ARGUMENT IN THE QUR’AN
ARGUMENT IN THE QUR’AN
Humanity was created to serve and worship Allah, win His favor, receive His mercy, and attain Paradise. Believers direct their actions toward these goals by basing their life on the Qur’an’s moral teachings.
People experience many hardships while alive. To overcome them, they must act according to Qur’an’s moral teachings, for doing so will enable them to escape the traps set by satan, their main antagonist. His first strategy is to make believers forget about religion and prevent them from following the true path.
One of satan’s strategies is to incite arguments among people to divert them from the true path. Although “argument” has several connotations in the Qur’an, there is a basic common meaning: to be superficial, lacking spiritual insight, and engaging in pointless deeds. To argue means to speak when silence would be better, to prolong a discussion by creating a charged atmosphere, and to ignore what is good. Those who argue seek to undermine the truth of Islam, which Allah sent down with many proofs, as well as of the Qur’an and holy, religious concepts by attempting to prove their opposites.
Among people there is one who argues about Allah without knowledge and follows every rebellious satan. (Surat al-Hajj: 3)
Finally, an argument is a violent and unhappy exchange between
a person who has fallen into difficulty and those who put him in that
situation. This is the style of communication taking place between the
damned, as is revealed in the Qur’an.
Arguing does not befit believers, and their respect and love for
another precludes it. They do not argue with unbelievers, but speak
with them only to communicate religion and while doing this they employ
the most efficient and beautiful style.
FIRST ARGUMENT
Satan was the first entity to argue. This is related in the Qur’an as follows:
In these verses, we see that the angels were not happy with Allah’s decision to create Adam (as). This was a great error because, sharing very little of Allah’s eternal knowledge, they could not understand why He would do this. Instead they were only required to obey Allah’s command. But they wanted to know why Adam (as) had been created, and so Allah explained it to them. After that, all of the angels sought Allah’s mercy, repented, and obeyed Allah’s command - all except for satan, who resisted and started an argument with Allah (Allah is surely beyond that). At the conclusion of the above verses, Allah says:When your Lord said to the angels: “I am putting an overlord on Earth,” they said: “Why put on it one who will cause corruption on it and shed blood when we glorify You with praise and proclaim Your purity?” He said: “I know what you do not know.” He taught Adam the names of all things. Then He arrayed them before the angels and said: “Tell me the names of these, if you are telling the truth.” They said: “Glory be to You! We have no knowledge except what You have taught us. You are the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.” He said: “Adam, tell them their names.” When he had told them their names, He said, “Did I not tell you that I know the Unseen of the heavens and Earth, and I know what you make known and what you hide?” (Surat al-Baqara: 30-33)
We said to the angels: “Prostrate to Adam!” and they prostrated, with the exception of Diabolis. He refused. He was arrogant and was one of the unbelievers. (Surat al-Baqara: 34)
Although Allah explained to him why He created Adam (as), satan refused to prostrate before Adam. Elsewhere in the Qur’an, satan’s “way of thinking” after his disobedience is described:
We created you, formed you, and then said to the angels: “Prostrate before Adam.” And they prostrated, except for Diabolis. He was not among those who prostrated. He (Allah) said: “What prevented you from prostrating when I commanded you to?” He (Diabolis) replied: “I am better than him. You created me from fire, and You created him from clay.” (Surat al-A‘raf: 11-12)
We can see that satan’s presumption to argue with Allah made him arrogant. He thought he was superior to Adam (as) and that it would be humiliating for him to prostrate before him. His pride could not let him do it, and he argued with Allah. So, his arrogance was the point from which the first-ever argument began.
This shows the difference between satan and the other angels; the angels first made the mistake by being unhappy with Allah’s action. But they had to know that whatever He wills has an eternal purpose and that they must obey Him without resentment. In spite of their error, Allah did not punish them and even told them why He was doing this. After that, they repented, took refuge in Allah, and obeyed His command.
But satan, unlike the other angels, was arrogant.
Considering himself superior to Adam (as), he resented the fact that
Adam (as) should be held in higher esteem than he. Thus, he did not
obey Allah even after Allah explained why He willed Adam’s (as)
creation. In other words, to see the truth, to understand it in one’s
heart and yet refuse to admit it is the result of pride. Satan did not
want to find the truth and act in accordance with it; rather, he wanted
to satisfy his own selfish desires.
In order to supply a “logical” foundation for his attitude, he
proclaimed that he was created from fire. However, this was of no use
because Allah created everything and can exalt anyone He wills at any
time. And satan knew this. But because he was seeking his own
satisfaction, he pretended not to know the truth and invented his own
distorted clay-fire explanation. Then, persisting in this mistake, he
started to argue. And so Allah cursed him:
He (Allah) said: “Descend from Heaven. It is not for you to be arrogant in it. So get out! You are one of the abased.” He (satan) said: “Grant me a reprieve until the day they are raised up.” He (Allah) said: “You are one of the reprieved.” He (satan) said: “By Your misguidance of me, I will lie in ambush for them on your straight path. Then I will come at them, from in front of them and behind them, from their right and from their left. You will not find most of them thankful.” He (Allah) said: “Get out of it, reviled and driven out. As for those of them who follow you, I will fill up Hell with every one of you.” (Surat al-A‘raf: 13-18)
When We said to the angels: “Prostrate yourselves to Adam!” they prostrated, except for Diabolis. He said: “What! Am I to prostrate to one You have created out of clay? Do You see this creature You have honored over me? If You reprieve me until the Day of Resurrection, I will be the master of his descendants, except for a very few.” He (Allah) said: “Go! And as for any who follow you, your repayment is Hell, repayment in full! Stir up any of them you can with your voice, rally against them your cavalry and your infantry, share with them in their children and their wealth, and make them promises!” The promise of satan is nothing but delusion. But as for “My servants, you will not have any authority over them.” Your Lord suffices as a guardian. (Surat al-Isra’: 61-65)
The first argument ended with Allah’s cursing of satan and driving him away. Allah allotted him a certain period of time in which he could tempt humanity to follow his own perverse path. So, how does satan lead people astray? He does it in many ways, is related in verse 17 of Surat al-A‘raf, “he will come at them, from in front and behind, from their right and their left.”
One the major ways in which satan leads people astray is to transfuse his own characteristics into them: arrogance, rebelliousness, ungratefulness, and similar traits.
And they are just as argumentative as satan is. Satan, who knows the truth but does not accept it, argues to show that something that appeals to his selfish desire is actually the truth. In the same way, his followers argue to satisfy their own arrogance. Arguing becomes a part of their lives. Instead of exchanging ideas to find the truth, their dialogue with each other is a stubborn (if not erroneous) insistence on their own personal viewpoint, which they will defend come what may.
Religion cannot be reconciled with selfish desires and worldly ambition. For this reason, those who argue use it when someone tries to tell them about religious morality. They accept religion in their conscience, but their worldly desires lead them to deny it. They choose satan’s way of arguing to find a supposed “logical” basis for their ideas.
Believers consider arguing to be a tedious activity; unbelievers are seduced by satan’s making their actions seem good: “Satan has made their actions seem good to them and debarred them from the Way, so they are not guided (Surat an-Naml: 24).
He makes them want to argue constantly, for this gives them great pleasure. In fact, they regard it as normal and right.
We can see this every day among people. The basic similarity
between all of these arguments, regardless of when or where they
occur, is that they end with no concrete result. Someone who has only a
little knowledge and has not read a single book about Allah presumes to
argue about Him. Others deliberately engage in argument to keep others
from following the true path. Now we will look at such arguments in
the Qur’an and examine the characters of those who engage in it.
ARGUMENTS BETWEEN BELIEVERS
AND UNBELIEVERS
The Lord tells us about the unbelievers’ arguments in the Qur’an as follows:
Say: “Do you argue with us about Allah when He is our Lord and your Lord? We have our actions, and you have your actions. We act for Him alone.” (Surat al-Baqara: 139)
Satan’s argumentative character is reflected in unbelievers, for they argue with believers about Allah as well as the Qur’an and Islam. Allah reveals how such people regard believers:
When they are told: “Believe in the way that the people believe,” they say: “What! Are we to believe in the way that fools believe?” No indeed! They are the fools, but they do not know it. When they meet those who believe, they say: “We believe.” But then when they go apart with their satans, they say: “We are really with you. We were only mocking.” But Allah is mocking them and drawing them on as they wander blindly in their excessive insolence. (Surat al-Baqara: 13-15)
We see in these verses that those who argue with and ridicule the believers may have a spiritual relationship with satan. They may go apart with their satans and may be his intimate followers. Those who argue with each other frequently lie and distort the facts, or else say something “off the top of their head” and then go on to argue it away. Arguing does not stay on any real topic and has no meaningful purpose. Everyone tries to impose their own view on others with clichés and stereotypical ideas.
Unbelievers sometimes launch a propaganda campaign to point believers and those with religious tendencies toward an alternative to true religion. Seeking thereby to destroy the credibility of true religion, they incite arguments about it because they desire to extinguish Allah’s Light with their mouths (Surat as-Saff: 8). Arguments are incited in all possible open media venues to target religion, and anti-religious articles, writings and pictures denying the truth of creation are regularly placed in some newspapers and magazines to extinguish Allah’s light. They deliberately attempt to disparage Islam and the Qur’an, shake people’s belief in religion, and deter them from religious morality. No doubt, these activities are designed to prevent the spread of religion, to put pressure on those who communicate it, and to stop the spread of religious morality. However, in the same verse Allah says that “He will perfect His Light, though the unbelievers hate it.”Shall I tell you upon whom the satans descend? They descend on every evil liar. They give them a hearing, and most of them are liars. (Surat ash-Shu‘ara’: 221-223)
Arguments between believers and unbelievers normally break out after a believer tries to introduce religion. Either because they see that the believer presents an undistorted and superior religion, or because they arrogantly reject religious morality even though they are equipped by nature and conscience to accept it, unbelievers are drawn into loud arguments instead of engaging in a civilized and useful exchange of ideas. Generally, their examples are untenable and are brought forward just for the sake of argument.
When an example is made of the son of Maryam, your people laugh uproariously. They retort: “Who is better then, our deities or him?” They only say this to you for argument’s sake. They are indeed a disputatious people. (Surat az-Zukhruf: 57-58)
When encountering such people, Allah’s advice is to walk away before they can say another word:
It has been sent down to you in the Book that when you hear Allah’s Signs being rejected and mocked at by people, you must not sit with them until they start talking of other things. If you do, you are just the same as them. Allah will gather all the hypocrites and unbelievers into Hell. (Surat an-Nisa’: 140)
We can see that such people really know nothing about religious morality. In fact, they say: “Follow our way, and we will bear the weight of your mistakes” (Surat al-‘Ankabut: 12), even though Allah says: “…No burden-bearer can bear another’s burden” (Surat al-Isra’: 15).
Unbelievers try to win an argument by bringing their power or material wealth to bear, or on the basis that most people think like they think. However, Allah says: “If you obeyed most of those on Earth, they would misguide you from Allah’s Way. They follow nothing but conjecture. They are only guessing” (Surat al-An‘am: 116).
In other words, just because most people believe something does not mean that it is true. In this regard, Allah frequently mentions such stubborn and ungrateful people, those who do not thank Him, do not use their minds, and hate the truth. This shows that most people are rebellious and, therefore, the number of those who follow a fallacious idea is not important. But unbelievers think that an idea’s truth and power has something to do with how many people believe it. We often hear this fallacy expressed as: “Most people don’t know, but you know!”
In arguments about religion, unbelievers argue to find a “logical” basis for their unbelief. And, just as satan said: “You created me from fire and him from earth,” they say something from their distorted logic and argue on the basis of it. Their purpose is to find an excuse to deny what they know to be true but cannot accept. The Qur’an tells us that they have copied this method from satan:
... Though they see every Sign, they still have no faith, so that when they come to you, disputing with you, those who do not believe say: “This is nothing but the myths of previous peoples!” They keep others from it and avoid it themselves. They are only destroying themselves, but they are not aware of it. (Surat al-An‘am: 25-26)
It is easy to recognize the unbelievers by the kinds of
examples they use. In the Qur’an, we see that they claimed to have
never heard of Islam as the Prophet (saas) explained, that they had
never heard about it from their elders, and that they believed in
Allah. Most unbelievers are very violent and aggressive in their
arguments, for they threaten “to drive believers from their land unless they return to their religion” (Surah Ibrahim: 13), “to stone them” (Surah Maryam: 46), “to murder and torture them” (Surah Ta Ha: 71), “to throw them into prison” (Surat ash-Shu‘ara’: 29), or “to burn them” (Surat as-Saffat: 97). These examples can be multiplied.
So far, we have examined their arguments about Allah, how they
regard believers, how they distort the truth, and how they try to
extinguish Allah’s light. Furthermore, we have outlined the various
pretexts for their arguments that the Qur’an is untrue. We now turn to
another type of argument:
What about the one who argued with Ibrahim about his Lord, on the basis that Allah had given him sovereignty? Ibrahim said: “My Lord is He Who gives life and causes to die.” He (Pharaoh) said: “I also give life and cause to die.” Ibrahim said: “Allah makes the sun come from the East. Make it come from the West.” And the unbeliever was dumbfounded. Allah does not guide a wrongdoing people. (Surat al-Baqara: 258)
The person presented here as arguing with Ibrahim (as), is a wicked person who has been spoiled by prosperity. Elsewhere in the Qur’an, it is stated that those who argue and contend with believers are wealthy, prominent individuals. Of course, the members of this ruling circle fear that their established order will be destroyed and that their freedom to flout justice and right will be curtailed. Thus, it is natural for them to oppose any change. The wealth that Allah gave them from His abundance made them perverse and led them to associate Allah with His creatures.
No matter how much they claim to believe in Allah, they are in truth faithless people who desire only the wealth of this world. Allah may give them what they desire here, but their situation will be quite different in the Hereafter, because they did not practice religion, ignored the calls, and thus persisted in their unbelief. Thus they should fear their reward: the eternal pangs of Hell. Believers also desire wealth and riches from Allah: “Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and safeguard us from the punishment of the Fire” (Surat al-Baqara: 201).
But believers do not desire wealth only to satisfy their lower selves or to live a life of decadent luxury. Like Sulayman (as), they desire riches so that they may be close to Allah and communicate His religion effectively. Sulayman (as) said: “Truly do I love the love of good, with a view to the glory of my Lord...” (Surah Sad: 32). In return for his sincerity, Allah made him the ruler of the land.
Allah will help every sincere believer who turns to Him. The Qur’an tells us how believers are supported in their conversations with unbelievers: “They bring you no similitude, but We bring you the truth and the best of explanations (as against it)” (Surat al-Furqan: 33). So, by Allah’s will, believers are always victorious in such encounters.
The Qur’an tells us that the society’s ruling circle, which has lapsed into unbelief, always create the occasion for an argument. These prominent people are all wealthy, from the viewpoint of worldly possessions, and have a high political and/or economic profile. Their activities will be explained below.
Those who do not believe in the Hereafter think that the wealth they have acquired will be theirs forever. They may fall into a careless state in which they deny the coming of the Day of Judgment and claim that, like the rich vineyard owner in the Qur’an, their situation will be even better in the Hereafter. On the one hand they say they are Allah’s devoted servants; on the other hand they are afraid of death and “would love to be allowed to live a thousand years”: “... life seemed long and good to them...” (Surat al-Anbiya’: 44). And the intimations of satan are at the root of this desire for immortality.
As we read in Surat al-A‘raf 20, satan tried to deceive Adam
(as) with the promise of eternal life. His additional promise concerning
the “tree of Everlasting Life and a kingdom that will never fade away”
(Surah Ta Ha: 120) is consistent with everything we have said so far.
One of satan’s most lethal traps is the promise of eternal life and
wealth; this is the main thing that leads his “squadron” to perdition.
The human spirit is immortal anyway; it is the body that is mortal. The
spirit came into being when eternal life was created. Whether a spirit
will go to Paradise or Hell is determined by the good works done in
this transient world. We cannot expect that a person whose mind has
been clouded by satan’s deceitful promises will be able to discuss
matters in a logically consistent way. Rather, they will engage in
endless argument, shouting and bawling to intimidate the person with
whom they are speaking.
When confronted by such people, believers should realize that any
further discussion at that point in time is useless and thus leave the
person alone. In fact, this follows the Qur’anic command to avoid
arguments:
Say: “Do you argue with us about Allah when He is our Lord and your Lord? We have our actions and you have your actions. We act for Him alone.” (Surat al Baqara: 139)
THE UNBELIEVERS’ ARGUMENTS
AMONG THEMSELVES
Those unbelievers whose “hearts are scattered wide” always argue with themselves just as they argue with the believers, because human beings are “argumentative more than anything else” (Surat al-Kahf: 54). Satan enters the picture at every point, convincing them that arguing is natural and that a quarrel between two people who love each other is the “spice of life.” This shows just how widespread his influence is. The media is especially eager to take up this topic to legitimate arguing. The suggestion is that people are not sincere, but opportunistic, in their relationships with each other.
Instead of solving a matter, people say that “the less you touch on provocative issues, the happier you will be.” But in spite of all this distortion, it is possible to draw a truth out of these ideas: those led astray by satan will never stop arguing. They will argue until the Day of Judgment and then even afterwards in Hell; they will argue among themselves in the Hereafter just as they did in this world:
One “great blast” will seize them while they are quibbling (Surah Ya Sin: 49) and they will accuse each other of being greedy and misleading (Surat as-Saffat: 27-33). In Hell they will argue with Allah (Surat al-A‘raf: 38-41, Surah Fussilat: 29, Surah Qaf: 27-30, and Surat al-Mu’minun: 106-108), with the custodians of Hell (Surat az-Zukhruf: 77-80 and Surat al-Mulk: 8-11), with the believers in Heaven (Surat al-Hadid: 13-15), and among themselves (Surah Ghafir: 46-50, Surah Saba’: 31-33, and Surah Sad: 59-64). All of this will be to humiliate them and turn their broken hopes into misery.
THE ATTEMPT TO INCITE ARGUMENT AMONG BELIEVERS
Believers take pleasure in conversation because Allah created it in their nature. While talking among themselves, they always mention Allah, exalt His glory, and seek ways to draw closer to Him. So, any argument goes against religion and their own nature. Those who have “become brothers by Allah’s blessing” (Surah Al ‘Imran: 103) talk with one another in this way. If a difference of opinion arises, they consult with each other to reach the best solution. Believers do not try to assert their own egos over other believers. Nor are they arrogant, for they do not blindly insist on a particular idea just because it is their own. In a society made up of such people, argument can find no place to break out.
The second possibility is quite different: argument enters “from outside” in an organized and aware fashion. Unbelieving hypocrites insinuate themselves into a community of believers for a short-term gain. Their prime ammunition to incite argument is the idea of obedience, for they find it irritating to have to accept the prophets’ and messengers’ advice and abide by their decisions. Their argumentative nature comes to the fore, especially when their own advantage is at stake.
In the days of our Prophet (saas), the hypocrites wanted to separate themselves from the community even though the Qur’an had come and our Prophet (saas) lived among them. Their main reason was that they did not want to fight and were afraid of death. When everything became clear and our Prophet (saas) ordered them to go into battle to win Allah’s favor, they deserted. Some made the excuse that their houses were vulnerable; others argued with him about what was right. The Qur’an speaks of many false excuses. For example, some claimed that they did not know how to fight, that their families keep them occupied, or that it was too hot. Allah’s answer was quite clear: “The Fire of Hell is much hotter” (Surat at-Tawba: 81).
All of these things spring from the hypocrites’ great fear of death.
However, everyone will die at the appointed time, even if they are at
home or in an impregnable fortress. For this reason, they will be
thrown into the deepest place in Hell and will experience the most
terrible pangs.
Their argumentativeness comes from the fact that they follow satan and display his attributes:
Satan has gained mastery over them and made them forget the remembrance of Allah. Such people are the party of satan. No indeed! It is the party of satan who are the losers. (Surat al-Mujadala: 19)
We notice that it is characteristic of hypocrites not to praise Allah. As we said at the beginning, believers constantly praise Him and so do not give satan any opportunity to assault them. In the Qur’an, Allah tells us that satan can exert no power over His faithful servants. Due to their relationship with satan, hypocrites do more than just reflect his character; they are a community that fulfills his commands:
Those who believe fight in the Way of Allah. Those who do not believe fight in the way of false deities. So fight the friends of satan! Satan’s scheming is always feeble. (Surat an-Nisa’: 76)
Allah has always removed the hypocrites from the Muslim community. He has forbidden them to join with the believers in the struggle against faithlessness because He knows that they would only spread arguments and division. In Surat at-Tawba 47, He tells us that those hypocrites who go into battle with the believers will try to harm them and stir up strife among them. To this end, they will try to make the Prophet (saas) and Islam the cause of argument. But the Qur’an tells us that Allah will never allow this to happen.
As we said before, unlike hypocrites, believers do not have it in their nature to argue with each other, for they have set their hearts only on Allah and thus cannot separate themselves from other believers. They undertake a project only after mutual consultation. If there is any disagreement, they immediately remember Allah and stop talking in order to avoid argument, and take refuge in Allah.
