لَا حَلِيمَ إِلَّا ذُو عَثْرَةٍ
Translation: There is no forbearing person except one who has experienced a lapse.
Source: Ahmad and al-Tirmidhi
Key vocabulary: حَلِيمَ — forbearing; إِلَّا — except; ذُو — possessing; عَثْرَةٍ — a lapse or stumble.
Brief grammar: لَا حَلِيمَ expresses negation; إِلَّا introduces an exception. ذُو عَثْرَةٍ means “one possessing experience of a lapse,” with عَثْرَةٍ as the genitive complement.
Forbearance means controlling anger, understanding human weakness, and resisting rash punishment. Someone who has learned from setbacks may recognize that humiliation and anger are often poor responses to another person’s error.