ادْعُ إِلِى سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَالْمَوْعِظَةِ الْحَسَنَةِ وَجَادِلْهُم بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ

ادْعُ إِلِى سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَالْمَوْعِظَةِ الْحَسَنَةِ وَجَادِلْهُم بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَن ضَلَّ عَن سَبِيلِهِ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ

Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation, and have disputations with them in the best manner; surely your Lord best knows those who go astray from His path, and He knows best those who follow the right way. (Quran, 16:125)

A story was once told about a number of men bound and chained inside a cave, where they are facing an inner wall of the cave. They are not able to turn their heads or move and are always looking ahead. Behind them is a fire that casts light on their backs, so that in front of them they see their own shadows on the wall. They also see the shadows of people who move around and about behind them. These people work and carry different kinds of vessels and containers, so the prisoners see nothing but their own shadows and those of the working people behind them.

They think that there is no other world but the shadows they see on the wall. When they talk to each other, they give these shadows special names and their rank between one another is determined by who best knows the shadows, their names, how they act, what they do and how well they can predict what will happen to them.

The story continues, that if one of these prisoners was to be freed from his chains, and if his mind compelled him to turn around, he would then see the light coming from outside the cave. This light would at first hurt his eyes and he would have to fight to look at it, but he would slowly move to the light. The way to the light is difficult and he must climb upwards against great obstacles. Once he is outside he will see things that he never saw before, such as the sun, the moon, stars, trees, animals, water, the air and so on. If his liberator told him that these things are real and the shadows he saw were only illusions, at first he would disagree and proclaim that the shadows are the real world and these things are all an illusion.

But he would soon realize the truth in the words of his liberator and he would become accustomed to the new world and his new vision. He would not consider his old life as anything but darkness and blindness, and he would never wish to go back to the cave and live as he did before. He would look on his former companions with pity, and when he sees them giving each other titles of honor because of their knowledge of the shadows, he would not give these titles and this knowledge any importance, because it is useless knowledge and far from reality.

It is the same for those who are wandering in the world until they discover the radiance of Islam. And it is the same for one who calls himself a Muslim, but one day discovers that his life was not according to Islam, sees the benefits in the teachings of Islam and pledges to dedicate his life for Allah. Neither the revert to Islam nor the Muslim who discovers his faith would ever wish to go back to their former ways of life, because with their new vision they see things for what they really are.

Allah says in the Quran,

اللّهُ وَلِيُّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ يُخْرِجُهُم مِّنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّوُرِ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ أَوْلِيَآؤُهُمُ الطَّاغُوتُ يُخْرِجُونَهُم مِّنَ النُّورِ إِلَى الظُّلُمَاتِ أُوْلَـئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ

Allah is the guardian of those who believe. He brings them out of the darkness into the light; and (as to) those who disbelieve, their guardians are Shaitans who take them out of the light into the darkness; they are the inmates of the fire, in it they shall abide. (Quran, 2:257)

And He says,

هُوَ الَّذِي يُصَلِّي عَلَيْكُمْ وَمَلَائِكَتُهُ لِيُخْرِجَكُم مِّنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ وَكَانَ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَحِيمًا

He it is Who sends His blessings on you, and (so do) His angels, that He may bring you forth out of utter darkness into the light; and He is Merciful to the believers. (Quran, 33:43)

Once a person realizes the treasure that he has found in guidance from Allah, it is a natural wish that he should want to share it with his family, his friends and ultimately with the rest of mankind. When he knows that we must all work for a certain goal, but that we are walking on different paths, he would most surely desire to show everyone the right path he has discovered.

In the verse quoted at the beginning of this discussion, Allah commands the believers to propagate the blessed religion of Islam, but He has laid down three conditions for this approach:

1. He must use wisdom

2. He must provide a good example

3. He must dispute in a good manner

One cannot simply walk up to a nonbeliever and dictate the beliefs and practices of Islam and expect him to believe without question. If we were to take one of those prisoners in the cave and throw them into the light of the world, do we assume that he would be grateful? Or would the sudden change from darkness to light blind his eyes, and everything he ever knew change to nothingness while everything he sees is new and painful to the eyes? In this situation, would he thank us or would he want to run back into the cave to put the chains back on himself and continue looking at the shadows on the wall?

We cannot expect that being bold and blunt will bring us anything but rejection. Allah has commanded us that we must first use wisdom. We must know who we are talking to and use the best means of approach, the way that will have benefit. For example, if one of our brothers is committing a sin, would it be wise to advise him in a place where everyone else can see and hear? Would he appreciate it if we announce his sin and our advice for him to the community? No reasonable person would agree to this kind of advice, even if he was committing a sin in public. The wise action would be to advise him in secret, and even then, in a way that brings the least amount of embarrassment for him, as the Holy Prophet (S) has said,

The believer is the mirror of another believer.

The mirror does not announce your faults to the community, but only tells them to you. This must be our way, because the intent is to encourage him to righteousness, not to promote ourselves. Yes, we must tell the truth to the world, but even telling the truth has its proper time, place and method of delivery. This is only one example, and we must follow the way of wisdom for every invitation to Islam, whether we are inviting non-Muslims to Islam or our brothers and sisters in faith to improve themselves.

This invitation is medicine for the spiritual disease, but we cannot use the same kind of invitation for every person. Just as the patients with the different diseases need different medicines, there must be different approaches for people’s varying situations. Each medicine is good, but the cure for a fever will not work for muscle pain. In the same way, all truths are good but each one must be applied properly for it to have the desired result.

This is why Allah has made the use of wisdom the first condition, because without wisdom a person will invite in an improper way and turn people away, rather than attract them. Even if someone has a great amount of knowledge, it will not profit anyone if it is used incorrectly. On the other hand, someone who has a little knowledge but uses it properly can solve many problems. A man who has a warehouse full of one thousand tools but doesn’t know how to use any of them can never build a house. But a man who has only a hammer, a saw and nails, but knows how to use them can build a thousand houses.

There was a believer who once invited a nonbeliever to Islam, and the nonbeliever accepted. The believer invited his friend to the fajr prayer in the masjid. New to the religion and full of enthusiasm, he met the believer at the masjid and prayed with him. The believer told his new friend, it would be good if we spend some time here, recite some Quran and do some extra prayers. So they stayed for a while and when the the new friend was about to leave, the believer said, in a couple hours it will be time for dhuhr. It would be best if we waited and in the meantime did some worship to Allah. So they stayed til dhuhr and joined the congregation. When the friend was about to go home, the believer said, there are some prayers that are recommended to do and some supplications. We should stay and perform them. So they read the supplications and performed the prayers, and then the friend was wanting to go home. So the believer said, it is almost time for asr, perhaps we should wait til then. So they waited til asr, and after asr the believer asked the new friend to stay til maghrib, and the same thing happened for isha. After isha they left the masjid and both went home. The next day, the believer went to the house of his new friend to accompany him to the masjid for fajr, but this time his friend rejected him. He said, I have nothing to do with a religion that does nothing but worship all day in the masjid, because I have a life with other duties and responsibilities.

There is nothing wrong with worship, but everything has its proper dosage. If a doctor tells a patient to take one pill a day for ten days, will his friend who is not a doctor be able to cure him by telling him to take ten pills in one day? Doing so will possibly end his life. In the same way, the invitations to Islam must be done in the proper way, or the one being called will be turned off from Islam. And how can one invite in the proper way? There are initially two avenues open to him. The first is to invite the nonbeliever or the Muslim to the masjid, or the hawza, or an Islamic center to speak to an 'alim, someone who has experience and who is capable of inviting properly. The second way is to go and learn the methods used by the scholars of Islam, by the Imams (AS), and the Holy Prophet (S), and then apply those methods. In this way, one can ensure that the invitation is done with wisdom, because the source of the knowledge is not his own inexperience, but comes from those who know their field. Like the doctor who gives proper medicine, they can explain Islam and invite in the way that will best help the seeker understand.

For example, a man came to Imam Husayn (AS) and said that he could not stop sinning. So the Imam told him,

If you can perform five things, you can go and sin as you like:

1. Stop eating from the sustenance of Allah, and sin as you like.

2. Get out of the kingdom of Allah, and sin as you like.

3. Go to a place where Allah cannot see you, and sin as you like.

4. When the angel of death comes to take your soul, keep your soul and defend it from him, and sin as you like.

5. When Malik (the guardian of Hell) pushes you into the fire, do not enter, and sin as you like.

The man said that he could not do any of these, so the Imam (AS) said, Then do not sin. This is what is meant by wisdom. Imam Husayn (AS) could have said so many different things, but he put everything into perspective for that man, so that it became clear to him that there is no room for one to sin. And he did it in only 5 sentences. We can only imagine what a regular person would have told such a person, and what a difference there would have been between the effectiveness of his advice and that of Imam Husayn's (AS).

Another example. There was once a student of Imam Ali (AS) who was debating with an atheist. The atheist asked the student, Is your Lord powerful enough to place the heavens and the earth into an egg, without changing the size of the heavens and the earth and without changing the size of the egg? The student did not know how to answer so the atheist gave him one year to respond. The student went to see Imam Ali (AS) and told him what happened. Imam Ali (AS) told him to stand up and look around. He asked him what he saw. The student said that he could see the sky, the clouds, the sun, the moon, the hills in the distance, the trees, and many other things. So the Imam (AS) told him that the same Lord who put all those things into your eye, without changing their size and without changing the size of your eye, can certainly place them into an egg which is bigger than your eye. The student left the presence of the Imam happy and went to the atheist, who said I had given you an entire year to find answer. But the student said, I am ready to answer you now, and after giving him the answer, the atheist was left speechless.

Another example from a scholar of Ahlul-Bayt. Allamah Sayyid Sharafaddin Musawi (RA), one of the great scholars of Ahlul-Bayt, performed the Hajj during the time of Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, and he was one of the scholars invited to Eid al-Adha in the King's palace. When it was Allamah Sayyid Musawi's turn to shake the King's hand, he handed the King a leather bound Quran. The King placed the Quran on his forehead and kissed it, at which the Allamah asked, O King, why do you kiss and glorify the cover which is only made out of goat's skin? The King answered, I meant to glorify the Holy Quran, not the goat's skin. Allamah replied, Well said, O King. We do the same when we kiss the window or the door of the Prophet's (S) chamber; we know it is made of iron and could not harm or render a benefit, but we mean what is behind the iron and wood, we mean to glorify the Messenger of Allah (S) in the same way as you meant with the Quran when you kissed it's goat skin cover. The audience was impressed by the Allamah's reasoning and agreed with him, so the King was forced by this public support to allow the pilgrims to ask for blessings on the Prophet (S). This is the wisdom that is only possible from the Ahlul-Bayt or the scholars from among their students.

Another example from a scholar of Ahlul-Bayt. In the time of Allamah Hilli (RA), the nation of Iran was under the rule of a Sunni King, and the majority of the country followed the school of Ahlus-Sunna. It so happened that the King had become angry with his voice and divorced three times simultaneously. He soon regretted this and wanted to reconcile with her. But the scholars of his court told him that the only way he could religiously return to his wife was if she married another man and spent three nights with him. The King could not accept this stain on his dignity and was looking for a way out. At that time, Allamah Hilli was coincidentally visiting some families in Iran. A minister of the King, who was also an acquaintance of the Allamah, told the King that there was a crazy Rafizi (meaning heretic) scholar who might be able to help, so they invited Allamah Hilli to the palace. The King was in the palace hall with the scholars of the court, and as was the custom, everyone removed their shoes before entering. But when Allamah Hilli entered, he placed his shoes under his arm and came before the King. After exchanging greetings, the King asked why the Allamah did not remove his shoes as everyone else did, and the Allamah replied, because someone stole shoes from the masjid during the time of the Prophet (S). So if the Prophet's (S) masjid was not safe from thieves, how can I be sure that I will be safe here. They asked him, who was it that stole the shoes, and he replied, it was Imam Abu Hanifa. At this, a Hanafi scholar who was present stood up to defend his Imam and replied that Abu Hanifa was born some 100 years after the Prophet (S), so how could he have stolen the shoes? So the Allamah said, I am sorry, I am mistaken, it was not Imam Abu Hanifa; it was Imam Malik. So the Maliki scholar stood and complained in the same way, saying that Malik was born over 100 years after the Prophet, so how could he have stolen the shoes? The Allamah again apologized, and said I am sorry, it was not Imam Malik, it was Imam Shafi'i. So again, the Shafi'i scholar stood up and complained, that Imam Shafi'i was born 120 years after the Prophet, so how could he have stolen the shoes? The Allamah once again apologized and said, I am sorry, it was not Imam Shafi'i, it was Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal. So the Hanbali scholar stood up and protested in the same way, saying he was born some 150 years after the Prophet, so how could he have stolen the shoes? So the Allamah turned to the King and said, if none of these Imams was alive during the time of the Prophet, how can they give you the ruling of the Prophet? The King asked him, then what should we do, and the Allamah said, we follow Imam Ali (AS) who was alive during the time of the Prophet and he has the answer to your problem. The King was greatly interested and asked for his advice. The Allamah said that Imam Ali (AS) narrated from the Prophet (S) that there is no divorce in anger, so the divorce you gave to your wife was not valid, she is still your wife and you can take her whenever you please. The King was overjoyed at this and from then the official religion of Iran became the religion of Ahlul-Bayt.

It was the wisdom of the Ahlul-Bayt and the scholars of Ahlul-Bayt that were able to produce such effective methods of propogating Islam. It is our duty that we should not try to use our own limited knowledge and lack of experience in this field. Our duty is to refer those we wish to invite to speak to our scholars, or we must learn the ways of the Imams and the scholars and use their words and examples. Only by doing this can we be sure that wisdom is being utilized.

Insha Allah in the next lessons we will discuss the meaning of the rest of the verse we quoted in the beginning,