Indexed OCR Text

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Surah Al-Nahl : 16 : 125 - 128
tions that a go ahead signal to engage in the exercise of Al-Mujadalah
(argument, debate) has been given. But, by imposing the restriction of:
in the best of manners) along with it, it was made very clear) بالَّتِىُ هىَ آَحُسَنُ
that the Mujadalah devoid of this condition has no place and status in
the Shari'ah.
The Prophetic Etiquette of Da'wah
Inviting people towards Allah is, in fact, the mission and station of
the blessed prophets, may peace be upon them all. The rightly-guided
'Ulama' of the Muslim community carry out this mission in their capac-
ity of being their deputies. So, it is incumbent on them that they should
learn its etiquette and methodology from them alone. A da wah that
does not follow those methods faithfully does not remain what da wah re-
ally is. Instead, it turns into 'adawah (enmity) and becomes the cause of
subsequent confrontations and wars.
An instruction of the Holy Qur'an given to Sayyidna Musa and
Harun LJI Lele in Surah Ța-Ha illustrates the principle observed by
prophets in their Call: فَقُوُلاً لَه، قَوُلاً لَيْنًا لَّعَلَّه، يَتَذَكَّرُ أَوْ يَخُشى (Speak to him in gentle
words, may be he takes to the advice or fears - 20:44). This is a principle
no Caller to Truth (da'i ila al-Haqq) should ever lose sight of. Let him al-
ways bear in mind that the Pharaoh was an infidel (kafir) known for his
rebellion, one whose death was to come, as in ultimate Divine knowl-
edge, while he was still a kafir. Now, when Allah Ta'ala sends his man
of the Call even to a disbelieving tyrant like the Pharaoh, He sends him
with the instruction of talking to him gently. Today, the people we invite
to Allah, to His Faith, they are not more astray than the Pharaoh. Then,
none of us can claim to match Sayyidna Musa and Harun (>JI Logle as
great guides and callers to the way of Allah. So, the right that Allah did
not give to the two of his prophets - that they hurl hard talk on the ad-
dressee, throw taunts at him and insult him - where in the world did we
get that right from?
The Holy Qur'an is full of the Da wah and Tabligh of the noble proph-
ets LJI de and the contestations of disbelievers. Nowhere in there we
find that any messenger of Allah has ever responded with a single un-
pleasant word against those who threw taunts at them despite their
being on the side of the Truth. Let us have a look at some relevant exam-
ples.

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The words spoken by two prophets, Sayyidna Nuh and Sayyidna
Hud LJI Lagde in response to the confrontation and sharp accusations of
their people are worth noticing. These can be seen in the seventh section
of Surah al-A'raf from verses 59 to 67.
Sayyidna Nuh ACell is the great prophet known for his high determi-
nation and long blessed years in this world. For nine hundred and fifty
years he devoted his life to Da'wah, Tabligh, Reform and Enlightenment
among his people. But, with the exception of a few, no one from among
his people listened to him. Leave the rest, even his son and wife re-
mained on the side of disbelievers. Had a modern day Reformer been in
his place, imagine how he would have talked to such a people! Just ima-
gine and then see what those people said in response to his Call in their
interest and for their benefit. They said:
إِنَّا لَنَرْكَ فِىُ ضَلْلٍ مُبیْنٍ
"Indeed we see you in an obvious error" - al-A'raf, 7:60.
On the other side, there is a prophet of Allah. He skips the option of
chastizing his evil and contumacious people and this is what he elects to
say:
يُقَوْمِ لَيْسَ بِىُ ضَلْلَةٌ وَّلَكِنّى رَسُوُلٌ مِّنُ رَّبِّ الْعْلَمِيْنَ
"O my people, there is no error in me, but I am a messenger
from the Lord of the worlds" [telling you what is good for you] -
al-A'raf, 7:61.
The other messenger of Allah who came after him was Sayyidna Hud
SCell. His people, despite having seen the messenger's miracles, chose to
remain hostile. They said, "you have yet to come up with a proof for your
claim and we are not the kind of people who would abandon their objects
of worship (idols) just because you say so. The fact is that you have been
irreverant in respect of our idols and that is why you have gone crazy."
Having heard all this, Sayyidna Hud Seal responded by saying:
إِّىَّ أُشُهِدُ اللّهَ وَاشْهَدُوْا أَنِىٌ بَزِّئٌ مِّمَّا تُشْرِكُونَ
"I make Allah my witness, and you witness that I have nothing
to do with what you take as gods besides Him" - Hud, 11:54.
And as in Surah al-A'raf, to him his people said:

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Surah Al-Nahl : 16 : 125 - 128
◌ِنَّا لَنَرْئِكَ فِىُ سَفَاهَةٍ وَ إِنَّا لَنَظُنُّكَ مِنَ الْكَذِبِيُنَ
"Indeed, we see you in foolishness, and we certainly believe you
to be one of the liars" - 7:66.
In response to these heart-rending words used against him by his
people, the messenger of Allah, Sayyidna Hud, blessings and peace on
him, does not even think of some sharp repartee, some derogatory
counter comment, or say anything which would bring into focus their
waywardness and their ugly penchant for attributing lies to Allah. He
does nothing of that sort. Yet, he gives the answer and what an answer!
He simply said:
يُقَوْمٍ لَيْسَ بِىُ سَفَاهَةٌ وَّلْكِّنِّىُ رَسُوُلٌ مِّنْ رَّبِّ الْعَلَمِيْنَ
"O my people, there is no foolishness in me, but I am a messen-
ger from the Lord of the worlds" - al-A'raf, 7:67.
Sayyidna Shu'aib & invited his people to Allah in accordance with
customary practice of prophets. They were addicted to the evil practice of
weighing less and measuring short. When Sayyidna Shu'aib &el asked
them to refrain from it, his people made fun of him and asked him in bit-
ing contempt:
يُشْعَيْبُ أَصَلُوتُكَ تَأْمُرُكَ أَنْ تَّتْرُكَ مَا يَعْبُدُ أَبَاؤُنَا أَوُ أَنْ نَّفُعَلَ فِىّ أَمُوَالِنَا مَا نَشْؤُا إِنَّكَ
لَأَنْتَ الْحَلِيُمُ الرَّشِيْدُ
They said, "O Shu'aib, does your salah (prayer) command you
that we should give up what our fathers used to worship or
give up our free will in (spending) our wealth? You are proven-
ly the man of wisdom and guidance" - Hud, 11:87.
Here, they have said three things. They open with a taunt: This pray-
er that you make teaches you to do all those foolish things. Then they
talk about their mal - wealth, property, commercial interests: This is
ours. We buy. We sell. What do you have to do with our financial mat-
ters? And for that matter, how does your God come into this? All this be-
longs to us and we have the right of spending it as we wish. The last sen-
tence they say is loaded with black humour and angry sarcasm - you are
certainly wise, guided-right!
It seems as if the contemporary votaries of secular economy did not
rise only in our time. They do have their forbears in the past whose theo-

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retical assumptions were the same as is being dished out today by some
Muslims carrying nothing but Muslim names. So, they would say that
they were Muslims, they believed in Islam but when it comes to an eco-
nomic order, they adopt socialism (or capitalism) for, as they would like
to believe, this area is out of bounds for Islam.
Returning to what his people said to Sayyidna Shu'aib &El, let us
now see how the messenger of Allah responds to the sarcastic remarks
made by his unjust people:
قَالَ يُقَوْمٍ آَرَءَ يُتُمُ إِنُ كُنْتُ عَلَى بَيْنَةٍ مِنْ رَّبِىُ وَرَزَقَنِىُ مِنْهُ رِزْقًا حَسَنًا ﴿ وَمَآ أُرِيْدُ أَنْ
أُخَالِفَكُمْ إِلَى مَآ أَنْهُكُمُ عَنْهُ ﴿ إِنْ أُرِيُّدُ إِلاَّ الْأَصْلاَحَ مَا اسْتَطَعَتُ وَمَا تَوْفِيُقِىَّ إِلَّ بِاللهِ﴾
عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَلَيْهِ أُنِيُبُ
He said, "O my people, tell me, if I am on a clear path from my
Lord and He has provided me from Himself with a good provi-
sion, (should I still leave you unguided?) And I do not want to
do in your absence what I prohibit for you. I want nothing but
to set things right as far as I can. And what I am enabled to do
is only with the help of Allah. In Him alone I have placed my
trust and to Him alone I turn in humbleness" - Hud, 11:88
Despite that Sayyidna Musa Meel, when sent to the Pharaoh, had
fully complied with the Divine instruction of talking to him gently, the re-
sponse of the Pharaoh to Sayyidna Musa Meel came in the following
words:
قَالَ أَلَمُ نُرِّكَ فِيْنَا وَلِيْدًا وَلَبِثْتَ فِيْنَا مِنْ عُمُرِكَ سِنِيْنَ وَفَعَلْتَ فَعُلَتَكَ الَّتِىُ فَعَلْتَ وَأَنْتَ
مِنَ الْكُفِرِيُنَ
He said, "(You!) Did we not raise you among us as a child, and
you stayed among us for years of your life? And you did your
deed which you did, and you were of the unfidels " - ash-
Shu'ara', 26:18,19.
Here, the Pharaoh has reminded Sayyidna Musa See of two favours
done to him - that he raised him as a child and that he stayed with him
for a number of years while older. Then he showed his displeasure over
the incident in which a Copt got killed at the hands of Sayyidna Musa,
though he had no intention of killing him. In his anger, he also said that
he had become an infidel.
At this place, the expression: ◌َأَنْتَ مِنَ الْكَافِرِيُن (anta min al-kafirin) could

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Surah Al-Nahl : 16 : 125 - 128
be taken in the literal sense, that is, one who is ungrateful, which would
mean: 'we did favours to you and you killed one of our men, a demonstra-
tion of ungratefulness to favours done.' Then, it could also be given a
technical meaning because the Pharaoh claimed to be god. So, whoever
denied his godhead turned out to be a kafir (infidel).
Now, at this juncture, let us hear the answer given by Sayyidna
Musa Scel which is a masterpiece of prophetic manners and morals of
Da'wah. Here, first of all, he goes ahead and makes a clean breast of
what had happened to him. He had tried to disengage a Copt who was
fighting an Israelite man. The punch he had employed to do that caused
his death. So, this killing was not intentional. But, it was also not
prompted by some religious exigency. In fact, even under the Law of
Moses, that man was not deserving of being killed. Therefore, he began
by confessing first and said:
فَعَلْتُهَا إِذَا وَّ أَنَا مِنَ الضَّالِيْنَ
"I did it then, while I was of the astray (ignorant)" -
ash-Shu'ara', 26:20.
The sense is that the act had escaped him before he was blessed with
the mission of a prophet and at a time when he was not aware of any Di-
vine command about it. After that, he said:
فَفَرَرُتُ مِنْكُمْ لَمَّ خِفْتُكُمُ فَوَهَبَ لِىُ رَبِّىُ حُكْمًا وَّجَعَلَنِىُ مِنَ الْمُرُسَلِيْنَ
"So I fled from you when I feared you. Then my Lord bestowed
wisdom on me and made me of His messengers" - 26:21.
After that, Sayyidna Musa )
took up the reality of favours the
Pharaoh was harping on. He told him that he was not right in doing that
because this whole matter of bringing him up was the result of his own
cruelty and oppression in that it was he who had a standing order in
force, the order to kill Israelite children. His mother was, therefore, com-
pelled to put him into the river until came the time when he reached his
home. He said:
وَتِلْكَ نِعُمَةٌ تَمُثُّهَا عَلَىَّ أَنْ عَبَّدُتَّ بَنِىِّ إِسْرَآءِ يُلَ
"And this is the favour you put on me - that you have enslaved
the Children of Isra'il! - 26:22.

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Surah Al-Nahl : 16 : 125 - 128
After that, when the Pharaoh asked: ◌َوَمَا رَبُّ الْعَلَمِين ("And what is the
رَبُّ السَّمُوْتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا :Lord of the worlds?" - 26:23), he replied by saying
("The Lord of the heavens and the earth and of whatever there is in
between them" - 26:24). Thereupon, it was by way of mockery that the
Pharaoh turned towards the audience and asked: ... ("Do you not hear?" -
26:25) [meaning: You hear him, don't you? Hasn't he gone out of his
mind?] Thereupon, Sayyidna Musa Me added:
رَبُّكُمْ وَرَبُّ أَبَائِّكُمُ الْأَوَِّيْنَ
"Your Lord and the Lord of your first forefathers" - 26:26
Irritated, the Pharaoh said:
إِنَّ رَسُوْلَكُمُ الَّذِىِّ أُرُسِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ لَمَجُنُوُنٌ
"Indeed, your messenger (who claims to have been) sent to you
is a mad man" - 26:27.
Even such a derogatory title given to Sayyidna Musa Seal did not
lure him into a blow for blow response for he could have easily told the
Pharaoh as to who was insane and who was sane. He just took no notice
of it, in fact, went on to describe another attribute of Allah, the Lord of
the worlds:
رَبُّ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغُرِبِ وَ مَا بَيْنَهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتُمُ تَعْقِلُونَ
"Lord of the East and the West and of whatever there is in
between them, if you were to comprehend" - 26:28.
This is a lengthy dialogue taking place in the court of the Pharaoh
between him and Sayyidna Musa Meel. It covers three sections of Surah
ash-Shu'ara' (26). Look at this dialogue of Sayyidna Musa & from the
beginning to the end. No emotions are betrayed here. No reply has been
given to his bad words, nor is his hard talk matched by counter hard
talk. Instead of all that, there is a continuous flow of statements to the
effect of Allah Ta'ala's attributes of perfection along with the ongoing ef-
forts of Tabligh.
This is a brief sample of the confrontations in which the blessed
prophets have stood up against their hostile and obstinate people. We
can also say that it is a practical demonstration of 'arguing with the best
of manners.'

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Besides argumentations, debates and intellectual confrontations
when inevitable, models have been set by the blessed prophets in
Da'wah and Tabligh on a standing basis. They have established wise
principles in human communications as appropriate to different addres-
sees and different occasions with the added considerations as dictated by
wisdom or beneficial expediency. In short, the way and method put in
practice by the blessed prophets in order to invite people to Allah
(da wah ilal-lah) and make it popular, effective and abiding as well is, in
reality, the essence and spirit of Da'wah. As for its details, these are
spread all over in the teachings of the Holy Prophet 5. Let us have a
look at some of these as representative samples.
The Holy Prophet
was very particular about making sure that no
burden is placed on the addressee whether in Da wah and Tabligh or in
good counsel and beneficial advice. As for the noble Sahabah, they held
the Holy Prophet
Every dear to their heart. About them, it could not be
imagined that they would, God forbid, ever get bored with what he had
to say. Yet, even for them, his customary practice was that he would not
hold his teaching, counseling and advising sessions every day, rather lim-
ited it to some days of the week so that their occupation or business is
not adversely affected or that it becomes some sort of burden on them.
According to a narration of Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud 4
é re-
ported in the Sahih of al-Bukhari, "The Holy Prophet
' had his 'wa'?'
sessions only on some days of the week lest we get bored - and he in-
structed others to do the same."
Sayyidna Anas 4% reports that the Holy Prophet " said:
يَسِّرُوا وَلاَ تُعَسِّرُوا وَبَشِّرُوا وَلاَ تُنَفِّرُوْا
Make (things) easy and do not make (things) difficult and give
(people) the good news (of mercy from Allah) and do not disap-
point or alienate (them) - Şahiņ al-Bukhari, Kitab al-'Ilm.
Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas
says, 'you should become
Rabbani, the people of your Rabb, people with wisdom, learning and
law.' After reporting this saying in the Sahih al-Bukhari, the word: 4,
(Rabban) has been explained as: A person who, keeping in sight the
principles of Da'wah, Tabligh, education and training, starts with simple
things first. When people get used to it, then he tells them about other

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Surah Al-Nahl : 16 : 125 - 128
imperatives which would have been difficult at the elementary stage.
This person is a Divinely guided scholar ( Je). These days religious
sermons and propagation efforts produce very little effect. The main rea-
son is that workers in this field generally do not give due consideration
to the principles and etiquette necessary in this area. Lengthy lectures,
uncalled for sermonizings and insisting on people to do something with-
out first finding out the conditions faced by the addressee have become
their habit.
When engaged in the mission of Invitation and Reformation, the
Holy Prophet
made an extra effort to ensure that the addressee is not
insulted or disgraced in any way. Therefore, when he would see someone
involved with something bad or wrong, he would not address him direct-
ly. Instead, he used to beam his remarks at a public gathering, for exam-
ple, he would say:
مَابَالُ أَقْوَامٍ يَّفُعَلُوْنَ كَذَا
What has happened to people that they do so?
This used to be part of a public address. Naturally, the person who
was supposed to hear it did hear it, was ashamed in his heart and went
about getting rid of that drawback.
It was the universal habit of noble prophets that they shielded the
addressee from being embarassed. Therefore, on occasions, they would
attribute what was done by the addressee to their own selves and thus
tried to set things right with their people. It appears in Surah Ya Sin: ,
What is the matter with me that I would not worship) لِىَ لَآ أَعْبُدُ الَّذِىُ فَطَرَنِىُ
Him who created me? - 36:22). As for this emissary of the messenger, he
was already devoted to his 'ibadah (worship) all the time as was his
usual way. The purpose here was to make the addressee who was not so
engaged hear the worth and value of turning to Allah in 'ibadah. But, as
we see, he has attributed the shortcoming to his own person.
And Da'wah means to call or bid someone to come close to the caller -
definitely not to enumerate the person's shortcomings. Then, this act of
calling can become effective only when there is some common ground
between the caller and the called. For this reason, the Da'wah of the
noble prophets
as in the Holy Qur'an mostly begins with the words:

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csu (ya qawmi : O my people) through which stress is placed first on the
common factor of brotherly relations and then things aiming at their bet-
ternment are said. It amounts to saying - 'we are people of the same
brotherhood, so let there be no hatred in between us' - and this is how
they start the mission of reforming their society.
In the letter of Da'wah sent by the Holy Prophet
¿ to Hiraql, the By-
zantine emperor, he began by calling the emperor: 'The Great Man of By-
zantium.' This tribute of honour given to him was permissible because it
contained a confession of the emperor's being great - though, for the peo-
ple of Byzantine, not for him. After that, the manner in which the invita-
tion to believe was given is being quoted below:
يَأْهَلَ الْكِتْبِ تَعَالَوُاْ إِى كَلِمَةٍ سَوَآءٍ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيُنَكُمُ الَّ نَعْبُدَ إِلاَّ اللهَ
"O people of the Book, come to a word common between us and
you that we worship none but Allah" (as in Surah Al-'Imran,
3:64)
Here, a common factor of unity was mentioned first. It was said that
the belief in the Oneness of Allah (Tauhid) was the common bond
between the two of them. After that came the reminder about the error
of Christians.
If we were to look into the teachings of the Holy Prophet
carefully,
we will find similar rules of conduct in every field of Da wah and public
education. Unfortunately, in our time, we suffer from lack of concern for
carrying the call to faith, working for the correction and betterment of
people, bidding the Fair and forbidding the Unfair. Even those who are
engaged in these pursuits have, (with valid exceptions) taken mere dis-
cussions, debates, accusations, name calling, berating and disgracing
the adversary to be Da'wah and Tabligh. The truth of the matter is that
all this, being contrary to the Sunnah, never turns out to be effective and
beneficial - while these gentlemen continue to congratulate themselves
for having done a great service to Islam. In reality, they are becoming
the cause of making people scared of it.
The Harmful Worldly and Other-Worldly Effects of Current
Contestations
We know from the Tafsir of the present verse (125) that the main ob-
jective of the Shari'ah of Islam is the Call to Allah (da wah ilal-lah)

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which has two principles: (1) Al-Hikmah (Wisdom) and (2) Al-Mawizah
Al-Hasanah (Good Counsel). And if the unwelcome need of Al-Mujadalah
(argument, debate, confrontation) stands imposed on some stray occa-
sion, then, that too has been allowed with the restriction of being 'in the
best of manners.' But, in reality, it is not a regular department of
Da'wah. Instead, it is a via media to handle its negative aspect. The
Holy Qur'an has resolved it by placing the restriction of: ◌ُبالَّتِى هىَ أَحْسَن (in
the best of manners). By doing so, it has told us that it should be in the
best spirit of politeness, and with the attitude of a sympathizer and
well-wisher. Argument should be formulated clearly as appropriate to
the state of the addressee. Any approach which belittles or insults the
addressee should be totally avoided. Similarly, for it to be the best, it is
also necessary to be on guard lest it becomes harmful to the speaker him-
self. In other words, it should not affect his morals adversely for there is
the danger of his falling into envy, malice, arrogance, love for name,
fame and power. These are major inward sins. In short, the kind of dis-
cussions, debates, polemics and confrontations we see today are such
that it would take a very rare person, some man of Allah, to remain safe
against their harmful effects, otherwise, it is extremely difficult to find
refuge from it under normal circumstances.
Imam al-Ghazali has said: The way liquor is 'the mother of evils'
(umm-ul-khaba'ith) in that it is a grave sin by itself and also becomes
the conduit of other grave sins. Similarly, when overpowering the addres-
see and demonstrating one's intellectual superiority over people becomes
the objective, that too becomes 'the mother of evils' for one's inward
state. As a result, many spiritual crimes crop up, for example: envy, ma-
lice, arrogance, backbiting, spying on the faults of others, being pleased
with their discomfort and being unhappy with their gain, haughty rejec-
tion of Truth, the attitude of not considering the position of others with
justice and moderation, instead, worrying about a rebuttal, no matter
how askance their enterpretations from the Qur'an and Sunnah are.
These are dangers. Even serious religious scholars are affected by
them. But, the problem is compounded when the thing starts affecting
their followers when the intellectual exercise could turn into a physical
one in progressive proportions. Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un. Imam
Shafi'i, may the mercy of Allah be upon him, said:

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"Knowledge is a brotherhood of the learned. How do those who
have turned knowledge into enmity could invite others to fol-
low their religion? When their sole objective is to dominate
over others, how could they be expected to practice mutual at-
tachment, love and consideration? And for one what evil could
be greater than that which drowns him in the morals of the
hypocrites and deprives him of the morals of those who truly
believe and fear Allah?"
Imam al-Ghazali said that a person who devotes himself to the 'ilm
of din and the da wah of haqq revolves between two destinies. Either he,
following correct principles and avoiding fatal dangers, achieves the eter-
nal good; or, otherwise, if he falls down from this station, he slides into
eternal misfortune. That he would remain hanging in between these two
states is too far out to entertain - because, knowledge which is not benefi-
cial is nothing but punishment. The Holy Prophet
said:
أَشَدُّ النَّاسِ عَذَابًا يَّوْمَ الْقِيْمَةِ عَالِمٌ لَمُ يَنفَعُهُ اللهُ بِعِلْمِه
On the day of Judgement, the person most severely punished,
of all human beings, shall be an 'alim from whose knowledge
Allah has not given him any benefit.
And in another Sahih Hadith, he said:
لاَ تَتَعَلَّمُوا الْعِلْمَ لِتُبَاهُوْا بِهِ الْعُلَمَآءَ وَلِتُمَارُوا بِهِ السُّفَهَآءَ وَلِتَصْرِفُوا بِهِ وُجُوُهَ النَّاسِ
إِلَيْكُمُ فَمَنْ فَعَلَ ذُلِكَ فَهُوَ فِى النَّارِ
"Do not learn the 'ilm (of din) to compete with the learned in
pride and prestige nor to challenge the incompetent with it nor
to make the faces of people turn towards you therewith. So
whoever will do that, will be in the fire." (Ibn Majah, from the
Hadith of Sayyidna Jabir with sound chains of authority as in
Takhrij al-'Iraqi 'alā al-Ihya')
Therefore, the standing creed (maslak) of authorities among Muslim
jurists and the people on Truth (haqq) in this matter was that they
never considered disputation and confrontation in intellectual issues as
permissible. In the mission of inviting people to the Truth, it is enough
to alert anyone considered to be in error, politely and sympathetically as
a well-wisher, presenting one's submission with necessary arguments.
Then, should he accept, it is better. If otherwise, let him observe silence,
totally avoiding altercation and adverse criticism. Let us turn to Imam
Malik رحمة الله عليه in this matter:

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Surah Al-Nahl : 16 : 125 - 128
كَانَ مَالِكٌ يَّقُوُلُ الْمِرَآءُ وَ الْجِدَالُ فِى الْعِلْمِ يَذْهبُ بِنُورِ الْعِلْمِ عَن قَلْبِ الْعَبْدِ - وَقِيْلَ
له: رَجُلٌ لَّهُ، عِلْمٌ بِالسُنَّةِ، فَهَلُ يُحَادِلُ عَنْهَا؟ قَالَ: لاَ، وَلَكِنُ يُخْبِرُ بِالسِّنَّةِ، فَإِنْ قُبِلَ مِنْهُ"
وَإِلاَّ سَكَتَ - (اوجزالمسالك شرح مؤطا ص ١٥ ١٥)
Imam Malik said: "Altercation and confrontation in al-'ilm (the
knowledge of din) drives away the light of knowledge from the
heart of a servant." Someone submitted: "There is a person.
who has the knowledge of Sunnah. Can he enter into debate for
the protection of Sunnah?' He said, "No. But, he should inform
the addressee about the Sunnah (as it is). Then, should he ac-
cept it, good - otherwise, let him observe silence." (Awjaz
al-Masalik Sharḥ al-Muwatta, v. 1, page 15)
Ineffectiveness of Contemporary Da'wah Work
There are two reasons why the work of Da'wah (invitation) and Islah
(reform) is not fully effective. (1) Firstly, because of the increase of cor-
ruption in our time and the abundance of Haram things, hearts of people
have become generally hard, and heedless of the Hereafter - and the
very ability to accept truth has become weak and low. And there are
some who find themselves suffering from the curse the foreboding of
which was given by the Holy Prophet;
g. He had said that, by the later
times, the hearts of many people will turn upside down, all reversed.
The ability to know good from bad, and the distinction of permissible
and impermissible will vanish from their heart.
(2) Then, negligence towards the duties of bidding the Fair and
forbidding the Unfair and inviting people to the true faith has become
common. Not to say much about people at large, there is not much
realization of its need even among the learned and the righteous. It is
assumed that correcting one's own deed is just about enough whether
their children, spouse, brother, friend remain smeared with all sorts of
sins. The concern for their reform and betterment is as if no
responsibility of theirs - although, the definite textual statements of the
Holy Qur'an (nușus) are openly declaring that the betterment of one's
قُوَّا أَنْفُسَكُمُ وَاَهُلِيُكُمُ نَارًا :children, family and relatives is his responsibility
(Protect yourselves and your families from a Fire ... - at-Tahrim, 66/6). As
for some people who do pay attention to this duty, they do not know the
teachings of the Qur'an and the principles and manners of prophetic
Da'wah. They take it easy, go by their impulse and say anything to
anybody anytime without ever thinking about it. By doing so, they

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Surah Al-Nahl : 16 : 125 - 128
surmise, they have done their duty - although, this method of action,
being contrary to the blessed practice of prophets, further alienates
people from the Faith and from following its dictates.
Of particular mention is the habit of finding faults with others, mock-
ing at them or making fun of them all in the name of open criticism.
Imam Shafif رحمه الله تعالى said:
"When alerting someone to some mistake (the rule is:) If you
talked to him privately, explained it politely, then, this is 'ad-
vice'; and if you disgraced him publicly, this is 'vice."
The publicizing of mutual defects has become so popular these days
that negative advertising is being done as if it was some service ren-
dered to the Faith. May Allah Ta'ala bless all of us the ability to serve
our Faith with the best of insight into its Da'wah and its modalities.
At this point ends our submission relating to Da'wah and its princi-
ples and etiquette.
After that, we can move on to explain the last part of verse 125: 353
Surely , your Lord knows best the one) هُوَاَعُلَمُ بِمَنْ ضَلَّ عَنْ سَبِيْلِهٍ وَهُوَاَعُلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِيْنَ
who strays from His way, and He knows best the ones who are on the
right path). This statement has been made to comfort those who carry
the Call of their Faith because one is naturally shocked when the addres-
see does not accept the truth presented despite that all rules of Da'wah
have been observed. And there are occasions when this could produce
another effect. When one sees no benefit coming out of Da'wah, he can
become disappointed, even leave the work itself. Therefore, in this sen-
tence, it was said:' Your duty is only to invite people to the Truth in ac-
cordance with its correct principles. Beyond that, its acceptance or rejec-
tion is something you have nothing to do with, nor is that one of your
responsibilities. That falls in the domain of Allah alone. He knows who
will remain astray and who will stand guided. You should not worry
about it. Go on doing your duty. Do not lose hope. Do not despair.' This
tells us that this sentence too is really a complement of the etiquette of
Da‘wah.
Causing Pain to a Man of Da'wah: Revenge is Permissible, but
Patience is Better.
The next three verses (126,127,128) carry another important instruc-

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Surah Al-Nahl : 16 : 125 - 128
tion for those who present the message of Truth before people. It tells
them about what they have to do in unusual conditions. There are occa-
sions when they have to face people who are hard-hearted and very ig-
norant. No matter how softly and politely one explains things to them
and no matter how much goodwill one has for them in his heart, they
would, even then, go in a fit of anger, use bad language and cause pain.
There are times when they would go beyond that and hurt the preacher
physically or would not even mind killing. So, a remedial measure was
in order.
For this purpose, by saying: HE br (And if you were to harm them in
retaliation, harm them to the measure you were harmed. And if you opt
for patience, it is definitely much better for those who are patient - 126),
these noble workers in the way of Allah were given the legal right that it
was permissible for them to retaliate against injustice done to them.
But, this was to be subject to the condition that retaliation should not ex-
ceed the measure of injustice done. In other words, assess the injustice
inflicted on you, retaliate only to that measure and ensure that no excess
occurs.
And at the end of the verse, given there is the advice: Though, you do
have the right to retaliate, but be patient and do not retaliate. It is bet-
ter.
The Background in which this Verse was Revealed and
How it was Implemented by the Holy Prophet
and his noble Şahabah
According to the majority of commentators, this verse is Madani. It
was revealed in relation to the shahadah of seventy sahabah and about
the event in which Sayyidna Hamzah 4
was killed and his body was
subjected to post-killing mutilations (muthlah). The narration in Sahih
al-Bukhari is in accordance with it. Darqutni has reported from
Sayyidna Ibn 'Abbas 4
as follows:
"In the battle of Uhud when the Mushriks marched back, the
dead bodies of seventy leading şahabah were found. Also in-
cluded there was Sayyidna Hamzah 4
, the reverred uncle of
the Holy Prophet
5. Since the Mushriks were particularly
angry with him, therefore, once he was killed by them, they
took out their anger on his dead body. His nose, ears and other

448
Surah Al-Nahl : 16 : 125 - 128
parts of the body were cut and the abdomen was slit open. The
very sight of it shocked the Holy Prophet
and he said that,
to avenge Hamzah, he would have seventy men from the Mush-
riks subjected to a 'muthlah' similar to what they have done to
Hamzah. It was in the background of this event that these
three verses were revealed (126,127,128)". (Tafsir Qurtubi)
It appears in some narrations that these cruel people had meted out
the same treatment of 'muthlah' (mutilation) in the case of other şaha-
bah as well. (As reported by al-Tirmidhi, Ahmad, and Ibn Khuzaimah and Ibn Hib-
ban in their Sahins from Sayyidna Ubaiyy ibn Ka'b
In this matter, being extremely grieved, the Holy Prophet
had de-
clared his determination to subject seventy Mushriks in retaliation for
his sahabah irrespective of their exact number, and this was not in ac-
cord with the principle of justice and equity Allah Ta'ala intended to
stand established in this world through him. Therefore, two things were
done. (1) He was alerted and told that the right of retaliation was there
but it had to match the measure of injustice done. Retaliating against
seventy for a few, irrespective of their number, is not right. (2) Then, he
was to be the model of morals at their best. Therefore, given to him was
the good counsel: Though, you are allowed to retaliate evenly but, should
you set aside this option and be patient and generous to the unjust, that
would be much better.
Thereupon, the Holy Prophet
¿ said, "Now, patient we shall be. We
shall not take any revenge from anyone" - and he paid out a kaffarah (ex-
piation) for his oath. (Mazhari from al-Baghawi) When, on the eve of the Con-
quest of Makkah, having all those Mushriks of Makkah under his con-
trol, it was certainly the time to do what he had declared on the battle-
field of Uhud that he would do. But, it was precisely at the time of the
revelation of the cited verses that the Holy Prophet
had forsaken his
earlier intention and had, instead, decided to observe patience. There-
fore, at the time of the Conquest of Makkah, the course of patience was
taken in accordance with the imperative of these verses. Perhaps, it is
on this basis that it has been mentioned in some narration that these
verses were revealed at the time of the Conquest of Makkah. And it is
also not too far out to believe that the revelation of these verses was re-
peated, that is, initially they were revealed at the battle of 'Uhud and

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Surah Al-Nahl : 16 : 125 - 128
then, when came the Conquest of Makkah, they were revealed again. (as
narrated by al-Mazhari from Ibn al-Hașșār)
RULING:
This verse has told us about the Law of Even Retaliation when
avenging. Therefore, Muslim jurists say that in the event a person kills
someone, the killed will be avenged by killing the killer. One who inflicts
injury will have an even injury inflicted on him. Against one who cuts off
someone's hand and feet, and then kills him, the guardian of the killed
will be given the right that he too should first cut off the killer's hands
and feet and then kill him.
Yes, if someone kills someone else by hitting him with a rock, or kills
him by injuring him with arrows, then, it is not possible to determine
the correct measure of the way of killing, that is, how many strikes did it
take to make this killing take place, and how much pain has been in-
flicted on the person killed. In this matter, there is no measure of deter-
mining real equalization. Therefore, he will have to be killed invariably
with a sword. (Al-Jaşşaş)
RULING:
Though the verse has been revealed in relation to physical pain and
loss, but its words are general which includes the inflicting of financial
loss. Therefore, Muslim jurists have said that a person who usurps mal
(money, property etc.) belonging to another person, then, this other per-
son has the right to forcibly take away from him his mal in accordance
with his right, or take it by stealth on condition that the mal taken is
from the genus of his right, for example, if cash has been taken, then, he
can take, in lieu of it, the same amount of cash from him, by usurpation
or theft. If things usurped are like grains, corn or cloth, then, similar
grains, corn or cloth can be taken back. But, one cannot take another
kind in lieu of the kind taken from him, for example, one cannot forcibly
take cloth or some other article of use in lieu of cash. However, some fu-
qaha' (Muslim jurists) have permitted it unconditionally - whether it be
from the entitled kind or from some other. Some details of these rules
have been covered by al-Qurtubi in his Tafsir while more comprehensive
details appear in books of Figh.
Mentioned in verse 126: 6 3f, (And if you were to harm ... ) was the

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Surah Al-Nahl : 16 : 125 - 128
general law in which avenging harm done with even harm was declared
to be permissible for all Muslims, but taking the option of patience was
recommended as definitely much better. And in the next verse (127), the
Holy Prophet
has been addressed in a special manner and prompted
to be patient because, in view of his great dignity and high station, the
later response was certainly more appropriate and becoming for him as
compared with others. Therefore, it was said:ِوَاصُبْرُ وَمَا صَبُرُكَ إِلاَّ باللَّه (And be
patient. And your patience is bestowed by none but Allah). It means: 'As
for you, you just do not even contemplate a revenge. Take to Şabr (pa-
tience) as your only option.' And then, he was also told that his Sabr will
come with the help of Allah alone, that is, observing Şabr will be made
easy for him.
After that, once again in the last verse (128), a universal formula of
having the help of Allah Ta'ala by one's side was announced. It is:
إِنَّ اللّهَ مَعَ الَّذِيْنَ اتَّقَوْا وَالَّذِيْنَ هُمْ مُّحْسِنُونَ
Surely, Allah is with those who fear Him and those who are
good in deeds.
The essence of this formula is that the help of Allah Ta'ala is with
people who have two virtues: Taqwa and Ihsan. The essence of Taqwa is
acting righteously or being good in deed while the sense of Ihsan at this
place is to be good to those created by Allah Ta'ala, that is, those who
are duty-bound to do righteous deeds and are particular in dealing with
others nicely - Allah Ta'ala is with them. And it is obvious, if someone is-
blessed with the 'company' (help) of Allah Ta'ala, who can touch him!
Alhamdulillah
The Tafsir of Surah Al-Nahl was completed today,
Shaban 25, 1389 Hijrah
وَلِلْهِ الْحَمْدُ أَوَّلاً وَآخِرًا وَظَاهِرٌ وَبَاطِئًا

453
Surah Bani Isra'il : 17 : 1
Surah Bani Isra'il
(Al-'Isra')
Sūrah Bani Isra'il is Makki. It has 111 verses and 12 sections
With the name of Allah, the Most-Merciful, the Very-Merciful
Verse 1
سُبُحْنَ الَّذِىِّ أَسْرِى بِعَبْدِه لَيْلاً مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ
الْأَقْصَا الَّذِىُ بُرَكُنَا حَوْلَهُ، لِنُرِيَهُ مِنُ أَنْتِنَاءُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ ﴿1﴾
Pure is He Who made his servant travel at night from
al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa the environs of
which We have blessed, so that We let him see some of Our
signs. Surely, He is the All Hearing, All Seeing. [1]
Commentary
Described in this verse is the event of Mi'raj (the Ascent to the heav-
ens, or al-'Isra', the midnight journey of the Holy Prophet
which is a
signal honor and distinctive miracle of our Messenger of Allah
The
word: sul (asra) is a derivation from: s ~! (isra') which literally means
to make someone travel at night. After that, the introduction of the
word: W (lailan) also makes this sense very clear. Then, by placing this
word as a common noun, the indication released was that during this
event the time spent was that of a part of the night - not even that of the
whole night. The journey from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa
mentioned in this verse is called al-'Isra' and the name of the journey
from here to the seven heavens is al-Mi'raj. Isra' stands proved under

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Surah Bani Isra'il : 17 : 1
the definitive textual authority of this verse and the Mi'raj finds mention
in the verses of Surah an-Najm and is proved by Ahadith appearing in
an uninterrupted succession. The word: „ (bi'abdihi: His servant) used
here for the Holy Prophet & is special. It shows that, in this magnificent
setting of honor and welcome, when Allah Ta'ala, on His own, elects to
call someone 'His servant', a unique bond of love lies embedded therein
and that this is the highest honor any man could ever have.
عِبَادُ الرَّحُمْنِ الَّذِينَ :This is similar to what has been said in another verse
[and the servants of Ar-Rahman [the Most Merciful) يَمُشُوُنَ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ هَوْنًا
are those who walk on the Earth gently - al-Furqan, 25:63) where the objec-
tive is to increase the prestige of those who are acceptable with Him.
From here, we also learn that the highest achievement man is capable of
is to become a perfect servant of Allah - for, on this eve of special honor,
the quality of ideal servitude, out of his many attributes of perfection,
was chosen. Then, the presence of this expression yields yet another be-
neficial outcome in that no one gets the wrong impression of divinity
from this wonderful journey by night which, from its beginning to the
end, is full of extra-habitual miracles. This is something like what hap-
pened with the Christians who fell into deception over the event of Sayy-
idna 'Isa XA being raised unto the heavens. For this reason, by saying
('abd: servant), it was declared that, despite all those attributes,
achievements and miracles, the Holy Prophet
was still a servant of Al-
lah, not god.
The Qur'an, Sunnah and 'Ijma' prove that the Mi'raj was
physical.
It is proved from the text of the Holy Qur'an, and from Ahadith com-
ing in uninterrupted succession mentioned later that the entire journey
of the Isra' and Mi'raj was not simply spiritual, instead, it was physical -
like the journey of anyone else. The very first word of the Holy Qur'an in
this Surah: ' (Subhan: Pure is He!) carries a hint in this direction be-
cause this word is used to register wonder or introduce a great marvel.
Had the Mi'raj been merely spiritual, just a matter of dream, what was
there so unusual about it? As for a dream, every Muslim, even every
human being, can see it and report that he or she went to the heavens,
did this and did that.
The second indication embedded in the word: ' ('abd: servant) also

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Surah Bani Isra'il : 17 : 1
points out in the same direction because 'abd is no spirit all by itself, in-
stead, it is the name of the combination of body and spirit.
In addition to that, when the Holy Prophet
related the event of
Miraj to Sayyidah Umm Hani رضى الله عنها, she advised him not to mention
it before anyone otherwise people would falsify it even more. Had this
been the matter of a dream, what was there in it that needed to be fal-
sified?
After that, when he did tell people about it, the disbelievers of Mak-
kah called it a lie and made fun of him, so much so that some neo-Mus-
lims became apostates (murtadd) after hearing the news. If this would
have been the matter of a dream, the likelihood of such reactions was
least warranted. And that he had experienced some spiritual Mi'raj in
the form of a dream, before this or after that, does not become contrary
to it. According to the majority of Muslim scholars, the word: Lesí
(ar-ru'ya) in the verse of the Qur'an: وَمَا جَعَلُنَا الرُّءُ يَا الَّتِى أَرَيُنك (And We showed
you the scene - 17:60) means: 4 2) (ruyah: seeing). But, it has been ex-
pressed through the word: 45 (ru'ya, which is frequently used in the
sense of seeing a dream). The reason for this expression could be that
this thing has been called ru'ya in the sense of a simile. This is like some-
one seeing a dream. And if, ru'ya is taken to mean dream itself, then, it
is also not too far out to say that the event of Mi'raj, in addition to its
being physical, also transpired, before or after it, in the form of a spiritu-
al Mi'raj as a dream as well. Therefore, the saying, that it was a dream,
reported from Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas 4gb and Umm al-Mu'minin
Sayyidah 'A'ishah 4 dl >> is also correct in its place - but, it does not
necessarily imply that physical Mi'raj did not take place.
It appears in Tafsir al-Qurtubi that the Ahadith relating to the event
of al-Isra' are recurrent and uninterrupted. Naqqash has reported relat-
ed narratives from twenty Şahabah of the Holy Prophet
5. Then, Qadi
'Iyad has given additional details in Al-Shifa' (Qurțubi).
Imam Ibn Kathir has, in his Tafsir, reported all these narratives and
after applying the standard rules of scrutiny has mentioned the names
of twenty-five Sahabah from whom these reports come. Their names are:
(1) Sayyidnā 'Umar ibn al-Khattab,
(2) Sayyidna 'Ali al-Murtada,