difficulty and hardship did the Messenger Muhammad (Sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) face while proceeding upon it –
Yet you live through amusements and distractions!
Shaykh al Islaam Ibn Qayyim in his work
Al-Fawaaid, page 41