Sabr – Patience
Delivered by Imam Didmar
Faja
March 28, 2008
All praise is due
to Allah, and Allah's Peace and
Blessings be upon His Final
Messenger, his family, his noble
Companions, and all those who follow
them with righteousness until the
Day of Judgment.
Defining Sabr
Sabr literally means to 'withhold'
or control something. It means to
control the inner-self and prevent
it from being in a state of panic or
impatience. It also means to prevent
the tongue from complaining or
saying negative things. Sabr is an
essential element in fulfilling our
Ubudiyyah (worship) to Allah (swt).
As the bones are the foundation of
ones body, Sabr is the foundation of
the character. Imam Ghazzali said
about Sabr, “Sabr is a very bitter
and distasteful medicine, but it is
so full of blessings that through
this medicine it is easy to reap all
gains and to avert all harms and
injuries. Man of wisdom and insight
take courage to take its bitter dose
without caring its bitterness and
distaste.
They think that tolerance of
moment's bitterness ensures years of
gain.”
مَا عِندَكُمۡ يَنفَدُۖ وَمَا عِندَ
ٱللَّهِ بَاقٍ۬ۗ وَلَنَجۡزِيَنَّ
ٱلَّذِينَ صَبَرُوٓاْ أَجۡرَهُم
بِأَحۡسَنِ مَا ڪَانُواْ يَعۡمَلُونَ
“What is with you must vanish: what
is with Allah will endure. And We
will certainly bestow, on those who
patiently persevere, their reward
according to the best of their
actions.” (16;96)
بَلَىٰٓۚ إِن تَصۡبِرُواْ
وَتَتَّقُواْ وَيَأۡتُوكُم مِّن
فَوۡرِهِمۡ هَـٰذَا يُمۡدِدۡكُمۡ
رَبُّكُم بِخَمۡسَةِ ءَالَـٰفٍ۬ مِّنَ
ٱلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةِ مُسَوِّمِينَ
"Yes, if you hold on to patience and
piety, and the enemy comes rushing
at you; your Lord will help you with
five thousand angels having marks
(of distinction)."(3;125)
Rumi Says: In order to be sustenance
for man, a source of strength for
his knees, a “light” for his eyes,
and a substance for the maintenance
of his life, a grain of wheat must
be buried in the bosom of the earth,
germinate under it, and grow to
emerge into the air. It must come
into the air after a fierce struggle
with the earth, and then be sown and
threshed, and ground in a mill.
After that, it must be kneaded,
baked in an oven, and, finally,
chewed by teeth, sent into the
stomach, and digested.
Kinds of Sabr
صبر على الطاعة – Endurance of
worship and obedience
The Holy Quran says,“And be
steadfast in prayer and regular in
charity...” (2:110)
We find in one of the Ahadith:
“Whenever a museebah (hardship)
befalls you (and you show sabr)
Allah (swt) atones for you some of
your sins.”
صبر على المعصية – Endurance of
refraining from sin
The Holy Quran says, “O you who
believe, do not let your families
and your wealth draw you away from
the Dhikr of Allah; and whosoever
does that is indeed the loser.”
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, “I do
not fear for you poverty; I fear for
you plentifulness of Dunya, and it
will destroy you as it had destroyed
nations before you.”
Shaykh Saadi said, “I saw a holy man
on the seashore who had been wounded
by a tiger. No medicine could
relieve his pain; he suffered much
but he nevertheless constantly
thanked God the most high, saying:’
Praise be to Allah that I have
fallen into a calamity and not into
sin.”
صبر على مصاءب الدنيا - Endurance of
worldly troubles and hardships
The Quran Says,
وَلَنَبۡلُوَنَّكُم بِشَىۡءٍ۬ مِّنَ
ٱلۡخَوۡفِ وَٱلۡجُوعِ وَنَقۡصٍ۬ مِّنَ
ٱلۡأَمۡوَٲلِ وَٱلۡأَنفُسِ
وَٱلثَّمَرَٲتِۗ وَبَشِّرِ
ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ (١٥٥) ٱلَّذِينَ
إِذَآ أَصَـٰبَتۡهُم مُّصِيبَةٌ۬
قَالُوٓاْ إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّآ
إِلَيۡهِ رَٲجِعُونَ (١٥٦)
أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ عَلَيۡہِمۡ صَلَوَٲتٌ۬
مِّن رَّبِّهِمۡ وَرَحۡمَةٌ۬ۖ
وَأُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ هُمُ ٱلۡمُهۡتَدُونَ
“Be sure we shall test you with
something of fear and hunger, some
loss in goods or lives or the fruits
(of your toil), but give glad
tidings to those who patiently
persevere, Who say, when afflicted
with calamity: "To Allah We belong,
and to Him is our return": - They
are those on whom (Descend)
blessings from Allah, and Mercy, and
they are the ones that receive
guidance.” (2;155-157)
Scholars said that not to endure
calamities with patience is a
greater calamity.
Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas (ra) asked the
Prophet (saws), "Ya Rasulullah, who
amongst people are the most tried
(subject to hardships)?" Rasulullah
(saws) said: The Anbiya (Prophets of
Allah) and after them the Salihun
(righteous) and then in accordance
to your Iman, Taqwa etc, there will
be more hardships, not less. Every
believer will be tried by
difficulties in accordance
(proportion) to his Deen. If in this
person's Deen is solidity (their
Deen is deeply rooted) the hardship
will increase, to purify, cleanse,
strengthen and elevate the person.
And if in the Deen of this person
there is Riqaa (weakness), then that
persons hardship will be weakened,
until the person walks on the earth
cleansed of sins until he meets
Allah.
Manners of Sabr
If one is required to show Sabr, he
must show it immediately without
delay.
A woman was in the cemetery, crying,
mourning her love, when Rasulullah
(saws) said to her "show sabr". She
said, not knowing who he was "that’s
easy for you to say, you have not
lost a loved one". When the
companions told her who he was, she
asked for forgiveness and Rasulullah
(saws) said, “Sabr is to be shown at
the beginning of hardship.”
Sabr can be categorized into three
levels:
• Tarkus sabraa: the lowest level-
when one does not complain but
inside dislikes what's happening to
them
• Ar-ridhaa-bil-beelah: no
complaint, to show satisfaction with
the balaa (hardship), because they
have yaqeen (certainty) that Allah
only does to the 'abd what is best
for them.
• Ash-shukr-alal-bala: to have
ridhaa (satisfaction) and to be
grateful to Allah for the hardship
because that person has Yaqeen, that
this is to elevate his spiritual
level.
Ali (ra) said: Of the realization of
the Majesty of Allah, and of
knowledge of the right Allah (swt)
has on His creation, is that when
one is befallen with a calamity, one
does not complain, does not even
mention what has befallen him.
Attaining Sabr
1 Ilm (Knowledge) brings desire and
a want for change.
2 Amal (Deed). No pain, no gain.
Condition your Nafs, or it will
condition you.
3 Humility. The best door from
which we can enter the majesty of
Allah is humility.4. Remembering
Allah’s Bounties. Always be
conscious in our heart and mind of
Allah's nimaah. In the Quran it
says: “And practice sabr, for you
are under Our gaze” One of the early
Scholars used to carry a parchment
engraved with this ayah on it in his
pocket, and he used to look at it
constantly.