Al-Anbya · Makki · ayah 85 of 112

Al-Anbya 21:85

وَإِسْمَـٰعِيلَ وَإِدْرِيسَ وَذَا ٱلْكِفْلِ ۖ كُلٌّ مِّنَ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ

“And [mention] Ishmael and Idrees and Dhul-Kifl; all were of the patient.”

Saheeh International

Essence

A son laid down for sacrifice, a preacher his people refused, a man who promised never to lose his temper: three lives, one word, patient.

A reflection

Patience is holding your own reins

Kullun mina al-ṣābirīn: each of them was among the patient. The English word "patient" can sound passive: a person in a waiting room, sitting still, putting up with things.

The Arabic root pictures something much more active. Its first image is confinement, holding something in place. An animal kept tied was said to be held in this way. From there the Arabs spoke of holding their own soul. The lexicons quote an old battle poem: I held there a free soul that stays anchored when the coward's soul strains to run. These are established usages.

So ṣabr is not stillness because you are trapped. It is stillness because you have taken hold of yourself. Like a rider holding a horse that wants to bolt.

The commentators say these three were patient in three directions. Patient in obeying Allah. Patient in staying away from what He forbids. And patient with what He decrees. That is not sitting and waiting. It is three kinds of holding.

Picture a woman in her thirties at a family lunch. Her mother-in-law makes a remark about her cooking, again, in front of everyone. The retort is already on her tongue, sharp and true. She feels it rise. She puts her fork down, says "excuse me", and goes out into the garden. She stands by the fence, breathes, and says quietly, ḥasbiya Allāh. Then she goes back in and asks her mother-in-law about her knee.

Nobody at the table saw anything happen. In fact something enormous happened. She held a free soul anchored while it strained to run.

That is the ṣabr this ayah praises in three prophets. It is effortful, invisible and strong. And it is offered to every reader who has ever bitten their tongue for the sake of Allah, and thought that nothing had been achieved.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.