Some people cannot have patience without struggling and facing many difficulties. Others are able to have patience easily. The first type is like a man who wrestles with a strong man and cannot beat him with the utmost effort. The second type is like a man who wrestles with a weak man and beats him easily. Such is the war between the soldiers of ar-Rahmân and the soldiers of Shaytân. Whoever defeats the soldiers of Shaytân can defeat Shaytân himself.
In the spiritual sense, patience means to stop ourselves from despairing and panicking, to stop our tongues from complaining, and to stop our hands from striking our faces and tearing our clothes at times of grief and stress.
The word sabr (in the Arabic language) is from sabara - to be patient and to
persevere, and it indicates to holding back and restraining oneself. (In the
Sharîah sense) it implies: restraining the soul from being agitated; restraining
the tongue from complaining and restraining the hands from slapping the cheeks,
tearing the clothes and doing other similar actions.
