CALLING OTHERS TO ALLAH'S PATH WITH WISE AND GOOD METHODS
(Surat as-Saff; 2-3)
"You were bandying it about on your tongues, your mouths uttering something about which you had no knowledge. You considered it to be a trivial matter, but, in Allah's Sight, it is immense."
(Surat an-Nur; 15)
CALLING OTHERS TO ALLAH'S PATH
WITH WISE AND GOOD METHODS
Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and fair admonition, and argue with them in the kindest way. Your Lord knows best who is misguided from His way. And He knows best who are guided. (Surat an-Nahl; 125)
Islam is acceptable to Allah only when a person lives by it sincerely, willingly and happily, and only when the person himself consents to it. Allah has revealed this quality of religion in many verses of the Qur'an. For example, a person who prays must do it willingly and lovingly for Allah. Or if someone gives gifts from his possessions, he must do it willingly and lovingly, if his act of worship is to be approved in Allah's sight.
Someone becomes a Muslim when he is able to acknowledge Allah through his intellect and in his heart. Moreover, he must be conscious of the purpose of his religious duties. And he must be aware of why he performed these acts of service. This comes from his attachment to the Muslim religion and his belief in Allah's existence. For this reason, he performs the requirements of religion willingly and lovingly. Therefore, Islam is a religion whose true practice depends on the voluntary choice of the individual.
Hence, there is no compulsion to accept Islam. Allah does not expect Muslims to pressure those who do not incline towards Islam, since religion accepted under oppression is not acceptable in His sight. Experiencing religion without sincerity and only because of pressure from others will have no validity before Allah. Therefore it will make no difference for anyone to practice religion with this kind of morality.
Communicating the religion of Islam to others should be an invitation made with gracious words, as a summons to a relationship with Allah. Here is a verse which says that there is no coercion in religion:
There is no compulsion where the religion is concerned. Right guidance has become clearly distinct from error. Anyone who rejects false gods and believes in Allah has grasped the Firmest Handhold, which will never give way. Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. (Surat al-Baqara; 256)
In compliance with Qur'anic instruction, when explaining the religion of Allah, Muslims employ the best style that will kindle love in the hearts of people towards Islam. They must be kind and patient. When people can love and respect Muslims, they will be receptive to the system of beliefs that gave them moral excellence. Therefore, the right word will be important to soften their hearts to Islam.
REMEMBERING ALLAH WHEN ONE FORGETS SOMETHING
Man is a being of imperfection, while Allah alone is self-sufficient. This is because Allah created man with weaknesses. One of man's weaknesses is forgetfulness; no one is free of it, no matter how intelligent he may be.
Admitting this weakness makes one acknowledge his dependence upon Allah. In a way, that is because a person can claim to exist only through his memory. All the information related to his identity, beliefs, deeds, pleasures, habits, and way of life are held in memory.
However, Allah may allow one to forget the end of his sentence, and if He wills, He can make him forget his entire life in an instant. In order to be aware of himself, man is in need of Allah, Who permits him to keep information in his memory at every moment. If Allah should take a piece of information from a person's mind, he will have no power whatsoever to retrieve it. In such a state of helplessness, everyone should take refuge in Allah and seek His help:
…Remember your Lord when you forget, and say, ‘Hopefully my Lord will guide me to something closer to right guidance than this.' (Surat al-Kahf; 24)
Remembering something that one has forgotten and succeeding in any particular objective is possible only by Allah's will. Therefore, the only recourse is to pray for guidance.
NOT LOSING HOPE FOR ALLAH'S MERCY
Say [from Me]: ‘My servants, you who have transgressed against yourselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Truly Allah forgives all wrong actions. He is the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.' " (Surat az-Zumar; 53)
In many verses of the Qur'an, Allah mentions that Muslims—even those with the most fear of Allah—– may make mistakes. This verse surely brings relief to their hearts, for a Muslim who errs could feel great regret, sorrow and guilt. But Allah knows that Muslims are very careful about improving their shortcomings. In the Qur'an, He gives the examples of prophets who have won His approval to show that every person may make mistakes.
So, these encouraging and refreshing consolations prevent Muslims from falling into despair after they have made a mistake. Allah has made the scope for error so wide in human beings that He has promised to forgive a person's errors without exception, if that person is sorry and repents of what he has done.
But despite of the many consolations in the Qur'an that refresh the spirit and give hope, many human beings do not admit that they make mistakes. In spite of the glad tidings announced in the Qur'an, after making a mistake they become wrapped in despair and become anxious and downhearted. An individual who refuses to acknowledge errors he has committed out of pride and arrogance is greatly saddened by what he has done. He has trouble accepting that he is a creature prone to making mistakes and faulty decisions, and whose actions and words may be wrong. He does not consider that perfection and freedom from error belong only to Allah. He wants to be perfect himself. But he cannot, and the fact that some of his attitudes are wrong (despite his desire that they not be), draws him into despair.
A Muslim experiences deep peace by accepting his imperfections and helplessness in relation to Allah and never claims to be free from error.
It should be remembered that the tendency to err and sin—even though one may be a firm believer—makes him more aware of Allah's perfection. One can conceive of perfection only when he had experienced imperfection. Consciousness of his own failures and weaknesses lets him better appreciate the absolute perfection of Allah.
HONESTY
Lying is frequently employed by those of little or no faith to mislead others. Various reasons prompt a man to lie: to avoid others' criticisms, to lay the grounds for a dishonest argument, or to attain superiority. However, no matter what the reason, it is an act forbidden by Allah. In the Qur'an, He praises those who are truthful and curses liars:
If anyone argues with you about him after the knowledge that has come to you, say, ‘Come then! Let us summon our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves. Then let us make earnest supplication and call down the curse of Allah upon the liars.' (Surah Al'Imran; 61)
Every inaccurate word uttered with the intent to mislead someone is a lie. But a person may say something incorrect, unintentionally or simply out of forgetfulness. A person who does not seek to mislead another loses no time in correcting his words. However, a deliberate lie is based on evil intention: The liar has a purpose. Therefore, Allah holds him liable for his intentions. As ordered in the verse below, Muslims must always speak the truth:
You who believe! Have taqwa of Allah and speak the right word. (Surat al-Ahzab; 70)
Even if an unintentional word escapes from his mouth in an unguarded moment, a Muslim will immediately make up for it. He will never deliberately try to mislead someone, knowing that he will give an account of his actions in the Hereafter; for this is a thing to be condemned both in the Hereafter and in this world.
PERSONS WHOSE WORD IS NOT TO BE TRUSTED
In searching for the truth, it is recommended in the Qur'an to consult others in situations where one's own experience or knowledge is insufficient. Often, when Muslims fear they may have made a mistake, they seek advice about how to find the right thing to do and avoid the wrong. That is, the aim of seeking advice is to find out what is right and proper.
However, not everyone has the wisdom and honesty to make the right decisions or to lay his own interests aside. There are people, too, whose words cannot be trusted. Anyone who gives advice must possess particular qualities, the foremost of which is faith in Allah. Only by acting according to his conscience can a person make a right evaluation of a situation and explain it to someone else, even if such an explanation is not in his own best interests. His love and fear of Allah make him conscientious and trustworthy.
Any person who fails to employ his conscience and displays moral failings has neither the ability to see the right choice nor the ability to lead another to the truth. Consequently, a Muslim should be meticulous in choosing his advisors. In the Qur'an, Allah forbids obedience to wicked people and makes clear the type of person whose words and admonitions are not to be trusted, someone who easily transgresses Allah's limits:
But do not obey any vile swearer of oaths,
Any backbiter, slandermonger,
Impeder of good, evil aggressor,
Gross, coarse and furthermore, despicable,
Simply because he possesses wealth and sons.
When Our Signs are recited to him, he says, ‘Just myths of previous peoples!'
(Surat al-Qalam; 10-15)
And in another verse, we see that there are two types of individuals who should not be listened to:
"Therefore wait patiently for the judgment of your Lord. Do not obey any evildoer or thankless man among them." (Surat al-Insan; 24)
The Qur'an is very clear about whose word is to be trusted; that is, whose guidance and advice should be relied upon. According to this distinction, when it is a matter of his material and emotional welfare, a Muslim should never act on the advice of liars, gossipmongers, or aggressive, argumentative individuals, who easily disregard the limits set by Allah or people who are deceitful or sarcastic.
