When the Prophet started his prophetic mission in Makkah, there were many problems. For example, the Arabs had placed 360 idols in the Kabah, the Makkan society of the day had become very corrupt, the fertile regions of Arabis were in the hands of the Roman and the Sassanid empires, the tribal parliament of Makkah had no Muslim representatives, and so on. So what could be the starting point for the Prophet in the midst of all the problems he was surrounded by? The Prophet remained patient over all these problems: the Quran did not reveal a verse asking the Prophet to demolish the idols, there was no injunction from God to flog those people who were engaged in crime, the Quran did not require the Prophet to work towards getting a representation in the tribal parliament, and lastly the Prophet did not initiate a movement against the foreign powers that had captured the fertile regions of his homeland. Instead, the Quran commanded the Prophet to begin his work by changing the minds and thinking of people (96:1). If a person does not keep patience over the several problems, he will not be able to find a right starting point. He would instead become engaged in conflict and dispute over issues about which he needs to be patient. Patience has a very important role. A person will inevitably face problems in this world. If he does not remain patient over these problems, he will keep fighting and confronting with them instead of focusing on doing anything constructive.
