The virtue of patience – Sabr

In Quran, Allah said: “And be Patient. Surely, Allah is with those who are patient.” Surah
Anfal:46

A person who loves Almighty Allah finds it much easier to be patient and to persevere. This is
because he sees everything as coming from Allah, and if it comes from Allah, there must be a
reason for it. A person who loves wants the Beloved to see him in the best of states, and so he
proves the best of patience. Patience is a virtue, which enables the individual to proceed towards
worthy goals.

So many times in our lives something happens to us and we feel that this is the worst thing that can
happen to us. But then after the trial, when relief and ease come, we realize that the difficult times
had happened for good to come.  So, it is important that believers have to be patient and know that
Allah (SWT) is sufficient for us and is the best arranger of all our affairs. He will guide us to that
which is good for us in this life and Hereafter too.

Degrees of Sabr:
 Imam 'Ali (a) said, "The Messenger of Allah (s) said: “Sabr is of three kinds: Sabr at
the time of affliction, Sabr in regard to obedience, and Sabr in regard to dis-
obedience (of Allah). And the third one is superior to the first two kinds.” [Al-
Kulayni, al-Kafi, vol. 2, bab al- Sabr, hadith # 15]

Throughout our lifetimes, each of us have or already have experienced a time in which
we will go through hardships.

It is then upon us to have sabr in times of trials and hardships. Sabr does not only mean
patience, but endurance and perseverance towards calamities as well – without the heart
becoming resentful, bitter or hard.

The interesting part of the definition of Sabr is that it is often used alongside or even
interchangibly with the word “Iman” or faith, within the quran and many hadiths.

- The-Prophet (S.A) described perseverance as a light of the

believers and as-half of the faith.
- “Verily in this are signs for all who constantly persevere and give thanks” (Surah
Ibrahim, 14:5; Surah Luqman, 31:31; Surah Saba’, 34:19; Surah ash-Shura,
42:33).
Sabr has many definitions, and can be comprehended many ways, however it’s important
to understand that patience is not an action, it is a virtue.
- Sabr is seen as patience
- Patience comes from the latin root, meaning suffering
- Sabr can also be used in times where you can control feeling of fear or weakness.
- Ultimately when translated Sabr, is seen as not only patience but to be steadfast
o Steadfast: to be constant in our belief
- and to perverseness through times of suffering or times in which we have to
control our feelings.
- Remembering allah: what is not for you…….

Tests and tribulations in this dunya:

In Surah Baqarah (2:155) ,
- Verily, We shall put you to test with some fear, and hunger, and with some
loss of wealth, lives, and offspring. And (O Muhammad) convey good
tidings to those who are patient, who say, when inflicted by hardship,
"Verily we are of God and verily to Him shall we return;" upon them is the
blessings of Allah and His mercy. (2:155)
- Break down:
o Tests
o How we should react by tests
o The rewards

There are so many times in my life where I begin to question why it’s going so well. It even
comes to the point where when it’s going too smoothly I begin to be afraid or feel anxious,
expecting something to happen.
- Its like a silent room. You feel uncomfortable sitting in a silent room because you fear
something bad might pop up.

You should take this as a way of thinking; when something happens in your life, good or bad
realize that there are ups and downs and that what makes life, life. It removes the stress of not
only always anticipating and waiting for something to happen, instead you have to be patient and
have sabr acknowledging that Allah has a plan for us all.
- Again like a noisy room. When im home alone, I like to hear something whether it’s the
tv or people talking in the background.

In this life Allah has promised that each one of us will experience tests, each at different degrees
but it is promised to us that we will have tests.
- The point of these tests is to see how each of us handles the situation, and if we are
patient with Allah and maintain our iman despite the circumstances
In Surah Baqarah (2:155) ,

Analogy

Surah- Imran (142)

Do you think you will enter Paradise without Allah proving which of you ˹truly˺ struggled
˹for His cause˺ and patiently endured?
- To see this he sets trials and tribulations for us all to endure.

Think of the tests like this, the higher the level in school the harder the test.
To quality to get into university, you have to not only have to pass your classes but get good
grades in them as
The harder the test, the bigger the reward
- As we move through middle school, high school, university and grad school the harder
the tests get and so does your degree and it’s pay grade (the rewards)
- When allah loves you, he gives you more tests, more chances for you to get closer to
Allah
- And its interesting because when it comes to times of hardships many of us may find
ourselves (if not already) praying more, making dua more and getting closer to Sllah

Mention:

There is a verse for every hardship in the quran

- Divorce Surah Talaq (verse 2-3)
- And will provide for him from where he does not expect. And whoever relies upon Allah -
then He is sufficient for him. Indeed, Allah will accomplish His purpose. Allah has already
set for everything a [decreed] extent.
- The story of Ayyub (AS)
- “And (remember) Ayyub, when he cried to his Lord: “Verily,
distress has seized me, and You are the Most Merciful of all
those who show mercy” (21:84)
- Story of Yunus
o And [mention] the man of the fish, when he went off in anger and thought that We
would not decree [anything] upon him. And he called out within the darknesses,
"There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the
wrongdoers."
o La illaha illa anta subhanaka inni kuntu min athaleemeen
- Story of Zechiriah (sickness and no inheritance)
 - ‘My Lord!  Indeed my bones have grown feeble, and grey hair has spread on
my head, And I have never been unblest in my invocation to You, O my
Lord!’”  (Quran 19:4)

Mention of Sabr in the Quran

Surah Anfal – 8:46

ْ ‫ َواصْ بِر‬ 
َ ‫ُوا إِ َّن هّللا َ َم َع الصَّابِ ِر‬
‫ين‬
- And be patient (and preservere) . Surely Allah with those who are As- Sabirin (patient)

If you bear patience Allah says I am with you

Surah Hud -n the reward
- Bear patience, for allah will never waste the reward of those who do good

Surah Yusuf
- Those who are conscious and bear patience allah will never waste those

How many of the prophets fought (in Allah.s way), and with them (fought) Large bands of godly men?
but they never lost heart if they met with disaster in Allah.s way, nor did they weaken (in will) nor
give in.And Allah Loves those who are firm and steadfast. (Surah Al-Imran, 146)

- We let them be the heirs of the east and the west

‫ص ْب ًرا َج ِميلًا‬ ْ َ‫ف‬

َ ‫اصبِ ْر‬

The phrase "sabrun jameel" is most famous from the saying of Yaqoob alayhi salam upon
hearing the news of his son Yusuf, as told in Surah Yusuf:

There are two separate points I want to make about the story of Yusuf (AS) :

His story shows the rewards of patience in the presence of tests;

 - His brothers were jealous of the way their father, Yaqub AS, treated him
- As a result, they threw him in a well where he was then later on’ ‘saved’ only to be sold as
a slave
- After all of his hardships, from what some scholars believe to be 40 years, he was given
reward after reward. He becomes very wealthy and ends up being in a high position of
authority.

His story showcases the meaning of “Sabrun Jameel” which is not only seen in Surah Yusuf but
in Surah Ma’arij as well

- This saying was used by Yaqoob, Yusufs father, after hearing that his son has been
‘attacked by a wolf’
- Instead of crying, complaing or questioning as to why this has happened he asks allah to
grant him strength and patience (sabr) to withstand the misfortune.

This amazes me because I know people (myself included) that when something that is so small
happens in our lives, we complain and question Allah as to why he let this happen. Some people
might even complain and say that it was because of ‘evil eye’

- So because of this we should that

- Even after hearing the news of Yusuf, he did not complain instead he recognized that this
happened in the will of Allah. And asked allah to give him strength and patient (sabr) to
withstand the misfortune

Patience – Jannah
The end of Surah furqaan – those who are patient will have a special place in Jannah, greeted
with

o Those who will remain patient will enter into Paradise. Allah said in Quran: “Those will be
rewarded with the highest place (in Paradise) because of their patience.
Therein they shall be met with greetings and the word of peace and
respect.” (Quran, 25:75)

Rewards of Sabr

To show the importance of sabr, and patience within islam, Allah continues to remind us that he
is with those (as I said before) who are of As- Sabireen

“Only those who are patient shall receive their rewards in full, without Hisaab (without limit,
calculation, and estimation).”(Quran, 39:10).

Not so do those who show patience and constancy, and work righteousness; for them is forgiveness
(of sins) and a great reward. (Surah Hud, 11)
Through the hardships that we have, we must not give up
- Always remind yourself that everything that we are going through is temporary
- Allah has a plan for us (continue to have tawakkal, faith, in god)
- Never doubt why something Is happening to us because it could be much worse
- The hardships always come with ease
o Just think of all the times in your life where something bad has happened. Realize
that you are here right now, and despite all of the hardships you have endured you
have gotten through it.
o If you are currently going through something right now, it will pass, because
Allah does not burden a soul more than what he can bear.

^‫ف^ هَّللا ُ^ نَ^ ْف^ ًس^ا^ إِ^اَّل ُو^ ْس^ َع^ هَ^ا‬
^ُ ^ِّ‫اَل يُ^ َك^ ل‬
o

- The-Prophet (S.A) described perseverance as a light of the

believers and as-half of the faith.

• Imam al-Sadiq (a) said: “Whoever of the believers that bears patiently with a
tribulation that befalls him, has the reward of a thousand martyrs.”[Al-
Kulayni, al- Kafi, vol.2, bab al- Sabr, hadith # 17]
• Imam al-Sadiq (a) said: “When the believer enters his grave, salat is on his right
hand, zakat on his left, virtue faces him, with Sabr taking him under its shelter.
When the two angels encharged with questioning enter upon him, Sabr says
to salat, zakat and virtue, ‘Take care of your companion, and if you fail to assist
him I will take care of him myself.”[Ibid, hadith # 8]

So many times in our lives something happens to us and we feel that this is the
end of the world, whether its as simple as us failing a test in school or . But then
after the trial, when relief and ease come, we realize that the difficult times had
happened for a good reason.

How can we attain patience:

According to Ibn Al-Qayyim in his work ‘Uddat al-Ṣābirīn, patience is divide

into three components:
1. Patience in worshiping Allah and adhering to His commands.
َّ >‫ص> اَل ِة> ۚ> إِ> َّ>ن> هَّللا َ> َم> َ>ع> ا>ل‬
2. >‫ص> ا> ِب> ِ>ر>ي>ن‬ َّ >‫َي>ا> أَ> ُّي> َه>ا> ا>لَّ> ِذ>ي> َ>ن> آ> َم> ُن>و>ا> ا> ْ>س> َت> ِع>ي> ُن>و>ا> ِب>ا>ل‬
َّ >‫ص> ْب> ِ>ر> َ>و>ا>ل‬

O you who believe, seek help through patience and prayer. Verily, Allah is with
the patient.

3. Patience in avoiding sins and acts of disobedience.

4. Patience with the decree of Allah and calamities.

Indeed, this high level of patience can only be achieved upon the realization
that nothing occurring to a true believer is bad for him, because a calamity is
an opportunity to be patient and thereby receive reward from Allah.

When a person firmly believes that what he is going to obtain in the other world after
death is a form of his own deeds performed in this worldly life, he will have no distress
while going through hardships and hostile situations