Tafsir of Surah Fussilat - Verse 36

The Virtue of calling Others to Allah

وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ قَوْلاً مِّمَّن دَعَآ إِلَى اللَّهِ

(And who is better in speech than he who invites to Allah,) means, he calls the servants of Allah to Him.

وَعَمِلَ صَـلِحاً وَقَالَ إِنَّنِى مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ

(and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims.") means, he himself follows that which he says, so it benefits him as well as others. He is not one of those who enjoin good but do not do it themselves, or who forbid evil yet they do it themselves. He does good and avoids doing evil, and he calls people to their Creator, may He be blessed and exalted. This is general in meaning and applies to everyone who calls people to what is good and is himself guided by what he says. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ is the foremost among people in this regard, as Muhammad bin Sirin, As-Suddi and `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said. It was also said that what was meant here is the righteous Mu'adhdhin, as it was mentioned in Sahih Muslim:

«الْمُؤَذِّنُونَ أَطْوَلُ النَّاسِ أَعْنَاقًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَة»

(The Mu'adhdhins will be the ones with the longest necks on the Day of Resurrection.)" In As-Sunan it is reported that the Prophet said:

«الْإِمَامُ ضَامِنٌ، وَالْمُؤَذِّنُ مُؤْتَمَنٌ، فَأَرْشَدَ اللهُ الْأَئِمَّةَ وَغَفَرَ لِلْمُؤَذِّنِين»

(The Imam is a guarantor and the Mu'adhdhin is in a position of trust. May Allah guide the Imams and forgive the Mu'adhdhin.)" The correct view is that the Ayah is general in meaning, and includes the Mu'adhdhin and others. When this Ayah was revealed, the Adhan had not been prescribed at all. The Ayah was revealed in Makkah, and the Adhan was prescribed in Al-Madinah after the Hijrah, when it was shown to `Abdullah bin `Abd Rabbihi Al-Ansari in a dream. He told the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about it, and he told him to teach it to Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him, who had a more beautiful voice, as we have discussed elsewhere. So the correct view is that the Ayah is general in meaning, as `Abdur-Razzaq said, narrating from Ma`mar, from Al-Hasan Al-Basri, who recited this Ayah:

وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ قَوْلاً مِّمَّن دَعَآ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَعَمِلَ صَـلِحاً وَقَالَ إِنَّنِى مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ

(And who is better in speech than he who invites to Allah, and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims.") and said, "This is the beloved of Allah, this is the close friend of Allah, this is the chosen one of Allah, this is the most beloved of the all the people of earth to Allah. He responded to the call of Allah and called mankind to that to which he had responded. He did righteous deeds in response and said, `I am one of the Muslims.' This is Allah's Khalifah."

Wisdom in Da`wah etc

وَلاَ تَسْتَوِى الْحَسَنَةُ وَلاَ السَّيِّئَةُ

(The good deed and the evil deed cannot be equal.) means, there is a huge difference between them.

ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِى هِىَ أَحْسَنُ

(Repel (the evil) with one which is better,) means, `when someone does you wrong, repel him by treating him well,' as `Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "There is no better punishment for one who has disobeyed Allah with regard to you, than your obeying Allah with regard to him."

فَإِذَا الَّذِى بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهُ عَدَاوَةٌ كَأَنَّهُ وَلِىٌّ حَمِيمٌ

(then verily he, between whom and you there was enmity, (will become) as though he was a close friend.) means, `if you treat well those who treat you badly, this good deed will lead to reconciliation, love and empathy, and it will be as if he is a close friend to you and he will feel pity for you and be kind to you.' Then Allah says:

وَمَا يُلَقَّاهَا إِلاَّ الَّذِينَ صَبَرُواْ

(But none is granted it except those who are patient) meaning, no one accepts this advice and works according to it, except for those who can be patient in doing so, for it is difficult for people to do.

وَمَا يُلَقَّاهَآ إِلاَّ ذُو حَظِّ عَظِيمٍ

(and none is granted it except the owner of the great portion) means, the one who has a great portion of happiness in this world and in the Hereafter. `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas explained this Ayah: "Allah commands the believers to be patient when they feel angry, to be forbearing when confronted with ignorance, and to forgive when they are mistreated. If they do this, Allah will save them from the Shaytan and subdue their enemies to them until they become like close friends."

وَإِمَّا يَنَزَغَنَّكَ مِنَ الشَّيْطَـنِ نَزْغٌ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّهِ

(And if an evil whisper from Shaytan tries to turn you away, then seek refuge in Allah.) means, the devils among men may be deceived by your kind treatment of him, but the devils among the Jinn, when they insinuate their evil whispers, cannot be dealt with except by seeking refuge with the Creator Who gave him power over you. If you seek refuge with Allah and turn to Him, He will stop him from harming you and bring his efforts to naught. When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood up to pray, he would say:

«أَعُوذُ بِاللهِ السَّمِيعِ الْعَلِيمِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ، مِنْ هَمْزِهِ وَنَفْخِهِ وَنَفْثِه»

(I seek refuge in Allah the All-Hearing, All-Knowing, from the accursed Shaytan and his evil insinuations, breath and impurity.)" We have already stated that there is nothing like this in the Qur'an, apart from the passage in Surat Al-A`raf, where Allah says:

خُذِ الْعَفْوَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْعُرْفِ وَأَعْرِض عَنِ الْجَـهِلِينَ - وَإِمَّا يَنَزَغَنَّكَ مِنَ الشَّيْطَـنِ نَزْغٌ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّهِ إِنَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ

(Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the foolish. And if an evil whisper comes to you from Shaytan, then seek refuge with Allah. Verily, He is All-Hearer, All-Knower.) (7:199-200) and the passage in Surat Al-Mu'minun where Allah says:

ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِى هِىَ أَحْسَنُ السَّيِّئَةَ نَحْنُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يَصِفُونَ - وَقُلْ رَّبِّ أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ هَمَزَاتِ الشَّيـطِينِ - وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ رَبِّ أَن يَحْضُرُونِ

(Repel evil with that which is better. We are Best-Acquainted with the things they utter. And say: "My Lord! I seek refuge with You from the whisperings of the Shayatin. And I seek refuge with You, My Lord! lest they should come near me.") (23:96-98)

وَمِنْ ءَايَـتِهِ الَّيْلُ وَالنَّهَارُ وَالشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ لاَ تَسْجُدُواْ لِلشَّمْسِ وَلاَ لِلْقَمَرِ وَاسْجُدُواْ لِلَّهِ الَّذِى خَلَقَهُنَّ إِن كُنتُمْ إِيَّاهُ تَعْبُدُونَ - فَإِنِ اسْتَكْبَرُواْ فَالَّذِينَ عِندَ رَبِّكَ يُسَبِّحُونَ لَهُ بِاللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَهُمْ لاَ يَسْـَمُونَ

وَلَا تَسْتَوِي الْحَسَنَةُ وَلَا السَّيِّئَةُ (And good and evil are not equal - 34). The special instructions for those who are engaged in calling others towards Allah commence from here. The gist of these instructions is not to repay evil with evil, but to be patient and to be obliging ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ (Repel (evil) with what is best, - 34) means that the habit of those people who are engaged in calling others towards Allah should be to reply to the evil behavior of the addressees in the best possible manner. No doubt, it is good not to repay evil with evil and to forgive, but it is much better to do some good to the evil-doer after forgiving him. Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ has said that the instruction in this verse is to be patient with the one who is expressing his anger with you, to be tolerant and forbearing with the one who is being ignorant with you and to forgive the one who has made you suffer. (Mazhari)

Some narrations have it that someone either abused or reviled Sayyidna Abu Bakr ؓ who said to him, ` If what you are saying is true that I am at fault and am bad, then I pray Allah Ta’ ala to forgive me, and if you have told a lie then may Allah Forgive you. (Qurtubi)

The call of the Quran is to invite people to God. Bringing man closer to his Lord and Sustainer; making him spend his whole life in remembrance of God; developing a feeling in man that he should make the one and only God the centre of his attention—these are the real aims of the Quranic call and undoubtedly there is no call better than this. But, only that person becomes the preacher of God who is so sincere in his call that he, first of all, accepts whatever he wants others to accept. Whatever he exhorts others to do, he should have himself started doing from the outset. The greatest weapon of a preacher of Truth is his ability to treat people well. Even if people are not good to him, he should be good to them. He should adopt the policy of avoidance in the face of provocation or irritating behaviour and exercise patience under trying circumstances. Almighty God has made it possible for unilateral good behaviour to be immensely persuasive. The preacher of God is aware of this God-given asset, and uses it to the utmost extent, even although it may involve crushing his own feelings and killing the urge to retaliate. Whenever a caller to Truth has the feeling within him that it is necessary for him to retaliate against a particular instance of oppression in order to prevent the enemy from becoming so bold as to commit even greater excesses, he should immediately understand that this is a satanic inducement. It is the duty of every believer and preacher of Truth to seek the protection of God from such feelings instead of acting upon them.