الصَّبر

PATIENCE*

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2– The Prophet (SAWA) was once asked what faith was, to which he replied, ‘Patience.’
[Ibid. no. 47]

3– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Patience makes light work of calamities.’
[Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 533]

4– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Patience in the face of tribulation is better than well-being in times of comfort.’
[Ibid. no. 1821]

5– Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘The
[true] believer is inherently patient against adversities.’
[Mishkat al-Anwar, no. 23]

6– Imam al-Jawad (AS) said, ‘Patience in the face of a misfortune is itself a misfortune for the one who gloats over your bad luck.’
[Kashf al-Ghamma, v. 3, p. 139]

7– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Through patience are great things accomplished.’
[Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 4276]

8– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Whoever patiently endures the path to Allah reaches Him.’
[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 71, p. 95, no. 60]

9– Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘Patience is the peak of faith.’
[al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 87, no. 1]

10– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘Verily victory comes with perseverance, and deliverance with hardship, and verily with difficulty comes ease.’
[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 77, p. 88, no. 2]

11– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘With perseverance, deliverance becomes possible, and whoever knocks at the door persistently will enter it.’
[Ibid. v. 71, p. 96, no. 61]

12– Imam Ali (AS) said in his description of the Godwary ones, ‘They endured hardship for a short while, and in consequence they secured comfort for a long time.’
[Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 193]

13– Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘Whoever from amongst our Shi`aa is tried with an affliction and endures it will be granted the reward of a thousand martyrs.’
[al-Tamhis, p. 59, no. 125]

14– Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘Whoever, when suffering from an ailment, patiently endures it and considers it a means of proximity to Allah, Allah writes down for him the same reward as that of a thousand martyrs.’
[Tibb al-A'imma (AS), p. 17]

15– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘Patience is satisfaction
[with Allah’s decree].’
[Kanz al-`Ummal, no. 6499]

16– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Patience is that a man bears whatever afflicts him and swallows his anger.’
[Ibid. no,6518]

17– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Patience is of two types: perseverance in the face of that which you despise, and enduring restraint against that which you love.’
[Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 1874]

18– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Patience comes in the form of either persevering in the face of an affliction, or enduring an act of obedience, or restraining oneself against an act of disobedience. And this third type is of a higher calibre than the first two.’
[Sharhe Nahj al-Balagha li Ibn Abi al-Hadid, v. 1, p. 319]

19– Imam al-Baqir (AS) was once asked about graceful patience
[graceful patience (al-Sabr al-jamil) – mentioned in the Qur’an 12:18, 12:83 (ed.)], to which he replied, ‘That is the patience that is devoid of complaint to other people.’
[al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 93, no. 23]

20– Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said to one of his companions, ‘Verily we are very patient and our Shi`aa are even more patient than us.’ His companion asked, ‘May I be your ransom, how can your Shi`aa be more patient than yourselves?’ He replied, ‘Because we are patient alongside our knowledge
[of everything], whereas our Shi`aa are patient in spite of not knowing.’
[Ibid. no. 25]

21– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Verily if you are patient, the trials of destiny will befall you and you will be rewarded for them, whilst if you are anxious, not only will the trials of destiny still befall you but they will cover you over.’
[Jami`a al-Akhbar, p. 316, no. 882]

22– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘You can either have the perseverance of noblemen or be lost in the oblivion of beasts.’
[Nahj al-Balagha, Saying 414]

23– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Whoever does not endure his troubles ends up having to endure his own ruin.’
[Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 8987]

24– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘He whose patience gives him no deliverance is destroyed by anxiety.’
[Nahj al-Balagha, Saying 189]

25– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘Whoever tries to be patient, Allah makes him patient, and whoever tries to remain chaste, Allah keeps him chaste, and whoever suffices himself with what he has, Allah enriches him. No servant can ever be granted something better and more sufficient than patience.’
[Kanz al-`Ummal, no. 6522]

26– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘The origin of patience is to have strong conviction in Allah.’
[Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 3084]

27– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Accustom yourself to persevering in the face of adversity, and
[you will see] how well persevering with the truth will become part of your natural disposition.’
[Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 31]

28– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Perseverance in the face of adversity protects the heart.’
[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 77, no. 207, no. 1]

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*Translator’s Note: The Arabic word sabr denotes ‘patience’ as the ability to tolerate and endure, as well as ‘perseverance’ and ‘endurance’ in the face of adversity and trial. In the text, translation has not been restricted to just one of these terms, in order to best express the purport of each tradition within its context.