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THE FIRST: Patience to abstain from sins. It is to patiently continue refraining from sins and rebellion (against Allah). That is, it is the patience shown by abstaining from the things Allah prohibits. A person being patient by not eating something prohibited, turning his face away from the opposite sex and not gazing, and his striving not to commit sins like gambling, drinking alcohol and practicing usury are the examples for this type of patience. It is called taqwa (piety).
The best example of this is the patience of Yusuf (pbuh) against the invitation of Zulaikha.
THE SECOND: Patience to endure calamity and troubles. This is patience in the face of calamity and troubles. This is the first type that comes to mind when you speak of patience. It is to endure difficulties like misfortunes, calamities and illnesses, and not to complain. This patience is reliance and surrender. Putting up with a severely painful cancer, not complaining or rebelling is an example of patience against calamity. On the other hand, sighing, grunting with vexation and saying “What have I done that this should have happened to me?” is impatience.
A hadith points at this type of patience: “Accepted patience is the one you show the first time you face a calamity, or patience is against the first blow of calamity.”
THE THIRD: Patience to perform worship. It is having patience to worship. It is to do and not give up what Allah commands; that is, it is patience to show obedience to Allah. Five daily prayers, fasting in Ramadan, Hajj and giving Zakat every year are all the commands of Allah and among the fundamentals of Islam. Obeying these and similar commands and not to abandon them is this type of patience.
For instance, it is difficult to fast when Ramadan occurs during summer. Days are long and the weather is hot. Bearing hunger and thirst becomes very difficult. And at this point this type of patience is necessary. That is, one should be patient with fasting on long and hot days.
For instance, waking up before dawn, performing ablution and then the morning prayer are difficult for the lower self. Performing and continuing this worship every morning is an example of showing patience with obedience.
For example, fighting against an enemy when they attack your country is a command of Allah. There are of course many difficulties injuries and even deaths that occur from fighting. At this point having patience and endurance is showing patience with obedience.
We can also count other examples of obeying the commands in this type of patience. If one does not have patience with obeying these commands, it is written (to his book of deeds) as ‘he could not show patience with obedience’.
This patience raises one to the station of being a beloved of Allah.