Surah an-Nahl (The Bee ) 16 : 125

Overview (Verses 125 - 128)

The Best Method of Advocacy

The sūrah has thus clarified what similarities may appear between the faith based on believing in God’s oneness as outlined by Abraham and perfected by Islam, God’s final message to mankind, and the deviant beliefs to which the Jews or the pagan Arabs adhered. All this is part of what the Qur’ān has been revealed to set right. The Prophet is told to continue his efforts, calling on people to follow the divine faith, but utilizing wisdom and good exhortation, and delivering his argument in a kindly manner. If his opponents go on the offensive and act aggressively, the penalty should be of the same type as the aggression, or the Prophet may choose the better way of forgiveness and patience in adversity, despite being able to exact punishment. This is sure to bring him a better outcome. He need not grieve however over those who reject God’s guidance, nor should he be afflicted by their scheming against him and his followers.

Call people to the path of your Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation, and argue with them in the most kindly manner. Your Lord knows best who strays from His path and who are rightly guided. If you should punish, then let your punishment be commensurate with the wrong done to you. But to endure patiently is far better for those who are patient in adversity. Endure, then, with patience, remembering always that it is only God who helps you to be patient; and do not grieve over them, nor be distressed by their intrigues. God is indeed with those who remain God-fearing and those who do good. (Verses 125-128)

Such are the basic rules of Islamic advocacy and such are its appropriate methods. The proper approach is being shown here to the Prophet and to all who succeed him in advocating the Islamic faith. The advocate must make it clear that he simply calls on people to follow the path outlined by God. He is not calling for any personal or national cause. He is simply discharging his duty towards his Lord. He claims no credit for himself, nor does he have a favour to curry with the message itself or with those who respond to his call and follow divine guidance. He receives his reward from God alone.

Advocacy must be undertaken with wisdom. The advocate of the divine message must take into consideration the situation and circumstances of the people whom he addresses in order to determine what he tells them on each occasion. He must not make things appear difficult to them, nor should he burden them with a long list of duties before they are so prepared. He must also consider how he should address them, and how to diversify his method of address in accordance with different circumstances. He must not let his enthusiasm carry the day so as to overlook the prerequisites of wisdom.

Together with wisdom goes goodly exhortation which addresses hearts gently, seeking to kindle good feeling and response. No unnecessary reproach or remonstration should be thrown at them. An advocate of Islam does not publicize genuine mistakes which people commit with good intention. Kindly exhortation often attracts people to follow God’s guidance, achieving good results that cannot be achieved through reproach or rebuke.

The third element in this proper approach to Islamic advocacy is to argue ‘in the most kindly manner’. This means that there should be no personal criticism or humiliation of an opponent. It is important in such an argument to make the other party realize that, as advocates of the cause of faith, we have no vain desire to win an argument or to boast about having an irrefutable case. Our aim must always be clear, namely, to arrive at the truth. Human beings have their pride, and they will not concede any point unless the argument is carried on in a kindly manner. No one likes to be defeated in argument. People often confuse their own prestige with the value of their opinion, considering that they are humiliated when they have to admit that their view is mistaken. It is only when argument is carried out kindly that people’s sensitivity can be tempered, as they realize that their own dignity is preserved. They then recognize that an advocate of Islam seeks only the truth and has no desire to press home personal advantage.

In order to help advocates of Islam restrain themselves and not allow themselves to be carried away by enthusiasm, the sūrah mentions that it is God who truly knows those who follow His guidance and those who are in error. Hence there is no need to press an argument beyond what is reasonable. Issues should be stated clearly and matters should then be left to God: “Your Lord knows best who strays from His path and who are rightly guided.” (Verse 125)

This is the proper method of advocacy as long as it remains within the realm of verbal address and stating a point. Should the advocates of Islam suffer aggression, then the whole situation changes. Aggression is an action that must be repelled with similar force in order to preserve the dignity of the truth and to ensure that falsehood does not triumph. Response to aggression, however, must not exceed the limits of repelling it. Islam is the faith of justice and moderation, peace and reconciliation. It repels any aggression launched against it or its followers, without committing any aggression against others: “If you should punish, then let your punishment be commensurate with the wrong done to you.” (Verse 126)

This is indeed part of the method of advocacy. To repel aggression within the limits of justice preserves the dignity of the Islamic message so that it suffers no humiliation. A humiliated message has no appeal for anyone. Indeed no one will accept that humiliation be suffered by a divine message. God does not permit His message to suffer humiliation without repelling it. Those who believe in God do not sit idle in the face of persecution and humiliation. They are entrusted with the task of establishing the truth in human life, maintaining justice between people, and leading mankind to the right path. How are they to fulfil their tasks when they do not reply to aggression or respond to unjust punishment?

Yet at the same time that the rule of equal punishment is established, the Qur’ān calls on believers to endure with fortitude and to forgive. This applies in situations when the believers are able to repel aggression and to eradicate evil. In such cases, forgiveness and patience are more effective and of greater value to the Islamic message. Their own personal position or prestige is of secondary importance when the interests of the message are better served by forgiveness and endurance. However, should such forgiveness compromise the position of the message and lead to its humiliation, then the first rule of equal retaliation is preferable.

Since endurance requires resisting one’s feelings and impulses, restraining one’s emotions and maintaining control over natural reactions, the Qur’ān relates it to faith and earning God’s pleasure. It also assures the believers that it brings them good: “But to endure patiently is far better for those who are patient in adversity. Endure, then, with patience, remembering always that it is only God who helps you to be patient.” (Verses 126-127) It is God who gives a believer the strength to be patient in adversity and to control his instinctive reactions. Seeking God’s pleasure is the one thing that restrains the impulse to retaliate and punish.

The Qur’ān encourages the Prophet, and every advocate of Islam as well, not to grieve when they see people turning their backs on God’s guidance. They have their duty to fulfil. Guiding people aright or leaving them to go astray are matters determined by God, in accordance with His laws of nature which control people’s souls and their striving to follow guidance or to turn away from it. “Do not grieve over them, nor be distressed by their intrigues.” (Verse 127) The Prophet should not be distressed when he sees such people scheme against him. God will protect him against their scheming and intrigue. He will never let them have the upper hand when he conveys his message, seeking no personal gain for himself. He may have to endure harm, but that is only to test his patience. He may feel that victory is slow in coming, but that is only to test his trust in God’s support. The ultimate outcome is known in advance: “God is indeed with those who remain God-fearing and those who do good.” (Verse 128) He who has God on his side need not worry about anyone’s scheming or intrigue.

Such is the constitution that any advocacy of God’s message should follow. It is the only way to ensure victory as promised by God. This is what God tells us, and God always tells the truth.