authentically reported from Abū Sa‘īd al-Khudrī, from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who said:

“Whoever strives for self-restraint, Allah will grant him self-restraint; whoever seeks self-sufficiency, Allah will make him self-sufficient; and whoever strives to be patient, Allah will grant him patience. No one has been given a gift better or more abundant than patience.”

The “one who seeks self-sufficiency” does not inwardly look to what others possess. The “one who exercises self-restraint” does not ask people for anything with his tongue. The “one who practices patience” is the one who does not force himself to be patient. He thus stated that whoever strives to be patient, Allah will grant him patience. This appears to concern patience in poverty: enduring the bitterness of need without becoming distraught over the poverty with which one has been afflicted. This is patience in poverty and hardship. The Most High says:

“And those who are patient in poverty and hardship and during battle.”

“Hardship” here means illness. This is patience in the need, illness, and fear with which one is afflicted.

As for patience in trials one voluntarily undertakes, such as jihad, patience in these is better than patience in an illness with which one is afflicted without choosing it. Thus, if someone experiences hardship during jihad, patience in that hardship is better than patience in it while in his own land, because such patience is part of fully carrying out jihad. Likewise, if he is afflicted during jihad with poverty or illness resulting from it, patience in that is better, as has been explained at length elsewhere. The same applies to the harm a person suffers while performing acts of obedience, such as prayer and enjoining what is right