His words, Exalted is He:

By Time! (wa’l-ʿaṣr)^{1The word ʿaṣr has both the general meaning of an ‘era’, ‘epoch’ or ‘period’, or ‘the late hours of the afternoon’, apart from its other meaning, derived from the verb ʿ-ṣ-r, of ‘pressing out’, as in the juice of grapes, olives, etc.}

That is: ‘By the Lord of time (Rabb al-dahr).’^{2According to Lane, the word dahr signifies time, usually of a long or unlimited duration, or from the beginning of the world to its end. Dahr is also sometimes, especially but not exclusively, associated with fate as a source of good and ill that happens to man, and therefore it is traditionally linked with God, as in Tustarī’s speaking of God as the Lord of dahr. See also M. Watt, ‘Dahr’ EI2, vol. ii, p. 94.} It has also been said [that He meant] ‘By the afternoon ⸢prayer⸣.’^{3The addition is made on the basis of all three MSS: Z515, f. 139a, F638, f. 69a and F3488, f. 322b.}

Verily man is in [a state of] loss,

This means: all the days of Abū Lahab were wasted.

except those who believe and perform righteous deeds…

That is, they perform their religious obligations (farāʾiḍ) as prescribed for them; and enjoin one another to the truth, that is, to God, Mighty and Majestic is He; and enjoin one another to patience [in carrying out] His commandments.^{1Again, it should be borne in mind that ṣabr also has the meaning of being ‘steadfast’ or ‘staunch’ as well as ‘patient’.}

He was asked, ‘What is patience (ṣabr)?’ He replied:

⸢It is contentment (riḍā) and true [inner] verification of the truth (taṣdīq al-ṣidq).

Then he was asked if there was anything more excellent (afḍal) than patience, and he replied:⸣^{2The section in brackets has been added on the basis of all three MSS: Z515, f. 139b, F638, f. 69a and F3488, f. 322b.}

There is no better act than patience, and no greater reward than the reward for patience. There is no provision [for the way] (zād) except mindfulness of God (taqwā) and there is no mindfulness of God without patience. There is no aid to patience for God’s sake save God, Mighty and Majestic is He.^{3A similar saying of Tustarī is cited in Iṣfahānī, Ḥilyat al-awliyāʾ, vol. 10, p. 198.}

Then he was asked, ‘Is patience included among works?’ He answered:

Yes indeed. Patience is to action as is the status of the head to the body, the one is useless without the other.

Then he was asked, ‘What is the time-span (ajl) of patience?’ He replied:

Its time-span is as long as it takes to wait for relief (intiẓār al-faraj) from God.^{4On the virtue of waiting for relief (intiẓār al-faraj) see the commentary on 2:197 and 12:87 above.}

[After this] he was asked, ‘What is the basis of patience?’ to which he replied:

It is striving [with] the self (mujāhadat al-nafs) to maintain acts of obedience and perform them according to their rules (aḥkām) and limits (ḥudūd), and struggling to avoid acts of transgression (maʿāṣī), whether big or small.

He was asked, ‘What are the people who practise patience like?’ He replied:

People of patience are of two kinds: one kind practise patience for the sake of this world, until they acquire what they desire for themselves from it, this is a blameworthy form of patience. The other kind practise patience for the sake of the Hereafter, seeking its reward and fearing its punishment.

Then he was asked, ‘Is there only one kind of patience for the sake of the Hereafter, or are there different kinds?’ To which he replied:

Patience for the sake of the Hereafter has four stations (maqāmāt), three of which are obligatory (farḍ) and one of which is a superogatory virtue (faḍīla). [The first three are:] patience [or steadfastness] in obedience to God, Mighty and Majestic is He; patience in [refraining from] His disobedience; and patience in the face of afflictions (maṣāʾib) from Him.^{5This saying is cited in Makkī, Qūt al-qulūb, vol. 1, pp. 351–2, but is attributed to Ḥasan al-Baṣrī.}

(Or he said):

Patience in [observing] His commandments, Mighty and Majestic is He; patience in [observing] His prohibitions and patience with the acts of God, Mighty and Majestic is He. These are the three levels which are obligatory. The fourth level is a supererogatory virtue and it is patience in the face of the acts of His creatures.

God, Exalted is He, has said, And if you retaliate, retaliate with the like of what you have been made to suffer; and yet if you endure patiently, verily that is better for the patient [16:126], [with these words He has set forth both] the ruling allowing for equal [treatment] and the superiority of showing patience. Then He said, So be patient, and your patience is only through God [16:127] — there is no one to assist in it except Him.

Once a man met with Uways al-Qaranī رضي الله عنه and he heard him say, ‘O God, I apologise this day for every hungry stomach and naked body. Truly, I do not have in my home any food except what is in my belly and I do not have anything from this world except what is on my back.’ He [the man] said, ‘On his back was just a cloth with which he covered himself.’^{6Bayhaqī, Shuʿab al-īmān, vol. 1, p. 524; Ibn al-Jawzī, Ṣifat al-ṣafwa, vol. 3, pp. 53–4.}

He [Sahl] said:

A man came to him [Uways] and said to him, ‘O Uways, how is your state this morning?’ (Or he may have said), ‘How is your state this evening?’ He replied, ‘I praise God in every situation. You should not ask about the state of a man who, when entering upon the morning, assumes that he will not live till the evening, and who, when entering upon the evening, assumes that he will not live till morning. Truly, death and its remembrance does not leave the believer with any cause to rejoice. Truly, the portion due to God, Mighty and Majestic is He, from a believer’s wealth does not leave him owning a [piece of] silver or gold. Truly, commanding right and forbidding wrong does not leave the believer with any friends. We command them to do good, and they abuse us with regard to our women’s honour, and find wicked people to assist them in this, to the point where, by God, they even impute terrible things to me. But I swear by God, I will not give up performing God’s right regarding them.’ Then he went his way.^{7Bayhaqī, Kitāb al-Zuhd al-kabīr, vol. 2, p. 219; Ibn al-Jawzī, Ṣifat al-ṣafwa, vol. 3, p. 53.} This was the station in patience reached by Uways.

But God knows best.