The Qur’ān (13:1-4) says: “Alif. Lām. Mīm. Rā. These are ayat of the Book. That which is revealed to you by your Lord is the truth, yet most people will not believe. It is Allah who raised the heavens without any support that you could see, and established Himself on the Throne. And He it is who has made the sun and the moon subservient [to His laws], each pursuing its course for a set term. He ordains all things. He makes plain His revelations so that you may firmly believe that you will certainly be meeting your Lord. It is He who has spread out the earth and placed upon it firm mountains and rivers, and created on it two sexes of every type of fruit, and caused the night to cover the day. In all these there are signs for people who think. And there are on earth adjoining tracts of land; and vineyards, and fields of grains and date palms, growing in clusters or non-clustered. [All] are irrigated by the same water; yet some of them are favoured above others with regard to the food [they provide]. In all this there are signs for people who use their reason.”
A main feature of the divine instructions to Allah’s Messenger ﷺ is that he should face all the opposition, challenges, denunciations and difficulties thrown in his face by declaring the truth of his message in full. This means that he must declare in all clarity that there is no deity other than Allah, the only Lord in the universe, the Almighty who must be worshipped alone without associating any partners with Him. All people will inevitably return to Him for judgement, when they will either be admitted to heaven or thrown into hell.
These are the basic truths which the unbelievers denied and challenged the Prophet ﷺ over. He is further instructed not to follow their desires, or seek compromises with them that require that any part of these truths be concealed, suppressed or delayed.
As evident from the above ayat, The Qur’ānic method of calling people to Islam brings together the Qur’ān and the open book of the universe. The universe, with all the evidence it provides of Allah’s power and elaborate planning, is a source of inspiration for mankind. Combined with these two books is the record of human history which also contains countless proofs of Allah’s power and planning. Human beings are shown all these, as the address is made to their minds, hearts and feelings all at the same time.
This main feature clearly shows that we cannot deviate from the nature of the message and its method of advocacy.
We must also declare the basic truths of the Islamic faith without hesitation, suppressing nothing and delaying nothing. The first of these essential truths is that all Godhead and Lordship in the universe belong to Allah alone. Hence, all submission must be to Him. He is the One to be obeyed in all matters. Even in the face of hardship and persecution, its advocates must declare it complete. It is not for them to decide that part of this truth should be put aside, or temporarily suppressed, because tyrants dislike it or persecute those who advocate it, or turn away from the faith on its account. None of these considerations permit advocates of the Islamic message to change its strategy. For advocates of the Islamic message must at all time declare Allah’s oneness and Lordship over the whole universe, and that all submission and obedience belong to Allah alone.
This is the proper way to advocate the Islamic faith, as Allah wants it to be done. It is the strategy followed by Allah’s Messenger ﷺ, as he was instructed by Allah. After all, the Islamic faith is Allah’s message and He looks after it. He provides sufficient support for its advocates, and He is always able to protect them against tyrants.
The ayat includes all these scenes so that the universe becomes a witness giving proof of Allah’s power of creation, origination, and design, according to an elaborate plan. It then wonders at people who see all this evidence but who nonetheless find it difficult to believe in resurrection and a new creation. They deny Allah’s revelations because what He reveals states very clearly this truth which should be felt to be so close at hand, considering Allah’s limitless power which produced these marvellous scenes of creation.
“It is He who displays before you the lightning, giving rise to both fear and hope, and originates the heavy clouds. And the thunder extols His limitless glory and praises Him, and so do the angels, in awe of Him. He hurls the thunderbolts to smite with them whom He wills.” (The Qur’ān – 13:12-13) This scene of universal phenomena enhances the feeling of amazement at people who continue to argue about Allah, associating partners with Him when they can see the results of His power and Lordship, as well as the submission of the universe to Him. All this proves that He controls all matters in the universe.
The whole universe is thus a great exhibition proving Allah’s power and pointing out what should motivate people to accept the faith. It addresses our nature with profound logic, and addresses the human beings with all its faculties of perception and understanding.
The Qur’ān must always be the book to which we turn for guidance, before turning to any other source. It is from the Qur’ān that we must learn how to call on people to believe, and how to awaken their hearts and bring inactive souls back to life. The Qur’ān is a revelation sent down by Allah, the Creator of man who knows his nature, how he is influenced and in what way he reacts. We should follow the strategy laid down by Allah, starting with making the truth plain concerning Allah, His oneness, Lordship over all the worlds, sovereignty and power. Similarly, we must seek to open people’s hearts to the message of truth by following the method of the Qur’ān in making people truly aware of their Lord. This is the best way to make people recognise that all submission must be to Allah alone, the true Lord who controls the whole universe.
It is not right that the pressures of un-Islamic society should weigh heavily on any Muslim so as to make him adopt the standards of such a society. How can he when he knows that the message conveyed by Allah’s Messenger ﷺ is the truth, and that anyone who does not know it to be the truth is blind. How can he follow such a blind person, learning from him, after having heard Allah’s testimony? “Is, then, he who knows that what has been revealed to you by your Lord is the Truth like one who is blind? Only the people of understanding respond to the advice”. (The Qur’ān – 13:19)
Praise be to Allah. It is only through His guidance that we can make the right choice.