15.1.3 Courage and Patience

Courage and Patience in the Life of the Prophet ﷺ

Two Qualities at the Heart of His Mission

Among the many traits of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, his courage and his patience stand out as two pillars that carried the message of Islam from a small, persecuted group in Makkah to a complete way of life for humanity.

The Qur’an repeatedly connects these two qualities with the duty of a messenger. Allah says:

فَاصْبِرْ كَمَا صَبَرَ أُولُو الْعَزْمِ مِنَ الرُّسُلِ
“So be patient, as were those of determination among the messengers.”
(Qur’an 46:35)

In the life of the Prophet ﷺ, courage was not harshness or recklessness. It was firmness upon the truth, readiness to sacrifice when Allah commanded, and the ability to remain calm under threat. His patience was not passivity, but steadfastness, self-control, and continuing to obey Allah despite pain, loss, or delay in seeing results.

These two qualities are always paired. His courage gave strength to his patience, and his patience gave depth and sincerity to his courage.

Courage in the Face of Hostility in Makkah

From the earliest days of public preaching in Makkah, the Prophet ﷺ showed clear, visible courage before a society that hated his message. When Allah commanded him:

فَاصْدَعْ بِمَا تُؤْمَرُ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ
“Then proclaim what you are commanded and turn away from the polytheists.”
(Qur’an 15:94)

he obeyed without delay, even though he knew it would bring the anger of Quraysh.

He openly called his closest relatives from the clan of Banu Hashim and stood on Mount Safa calling his tribe to the worship of Allah alone. When his uncle Abu Lahab cursed him and rejected him in front of the people, he did not withdraw from his mission. Instead, he continued to recite the verses that Allah revealed, including:

تَبَّتْ يَدَا أَبِي لَهَبٍ وَتَبَّ
“Perish the hands of Abu Lahab, and perish he!”
(Qur’an 111:1)

This public opposition from powerful people in his own family required great inner bravery. He did not soften the message to please them, nor did he resort to abuse in return. His courage was obedience and clarity, not arrogance.

The Companions later described that when fear spread among them, the Prophet ﷺ was always the calmest and firmest. Anas ibn Malik رضي الله عنه said:

كَانَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ أَحْسَنَ النَّاسِ، وَأَشْجَعَ النَّاسِ
“The Prophet ﷺ was the best of people, and the most courageous of people.”
(al‑Bukhari, Muslim)

In Makkah, this courage appeared especially in his refusal to compromise. When Quraysh offered him wealth, leadership, and status in exchange for abandoning the message, he replied with unshakable firmness. Though the famous wording “If they placed the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left…” is discussed among scholars, the agreed meaning is that he would never leave calling to Allah, no matter the pressure.

His courage in these years was not only on battlefields, but in conversations with chiefs, in gatherings where he was mocked, and in continuing to recite the Qur’an out loud in the Haram, even when it led to physical harm.

Courage on the Battlefield

While he did not love war for its own sake, and always preferred peace when it did not require compromising the truth, the Prophet ﷺ showed the highest level of courage when war became necessary.

During battles, his bravery was witnessed directly by his Companions. Ali ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه said:

كُنَّا إِذَا احْمَرَّ الْبَأْسُ وَلَقِيَ الْقَوْمُ الْقَوْمَ، اتَّقَيْنَا بِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ، فَمَا يَكُونُ أَحَدٌ أَقْرَبَ إِلَى الْعَدُوِّ مِنْهُ
“When the fighting became intense and the two sides met, we would seek protection with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and none of us would be closer to the enemy than he was.”
(Ahmad)

Anas رضي الله عنه narrated an incident in Madinah when the people heard a sudden sound and became frightened. Some went out at night to investigate and found that the Prophet ﷺ had already gone ahead of them on a horse, without a saddle, with his sword around his neck. He was returning from checking the source of danger and told them:

لَنْ تُرَاعُوا
“Do not be afraid.”
(al‑Bukhari, Muslim)

This shows how his courage was active concern for others. He placed himself in front of danger so that his community would be safe. His bravery did not come from anger or love of fighting, but from trust in Allah and responsibility for the believers.

In all of this, he did not become proud or harsh. His courage was balanced with mercy. Even when he had full power over enemies, such as on the day of the conquest of Makkah, he chose forgiveness instead of revenge. This required a different, deeper type of courage, the courage to restrain the self when it has the power to strike back.

Patience in Bearing Insults and Harm

From the first days of his message, the Prophet ﷺ was insulted, mocked, and called names. The Qur’an records that they said he was a poet, a magician, or even mad. Allah told him:

وَاصْبِرْ عَلَىٰ مَا يَقُولُونَ وَاهْجُرْهُمْ هَجْرًا جَمِيلًا
“And be patient over what they say, and avoid them with gracious avoidance.”
(Qur’an 73:10)

He did not answer their insults with insults. Instead, he responded with forbearance, calmness, and continued da‘wah. When they threw dust and filth on him while he prayed, he remained patient and turned to Allah in supplication.

His patience was shown clearly in his response to the persecution of his followers. He watched some of the earliest Muslims, such as the family of Yasir, tortured severely in the streets of Makkah. He did not have worldly power to free them, but he strengthened them with words that carried deep patience and hope. He said to them:

صَبْرًا آلَ يَاسِرٍ، فَإِنَّ مَوْعِدَكُمُ الْجَنَّةُ
“Patience, O family of Yasir, for your promised meeting place is Paradise.”
(al‑Hakim, graded authentic by many scholars)

This was not a distant statement. He felt their pain deeply, yet he taught them to see beyond the present hardship and to trust Allah’s reward.

The Qur’an describes the kind of patience Allah loves:

وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الصَّابِرِينَ
“And Allah loves the patient.”
(Qur’an 3:146)

The Prophet ﷺ was the foremost example of those whom Allah loves through patience. His life in Makkah was a long training in enduring mockery, boycott, loss, and emotional pain without turning away from the mission.

Patience Through Personal Loss and Sorrow

The Prophet ﷺ did not only face public trials. He also experienced deep personal grief. He was an orphan before birth, then lost his mother as a child, then his grandfather, and later several of his own children during his lifetime.

When his son Ibrahim died in Madinah, he wept openly. Some companions were surprised at his tears. He replied with a balanced description of a patient heart:

إِنَّ الْعَيْنَ تَدْمَعُ، وَالْقَلْبَ يَحْزَنُ، وَلَا نَقُولُ إِلَّا مَا يَرْضَى رَبُّنَا، وَإِنَّا بِفِرَاقِكَ يَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ لَمَحْزُونُونَ
“The eye sheds tears and the heart grieves, but we do not say except that which pleases our Lord. Indeed we are, because of your separation, O Ibrahim, surely grieved.”
(al‑Bukhari)

His patience did not mean he felt no pain. Instead, it meant he did not let pain lead him to words or actions that displeased Allah. He accepted Allah’s decree with a heart that felt sorrow but remained obedient.

The year in which his uncle Abu Talib and his wife Khadijah رضي الله عنها passed away is known as the “Year of Sorrow.” Yet even in that year, he did not abandon his duty or fall into despair. Allah later reminded him and all believers:

فَإِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا. إِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا
“So indeed, with hardship there is ease. Indeed, with hardship there is ease.”
(Qur’an 94:5‑6)

His entire response to personal loss was a living explanation of these verses.

Patience in Lengthy Struggle, Not Instant Victory

The Prophet ﷺ showed that true patience is not only in one moment of crisis but in long years of steady effort. He spent thirteen years in Makkah calling a small, persecuted community to Allah, with no quick visible victory. Even after migrating to Madinah, he continued to face battles, plots, and sudden tests.

Allah described his mission and the missions of earlier prophets with the same pattern:

حَتَّىٰ إِذَا اسْتَيْأَسَ الرُّسُلُ وَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُمْ قَدْ كُذِبُوا جَاءَهُمْ نَصْرُنَا
“Until, when the messengers almost despaired and those with them thought they had been denied, Our help came to them.”
(Qur’an 12:110)

The Prophet ﷺ lived this reality. Relief often came after long effort, not immediately. His patience was not just in bearing pain but also in continuing to work, to teach, to plan, and to trust that Allah’s promise would come in the right time.

He taught his companions this understanding, saying:

مَا يُصِيبُ الْمُسْلِمَ مِنْ نَصَبٍ وَلَا وَصَبٍ وَلَا هَمٍّ وَلَا حُزْنٍ وَلَا أَذًى وَلَا غَمٍّ حَتَّى الشَّوْكَةِ يُشَاكُهَا، إِلَّا كَفَّرَ اللَّهُ بِهَا مِنْ خَطَايَاهُ
“No fatigue, nor illness, nor worry, nor grief, nor harm, nor distress befalls a Muslim, not even a thorn that pricks him, except that Allah expiates some of his sins because of it.”
(al‑Bukhari, Muslim)

By teaching this, he shaped a community that saw trials as part of the path to Allah, not as a reason to turn back.

The Unity of Courage and Patience

In the Prophet’s Seerah, courage and patience are never far apart. His courage was not a quick reaction. It was supported by years of patient trust in Allah. At the same time, his patience was not weakness. It included strong, courageous choices that sometimes went against what people around him wanted.

Allah joins these qualities in the Qur’an:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اصْبِرُوا وَصَابِرُوا وَرَابِطُوا وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
“O you who have believed, be patient, compete in patience, stand firm, and fear Allah so that you may be successful.”
(Qur’an 3:200)

The Prophet ﷺ was the clearest example of this verse. He was patient, more patient than others, and firmly stationed in his mission, from the lonely days in Makkah to the final years when Islam was strong.

His life shows that a believer may be tested by fear, insult, loss, delay, and conflict, but through courage anchored in tawakkul and patience rooted in certainty of Allah’s promise, the path of guidance continues until Allah brings His victory and reward.