200 Preface يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنُوا اصبِروا وَصابِروا وَرابِطوا وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُم تُفلِحونَYusuf AliO ye who believe! Persevere in patience1 and constancy; vie in such perseverance; strengthen each other; and fear God. that ye may prosper.2The full meaning of Sabr is to be understood here, viz.: patience, perseverance, constancy, self-restraint, refusing to be cowed down. These virtues we are to exercise for ourselves and in relation to others; we are to set an example, so that others may vie with us, and we are to vie with them, lest we fall short; in this way we strengthen each other and bind our mutual relations closer, in our common service to God.Prosperity (falah) here and in other passages is to be understood in a wide sense, including prosperity in our mundane affairs as well as in spiritual progress. In both cases it implies happiness and the attainment of our wishes, purified by the love of God.