looking to the All-Patient for patience

march - attribute of the month

after asking Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ for a name i need to reflect on this month, i spun the attribute wheel and it landed on As-Saboor, the All-Patient. i’m always surprised each month when i see how beautifully Allah answered my du’a and the attribute perfectly match up with the month. because, subhanallah, how beautiful is it the attribute is about patience—something that is fundamental to ramadan.

before the wheel landed on As-Saboor, i was unaware that Allah is also patient. reading the Qur’an, there are lots of verses where Allah instructs us to be patient, such as:

So be patient with admirable patience (70:6).

Surely, Allah is with the steadfast (2:154).

and, one of my favourite verses in the Qur’an:

And seek help with patience and prayer; and this indeed is hard except for the humble in spirit (2:46).

when it comes to having sabr, i’ve always looked at the stories of the prophets and the righteous in the Qur’an as inspiration during difficult times—but i’ve never thought about looking at Allah, the Most-Patient, for motivation to remain steadfast in times of difficulty.

‘saboor’ comes from the arabic root sad-ba-ra (ص ب ر), which has the following connotations: to be patient, to endure trial or affliction in a good manner, to be contented in trial or affliction without show of complaint, to bear calmly, to persevere cheerfully, to be steadfast.

looking at these classical connotations, i thought to myself trial or affliction? what affliction does Allah go through? but thinking about it, there’s a lot.

firstly, there are people who don’t even believe in Him. a human example i can think of in relation to this is imagine if after having children and giving them everything they need to survive, they not only tell you ‘you’re not my parent’—they reject your entire existence completely. they don’t even believe you’re alive. they simply ignore you and when they walk past you, it’s as if you don’t even exist.

and what makes it worse is that there are so many signs that you’re their parent. you share the same DNA. they have some of your features. they’ve inherited some of your personality. it’s so obvious that you’re their parent and still they reject you and don’t even believe you exist. would that not be incredibly hurtful?

or think of actual, real-life examples. how many stories are there of parents who, with age, develop dementia and don’t even recognise their children anymore and forget their relationships? how much pain do those children, family members and friends endure, knowing that their loved ones, their parents, don’t even remember or recognise them anymore?

and if we can feel that much pain as humans—tiny, small humans—how displeasing must it feel for Allah—the Greatest, the Lord of all the Worlds—to know that so many people from His own creation don’t even believe that He exists after giving us so many signs?

And how many a Sign is there in the heavens and the earth, which they pass by, turning away from it? (12:106)

but, As-Saboor remains patient. He continues showing signs of His existence, time and time again:

So wherever you turn, there will be the face of Allah (2:116).

and then there are those who do believe in Allah. but then we sin and do acts that are displeasing to Him—knowingly, sometimes deliberately. it’s like when a friend or family member hurts us and it pains us deeply. we wonder, how could they do that to me? i thought they loved me.

we turn to Him during hardship and pray hard for ease. but when the ease comes, our worship isn’t as strong as it was before:

Whenever someone is touched by hardship, they cry out to Us, whether lying on their side, sitting, or standing. But when We relieve their hardship, they return to their old ways as if they had never cried to Us to remove any hardship! (10:13)

we get attached to things, people or relationships and put our love for them over Allah:

And there are some who take for themselves objects of worship other than Allah, loving them as they should love Allah. But those who believe are stronger in their love for Allah (2:166).

and still, He is the Most-Patient, the Most-Enduring. for both parties, He doesn’t punish immediately:

If Allah were to punish people ˹immediately˺ for their wrongdoing, He would not have left a single living being on earth. But He delays them for an appointed term. And when their time arrives, they cannot delay it for a moment, nor could they advance it. (16:62)

He is patient with both His punishment and mercy and has saved it for a specific day, giving us time to repent for our mistakes while enduring the pain and displeasure we inflict on Him.

As-Saboor truly endures these afflictions in a good manner, so much so that He even extends His Grace on us, forgives us and blesses us with so much—even when we don’t deserve it. He is patient with us while we work on ourselves and strive for His sake, when we falter but then come back stronger.

even the Beloved Prophet ﷺ said: