صابر
Ṣābir
One who keeps firm against evil and hardship and holds to Islam under pressure; the plural is sabirun.
What it means
A ṣābir is a person who practises ṣabr, the steady endurance that holds to obedience, refrains from sin and meets hardship without giving way. The word covers resisting evil or tragedy and also keeping a commitment to Islam when that is difficult. The plural is ṣābirūn or, in the accusative, ṣābirīn. The Quran says, “God is with the patient” (2:153), and promises that the patient will be given their reward “without measure” (39:10). Prophets such as Job and Jacob are presented as examples. The usual English word “patient” suggests passive waiting, whereas the Arabic describes an active and persistent firmness.
Often misunderstood as
The English rendering “patient” suggests passive waiting, while the Arabic describes active and persistent resistance and loyalty.
What the sources say
The Quran links patience with prayer as the two supports of the believer (2:45, 2:153) and praises those who remain patient in poverty, illness and in times of danger (2:177). Scholars divide ṣabr into patience in obeying God, patience in avoiding what He forbids, and patience in what He decrees.
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 35, listed as ṢĀBIR. The definition is restated here.