An-Nahl (The Bee)

125. “(O’ Prophet!) Call (mankind) to the path of your Lord with wisdom and good admonition, and dispute with them in the better way. Verily your Lord knows better of him who has gone astray from His path, and He knows best those who are guided.”

There are ten interesting ethical decrees issued from this verse to the end of the Surah for social association with others.

This holy verse provides a comprehensive order for all those responsible instructors, professors as well as religious scholars, which calls them to be well-equipped with the various methods to be successful when confronting their different audiences, for one can not invite all those addressed with a single method.

Every body has got a delicate way which must be addressed with a certain capacity through the medium of which he must be communicated with.

The elect ones, who require exclusive ways of handling and reasoning, must be dealt with in their own way, while the common folks should be addressed with some acceptable exhortations. The dissidents should also be addressed with more convenient ways of disputations.

A good advice is the one that the preacher acts and practices according to what he says, and acceptable disputations are those ones in which wrong provocation of feelings and insulting do not permeate:

Therefore, the first duty of the prophets is their ‘Calling’.

“(O’ Prophet!) call (mankind)…”

All Callings Must Be Divinely-Orientated

“…to the path of your Lord…”

Every single invitation has got a hierarchy. (Wisdom, preaching, and acceptable disputation, in which case wisdom provides the rational method and preaching paves the emotional way.)

“…with wisdom and good admonition…”

Preaching must be done in a friendly manner; however, disputation must be carried out in a friendlier manner, that is, it must be friendly both in its content and form as well as in its methods of expression.

“…and dispute with them in the better way…”

The exposition of the impacts and blessings of what is good, as well as the statement of the pathological effects and dangers of whatever is evil, are included as methods of the calling. (Wisdom signifies being acquainted with the good and the evil of matters by the means of knowledge and reasoning.)

You are liable to perform your duties and you are not responsible for the consequences of whatever happens.

Wisdom and demonstration are always decent means for convincing other people. Nevertheless, preaching and disputation might be done either with the good method or with the bad one. (The terms ‘good’ and ‘better’ are not used in case of wisdom.)

Islam offers its followers both mental nourishment (with wisdom), and ‘spiritual enrichment’ (good admonition) while it entertains logical methods when encountering the opponents.

‘Virtue’, in its broadest sense, including facing the opponents, means when one is facing the enemy he must observe the principles of the Islamic ethics.

“…and dispute with them in the better way…”

Generosity and goodness are the two basic methods in all campaigns if shown at the right time and proper place.

In conclusion, these ten-fold duties and important ethical and rational decrees can be employed as tactical principles in every campaign against the opponents of Islam, and may be used as a general rule in whatever kind of circumstances and under whatever conditions and times.

Were Muslims to implement such programs which are comprehensive, we should probably witness the glory of Islam as widespread throughout the world today, or at least in the main parts of it.

The verse concludes:

“…Verily your Lord knows better of him who has gone astray from His path, and He knows best those who are guided.”