To show sabr (patient endurance) regarding something—because Allah Most High has described the nafs (the lower self) as ammāra bi's-sūʾ (constantly commanding evil)... (Lumaʿ, 29)
Junayd was asked what sabr is. He replied: It is to endure hardships for the sake of Allah Most High until the times of distress, which are disliked, have passed. Ibrāhīm Ḥawwās said: Most people, fleeing from the burden of sabr, seek refuge in desires and causes. Thus, they rely on them as if they were their Lord. A man came before Shiblī and asked: What is the hardest thing for the people of sabr to endure? He replied: Sabr fiʾllāh (sabr regarding Allah). The man objected to this answer. Shiblī said: Sabr liʾllāh (sabr for the sake of Allah). The man objected again, so Shiblī said: Sabr maʿaʾllāh (sabr with Allah). When the man again said no, Shiblī became angry and said: Woe to you! Then what is it? You tell me! The man said: Sabr ʿaniʾllāh (sabr at being distant from Allah). Upon this, Shiblī let out such a scream that his ruh (spirit) was nearly lost!
A mutaṣabbir is one who shows sabr on the path of Allah. Such a person sometimes endures hardships, and sometimes is overcome and cannot endure. (Lumaʿ, 76)
The sabbār (one who is tried) shows sabr on the path of Allah, for Allah, and with Allah. Even if all calamities and misfortunes befall this person, he never falls into incapacity; in terms of wujūbiyya (necessity), ḥaqīqa (inner reality), form, and creation, nothing changes in him. (Lumaʿ, 77)
Sahl al-Tustarī said: Sabr is to await ihsān (spiritual excellence) from Allah. According to him, this is the most virtuous and exalted sabr.
Another said: Sabr is to be patient in sabr itself. This means not expecting relief during the time of sabr. (Taʿarruf, 65)
Sabr is to show sabāt (steadfastness) for the anticipated good outcome, without impatience in times of hardship. Sabr is a word derived from the bitterness of sabr itself. Know that most people endure hardships, but their sabr is neither with Allah nor for Allah! For they cannot endure, they suffer, they complain, and they harbor bad thoughts about Allah. (Ikhwān, II, 72)
Sabr has three meanings, as is the case for the people of maqāmāt (spiritual stations). The first is to abandon complaint, which is the rank of the tāʾibūn (those who repent). The second is riḍā (contentment with God's decree) with destiny, which is the rank of the ascetics. The third is to love what the Lord does, which is the rank of the truthful. (Kūt, I, 199)
Sabr is the first maqām in the matter of tawakkul (reliance upon God). Sabr is to see fate as an imtiḥān (test). Shukr (gratitude) is higher than this, as it is to see tribulation as a blessing. Riḍā is higher than all these and is the peak of tawakkul. Riḍā is the maqām of the muḥibbūn (lovers) among the people of tawakkul. (Kūt, II, 35)
There are various types of sabr: sabr acquired through the servant's effort, and sabr possessed without the servant's effort. Sabr acquired through effort is divided into two: sabr in obeying Allah's commands, and sabr in abstaining from His prohibitions. Sabr not dependent on effort is to endure the hardships encountered while fulfilling Allah's decrees. (Qushayrī, 92)
Sabr is to meet both blessing and burden with tranquility of heart, without distinguishing between them. Taṣabbur (striving to be patient) is to feel all the weight of burden in the heart, yet to meet hardship with tranquility. A poet says:
I endured so much
I could not realize
that my heart secretly complained
of the love in my sabr
my tears confessed my love
and then, lest they too should weep,
I hid my love for you
even from my heart, the seat of sabr
Ḥasan al-Baṣrī (to a Bedouin) said: Sabr is of two kinds: first, sabr in the face of calamity and hardship; second, sabr in abstaining from forbidden things. (Hujwīrī, 107)
Iman (faith) consists of two parts: one is sabr, the other is shukr. (Iḥyāʾ, IV, 75)
Sabr is one of the maqāms (stations) of the religion and one of the manzils (stages) of the sālikūn (spiritual travelers). All maqāms in religion are based on three principles: maʿārif (gnoses), aḥwāl (spiritual states), and aʿmāl (actions). Maʿārif are the roots, aḥwāl arise from them, and aʿmāl result from aḥwāl. Maʿārif are like trees, aḥwāl like branches, and aʿmāl like fruits. This is the same for all the manzils of Allah's sālikūn. The term iman is sometimes specific to maʿārif, sometimes general—as explained in our work Qawāʿid al-ʿaqāʾid regarding the difference between iman and Islam. Sabr is also like this. Past maʿrifa is not complete without present ḥāl. True sabr is maʿrifa; action as a fruit is its product. This situation cannot be understood unless the order among human, angel, and animal is known. Sabr is a quality specific to humans; animals lack it due to deficiency, and angels due to possessing perfection. (Iḥyāʾ, IV, 77)
Sabr is of two kinds: first, bodily sabr, such as enduring hardship, which may occur through one's own initiative (e.g., strenuous worship, hard labor) or from external causes (e.g., being beaten, falling ill). All these are acceptable if in accordance with Islam, but the most praiseworthy sabr is that against the desires and passions of the nafs. If this sabr is against the appetites for food, drink, and sex, it is called chastity (ʿiffa).
If sabr is to endure an undesirable situation, the situation governed by sabr takes different names accordingly. For example, endurance in the face of disaster is called sabr; its opposite is jazʿ (anxiety) and halaʿ (panic). A person who shouts, tears his clothes, and throws himself to the ground is following the call of desire.
If this sabr is in the face of wealth, it is called ẓabt al-nafs (self-control); its opposite is baṭar (arrogance, pride). If sabr is shown in the battlefield, it is called shajāʿa (courage); its opposite is jubn (cowardice). If it is in overcoming anger, it is called ḥilm (forbearance), waqār (dignity), and taʾannī (deliberation); its opposite is tazammur (aggression).
If sabr is in the face of the calamities of time, it is called saʿat al-ṣadr (magnanimity); its opposite is ḍayq al-ṣadr (narrowness of heart). If it is in preserving what one sees and hears, it is called kitmān al-sirr (concealing secrets).
If it is in the face of livelihood difficulties, it is called zuhd (asceticism); its opposite is ḥirṣ (greed). If one is patient with little, it is called qanāʿa (contentment); its opposite is sharaḥ (covetousness, insatiability). Most of the virtues of iman are included in sabr. (Iḥyāʾ, IV, 82-83)
Sabr is three maqāms: first, abandoning shahwa (desire), which is the rank of the tāʾibūn (those who repent); second, riḍā with destiny, the rank of the ascetics; third, loving everything the Lord does, the rank of the ṣiddīqūn (the truthful). (Iḥyāʾ, IV, 85)
Without attaining the maqām of khawf (fear) and rajāʾ (hope), sabr is not possible. For the first station of religion is the strength of iman, which consists of certainty in Allah, the Hereafter, Paradise, and Hell. This necessary yaqīn (certainty) produces in a person the excitement of fear of Hell and love of Paradise. Khawf and rajāʾ prepare people for sabr. Paradise is surrounded by makārih (unpleasant things); without strong rajāʾ, one cannot endure them. Hell is surrounded by shahawāt (desires, excessive cravings); to resist them, strong khawf is needed. (Iḥyāʾ, IV, 205)
To overcome four obstacles, four things are needed: tawakkul in Allah Most Glorious regarding provision, tafwīḍ (entrusting affairs) to Him in times of danger, sabr in times of hardship, and riḍā when fate unfolds. (Minhāj, 4)
Sabr is a bitter medicine, a blessed but disliked potion. But when you drink it, it brings you every benefit and removes every harm. Since medicine is like this, a wise person, saying "an hour of pain is a year of happiness," forces his nafs to drink this medicine, swallowing it in one gulp regardless of its bitterness and sharpness.
Know that the benefits sabr brings to a person are fourfold: sabr in obedience (to Allah's commands), sabr in resisting maʿṣiyya (disobedience), sabr in avoiding futile worldly matters, and sabr in the face of calamities and hardships. Whoever endures the bitterness of sabr and is patient in these four matters, obedience is established for him. The degrees of obedience are in uprightness, and its abundant reward is in the outcome. Such a person will not fall into maʿṣiyya or calamity in this world, nor will he have to bear their consequences in the Hereafter. He will not be tested by the desire for the world and its possessions, nor face the hardship of accounting for them. His reward will not be lost by being deprived of what he was tested with. Thus, the result of sabr is obedience, its honorable degrees and reward are taqwa (God-consciousness), zuhd, compensation, and abundant reward from Allah. (Minhāj, 59)
Sabr is the resistance of the nafs against desires and protecting it from ugly inclinations. (Mīzān, 76)
To those who asked about the key to khawf, I answered: Sabr. To those who asked about the key to sabr, I answered: Riḍā. Then they asked about the key to riḍā, and I said: Obedience. (Ghuniyya, II, 125)
According to some, sabr is of two kinds: sabr acquired through the servant's effort, and sabr possessed without effort. Sabr acquired through effort is divided into two: sabr in obeying Allah's commands, and sabr in abstaining from His prohibitions. Sabr not dependent on effort is to endure the bodily and spiritual pains encountered while fulfilling Allah's decrees.
A man came before Shiblī and asked: What is the hardest thing for the people of sabr to endure? He replied: Sabr fiʾllāh (sabr regarding Allah). The man objected to this answer. Shiblī said: Sabr liʾllāh (sabr for the sake of Allah). The man objected again, so Shiblī said: Sabr maʿaʾllāh (sabr with Allah). When the man again said no, Shiblī became angry and said: Woe to you! Then what is it? You tell me! The man said: Sabr ʿaniʾllāh (sabr at being distant from Allah). Upon this, Shiblī let out such a scream that his ruh was nearly lost!
Junayd said: For a muʾmin (believer), passing from this world to the Hereafter is very easy and simple. However, leaving people and being in the presence of the Truth is quite difficult. (To depart from the body and) walk from the nafs to Allah is also difficult. What is even harder is to be with Allah. The same person was asked what sabr is, and he replied: To drink a bitter potion without making a face. (Ghuniyya, II, 195-196)
Taṣabbur is to impose upon the nafs things it dislikes and to endure pains. This is the last maqām of the murīdūn (aspirants). The next sabr is to abandon complaint. (Ādāb, 20)
Sabr ʿalā niʿma (sabr regarding blessings) is not to spend them in disobedience to Allah Most High. This is also a condition for the soundness of tawba (repentance). Sahl ʿAbdullāh al-Tustarī said: To be patient with well-being is harder than to be patient with tribulation. Some of the Companions (ṣaḥāba) said: We were tested with hardship and endured it, but when tested with abundance, we could not endure.
To follow the middle path in contentment and anger, and to be patient in the face of people's praise, are also types of sabr.
As for showing sabr in the face of lack of enthusiasm, humility, and submission regarding any undertaking, this is not included in tawba but is included in zuhd. All the lofty maqāms and aḥwāl counted among the maqām of tawba are also found in zuhd, for zuhd is the third of the four matters mentioned earlier.
The reality of sabr is realized with the tranquility of the nafs; its tranquility is realized through the purification of the nafs; and the purification of the nafs is realized through tawba. When the nafs is purified by sincere tawba (tawba nasūḥ), all its natural impurities are removed. The lack of sabr arises from the impurities within the nafs, and these are removed through tawba.