So endure [with patience] like those messengers of firm resolve…He said:It means, ‘Be patient with the patience (ṣabr) of the people of gnosis (ahl al-maʿrifa), just as those of firm resolve (ūlū’l-ʿazm) among the messengers showed patience, a patience which is [one of] contentment (riḍā) and submission (taslīm) without complaint (shakwā) or impatience (or anxiety, jazaʿ).’ Abraham, God’s friend , was afflicted with the fire, and the sacrifice of his son, but accepted it with contentment (riḍā) and submitted. Job was afflicted by sickness, and Ishmael with the sacrifice and [likewise] showed contentment. Noah [was tested] with denial but remained steadfast (ṣabara), while Jonah [was placed] in the belly of the whale, but called on God and sought refuge in Him. Joseph, God’s blessings be upon him, [was afflicted with] prison and the well, but he did not alter; and Jacob was tested by the loss of his sight and his son, but he complained of his grief only to God and did not complain to anyone else. There are twelve prophets, God’s blessings be upon them, who remained steadfast in the face of what befell them, and they are known as ‘those of firm resolve (ūlū’l-ʿazm) among the messengers’. But God, Transcendent and Exalted is He, knows best.His words, Exalted is He:
, was afflicted with the fire, and the sacrifice of his son, but accepted it with contentment (riḍā) and submitted. Job