The Art of ‘Sabr’ and How Mastering it Could Bring You a More Peaceful life
A practice that goes beyond just having patience.
There’s a word we use in Urdu and Punjabi; a word that I heard over and over again while growing up.
“Sabr,” my mother would impatiently say standing over the stove, as I tugged at her sleeve because my tummy was rumbling.
“Sabr”, my grandmother would smile knowingly as I wondered out loud again and again why the flowers we had planted last week had still not yet sprouted.
“Sabr,” I heard a stranger whisper over my shoulder, as silent tears rolled down my face while I looked down upon my father’s cold face while he lay there still, silent and unmoving in his coffin.
Sabr. Sabr. A word that I’ve heard at so many important stages throughout this human journey.
But what actually is Sabr, why has my Muslim family always placed so much emphasis on it and how exactly can it help us to live a more peaceful life?
The roots of Sabr
Sabr is an Arabic word that has its foundations in the Islamic holy book, the Qur’an, and translates most easily in the English language to patience.
