[3:200] O you who believe, be patient and vie in patience, be steadfast; fear God so that you will prosper.
Patience (ṣabr) concerns what the servant alone possesses. Vying in patience (muṣābara) is with the enemy. Being steadfast (ribā?) is a type of patience but with a particular objective.
It is said the beginning of patience is affecting patience (taṣabbur), then being patient (ṣabr), then vying in patience (muṣabara), then keeping patient (iṣ?ibār), which is the end.
It is said, 'Be patient in obedient acts and in refraining from disobedient acts; vie in patience in leaving caprice and cravings and cutting off desire and attachments; and hold fast in uprightness in companionship in all times and states'.
It is said, 'Be patient with your lower selves, vie in patience with your hearts, and hold fast with your innermost selves'.
It is said, 'Be patient looking to the reward, vie in patience in desiring nearness, and hold fast in the place of proximity and nearness in witnessing the beauty and might'.
Patience's taste is bitter when the servant gulps it in [the state of] absence. Its taste is pleasant when it is drunk in witnessing and vision.
Fear God so you will prosper: Prosperity is the victory over desire. Their aspiration today is victory over their lower selves and in that their deliverance is complete. When they are victorious over their lower selves, their sacrifice is by the swords of [spiritual] effort (mujāhada) and hardening them on the trunks of toil. After their annihilation (fanāÌ) from their lower selves, they attain their going on (baqāÌ) through God.