Being patient: sabr
Islamic Studies · Early Years · The School
A word for patience
SABR means patience. It means waiting calmly. It means staying steady when something is hard. Allah loves sabr. It is a good thing to practise every day, in small moments as well as big ones, at home and out and about.
Times to practise it
Waiting your turn on the swing. Waiting for dinner when you are hungry. Staying calm when a tower falls down. These are all small chances to practise sabr, again and again, most days, in ways nobody else even notices.
Sabr is a choice
You can feel upset AND still choose sabr. Feeling cross when your turn is late is normal. Sabr means choosing to wait calmly anyway, not shouting or grabbing. The feeling is fine. The choice is what counts, every single time.
Picture your tower of blocks falling down, right before it is done. Without sabr: you shout. You kick the blocks. You give up and walk off. With sabr: you still feel cross — that part is normal — but you take a breath, pick the blocks back up, and try again. Both paths start with the same cross feeling. Sabr is not feeling nothing at all. Sabr is picking the second path, even while the feeling is still there.