Social patience according to the seerah and words of Imam Ali (A.S.): what is it and why does it matter?

In Islam, patience is one of the qualities of the soul that is highly emphasized due to its impact on the quality of the individual and social lives of humans. Despite the undeniable role of patience in social interactions and its role in improving social life, what is more scientifically explained and practiced by researchers and Islamic preachers is the individual aspect of patience. Despite the one-dimensional focus on patience, for the believers of the Islamic lifestyle, the seerah and words of the elders of the Islamic religion are full of teachings that emphasize both dimensions of this virtue. For example, to guide and lead the nascent Islamic Ummah at that particular historical moment, social patience was more evident in the life and words of Amirul Momineen Ali (A.S.). Therefore, in the present research, the seerah and words of Amir al-Mu'minin, as an outstanding religious character, have been considered to explain social patience and enumerate its examples by using the descriptive-inferential method. In this study the answers to the following questions have been sought. "What does social patience mean? What is the purpose of it, and what are its examples based on the seerah and words of Amir al-Mu'minin? The results of the present research show that social patience in Imam Ali's seerah and words can be summarized into two categories: patience in social interactions and patience in social challenges. Patience in social interactions includes three types of rational, compassion, and prudent patience. Patience in social challenges includes patience while facing  social actions; patience in achieving distant and long-term goals; patience in facing problems and deprivations; patience in conspiracies; and psychological pressures.