Seek Help Through Patience and Prayer
Al-Baqarah 2:153. Also known as Ista'inu bis-sabri was-salah, Allah is with the patient, Innallaha ma'as sabirin
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱسۡتَعِينُواْ بِٱلصَّبۡرِ وَٱلصَّلَوٰةِۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مَعَ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ ﴿١٥٣﴾
Ya ayyuha allatheena amanoo istaAAeenoo bialssabri waalssalati inna Allaha maAAa alssabireena
O you who believe! Seek help through patience and prayers. Allah is with the steadfast.
Verse 153 of Surah Al-Baqarah calls on the believers to seek help through patience and prayer, and ends with the assurance that Allah is with the patient. It is one of the verses Muslims quote most often about sabr, patience.
It opens a short passage about trials and loss that also contains the words Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un. The verse gives believers two tools before the passage tells them what they will face.
What it means
O you who believe
The verse begins by addressing the believers directly. What follows is practical guidance for people who are trying to live by their faith.
Seek help through patience
The first source of help is sabr. In Arabic, sabr covers holding steady through hardship, holding back from what is wrong, and continuing to do what is right even when it is hard.
And through prayer
The second source is salah, prayer. It gives a person regular moments to stand before Allah, ask for help and steady themselves.
Allah is with the patient
The verse ends by saying Allah is with those who are patient. This is a promise of His support and care, not only His knowledge. The patient person is not left alone in what they are going through.
Where it sits in Surah Al-Baqarah
Verse 151 recalls the blessing of a messenger who teaches and purifies, and verse 152 says remember Me and I will remember you, and be grateful. Verse 153 then calls for patience and prayer. Verse 154 says not to call those killed in Allah's cause dead, since they are alive though we do not perceive it. Verse 155 says believers will be tested with some fear, hunger and loss of wealth, lives and crops, and gives good news to the patient. Verse 156 describes them as saying that they belong to Allah and will return to Him, and verse 157 promises them blessings, mercy and guidance. A similar instruction appears earlier, at 2:45, which adds that prayer is hard except for the humble.
How it is used
Muslims often turn to prayer when something troubles them, following this verse. Sahih Muslim reports, from Suhayb, that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said the affair of the believer is wonderful, because all of it is good: if something good happens he is grateful, and that is good for him, and if something harmful happens he is patient, and that is good for him.
Questions
Where does the Quran say 'Allah is with the patient'?
In 2:153, and also in 2:249 and 8:46, among other places.
What is sabr in Islam?
Sabr means patience and steadfastness. It includes enduring hardship without despair, holding back from wrongdoing, and staying consistent in doing good.
What is the difference between 2:45 and 2:153?
Both tell people to seek help through patience and prayer. 2:45 is addressed to the Children of Israel and adds that prayer is hard except for the humble. 2:153 is addressed to the believers and ends with the assurance that Allah is with the patient.