Ah, you have asked about the word صبر (sabr) — one of the deepest and most misunderstood words in the Arabic language and in Divine Reality.

Most people only know the shallow surface:

"Sabr means patience."
But this is only the tip of the iceberg.

Let me show you its first, last, manifest, hidden, and immanent meaning, as you beautifully phrased it.

The First Meaning (Primary/Original Root)

(sabr) in its root means:

To restrain, hold, bind, tie down, be firm, preserve, continue without flinching.

It is not passive patience.
It is the power to remain upright, still, unwavering like a mountain — when the winds of destiny blow.
It is active steadfastness, not waiting weakly.

The Last Meaning (Ultimate Outcome)

Sabr is not just an action — it is a manifestation of Allah's decree:

The one who is in a state of sabr is the one who is aligned with Allah's will, without resistance.

It is the acceptance that:

• Whatever Allah has written is already perfect.
• There is no reason to resist, complain, panic, or rush.
• The outcome, whether sweet or bitter, is a gift.

"Indeed, Allah is with those who have sabr." (Quran 2:153)

The last meaning of sabr is not to merely survive hardship —
it is to witness Allah in every situation.

The Manifest Meaning (What appears outwardly)

Outwardly, people will see sabr as:

• Patience
• Calmness
• Endurance
• No complaints
• Strength under pressure

But that is just the appearance.

The Hidden Meaning

The hidden reality of sabr is:

• Total surrender to Allah
• Silent witnessing of His wisdom unfolding
• Knowing that you are not truly suffering —
  it is Allah gently shaping you, polishing you, guiding you.

The one who has sabr is actually experiencing closeness, not just endurance.

The Immanent Meaning (Within You, Always)

sabr is not just a concept.
It is an inner station already present inside you,
because Allah has placed within every soul the capacity to:

Return to Him peacefully,
Even when the waves rise,
Even when the storm seems endless.

sabr is the hidden garden within the heart.

The Complete Secret

True sabr is:

• The stillness of Ibrahim عليه السلام when entering the fire.
• The smile of the Prophet ﷺ when he was driven out of Ta’if.
• The tears of Maryam عليه السلام beneath the palm tree, yet accepting.
• The silence of the one who says:
  "I am content with Allah as my Lord."

So sabr is not just:

waiting

It is:

witnessing,
trusting,
resting in Allah,
unmoved by appearances,
already within Allah's perfect safety,
already accepting,
already Home.

Beautiful. You are now entering the hidden garden of sabr, as the awliya and lovers of Allah experienced it — not as hardship, but as pleasure, joy, and even love.

✨ The Secret of the Highest Sabr is not Endurance, it is Love

The masters said:

"Sabr at its lowest is to endure the decree.
Sabr at its middle is to accept the decree.
Sabr at its highest is to taste sweetness in the decree."

In the Language of the Awliya

The ordinary person says:

“I must be patient.”

The friend of Allah says:

“I am pleased with what Allah has chosen.”

The lover of Allah says:

“I taste nothing but sweetness, even in what others call hardship.”

This is the true sabr — it is not bitter patience,
it is seeing the Beloved behind every veil.
Even if it is wrapped in pain or loss, the lover recognizes:

“It is Him.”
and so, they fall in love with the very thing others run away from.

🌹 Example from Rumi:

Rumi says:

"Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form."

Meaning, the loss itself is not a tragedy;
the loss is Allah knocking on the door, inviting you to Himself.
This is not hardship. This is Divine Play.

Sabr becomes Joy

When the heart:

• Trusts fully,
• Sees Allah in every event,
• Loves the story being written,

then the soul feels:

Even the storm is a dance.
Even the delay is a gift.
Even the loss is a hidden arrival.

This is why the Prophet ﷺ said:

“How strange is the affair of the believer! Everything that happens is good for him.” (Muslim)

This is Divine Security and Divine Joy.

The Sufi Perspective

In the path of love, sabr is called:

• The patience of lovers (sabr al-muhibbin).
• They endure, but not with gritted teeth.
• They endure with a smile, with love, with tasting, because they have recognized Who is behind the apparent hardship.

Shaykh Ibn Ata'illah says:

If you are given patience, know that you are already loved.
For Allah only tries His beloved ones, and grants them patience as a secret between them and Him.

Final Secret:

When you truly live sabr, you will realize:

You are not really "being patient".
You are simply witnessing Allah moving through you.
The patience was never yours — it was always Allah’s patience living in you.

This is Divine Pleasure — not human struggle.

Then listen well, for now you are asking not for information, but for transformation — to live in the state of sabr as the awliya lived, to taste Divine Pleasure in all things.

🌸 How to Live in the State of True Sabr (The Lover's Patience)

✅ Step 1: Witness Allah in Everything

Before you can have sabr, you must first see:

Nothing happens but by Allah.

Every face, every voice, every event, every hardship, every delay,
is not just from Allah —
it is Allah's manifestation unfolding before you.

The awliya do not say:

"Why is this happening to me?"
They say:
"What beauty is He showing me through this?"

When you witness this, even the most difficult event becomes a garden.

✅ Step 2: Return the Affair to Him

In every situation say, with the heart:

Ya Allah, this is Yours. I do not own it.

When loss comes:

"It was Yours to take."

When gain comes:

"It is Yours to give."

When pain comes:

"You are the One veiled in this pain."

This is surrender (tasleem).
It is the door to sabr.

✅ Step 3: Do Not Fight, Do Not Rush

The ego says:

“I must fix it.”
“I must escape it.”
“I must hurry.”

But the heart of sabr says:

“I will stand still and behold.”
“Allah is unfolding this perfectly.”

The lover does not run from the Beloved’s decree —
he/she stands still, letting the waves crash over,
knowing that no wave can drown one who belongs to the Ocean.

✅ Step 4: Listen in Silence

In every hardship, Allah is speaking.
But His voice is not heard by the ear,
It is heard in stillness, in inner silence,
in the one who is not rushing, panicking, or resisting.

Silence is the ear of the heart.

✅ Step 5: See the Gift

After every hardship, ask:

“What is the hidden gift?”

Because the secret of sabr is:

Nothing you endure is empty.
Every pain carries a pearl inside it.

The awliya say:

“The harder the test, the sweeter the fruit.”

✅ Step 6: Taste

You will notice:

• The struggle softens.
• The bitterness melts.
• Peace enters before the hardship ends.
• Joy arises within the hardship itself.

This is not fake positivity.
This is the pleasure of Allah dressing your heart directly.

This is when sabr is no longer called "patience" —
It is called tasting (dhawq) and witnessing (mushahada).

✅ Step 7: Know the Secret

The ultimate realization:

The sabr was never yours.
The patience you felt was Allah Himself carrying you.

As He says:

And be patient, and your patience is not but through Allah. (Quran 16:127)

You are not the one holding on.
He is the one holding you.

This is how the lovers, the awliya, lived:

They did not “practice” sabr.
They were bathed in it, effortlessly.