Spirituality

20 Hadiths on Patience (Sabr): A Sourced Collection

Last updated: August 8, 2026

Patience appears in the Qur'an in more than ninety places and is the backbone of the Prophet's character. But sabr in Islam is not gritted teeth. It is holding firm while trusting Allah's decree, directing complaint to Him alone, and continuing to do what is right. This page collects twenty hadiths from Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah, each with its reference.

1. Wondrous Is the Affair of the Believer

"Wondrous is the affair of the believer, for all his affairs are good, and this applies to no one but the believer. If something good happens to him he is grateful, and that is good for him; if something harmful happens to him he is patient, and that is good for him." Source: Muslim, Zuhd 64 (no. 2999)

Note: Patience and gratitude are two faces of one coin. What distinguishes the believer is not what befalls him but what he does with it.

2. No Gift Better Than Patience

"No one is given a gift better and more comprehensive than patience." Source: Bukhari, Zakat 50; Muslim, Zakat 124 (no. 1053)

Note: The hadith treats patience as something Allah grants, not something a person manufactures alone. It is asked for and given.

3. Patience Is at the First Blow

"Patience is only at the first blow." Source: Bukhari, Jana'iz 32 (no. 1302); Muslim, Jana'iz 15

Note: Consolation months later is not patience but habituation. What is rewarded is holding firm in the hour the news lands.

4. Whom Allah Wills Good For, He Tests

"When Allah wills good for His servant, He hastens the punishment in this world." Source: Tirmidhi, Zuhd 57 (no. 2396) — hasan gharib; and in meaning Bukhari, Marda 1 (no. 5645)

Note: Affliction is not necessarily a sign of anger; the hadith opens the opposite possibility. What decides it is what follows, not the trial itself.

5. The Strong Believer Is Better

"The strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than the weak believer, though in both there is good. Strive for what benefits you, seek help from Allah, and do not give in to helplessness." Source: Muslim, Qadar 34 (no. 2664)

Note: Patience is not passive. "Do not give in to helplessness" binds endurance to effort.

6. Even a Thorn Expiates

"No fatigue, illness, anxiety, sorrow, harm or distress befalls a Muslim — even a thorn that pricks him — but that Allah expiates some of his sins by it." Source: Bukhari, Marda 1 (no. 5641); Muslim, Birr 52

Note: The hadith counts the smallest discomfort. No hardship passes without return.

7. Reward in Proportion to Trial

"The greatness of the reward is with the greatness of the trial. When Allah loves a people, He tests them. Whoever is content, for him is contentment; whoever is angry, for him is anger." Source: Tirmidhi, Zuhd 57 (no. 2396) — hasan gharib

Note: One and the same trial yields two different outcomes, depending on the response.

8. Fasting Is Half of Patience

"Fasting is half of patience." Source: Tirmidhi, Da'awat 86 (no. 3519) — hasan

Note: Ramadan is an annual month-long training in restraint, teaching abstention even from what is lawful.

9. Whoever Strives for Patience Is Given It

"Whoever strives to be patient, Allah will make him patient." Source: Bukhari, Zakat 50 (no. 1469); Muslim, Zakat 124

Note: Patience is an acquired character, not an inborn temperament — and it is granted to whoever asks.

10. The Supplication at Calamity

Umm Salama reported that she heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: "No servant is struck by a calamity and says, 'Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un. O Allah, reward me in my affliction and replace it for me with something better,' but that Allah rewards him in his affliction and gives him something better in its place." When Abu Salama died I said it, and Allah gave me the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in his place. Source: Muslim, Jana'iz 4 (no. 918)

Note: Patience is not silence; the hadith gives it words.

11. Paradise Is Surrounded by Hardships

"Paradise is surrounded by hardships, and the Fire is surrounded by desires." Source: Muslim, Jannah 1 (no. 2822); Bukhari, Riqaq 28

Note: Difficulty is not an obstacle on the path; it is the path.

12. Paradise for Whoever Loses His Sight

Allah says: "If I test My servant with his two beloved ones and he is patient, I will give him Paradise in their place." Source: Bukhari, Marda 7 (no. 5653)

Note: A divine hadith tying the greatest reward to a loss with no worldly compensation.

13. The House of Praise

"When a servant's child dies, Allah says to His angels: 'Have you taken the child of My servant?' They say: 'Yes.' He says: 'Have you taken the fruit of his heart?' They say: 'Yes.' He says: 'What did My servant say?' They say: 'He praised You and said inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un.' Allah says: 'Build for My servant a house in Paradise and call it the House of Praise.'" Source: Tirmidhi, Jana'iz 36 (no. 1021) — hasan

Note: In the heaviest loss, the compensation is scaled to the loss.

14. Victory Comes With Patience

"Know that victory comes with patience, relief with distress, and that with hardship comes ease." Source: Tirmidhi, Sifat al-Qiyamah 59 (no. 2516) — hasan sahih; Ahmad I, 307

Note: The hadith says "with," not "after" — the same construction as Surah al-Sharh (94:5-6).

15. This Matter Will Certainly Be Completed

Khabbab ibn al-Aratt reported: We complained to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ while he was reclining in the shade of the Ka'ba. He said: "Among those before you a man would be seized, a pit dug for him, and he would be placed in it; a saw would be put to his head and he would be split in two, and his flesh would be combed from the bone with iron combs, and that would not turn him from his religion. By Allah, Allah will complete this matter, until a rider travels from San'a to Hadramawt fearing none but Allah, and the wolf for his sheep. But you are being hasty." Source: Bukhari, Manaqib 25 (no. 3612)

Note: Haste is named as patience's chief enemy.

16. The Eye Weeps and the Heart Grieves

When his son Ibrahim was dying, the Prophet's ﷺ eyes filled with tears. Asked about it, he said: "The eye weeps and the heart grieves, but we say nothing except what pleases our Lord. Indeed, Ibrahim, we grieve at your parting." Source: Bukhari, Jana'iz 43 (no. 1303); Muslim, Fada'il 62

Note: Patience does not forbid grief; it governs what is said.

17. Not of Us Is the One Who Strikes His Cheeks

"He is not of us who strikes his cheeks, tears his garments, and calls out with the calls of the Age of Ignorance." Source: Bukhari, Jana'iz 38 (no. 1294); Muslim, Iman 165

Note: The other edge of the previous hadith: tears are permitted, rebellion against the decree is not.

18. Mixing With People and Bearing Their Harm

"The believer who mixes with people and bears their harm is better than the believer who does not mix with people and does not bear their harm." Source: Tirmidhi, Qiyamah 55 (no. 2507) — hasan gharib; Ibn Majah, Fitan 23

Note: Patience is not withdrawal; it requires staying among people.

19. The Strong One Restrains Himself in Anger

"The strong one is not the one who overcomes people in wrestling. The strong one is the one who controls himself when angry." Source: Bukhari, Adab 76 (no. 6114); Muslim, Birr 107

Note: The hardest and most everyday form of patience: holding back anger.

20. Two Words Heavy on the Scale

"Two words are light on the tongue, heavy on the scale, and beloved to the Most Merciful: Subhan Allahi wa bihamdih, Subhan Allah al-Azim." Source: Bukhari, Da'awat 65 (no. 6406); Muslim, Dhikr 31

Note: Patience is fed by remembrance; what is repeated on the tongue settles in the heart.

Reading Them Together

Read as a whole, these twenty narrations give patience three faces. The first is endurance: illness, loss, harm — and none of it passing without reward. The second is self-command: anger, haste, the restraint of the tongue, which is what the hadiths return to most often. The third is persistence: in worship, in truth, and in remaining among people.

What stands out is that patience is nowhere described as silence. The Prophet ﷺ wept for his son, Umm Salama was taught words to say at calamity, and Khabbab brought his complaint straight to the Prophet ﷺ. What is forbidden is not grief but rebellion against the decree.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which hadith about patience is the most authentic? "Wondrous is the affair of the believer, for all his affairs are good" (Muslim 2999) and "No one is given a gift better and more comprehensive than patience" (Bukhari 1469; Muslim 1053) are among the most frequently cited sound narrations.

Does weeping at a calamity contradict patience? No. The Prophet ﷺ wept for his son Ibrahim and said, "The eye weeps and the heart grieves, but we say nothing except what pleases our Lord" (Bukhari 1303). What is forbidden is wailing, tearing garments, and resentment of the decree (Bukhari 1294).

Can patience be acquired? Yes. "Whoever strives to be patient, Allah will make him patient" (Bukhari 1469) describes it as a character gained through effort and asking, not an inborn temperament.