Quran Verses About Patience (Sabr)
The Quran answers impatience with a promise: Allah is with the patient (2:153), and the patient are repaid without measure (39:10). Sabr in the Quran is not passive endurance — it is prayerful steadiness through fear, loss, and hardship, named among the marks of the successful in Surah Al-Asr. These eleven ayahs gather the Quran's clearest words on patience.
Updated July 16, 2026
- Surah Al-Baqarah 2:153
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱسۡتَعِينُواْ بِٱلصَّبۡرِ وَٱلصَّلَوٰةِۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مَعَ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ
O ye who believe! Seek help in steadfastness and prayer. Lo! Allah is with the steadfast
The Quran's signature instruction on sabr — seek help through patience and prayer together, with the promise that Allah is with the patient.
- Surah Al-Baqarah 2:155
وَلَنَبۡلُوَنَّكُم بِشَيۡءٖ مِّنَ ٱلۡخَوۡفِ وَٱلۡجُوعِ وَنَقۡصٖ مِّنَ ٱلۡأَمۡوَٰلِ وَٱلۡأَنفُسِ وَٱلثَّمَرَٰتِۗ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ
And surely We shall try you with something of fear and hunger, and loss of wealth and lives and crops; but give glad tidings to the steadfast
Allah states plainly that tests of fear, hunger, and loss will come — and attaches good tidings to those who meet them with patience.
- Surah Al-Baqarah 2:156
ٱلَّذِينَ إِذَآ أَصَٰبَتۡهُم مُّصِيبَةٞ قَالُوٓاْ إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّآ إِلَيۡهِ رَٰجِعُونَ
Who say, when a misfortune striketh them: Lo! we are Allah's and lo! unto Him we are returning
The words of the patient when disaster strikes — 'indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return' — spoken at every loss.
- Surah Al-Baqarah 2:157
أُوْلَـٰٓئِكَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ صَلَوَٰتٞ مِّن رَّبِّهِمۡ وَرَحۡمَةٞۖ وَأُوْلَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلۡمُهۡتَدُونَ
Such are they on whom are blessings from their Lord, and mercy. Such are the rightly guided
What the patient receive in return — blessings and mercy from their Lord, and the name of the rightly guided.
- Surah Ali 'Imran 3:200
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱصۡبِرُواْ وَصَابِرُواْ وَرَابِطُواْ وَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تُفۡلِحُونَ
O ye who believe! Endure, outdo all others in endurance, be ready, and observe your duty to Allah, in order that ye may succeed
A closing command of Surah Ali 'Imran — persevere, endure, remain stationed, and hold to taqwa, so that you may succeed.
- Surah Az-Zumar 39:10
قُلۡ يَٰعِبَادِ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱتَّقُواْ رَبَّكُمۡۚ لِلَّذِينَ أَحۡسَنُواْ فِي هَٰذِهِ ٱلدُّنۡيَا حَسَنَةٞۗ وَأَرۡضُ ٱللَّهِ وَٰسِعَةٌۗ إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى ٱلصَّـٰبِرُونَ أَجۡرَهُم بِغَيۡرِ حِسَابٖ
Say: O My bondmen who believe! Observe your duty to your Lord. For those who do good in this world there is good, and Allah's earth is spacious. Verily the steadfast will be paid their wages without stint
The most sweeping promise attached to sabr in the Quran — the patient will be given their reward without account.
- Surah Al-'Asr 103:3
إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَٰتِ وَتَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلۡحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلصَّبۡرِ
Save those who believe and do good works, and exhort one another to truth and exhort one another to endurance
Surah Al-Asr names advising one another to patience as one of the four things that save a person from loss.
- Surah An-Nahl 16:127
وَٱصۡبِرۡ وَمَا صَبۡرُكَ إِلَّا بِٱللَّهِۚ وَلَا تَحۡزَنۡ عَلَيۡهِمۡ وَلَا تَكُ فِي ضَيۡقٖ مِّمَّا يَمۡكُرُونَ
Endure thou patiently (O Muhammad). Thine endurance is only by (the help of) Allah. Grieve not for them, and be not in distress because of that which they devise
Patience is not self-generated — 'your patience is not but through Allah' — so grief and distress are handed back to Him.
- Surah Hud 11:115
وَٱصۡبِرۡ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُضِيعُ أَجۡرَ ٱلۡمُحۡسِنِينَ
And have patience, (O Muhammad), for lo! Allah loseth not the wages of the good
A short, complete reassurance for anyone whose patience feels unseen — Allah does not lose the reward of the doers of good.
- Surah Luqman 31:17
يَٰبُنَيَّ أَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَأۡمُرۡ بِٱلۡمَعۡرُوفِ وَٱنۡهَ عَنِ ٱلۡمُنكَرِ وَٱصۡبِرۡ عَلَىٰ مَآ أَصَابَكَۖ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ مِنۡ عَزۡمِ ٱلۡأُمُورِ
O my dear son! Establish worship and enjoin kindness and forbid iniquity, and persevere whatever may befall thee. Lo! that is of the steadfast heart of things
Luqman's advice to his son pairs prayer and enjoining good with patience over whatever befalls you, calling it a matter of real determination.
- Surah Al-Ma'arij 70:5
فَٱصۡبِرۡ صَبۡرٗا جَمِيلًا
But be patient (O Muhammad) with a patience fair to see
The standard the Quran sets for the Prophet himself — sabrun jamil, a gracious patience without complaint.
Arabic text: Tanzil Uthmani (public domain). English translation: Marmaduke Pickthall, “The Meaning of the Glorious Koran” (1930) — public domain.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Quran say about patience?
The Quran commands believers to seek help through patience and prayer (2:153), promises that Allah is with the patient, and warns that life includes tests of fear, hunger, and loss (2:155). It ties patience to reward without account (39:10) and names it among the qualities that save a person from loss (Surah Al-Asr).
What is sabr in Islam?
Sabr is steadfast patience — holding firm in worship, restraint from sin, and composure under trial. The Quran treats it as active reliance on Allah rather than passive waiting, which is why it is so often paired with prayer, as in 2:45 and 2:153.
Which surah is best known for patience?
Surah Al-Asr (103) makes advising one another to patience a condition of escaping loss, and Surah Al-Baqarah carries the most-quoted ayahs on sabr — 2:153 and the passage on testing, 2:155-157.
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