Concept

Hasan al-Basri's Two Kinds of Patience (Sabr) and the Paradox of Zuhd as Desire and Sabr as Agitation

In Hujwiri's Kashf al-Mahjub, Hasan al-Basri divides patience (sabr) into two kinds: patience amid calamities and afflictions (masa'ib and baliyyat), and patience in refraining from what is forbidden (manhiyyat). When an Arab praises him as the most ascetic (zahid) and most patient of people, Hasan answers paradoxically that his asceticism is in truth desire (raghbat) for the lasting over the transient, and his patience is in truth the agitation (jaza') of the soul under trial. The teaching reframes zuhd and sabr as inner dispositions of the heart rather than mere outward endurance.

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Updated 2026-07-20

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Literature

Persian Literature Prerequisite Course