people around him, but also to other people in society and all other
communities.That responsibility is instrumental in everyone living in
the awareness of Islamic moral values. People are free to choose the
lifestyle they like but since they are unacquainted with Allah and
Islamic moral values, the majority may choose irreligion. Many of them
may make mistakes or be unable to resolve their problems because they
do not know religious moral values. There may be millions of people
leading unhappy and hopeless lives because they are unfamiliar with
the commandments our Lord has revealed in the Qur'an.The
responsibility toward these masses that Allah places on believers
means they can teach them aboutIslamic moral values and then make
their own choices because since believers are aware of the verses of
the Qur'an, they know how the problems that these people cannot
resolve can be settled. It istherefore a religious obligation for
those who know to tell those who donot. One verse tells us:
" So struggle in the way of Allah – you are only answerable for
yourself –and spur on the believers . It may well be that Allah will
curb the force of the unbelievers. Allah has greater force and greater
power to punish." (Surat an Nisa', 84)
Emphasizing the Importance of Preaching
Being aware of the ways in which people can be rid of their troubles
and yet deciding to keep these ways hidden and not tell anyone about
them is likehaving prior knowledge ofa disaster but not telling
people how to avoid it. If a disaster takes place and people die, then
the person who never mentioned it has a heavy responsibility to bear.
For that reason, believers have a grave and great responsibility to
all mankind. The seriousness of that responsibility is increased by
believers being few in number and unbelievers making up a great part
of the world. It is therefore very important for the fervor
inbelievers' hearts to be kept constantly on the boil, that they
should not be allowed to fall into heedlessness, and that they should
be supported materially and psychologically in all they do. Allah
makes "spurring the believers to fight" obligatory in verse 65 of
Surat al-Anfal:
" O Prophet! Spur on the believers to struggle . If there are twenty
of you who are steadfast, they will overcome two hundred; and if there
area hundred of you, they will overcome a thousand of those who are
unbelievers, becausethey are people who do not understand." (Surat
al-Anfal, 65)
Warning Believers with Kind Words and Speaking Effectively So As to
Spur Their Consciences:
It is certain that in discharging their duty to preach the words,
believers can make many errors and exhibit flaws stemming from
ignorance or error. They may say a wrong thing, produce an incorrect
interpretation, ordo something wrong froman intention to do good. In
that event, it is essentialthey be warned and learn the truth
Preaching the moral values of Islam and calling people to faith is a
most important service calling for the greatest care; many people will
decide whether or not to live by the moral values ofIslam on the basis
of the language, attitudes and behavior of the person describing them.
If they love and trust the person describing religious moral values,
then their hearts will begin warming toward the morals of Islam. That
is why preaching religious moral values is the most serious
responsibility in the world.Therefore, believers who act with the aim
of Islamicmoral values becoming known to, and lived by, more people
need to be warned and trained to address people better every day
because such advice can overcome deficiencies in a person's knowledge,
manners, language, vocabulary, gestures, clothing and many other such
matters and we thus obey Allah's command regarding preparing
believers. However, in the Qur'an Allah reveals that as we prepare
believers, we must also encourage and enthuse them. That is whyit is
of the greatest importance for the advice to be given to be
constructive, encouraging and respectful.
Believers Must Be Given Advice without Discouraging, Offending or
Damaging Their Enthusiasm
The person giving advice must be very pure. Advice can only be
expected to benefit the other party if itis offered for Allah's
approval, with affection and compassion and without involving earthly
desires. But criticism givenout of envy, anger and hatred will be
harsh and hurtful. Instead of helping people, it will confuse them and
leave them wondering what to do. It will reduce these people's fervor
for what they are doing, and deprive them of joy or strength.
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