Allah has given his creatures an appointed time on Earth to make amends for their misdeeds. In other words, he has postponed His reckoning of our deeds until the Day of Judgment.
Allah says: "If Allah were to punish people for their wrong-doing, He would not leave, on the (earth), a single living creature: but He gives them respite for a stated Term" [Sûrah al-Nahl: 61]
He also says: "If Allah were to hasten on for people the ill (that they have earned) as they would hasten on the good, their respite would already have expired." [Sûrah Yûnus: 11]
Some people, in their ignorance, misconstrue the respite that Allah has given them for Allah's neglect of their actions. They imagine that Allah is heedless of their sins or that He will never punish them.
When they hear people speaking about Allah's punishment, in their arrogance, they sometimes say: "Allah should bring it on."
The Qur'ân speaks about this behavior: "Remember how they said: 'O Allah if this is indeed the Truth from You, rain down on us a shower of stones from the sky, or send us a grievous penalty.' But Allah was not going to chastise them while you (O Muhammad) were among them, nor is Allah going to chastise them while yet they ask for forgiveness." [Sûrah al-Anfâl: 32-33]
This verse tells us that Allah withholds his wrath for many reasons. One reason He does so is in order to give people the chance to repent. How many people spend most of their years on Earth far away from Allah, but then Allah blesses them by inspiring them to repent, so they turn to righteousness at the end of their days? This happens quite often.
Many of the Prophet's Companions were born and raised before the advent of Islam, during Arabia's time of ignorance. They had been idol worshippers and they committed many of the sinful deeds that were rife in Arabian society at the time. Nevertheless, Allah forgave them and they became the best of generations through whom Allah brought great benefits to all humanity.
Allah waits patiently for us to return to Him. For this reason, some scholars consider al-Sabûr (The Patient) to be one of Allah's names, though the word sabûr does not appear anywhere in the Qur’ân and Sunnah as an epithet of Allah. However, the fact that Allah is patient is established in the Sunnah. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "No one shows more patience upon hearing abuse than Allah." [Sâhîh al-Bukhârî (6099) and Sahîh Muslim (2804)]
Allah is patient with the evil and abusive things many of His creatures say about Him. He provides for them and blesses them in their lives, though they invent and propagate falsehood against Him. This patience should not be mistaken for Allah's agreement with their misdeeds.
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