NOVEMBER 8

The Expression of Truth

Addressing the Prophet and the believers, the Quran enjoins: “Stay firmly upon the right path as you are bidden, together with those who have repented with you, and do not transgress. He is aware of what you do. Put no trust in the wrong-doers, lest you should be touched by the Fire. None but God can protect or help you.” (11:112-13, 17:73-75)

A true dayee is the well-wisher of his people to the ultimate extent. He is also desirous to an extreme degree that people should adopt the religion of truth. But no matter how strong his urge to communicate the message of God, he very often finds that his listeners are provoked by it and,  instead  of coming closer to the divine truth,  they are actually distanced from it. When the dayee describes the greatness of the One God, they show a strong antipathy for this, as if the message of God’s glory is bound to nullify the effulgence of their saints, who have wrongly come to be accorded the same status as that of God, which is His due by divine right. When he condemns the evils inherent in them, they turn against him.

With the negativism of his listeners in mind, the dayee tends at times to adopt a moderate approach in order to bring the madu closer to him. But God does not approve of this conciliatory attitude. What is of actual importance in the eyes of God is the pronouncement of truth, and not the making of concessions to the people. Besides, if the dayee takes a softer line in his communication of the divine message, he could be accused of attempting to enhance his personal popularity in order to derive some material benefit from the situation. But whatever profit he gained would necessarily be at the expense of the truth. It would mean that God’s word would become vague and unclear. In the eyes of God the actual crux of the matter is the clarity of the message conveyed to the people. If the truth becomes obscured for the madu, the exercise of dawah is rendered futile.