Chapter Six: On Forbearance, The Abandoned Way

Forbearance means patience. The ancients called a person forbearing when their soul had reached such calm and steadiness that anger could not easily stir them, and when trouble struck they did not fall into distress. It is related from the Prophet that 'Forbearance is a shield against calamities.' If you reverse the letters of the word 'halim' (forbearing) it becomes 'malh' (salt), and from this they said, 'Forbearance is the salt of character.' The poet praised the virtue of forbearance in this manner: The weight of your forbearance broke the mountain's back, so it stays fixed in place like one struck down and helpless. When two motionless things meet, one of them must yield and give way.