Sabr - A Quality of Success

As Muslims we must possess very good qualities, they certainly include being respectful, kind, helpful, understanding and have patience. Our focus today will be on Sabr. The word Sabr is commonly translated as ‘patience’. But it also includes; forbearance, endurance, steadfastness, perseverance and restraint.  

There are many Qur’anic verses and Hadith on Sabr, patience. This means that it is very important for us to practice Sabr. Allah says: 
 أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ يُجْزَوْنَ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ بِمَا صَبَرُوا۟ وَيُلَقَّوْنَ فِيهَا تَحِيَّةً وَسَلَٰمًا 
“Those will be awarded the Chamber (in Paradise) for what they patiently endured, and they will be received therein with greetings and [words of] peace.” [25:75] 

In another verse, Allah says,
 إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّابِرُونَ أَجْرَهُم بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ 
“Indeed, the patient will be given their reward without account” [39:10]. 

In both verses Allah is guaranteeing that those who are patient will be rewarded with Paradise. Subhanallah, Paradise just for something as simple as having Sabr, patience. How amazing is Allah’s generosity.  

There are 3 major types of sabr that we will focus on. When we go over each, I want us all to remember the reward of being patient, which, as we mentioned earlier, is Jannah.  

The first type of sabr is the ‘endurance sabr’ which is required to fulfil the commands of Allah. For example; to perform salah, you need endurance. Why? Because you need to do 5 prayers every single day and on time. For Fajr salah, we need to make sure we wake up from our sleep, do wudu in the cold and then pray when most people are asleep. Remember, the reward is Jannah.  

The second type of sabr is the ‘restraint sabr’ which is required to stay away from the things Allah made haram. For example, you need to restrain yourself when it comes to your tongue and therefore you should avoid swearing and backbiting. You need sabr with your eyes. You should restrain your eyes and not look at haram things. remember, the reward is Jannah. 

The third type of sabr, is the ‘acceptance sabr’ whereby you accept the decree of Allah. For example, even though you try your best, it may be that you get a bad result after doing a test. You need to accept the decree of Allah and not say ‘Why did Allah do this to me?’ Moreover, a few times in life you will lose people who are close to you. even then, you need to show Sabr, patience. You need to accept the decree and decision made by Allah. Now, no one is saying that it is easy to look at challenging life experiences in a positive manner; but like we said, the reward is Jannah. We often see people who are not practising as being far from Allah, but once something bad happens, such as someone passing away, they get close to Allah and start following Islam. We should not have to wait for a calamity to happen for us to get close to Allah. 

So, to recap, the three types of sabr are 1) endurance - doing what Allah has commanded us to do, 2) restraint - staying away from what Allah has made haram and 3) acceptance of the decree of Allah. In summary, we should show patience in as many situations as possible, with the hope of making Allah happy and consequently enter Jannah.  

Allah created us in order to test us. Allah says:
 أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَن تَدْخُلُوا۟ ٱلْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَأْتِكُم مَّثَلُ ٱلَّذِينَ خَلَوْا۟ مِن قَبْلِكُم ۖ مَّسَّتْهُمُ ٱلْبَأْسَآءُ وَٱلضَّرَّآءُ وَزُلْزِلُوا۟ حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَ ٱلرَّسُولُ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ مَعَهُۥ مَتَىٰ نَصْرُ ٱللَّهِ ۗ أَلَآ إِنَّ نَصْرَ ٱللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ 
“Do you think you will be admitted into Paradise without being tested like those before you? They were afflicted with suffering and adversity and were so (violently) shaken that (even) the Messenger and the believers with him cried out, “When will Allah’s help come?” Indeed, Allah’s help is (always) near.” [2:214] 

From this verse it is clear that Allah will test people; some tests will be easy, and some will be hard. But the fact that Allah is testing us is a good sign. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said,“When Allah loves a servant, He tests him” [Tirmidhi] 

We should not get angry and upset or think that Allah dislikes us, but rather, accept the situation, show sabr and do everything within our ability to overcome the difficulty.   

There are few ways we can build our level of patience in order to pass the various tests of life.  

We should make dua often to Allah that He gives us the ability to be patient and that He tests us in ways that we will be able to pass the tests.   

We should read and watch videos on the life of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and other prophets. By doing this we will know what they went through and therefore mentally be prepared ourselves.   

Always remember and find out more about the reward Allah has for those who show patience. 

Surround ourselves with people who exercise sabr. At the end of the day, you pick up the habits of those you are around. So, if spend most of your time with those who complain about everything, then guess what, you will also do the same.  

Read and watch other materials on how to build patience, endurance, perseverance and other similar qualities. You might find some good videos on techniques such as doing a count-down, meditating, self-talk and others. So, spend some time practising this.  

In conclusion, sabr is one of the key qualities of a believer. It is so vital that Allah guarantees Paradise for those who regularly show patience. No one is perfect and therefore we should find different ways to build our patience.   

May Allah give us the tawfeeq to increase our level of patience and overcome the various challenging situations we find ourselves in. Ameen.