Al-Sabr
Definition
Al-sabr — patience — is the quality Musa was warned by al-Khidr that he would be unable to maintain during their journey together: 'How can you have patience with what you have not comprehended?' Despite the warning, Musa questioned al-Khidr after each of the three acts — he could not bear to watch what appeared to be injustice without speaking. Ibn Kathir does not present this as a moral failing but as a human limitation: Musa's objections came from genuine concern for justice, not from selfishness or arrogance. The deeper teaching is that there are realms of divine wisdom so beyond ordinary moral calculation that even the greatest prophet of his era could not maintain patient silence in the face of them — which is itself a form of humility.
As understood in the classical tradition of Ibn Kathir and the scholars of his school.
Appears in
1 book in the library
Hear the term in context.
Every book above uses Al-Sabr the way the classical scholars meant it. Listen with the full Study Kit in the app.