Why Does Allah Ask Us To Be Patient? | Allah's Names Ep. 24 | Dr. Omar Suleiman | Ramadan Series 2026

What do you do when the people around you keep testing your limits?

Patience in Islam isn’t weakness. The Prophet ﷺ said that no one has ever been given a gift more vast than patience. But patience isn’t simply waiting. It shows itself in how we control anger, endure hardship, and deal with difficult people without losing our integrity.

In this episode, Dr. Omar Suleiman reflects on the Divine Names As-Saboor (The Most Patient), Al-Haleem (The Forbearing), Al-‘Aliyy (The Most High), and Al-Muta’aaly (The Supremely Exalted). Through these Names, we’re reminded that Allah’s patience with us should shape how we respond when others test us.

Patience appears in different moments of a believer’s life. Sometimes it’s resisting a temptation even when it’s within reach. Sometimes it’s enduring hardship without losing trust in Allah. And sometimes it’s remaining calm when someone’s behavior pushes you toward anger.

If you’ve ever struggled with anger or wondered how to deal with difficult people without losing yourself in the process, this reflection speaks directly to that experience. Islam doesn’t ask us to suppress emotion or ignore injustice. It teaches us how to rise above it without losing our character.

Allah sees every moment of restraint that no one else notices. Every time you hold back your anger, remain steady in hardship, or choose dignity over retaliation, it matters. The Qur’an promises that those who are patient will be rewarded without measure.

When you feel provoked, overwhelmed, or small in the face of difficult people, remember who is above it all. Allah sees what you can’t see, knows what you don’t know, and rewards patience in ways far greater than we can imagine.

Watch this reflection to rediscover the strength of patience and how faith teaches us to rise above anger, hardship, and the people who test us the most.

00:00 Patience: The Greatest Gift
00:49 Allah’s Perfect Timing
02:11 Patience Through Fasting
02:54 The Woman Who Chose Jannah
04:25 The Different Types of Patience
05:32 Al-Haleem: The Forbearing
07:55 Prophetic Examples of Forbearance
09:52 Al-‘Aliyy: The Most Exalted
10:44 Al-Muta’aaly: Beyond All Limits
12:12 Names That Teach Us to Trust
12:55 Closing Du’a: A Du’a for Patience in Trials and Temptations

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NOTE: Only vocals were used in the making of the soundtrack.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

There's this moment in the seerah where some of the ansar kept asking the Prophet over and over again. And he kept on giving them until there was literally nothing left to give. And then he said, Whatever good I have, I will never withhold from you. But whoever refrains from asking, Allah will help him in that. And whoever seeks to be self-sufficient, Allah will enrich him to that. But then he said, Whoever seeks to be patient, Allah will make him patient. And then listen carefully. He said, No one has ever been given a gift better and more vast than patience. So who do you think gave you that gift? Allah is As Sabur, the all-patient. He is patient with his power and with your disobedience. But his patience is not the patience of one who cannot act. It's the patience of one who can do everything in an instant yet still chooses the perfect moment. He's patient with his decree and that he doesn't panic like we do. And he never ends up with any regrets because he never acts in haste. Think about it for us. As sabru and the sadmatula, patience is at the first strike. And while some people will pass that test, as the trial runs longer, those same people will eventually lose it. Allah is not rocked in the moment, nor does he ever need to change course. His plan unfolds without disruption and with perfection. And he is patient with his servants. He sees the sin as it forms, then withholds the punishment so that the door of return stays open. He plants a seed of repentance into a hard heart and then gives it time to sprout. He is patient with generations. Nations rise and fall, and he lets a noisy tyrant run what he thinks is his victory lap, only to let the truth win, and then teach a lesson through him. He's not late to history, history is early to him because he already wrote it. And because his patience is endless, he invites you to seek it from him. Seek help through patience and prayer. Patience here is as Ibn Abbas Sadiallahu Anhuma says, the fasting that you're doing right now, because you hold back for his sake and he gives back without measure. Indeed, the patience are repaid without account, because he's not only the giver of reward, he's the giver of the capacity by which you reach it. And the Prophet said that Allah has said all of the actions of the Son of Adam are for him, except for fasting. Fasting is mine and I reward for it. And knowing that you want that reward from As-Sabur is precisely what gives you sabr. So when there was a woman who was having seizures at the time of the Prophet, she said, Ya Rasulullah, when I have these seizures, I fall. And sometimes at a kashaf, I'm exposed. So can you make dua to Allah to remove this epilepsy from me? He said, if you want, I can ask Allah to remove it and He will. Or you can be patient and you'll have Jannah in return. She said, Ya Rasulullah, I choose Jannah. But can you ask Allah that when I have a seizure I'm not exposed? And so he did. SubhanAllah, she went from wanting shifa from ashafi, who can always heal, to wanting patience from As-Sabur, because she knew that he would give her the capacity and the reward at the end that would make it all worth it. And his patience is entirely fulfilling and always enduring, just like every other one of his names and attributes. And when the Prophet said that patience is the best gift and the most vast gift, you can see why. Because if Allah gives you a single blessing but you don't have perspective, you'll still feel unfulfilled. But when he gives you perspective, all of your blessings seem vast. And then in the hereafter, you're rewarded with immeasurable return. While you're still on this earth, in nallaha ma'asabiren, Allah is indeed with the patient. And then when he enters you into paradise, salamun alaikum bima al-sabartun, peace be unto you for the patience that you showed. So what does it look like when we seek to manifest patience that only he can give? There are a few categories. There's sabr over your desire, when you hold back from your desires even when you have access, trusting his promise of a greater reward. Then there is sabr in hardship, where you restrain your reaction when you're stuck in pain, trusting his replacement will be with a greater reward. And then there is sabr upon obedience. You see good deeds through so that they aren't just flashes of good, but qualities we attain. Think of it in this way: just like Allah's power lives behind all of his names, patience has to live behind all of your good qualities so that they're not temporary states, but permanent stations. And then there is sabr as in resilience, where every time you get knocked down, you get up and you rebuild better, just like the people of Gaza have shown us. There is another type of sabr, and that's the sabr with people. And that is when we feel like we're running out of patience with them. And maybe that's because you've forgotten how patient Allah has been with you. Which brings us to his next name. Allah is Al Halim, the forbearing. Hilm is a very specific application of patience, but it's the hardest application of that patience for us as humans, which is why it's so rewardable. But to Allah, when you think of Al-Haleem, the forbearing, how many times could he have seized you at the very moment of your sin? And yet he didn't? If every sin was inked instantly and punished right away, where would we be? He gives you time not because he's indifferent or incapable, but because he's al-halim. His forbearance isn't weakness, but it's measured power that comes from his infinite grace, because only the powerful can hold back even when provoked. And if Allah were to impose blame on the people for what they have earned, no creature would survive on this earth. If he seized us the first time that we made mistakes, none of us would remain. But he lengthens the rope, not to ignore us, but to reach us. So while he could seize you the moment that you sin, he delays the pan to give you a door. And know that Allah is ever forgiving, ever forbearing. Al-Ghafur is usually the name that he pairs with Al-Halim, because he's not only forbearing in the moment, but still forgiving later. SubhanAllah, two things we're so often incapable of, letting it go now and not even letting it linger later. And then sometimes he pairs Al-Haleen with Al-Haleem, which means he knows why you did it, or even if you're going to do it again, but he still overlooks. And he pairs Al-Halim with Al-Ghani. How many of us are only patient with people because we either fear them or we want something from them? He has no need of any of that. And on top of all of that, Allah is appreciative and forbearing. So not only does He not punish you right away when you commit a sin, He rewards you for the smallest intentions for good deeds you didn't even get to do. And as much as any of us could never come close to any of this, we should still try. And that's why the Prophet said, The one who mixes with the people and is patient with their harm is far better than the one who does not mix with them and has no patience with their harm. That's ada, which could be the smallest annoyance that makes us blow up on people. But when we look at Yusuf from that position of power, holding back at that moment with his brothers where he could have sentenced them to death, or the Prophet emulating that hilm in his return to Mecca, where his enemies were admitting that they are depending solely on his benevolence because they knew they did not deserve to be spared. But he spared them, not for them, but for Allah. And if you think you're too good to have to deal with this, the Prophet was so much better than you. But they dumped camel intestines on him. They spat on him, they stoned him, they cursed him, they called him the worst of names, and even ran him out from his home. But he still forgave them. Look at how many people insult Allah day and night, and he leaves them. Even Fira''un was addressed with gentleness, so that maybe even he would recalibrate and rethink his ways. That's how vast Allah's forbearance is. And across the world, at this very second, he still feeds those who deny him. The Prophet said, No one shows more patience upon hearing abuse than Allah. They attribute a son to him, yet he still gives them health and provision. He hears every blasphemy and every denial, and yet the sun still rises for them, and the rain still falls, and he still fills their bellies and their bank accounts. That's forbearance paired with absolute authority. So who are you and I not to be patient? And you know, in human terms, when someone so lowly resorts to low insults, we say to each other, don't stoop to their level, be better than them. When they go low, go high. Allah is al-Ali, the exalted. Al-Ali means He is elevated over all creation. The scholars speak of Ilu with that, ill-sifat, and Ilu al-Khar. He is elevated in his essence, elevated in his attributes, and elevated in his dominance. So when you feel small, crushed, forgotten, or trampled upon in regards to your rights or reputation, remember Al-Ali. He's not scrambling down here with you and I. He's above it all, seeing what we can't see and holding what we can't hold. And then there is the name Al-Mutaali, the Supremely Exalted. Al-Muta'ali means that Allah is not only the most high in rank, but He's absolutely above and beyond all limitations. So He's exalted not only above, but beyond, beyond likeness, beyond limits, beyond your frame. Remember the difference between Al-Wahid and Al-Ahad? This is similar. He is the knower of the unseen and the seen, the greatest and the supremely exalted. He's dominant in what you see and exalted even in what you don't. Suraiman bin Kathir Raimullah explains that he encompasses everything in knowledge and subdues everything in power, both with the seen and the unseen. So when thunder rolls and the sky shakes, remember what you said bihura'adu bihamdihi, while the thunder is glorifying his praise, the angels too are in awe of him. Can you imagine? Even the sound that startles you, the thunder, is actually doing tasbih. And the angels in the heavens that you can't see are also doing tasbih. So the scholars say Al-Ali is dominant over what you see. Al-Muta'ali is dominant even over what you can't see. Every human claim to divine elevation is just a passing mirage of arrogance bound to tragically collapse. But you don't have to. Listen to what the names of Allah are telling you. As-Sabur gives you patience for all times and brings relief at the perfect time. Al-Halim is patient with you, so be patient with his plan and hasten your repentance. Al-Ali controls from above all that you see and can't see. And al-Muta'ali reigns supreme over what you can't even imagine. So trust his vantage point and his supremacy over those who are testing your sabr. Because if they're testing your patience, then know that he will reward it without measure. Ya Sabu, teach me the patience that doesn't expire. Make me calm when delay tests me and grateful even as I wait. Grant me patience over my desires and through my trials and upon the deeds that will protect me from the fire. Ya Haleem. You see my mistakes and still give me time to fix them. You watch my slips and still cover them in kindness. Make me forbearing with those around me and quick to forgiveness with those who may wrong me. Ya Ali. Ya muta'ali. Raise my heart above resentment and smallness. Lift my gaze towards the higher ways that reach you and place my hopes in what lasts with you. Let my character rise even when my status falls, for you are higher than everything that confuses me or defeats me. Lift me above pettiness, above despair, above sin, until my soul finds its peace in your elevation.