---
title: "What Does Sabr (Patience) Mean? | Islam Is Mercy"
description: "Sabr means patience and steadfastness: holding firm in hardship, in doing good and in avoiding wrong. Muslims see it as half of faith in practice."
lang: en
url: https://islamismercy.com/en/glossary/sabr/
---

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3.  What Does Sabr (Patience) Mean?

# What Does Sabr (Patience) Mean?

Written by **Islam Is Mercy Editorial Team**· 1 min readAwaiting scholar review

## The short answer

Sabr means patience, perseverance and steadfastness. It is not passive waiting, but holding firm: staying calm and trusting God in hardship, persisting in doing good, and resisting what is wrong. The Qur'an promises that God is with those who are patient.

## On this page

1.  Meaning
2.  How Muslims use it
3.  Example

**Sabr** (Arabic: صبر) is pronounced *SAB-r*.

## Meaning

The root of *sabr* means *to hold back* or *to bind*: to keep oneself steady when emotions, pain or temptation pull in another direction. It is often translated as *patience*, but it is closer to *steadfastness*. Muslim scholars describe three kinds of sabr:

-   patience in obeying God, such as praying on time when it is hard;
-   patience in staying away from what is wrong, even when it is tempting;
-   patience with what life brings — illness, loss, disappointment — without despair or bitterness.

Sabr does not mean hiding pain or refusing help. The prophets wept and grieved; the prophet Jacob called his patience in loss a beautiful patience (Qur’an 12:18). Sabr means not losing trust in God while we feel the pain and do what we can. The Qur’an links it with prayer:

> يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱسْتَعِينُوا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ وَٱلصَّلَوٰةِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مَعَ ٱلصَّٰبِرِينَ ﴿١٥٣﴾

> O you who have believed, seek help through patience and prayer. Indeed, Allah is with the patient.

[Qur'an, Al-Baqara 2:153](https://quran.com/2?startingVerse=153&translations=20)Saheeh International

## How Muslims use it

When someone faces difficulty, Muslims comfort them with the word itself: *“Sabr”*, or *“May God give you sabr.”* It is also a common name — *Sabr* and *Sabira*. Many Muslims see sabr and *shukr* (gratitude) as two wings of faith: patience in hard times, thankfulness in good ones.

## Example

*“The job search was long and discouraging, but she kept going with sabr — and kept applying.”*

Learn more in [Mental Health and Hope in Islam](https://islamismercy.com/en/views/mental-health-and-hope/).

## Key takeaways

-   Sabr means patience and steadfastness, not passive resignation.
-   Muslims practise it in hardship, in doing good and in avoiding wrong.
-   The Qur'an teaches that God is with the patient.

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## Sources

-   [Qur'an, Al-Baqara 2:153](https://quran.com/2?startingVerse=153&translations=20)

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