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Sabr literally means
"enduring," "bearing," and
"resisting pain, suffering, and
difficulty," and "dealing calmly
with problems." In more general terms it
means "patience," which is one of
the most important actions of the heart
mentioned in the Qur'an. Because of its
importance, patience is regarded as half of
one's religious life. (The other half is
thankfulness.)
The Qur'an orders patience in
many verses: [Seek
help in patience and prayer]
(Al-Baqarah 2:45) and [Endure,
vie with each other in endurance]
(Aal `Imran 3:199), and prohibits haste in
verses like [Show
not haste concerning them (the unbelievers)]
(Al-Ahqaf 46:35) and [When you meet in
battle those who do not believe, turn not your
backs to them] (Al-Anfal 8:15). In many
Qur'anic verses, God praises the patient,
declares that He loves them, or mentions the
ranks He has bestowed on them: [The
patient and steadfast, and the truthful and
loyal]
(Aal `Imran 3:16); [God
loves the patient]
(Aal `Imran 3:145); and [Surely
God is with the patient]
(Al-Baqarah 2:153).
The Qur'an mentions many other
aspects of patience. For example: [If
you endure patiently, this is indeed better
for those who are patient]
(An-Nahl 16:126) advises patience as a
preferable way in dealing with unbelievers
while communicating God's Message to them. [We
will certainly bestow on those who are patient
their reward according to the best of what
they used to do]
(An-Nahl 16:96) consoles the patient with
the best of rewards to be given in the
hereafter. [If
you have patience and guard yourselves against
evil and disobedience, God will send to your
aid five thousand angels having distinguishing
marks, if they [your enemies] suddenly attack
you] (Aal
`Imran 3:124) promises the believers divine
aid in return for patience.
How meaningful is the
following saying of the master of humanity
concerning patience and thankfulness:
How remarkable a
believer's affair is, for it is always to
his advantage, and such a condition is
only for a believer. If something good
happens to him he thanks God, which is to
his advantage; if something bad happens to
him he endures it, which is also to his
advantage. (Muslim)
The characteristics of
patience can be grouped into five categories:
enduring difficulties associated with being a
true servant of God or steadfastness in
performing regular acts of worship; resisting
temptations of the carnal self and Satan to
commit sins; enduring heavenly or earthly
calamities, which includes resignation to
divine decrees; being steadfast in following
the right path and not allowing worldly
attractions to cause deviation; and showing no
haste in realizing hopes or plans that require
a certain length of time to achieve.
With respect to its degrees,
patience can be divided into six categories:
showing patience for the sake of God; showing
patience and attributing it to God (being
convinced that God enables one to show
patience); enduring patiently whatever comes
from God, knowing that He acts from His
wisdom; being resigned to whatever happens in
the way of God; showing patience by not
disclosing the mysteries of one's achieved
spiritual station and preserving one's
nearness to God; and resolving to fulfill
one's mission of communicating God's message
to people despite one's deepest desire to die
and meet with God.
There are other definitions of
patience as well. For example, preserving
one's manners in the face of misfortune; being
steadfast when confronted with events, and
showing no sign of being deterred; never
giving in to one's carnal desires and the
impulses of one's temperament; accepting the
commandments of the Qur'an and the Sunnah as a
sort of invitation to Paradise; and
sacrificing all possessions, including one's
soul and beloved ones, for the sake of the
True, Beloved One.
Those Qur'anic interpreters
who were interested in the text's secret or
esoteric meanings have made the following
commentaries on this verse:
[Endure,
vie with each other in endurance, and
continue your relation with God.]
(Aal `Imran 3:199)
Be steadfast in performing
your religious duties, endure whatever
displeasing thing happens to you, and maintain
your love of God and desire to meet with Him.
Or, be steadfast in fulfilling all your
responsibilities for the sake of God and to
please Him, and endure the difficulty of
always being aware of His constant supervision
of you and feeling His omnipresence. Or, be
steadfast in following the straight path
without any deviation, even when divine
bounties pour out onto you. Resolve to endure
all difficulties and hardships, and maintain
your connection or adherence to God whatever
happens to you.
Another approach to patience
is to attribute to God Almighty whatever is in
the universe and happens therein and, while
giving thanks for what appears pleasing, being
resigned to what appears displeasing. When a
believer unburdens himself or herself to God
while trying to overcome a misfortune or
hardship, a responsibility that is very hard
to fulfill, or sins that might be committed,
this must not be considered a complaint
against God. Rather, it is a believer's way of
asking Him for help and seeking refuge in Him.
In no way can such an action be considered a
complaint or a protest against God or divine
destiny. In reality, and according to one's
intention, such an act may even be regarded as
a supplication and an entreaty, as putting
one's trust in Him or as submitting to Him.
The cry of Prophet Job (peace
and blessings be upon him) to God, [Truly
distress (disease, tribulation) has seized me.
But You are the Most Compassionate of the
Compassionate]
(Al-Anbiya' 21:83), and the groaning of
Prophet Jacob (peace and blessings be upon), [I
only complain of my anguish and my sorrow unto
God]
(Yusuf 12:86), are supplications or entreaties
for God's pity and compassion. God Almighty
praised Job (peace and blessings be upon him)
for being an excellent servant distinguished
with patience and supplications: [We
found him patient; how excellent a servant!
Truly he was ever turning (to God) with
supplications]
(Saad 38:44).
One of the most distinguishing
characteristics of Prophets and saints is that
they embody patience in all of its manifold
forms and degrees, and that without deviating
from their utmost devotion to God, they do
their best to communicate God's message to
people and bear all misfortune and difficulty
arising therefrom. The glory of humanity
(peace and blessings be upon him), who is a
mercy for the whole of creation, declared,
"Among mankind, those who are stricken
with the most terrible of misfortunes are the
Prophets, and then follow others according to
their degree of faith" (Al-Bukhari).
Patience is an essential
characteristic of those believers who are the
most advanced in belief, spirituality,
nearness to God, and who guide others to the
truth. It is, moreover, the source of power
for those advancing toward this final point.
Since the most advanced people experience the
most misfortune, they are perfect embodiments
of patience, which is the price they pay for
the rank bestowed on them. Others who have
been destined to advance to that final point
cross the distances traveled by others through
different and frequent acts of worship, by
enduring whatever happens to them. Of these,
God's Messenger (peace and blessings be upon
him) said
If God Almighty has
destined a servant of His to a rank or
position which he cannot reach through his
religious actions, He causes him to suffer
from his own self, property, or family,
and equips him with patience to endure all
his sufferings. He elevates him (through
patience) to the rank to which He has
destined him. (Abu Dawud)
Thus the suffering to be
endured, the difficulty in fulfilling one's
responsibilities, and the pressure of sin
contain potential mercy, mercy that is
attracted by one's patience. One subjected to
such affliction should not unburden oneself to
anybody else.
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