The Quran says: “Do you think you will enter Paradise without having suffered like those who passed away before you? Affliction and hardship befell them, and so shaken were they that the Messenger and the believers with him would exclaim, when will God’s help come? Surely the help of God is near.” (2:214)

A human being learns divine wisdom by studying Hadith and Sunnah (model set by the Prophet). When a person practices this wisdom, he becomes deserving of God’s mercy. He begins to receive God’s help at every stage. He walks on the path of God without straying until he reaches the final destination, which is another name for Paradise.

Sabr is thus the essential condition for success in this world. The Prophet of Islam said: “God’s help is for those who keep patience.” (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 2803)

The path of patience can also be termed as the path of peace. The opposite is the path of violence. The above quoted Quranic verse tells us about a natural law—that those who walk the path of peace will find that at every step Nature helps them. On the other hand, those who adopt violence are denied Nature’s assistance—and for such people, there is nothing in this world but failure and destruction.

What does walking the path of patience mean? It means that in the face of difficult or unfavourable conditions and situations, a person does not lose his tolerance, and so his positive thinking remains unimpaired. He distinguishes the possible from the impossible and begins his journey from what he knows to be possible. He does not hanker after immediate results.