The Scholars, the Callers, and the Reformers: A Great Responsibility in Explaining the Categories of Tawhid and Guiding the Misguided. Is There a Word for Them?
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The questioner : The scholars, the callers, and the reformers have a great responsibility in explaining the categories of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and guiding the misguided. Is there a word for them?
The Shaykh : Yes, the word is that the caller must take into account the conditions of those he is calling. If, for example, they are negligent in prayer, let him focus on encouraging prayer, not being lax in it, and explaining the punishment for abandoning it and its ruling in this world and the Hereafter. If they have some shirk (associating partners with Allah), let him focus on tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and sincerity, and the like. If they are lax regarding zakah (the obligatory alms), let him focus on zakah. The important thing is that it is wisdom for the caller to take into account the conditions of those he is calling. He should also take into account their conditions regarding strictness and leniency. If he sees submission and ease from them, he should meet them with leniency and ease. If he sees rebellion and aversion from them, let him meet them with what the situation requires to achieve the benefit. Then, among the most important things for the caller is that he should be the first to adopt what he commands and to stay away from what he forbids. It is not befitting, neither by the Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law) nor by reason, to command something and not do it, or to forbid something and do it. If a person is in this state, people will not accept it from him, except those who do not know his condition. As for those who know his condition, they will say, "This man is a liar. If he were truthful in what he commands, he would be the first to comply with it. If he were truthful in what he forbids, he would be the first to avoid it."
The caller must also observe the time and place in calling to Allah the Exalted. He should call in the place where response is more likely, and likewise in the time, because taking these matters into account is part of the wisdom about which Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Baqarah 2:269]. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you and bless you. This questioner says.
The Shaykh : Yes, the word is that the caller must take into account the conditions of those he is calling. If, for example, they are negligent in prayer, let him focus on encouraging prayer, not being lax in it, and explaining the punishment for abandoning it and its ruling in this world and the Hereafter. If they have some shirk (associating partners with Allah), let him focus on tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and sincerity, and the like. If they are lax regarding zakah (the obligatory alms), let him focus on zakah. The important thing is that it is wisdom for the caller to take into account the conditions of those he is calling. He should also take into account their conditions regarding strictness and leniency. If he sees submission and ease from them, he should meet them with leniency and ease. If he sees rebellion and aversion from them, let him meet them with what the situation requires to achieve the benefit. Then, among the most important things for the caller is that he should be the first to adopt what he commands and to stay away from what he forbids. It is not befitting, neither by the Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law) nor by reason, to command something and not do it, or to forbid something and do it. If a person is in this state, people will not accept it from him, except those who do not know his condition. As for those who know his condition, they will say, "This man is a liar. If he were truthful in what he commands, he would be the first to comply with it. If he were truthful in what he forbids, he would be the first to avoid it."
The caller must also observe the time and place in calling to Allah the Exalted. He should call in the place where response is more likely, and likewise in the time, because taking these matters into account is part of the wisdom about which Allah the Exalted said:
He gives wisdom to whom He wills, and whoever has been given wisdom has certainly been given much good. And none will remember except those of understanding.
يُؤْتِي الْحِكْمَةَ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَمَنْ يُؤْتَ الْحِكْمَةَ فَقَدْ أُوتِيَ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا وَمَا يَذَّكَّرُ إِلَّا أُوْلُوا الأَلْبَابِThe questioner : May Allah reward you and bless you. This questioner says.