of calamity. He also gives an application of the concept, Muṣābara, in which ones refrains from taking revenge from one's fellow-creature (like neighbors, People of the Book). Al-Ghazali said that ṣabr consisted of three parts: maʿrifa (the tree), ḥāl (branches) and ʿamal (the fruits). In addition to the above, Sabr was also classified as thus: "Sabr in time of afflictions, that is; to bear the bitterness of troubles and misfortunes. Sabr in obedience of Allah, that is; to bear the difficulty of performing what we are commanded. Sabr in guarding against sins, that is;to stop and refrain from committing sins despite their attraction". Sabr in practice According to Qur'an, a practical example of Sabr was described and stated as thus: Sabirun Those who possess ṣabr to a certain extent are called ṣābirūn. Out of the three classes of beings (jinn, angels, and mankind), man alone may possess ṣabr. This is because the animals are entirely governed by their desires and impulses; and the angels are completely occupied by their longing for God, so they have no desires and thus need no ṣabr to overcome them. In man, however, the two impulses (that of desire and that of spirituality) are fighting, where the former is kindled by Satan and the latter by the angels. Among mankind, there are the pious, who have attained ṣabr by overcoming their animal instincts, called siddiqūn, while some still struggle in this task. Sābirūn are to remain steadfast not only in health and prosperity (where their ṣabr is to be used as gratitude to God) but also in the performance of religious obligations, in refraining from forbidden things and in the event of uncontrollable calamities. Achieving Sabr "The true realisation of any moral virtue occurs when it becomes one’s second nature, such that the person acts according to it without much difficulty or pretention". Another way to achieve this, is to act ‘as if’ one possesses the virtue, as it was quoted by Imam Ali; “If you are not tolerant, put on the garb of tolerance, because it rarely happens that one imitates a people and does not soon become one of them.” Thus, Practice and consistency help one develop this virtue as a matter of time. See also Political quietism in Islam Notes References Giese, Alma; Reinhart, A.K. "S̲h̲ukr". Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P.