The Response to Those Who Hold That One Should Begin with Morals Before Tawhid
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
How do we respond to the one who says that if the caller to Allah begins with the call to tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and the Sunnah, people will turn away from him and his call? He should begin with the call to good morals and good treatment of people and the common folk.
Answer:
This is an illusion; this is an illusion. He wants to turn you away from tawhid forever. A call to tawhid does not turn away people who desire good; it never turns them away, provided it is based on the methodology that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) prescribed for His Messenger and His Ummah (the Muslim community).[An-Nahl 16:125] If it is based on knowledge, [Yusuf 12:108] if it is based on knowledge, the caller knows what he is calling to. So if he calls people to tawhid with knowledge, insight, encouragement, and warning, then it will not turn away from it anyone who desires good. It will not turn away from it anyone who desires good, and as for the one who does not desire good, there is no remedy for him. [Al-Qasas 28:56] As for calling to other deeds while leaving the creed, other deeds are of no benefit if the creed is not correct. The creed must be corrected first. So if the creed is not correct, whatever good deeds a person does are like scattered dust. Yes.
How do we respond to the one who says that if the caller to Allah begins with the call to tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and the Sunnah, people will turn away from him and his call? He should begin with the call to good morals and good treatment of people and the common folk.
Answer:
This is an illusion; this is an illusion. He wants to turn you away from tawhid forever. A call to tawhid does not turn away people who desire good; it never turns them away, provided it is based on the methodology that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) prescribed for His Messenger and His Ummah (the Muslim community).
Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best.
ادْعُ إِلَىٰ سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَالْمَوْعِظَةِ الْحَسَنَةِ وَجَادِلْهُم بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُI invite to Allah with insight, I and those who follow me
أَدْعُو إِلَى اللَّهِ عَلَىٰ بَصِيرَةٍ أَنَا وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَنِيIndeed, [O Muhammad], you do not guide whom you like, but Allah guides whom He wills
إِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِي مَن يَشَاءُ
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، محاضرات في العقيدة والدعوة-102-واجب الطالب الجامعي بعد تخرجه|صالح الفوزان|كبار العلماء — youtube.com (46:51)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.