Hadith
Hadith About Patience and How to Live Them
What do the authentic hadith teach about Sabr, and how is it practiced in real hardship?
6 min read
The short answer
The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, described patience not as passive endurance but as an active, rewarded response to hardship, one that is entirely within a person's control regardless of what happens to them. These narrations show what Sabr looks like at the moment of loss, in illness, and in daily frustration.
Patience is at the first strike of calamity
Anas ibn Malik narrated that the Prophet passed by a woman weeping at a grave and told her to fear Allah and be patient. She did not recognize him and replied sharply that he had not been afflicted as she had. When she later learned it was the Prophet, she went to his house apologizing, and he told her, patience is at the first stroke. This narration, collected in both Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, defines true Sabr very precisely: it is the composure shown in the initial shock of loss, not the calm that eventually comes once time has softened the grief.
This is an important corrective for anyone who feels they failed at patience because they cried or struggled emotionally at the moment of a calamity. The hadith does not require the absence of grief. It requires refraining from despair, from cursing one's fate, and from words or actions that contradict submission to Allah's decree, even while the heart aches.
Patience is at the first stroke of calamity.
Whatever befalls a believer is good for him
Suhayb ibn Sinan reported that the Prophet said the affair of the believer is entirely good, and this applies to no one but the believer. If something pleasing happens to him, he is grateful, and that is good for him, and if something harmful befalls him, he is patient, and that is good for him too. This narration in Sahih Muslim reframes every circumstance of life, whether comfort or hardship, as an opportunity rather than a threat, provided the believer responds correctly with gratitude or patience.
Commentators note the precision of the phrase, this applies to no one but the believer, meaning this reframing is not automatic; it depends on faith actively shaping the response. A person without that framework may experience the same hardship as pure loss, while the believer converts it into reward through the response of Sabr.
How wonderful is the affair of the believer, for his affairs are all good, and this applies to no one but the believer. If something pleasing happens to him, he is grateful, and that is good for him, and if something harmful happens to him, he is patient, and that is good for him.
Patience with the tongue and hidden hardship
The Prophet said in a narration collected by Bukhari and Muslim that no fatigue, illness, sorrow, sadness, harm, or distress befalls a believer, even a thorn that pricks him, except that Allah expiates some of his sins through it. This narration teaches that patience is not only relevant to major calamities like death, but to the small daily frictions that fill ordinary life: a headache, an argument, a delayed errand, a moment of sadness with no clear cause.
The scholars who comment on this hadith, including al-Nawawi, note that this expiation is granted specifically to those who bear the difficulty without complaint that crosses into resentment against Allah's decree. A believer may still describe his pain honestly to a doctor or a friend; what is discouraged is complaining in a manner that suggests dissatisfaction with Allah Himself.
The reward of patience is without measure
In Surah az-Zumar, verse 10, Allah states that those who are patient will be given their reward without account, a phrase understood by commentators to mean the reward for Sabr is not measured by ordinary standards of recompense, unlike other deeds which are rewarded ten to seven hundred times. This verse is frequently paired with the hadith literature on patience because it explains why the Prophet placed such extraordinary weight on this single trait.
Ibn al-Qayyim, drawing on both the Qur'an and hadith, described patience as one of two halves of faith, the other being gratitude, since life alternates constantly between ease and hardship, and a person's faith is tested in both directions.
Patience combined with prayer in hardship
The Qur'an in Surah al-Baqarah, verse 153, instructs believers to seek help through patience and prayer, and several hadith describe the Prophet himself turning to Salah whenever a difficult matter troubled him. This pairing shows that Sabr in the Sunnah is not a purely internal, stoic quality; it is actively supported by turning to Allah in worship, rather than relying on willpower alone.
This is a practical detail many people miss when they think of patience as simply gritting one's teeth through hardship. The Sunnah frames it as something nurtured through worship, du'a, and remembrance, not as a personality trait some people simply have and others lack.
Put it into practice this week
- 1The next time you feel initial shock at bad news, pause before speaking or reacting, and say the words Allah has taught for calamity, inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un.
- 2When something minor and irritating happens, consciously recall the hadith on expiation through hardship, even a thorn, before complaining aloud.
- 3Pair difficult moments with two units of prayer or a few minutes of du'a, following the Qur'anic instruction to seek help through patience and prayer.
- 4Keep a short private note of hardships you have been through and how you responded, to track growth in Sabr over time.
- 5When things go well, practice the other half of this teaching by expressing gratitude clearly, in words and in action, rather than taking ease for granted.
Common questions
- Does showing patience mean I cannot cry or grieve?
- No. The Prophet himself wept at the death of his son Ibrahim and said the eyes shed tears and the heart grieves, but we say nothing except what pleases our Lord, a narration recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari. Sabr concerns the words and actions that follow grief, not the natural sorrow of the heart or tears themselves.
- How can hardship possibly be good for a believer?
- The hadith in Sahih Muslim explains this through the response rather than the event itself. The hardship is not inherently pleasant, but the believer's patient response earns reward and expiates sin, converting an otherwise painful event into a source of good in the akhirah, the hereafter.
- Is there a difference between patience and simply giving up on trying to fix a problem?
- Yes, scholars are clear that Sabr does not mean passivity toward a solvable problem. A person facing illness should still seek treatment, and a person facing injustice may still seek a lawful remedy. Patience governs the inner state and the tongue during the process, not the effort to improve the situation through permissible means.
- What should I say when a calamity happens, according to the Sunnah?
- The Qur'an in Surah al-Baqarah, verse 156, and related hadith teach saying inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un, meaning we belong to Allah and to Him we shall return. The Prophet said in Sahih Muslim that whoever says this at a calamity and prays for Allah to reward and replace what is lost is compensated by Allah accordingly.
Sources you can check
Last reviewed: 2026-08-27