One of the most difficult thing for a believer is to exercise patience "Sabr" specially when confronted with odds and faced with the tyranny of the powerful. We experience hardships in our lives both at home and at places of work and sometimes we are so helpless to protect us and our families and our job that it seems that we are running out of our capacity to accept or tolerate delay, problems, or suffering and feel completely helpless.
The prophet of Allah have faced much greater sorrow, helplessness and tyranny of their audience non believers. Remember, the story of *Prophet Jonah, Yunus عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ, who was so dejected by the negative response of his people when he called them to follow one true God and in utter impatience he left his people and was thrown overboard from a ship, swallowed by a big fish. There he repented his impatience and begged Allah to forgive him. And when he was forgiven and was gulped out by the fish on the shore, he found that the very people whom he had left had accepted the path of one true God he once told them to do so. That is why at many a places in Qur'an, man is asked to exercise patience for they never know what good lies ahead for them.
* You may read the account at: Prophet Younis (Jonah) and Allah's Displeasure
In the same context, we share the 55th verse of Surah 40. Al Mu'min in which Allah has reassured Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم to remain steadfast and be patient when faced with utter odds and seemingly hit against a hall. Herein under is the verse and its explanation as relevant to the premise above:
The Verse
فَاصۡبِرۡ اِنَّ وَعۡدَ اللّٰهِ حَقٌّ وَّاسۡتَغۡفِرۡ لِذَنۡۢبِكَ وَسَبِّحۡ بِحَمۡدِ رَبِّكَ بِالۡعَشِىِّ وَالۡاِبۡكَارِ
“So be patient. Indeed, the promise of Allah is true. And seek forgiveness for your sin, and glorify the praise of your Lord in the evening and the morning.”
Immediate context in Surah Mu'min
Surah Al-Mu’min is a Makkan surah revealed when Muslims were facing strong opposition, mockery, and pressure. Just before verse 55 (40:51–54), Allah had reassured Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم that Messengers and believers will ultimately be helped, even if they seem weak and that past nations who denied the truth were destroyed. It has been reminded that Guidance and success belong to those who follow revelation.
So verse 40:55 comes as direct guidance to the Prophet ﷺ (and by extension, to all believers) on how to respond while waiting for Allah’s help to manifest.
Explanation of the verse
- “So be patient. Indeed, the promise of Allah is true.” This patience (ṣabr) is not passive waiting. In the context of the surah, it means:
- Remaining firm despite rejection and hostility
- Trusting that Allah’s promise of victory, justice, and accountability is guaranteed, even if delayed
- Not being shaken by the arrogance or temporary power of the disbelievers, which the surah repeatedly highlights as deceptive
- The phrase “the promise of Allah is true” directly counters the doubt created by hardship: delay does not mean denial.
- “Seek forgiveness for your sin”
- Although the Prophet ﷺ was protected from sin, this command serves multiple purposes:
- It teaches humility, even at the highest level of faith
- It shows that seeking forgiveness is part of spiritual strength, not weakness
- It reminds believers that divine help is connected to purifying oneself, not just confronting external enemies.
- In context, it also contrasts the believers with the arrogant rejecters who refuse to admit fault or repent.
- Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, an eminent Muslim scholar and exegete translates "sin" mentioned as given below:
- A study of the context shows that here “sin” implies the state of impatience that was being caused to the Prophet (peace be upon him) on account of the severe antagonism, especially the persecution of his followers. He earnestly desired that either some miracle should be shown, which should convince the disbelievers or something else should soon come down from Allah, which should quell the storm of opposition. Though this desire in itself was not a sin, which should have called for repentance, the high rank with which Allah had blessed the Prophet (peace be upon him) demanded great grit and will power; so the little impatience shown by him was regarded as inconsistent with his high rank. Therefore, he was required to ask Allah’s forgiveness for showing the weakness and was told to hold his ground like a rock as a man of a high rank like him should.
- “Glorify the praise of your Lord in the evening and the morning”
- That is, Glorification of Allah with His praises is the only means by which those who work for the sake of Allah can get the strength to resist and overcome the hardships faced in the way of Allah.
- Within the surah’s themes, this means: (1) Staying spiritually grounded while living in a hostile environment, (2) Drawing strength from remembrance rather than reacting emotionally to opposition, and (3) Maintaining a constant connection to Allah while awaiting His judgment and aid
Overall message in context
The above quoted verse ties together three survival tools for believers under pressure:
- Patience in the face of injustice,
- Repentance and humility before Allah, and
- Consistent remembrance and worship
Together, they form a response to persecution that is spiritual, moral, and resilient, reinforcing the surah’s central message: arrogance leads to ruin, but faith anchored in Allah leads to eventual victory.
While this verse was exclusive to Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, it also leaves a strong message for Muslims who get dejected even on a small matter and think that it is the end of the world for Allah is not listening to them. This verse teaches us to be steadfast even under the worst circumstances, pain, rejection and loss. Allah only help those who remain steadfast with complete faith in what comes to them and how they will be taken out of their circumstances by none other than Allah.
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
You may refer to more Selected Verses from Sürah 40. Al Mu'min (The Believer) already published. You may also refer to our exclusive reference page: Selected verses from selected Surahs of Al-Qurʾān for compiled verses from other surahs.
For verses on Selected Subjects, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from Al Qur'an about a Specific Subject (Reference Page) to know more about what Qur'an says about specific subjects and our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an.
An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs and selected verses of Al-Qurʾān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.
In addition, other sources which have been explored and views of other scholars have been incorporated while explaining meaning of a verse. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites. For expansion of meaning and themes / contextual background help from ChatGPT is also taken.
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