Patience, forbearance, perseverance, endurance, steadfastness
و من يقلّب في سير جنود الدولة الإسلامية وقادتها ممن قضى نحبه، يرى العجب العجاب من صبرهم رغم اشتداد المحن
24:8
Anyone who looks closely at the lives of Islamic State soldiers and leaders who have died, is astonished at their patience despite the severity of ordeals
The quotation above from one of Al-Naba’s martyr stories is typical of how patience in the face of trials and ordeals is constantly reiterated in the stories, and its importance is reflected in its coverage in the rest of Al-Naba’s content.
A brief introduction to the subject can be found in an infographic page at 142:12 which gives the following definition:
الصبر حبس النفس عن الجزع وترك الشكوى من ألم البلوى لغير الله
Patience is to suppress anxiety and refrain from lamenting the pain of calamity to anyone other than Allah
The page then lists six benefits of patience, four things that help to acquire it and four that impede, and also describes its importance in the Quran. That last point is expounded on in infographic pages at 416:8 and 417:12 on “Patience in the Quran”, which take from Ibn Al-Qayyim’s Ranks of the Divine Seekers (مدارج السالكين) to highlight the obligation to be patient, the forbidding of impatience, the heavenly rewards for patience and other aspects.
An infographic at 56:16 on “Piety and Patience” (التقوى والصبر) can be found in English in Rumiyah magazine, issue 4, page 31. A two-part infographic at 440:8 and 441:8 titled “Patience with Harm by People” presents extracts from Ibn Taymiyyah’s قاعدة في الصبر or The Principle of Patience.
Patience also features frequently in wider contexts in infographics such as those at 55:16 (which has an English version in Rumiyah magazine, issue 4, page 19) on “Advice to the Mujahideen When Facing the Enemy”, at 100:16 as one of the “Factors of Steadfastness in the Quran”, at 101:16 among the “Factors of Victory in the Quran”, at 129:12 on Ibn Al-Qayyim’s explanation of Quranic verses 8:45-46 in which he highlights, among other things, the importance of patience and steadfastness, at 296:12 on “Characteristics of the Religion of Abraham”, at 303:12 on a hadith in which patience is described as light (الصبر ضياء), at 307:12 on “Destructive Vices and Salvific Virtues” (مهلكات ومنجيات) and at 474:8 on Ibn Al-Qayyim’s pillars of virtuous and lowly morals.
An infographic page at 474:8 of extracts from Ibn Al-Qayyim’s مدارج السالكين looks at the four “pillars of good morals” or “noble character” and the four pillars of lowly morals or ignoble character. The first four consist of patience, chasteness, courage and justice, the second four of ignorance, oppression, lowly desires and anger. For more on that page, see اركان الاخلاق الفاضلة والسافلة.
Articles that go into the subject of patience in greater depth can be found at:
20:11 A half-page article titled خنساوات الخلافة آيات في الصبر (after the poetess Al-Khansaa’) lauds Islamic State women for being “models of patience”
48:8 Titled “Give Glad Tidings to the Patient that Allah’s Help is Near”, on patience in the face of trials and tribulations
53:14 “Stories of Victory Following Patience”, from the من التاريخ series of articles
118:10 An article from the أخي المجاهد series highlighting the importance of صبر and ثبات in the face of trials and afflictions and asking readers to “Rejoice in the Path of Jihad”
120:10 From the “Story of a Hadith” series, on “Indeed, patience is at the first shock”
159:8 An article titled بشريات للصابرين or Glad Tidings for those Who Are Patient, on the significance of patience and ten ways of acquiring it
191:10 An article on the meaning of patience and ten ways of acquiring it, quoting extensively from Ibn Al-Qayyim’s عدة الصابرين وذخيرة الشاكرين or “Equipment of the Patient and Ammunition of the Grateful”, sometimes translated as “The Way to Patience and Gratitude”
254:10 An article on contentment and patience with what Allah decrees, using excerpts from Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbali’s جامع العلوم والحكم or “Compendium of Knowledge and Wisdom”
327:10 On hardship and patience in jihad during the time of the prophet Mohammed
338:11 On good and evil as a trial and the acceptance of fate, with Quran 21:35 as a starting point, the article looks at types of patience and the difference between it and contentment with what Allah decrees
A number of editorials also take up the theme of patience in the face of trials, such as those at 145:3, 281:3, 313:3, 412:3.
Patience is also a major theme in speeches by Islamic State officials, the transcripts of which appear in Al-Naba’. They include:
75:8-11 فاصبر إنَّ وعد الله حق A speech by official spokesman Abu Al-Hassan Al-Muhajir
145:11-15 وبشر الصابرين A speech by Abu Bakr Al-Husseini Al-Qurashi Al-Baghdadi (an article from the series أخي المجاهد at 113:10 carries the same title of وبَشِّر الصابرين). The title is taken from Quran 2:155:
وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُم بِشَىْءٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْخَوْفِ وَٱلْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْأَمْوَٰلِ وَٱلْأَنفُسِ وَٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ
We will certainly test you with a touch of fear and famine and loss of property, life, and crops. Give good news to those who patiently endure