16. The Middle Nation

It has been described in the Quran:

‘Thus We have made you a middle nation, so that you may act as witnesses for mankind, and the Messenger may be a witness for you’. (2:143)

The wording of this verse shows that the missionary status of the Muslims has been mentioned in it. They have received this divine religion through God’s Messenger. Now, this is their duty that they should continually convey this religion to every generation and in every age. In this verse, what is meant by the word witness is da‘ee (the one who preaches the word of God to others).

The fact is that it was the responsibility of the followers of every prophet to convey the message of Truth they received from their respective prophets to other people. This was the responsibility of the ancient ahle kitab (those who have been given the scriptures) also. It has been termed in the Quran tabi‘een, i.e., God’s making clear His commandments to mankind (2:187). This tabi‘een, or dawah or witness is neither a mysterious thing nor a matter of superiority. It is only a dawah responsibility. And no responsibility is greater than the responsibility of dawah.

The followers of the Prophet Muhammad are required to discharge this responsibility of dawah work in a more emphatic way. Because Muhammad is the last prophet of God, that is, now no other prophet will come after him. So, the followers of the Prophet Muhammad have to discharge this duty of conveying the message of Go to all the people of the world and in all the ages to come. This is the duty of each and every Muslim which he has to perform on the priority basis. The standard of this dawah work is that it should be performed in the idiom of their addressees, that is, to admonish them in such terms as will address their minds.