After receiving prophethood, the Prophet of Islam, lived for thirteen years in Makkah where the majority of the Makkans opposed him, tormenting him in every possible way. Owing to his mission however, about two-hundred men and women accepted Islam. These Muslims would say to the Prophet again and again that they wanted to fight against this oppression. But the Prophet always exhorted them to exercise patience.
The necessary condition for dawah work is patience. Sabr means irrespective of what the madu does, we have to show unilateral adjustment, unilateral patience and unilateral avoidance. Only then an atmosphere is created which allows you to convey a message so that others may listen. Normal situation results when you adopt patience.
Among the initial chapters revealed to the Prophet, God said: Copy Arabic text (74:7)
The Prophet was commanded to do dawah. Along with this he was told to be patient for the sake of God, for the sake of dawah work. Wa li-rabbika fasbir means to be patience for the sake of dawah work. When there is no patience, there is no dawah. Why? If you are not patient, you will begin fighting and disputing. This will create enmity and rivalry between you and the madu. The equation of we and they will develop. When you create an environment of we and they, how will you convey God's message in it?
Unilateral patience creates an environment for conveying God's message. This is unilateral patience. I will remind you of the Prophet's life.
What did the Prophet do throughout his life?
He entered into peace treaties with other communities. There are two phases of the Prophet's life: Makkan and Madinese.
What do peace treaties signify?
A peace treaty specifies that we will not harm you, we will not clash with you and if you allow us we will convey God's message to you. We will not adopt an aggressive stance towards you. We will not create controversies. This allows for a peace treaty. The Prophet entered into peace treaties in both Makkah and Madinah. In Makkah the peace treaty was undeclared, while in Madinah it happened in a declared way. The Prophet entered into agreements with other communities. The Hudaybiyah Treaty is famous. The Prophet also made treaties with various tribes. You can get details in Seerah Ibn Kathir. Seerah Ibn Kathir provides details about how the Prophet gradually entered into treaties with surrounding tribes after his migration. This created opportunity for dawah work. Treaties started with Hudaybiyah and covered all other tribes. That was a declared peace treaty. In Makkah the peace treaty was undeclared. The treaty wasn’t written down, but the Prophet practically created peaceful conditions.
