al-Sabr Matiyat al-Najah
- Author died
- 677 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Fikr
al-Sabr Maṭiyyat al-Najāḥ (Patience is the Mount of Success) is a didactic wisdom ode (qaṣīdah) rhymed in bāʾ composed by the Iraqi-Syrian Hanafi jurist and man of letters Ibn al-Zāhir al-Irbilī (602–677 AH / 1205–1278 CE) .
Content and Themes
The poem belongs to the genre of Arabic wisdom (ḥikmah) and ascetic literature (zuhd), focusing on ethical instruction and social reflection . Its verses address themes such as the brevity of life, man's creation from clay, piety (taqwā) as the ultimate provision, the dangers of yielding to passion and worldly desire, submission to divine decree and destiny (al-qaḍāʾ wa-l-qadar), patience during hardship, deliberation before passing judgment, and contentment with one's allocated livelihood . It also reflects on human nature, the disparity of characters, the value of obscurity and solitude, and urgent repentance before death .
Transmission and Modern Publication
The ode was transmitted by later scholars, including Abd al-Qāhir ibn Muḥammad Abū Bakr al-Tabrīzī (d. 740 AH), who heard the poem directly from its author .
In the modern era, the Syrian scholar Sheikh Abd al-Qādir al-Mubārak (d. 1364 AH / 1945 CE) reassembled the poem by compiling its dispersed verses from various works, recording them on the flyleaves of his books as he encountered them . He organized the verses under thematic headings, provided commentary and glosses on difficult vocabulary, and originally published the compiled text in parts across issues of the Damascus-based periodical Majallat al-Ḥaqāʾiq .
The text was subsequently re-edited by his son, Māzin al-Mubārak, who collated the earlier printed version against manuscript witnesses, added vocalization and textual notes, and published it through Dār al-Fikr in Damascus in a single volume .
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