Concession to Circumstances

The Prophetic method is that while commencing our activities we should give concession to circumstances. This ensures success in any effort, whether it relates to religion or to the world.

When the Prophet received prophethood, he was given this command by God to worship the one God alone and to communicate God’s message to the people. But the Prophet did not proceed by immediately going to open places, saying prayers in public or openly calling people to God. On the contrary, what he did was say his prayers in private for a few years and he communicated the message of God to people privately by meeting with individuals.

This was a concession he made to circumstances. Making allowances for circumstances is an important principle of Islam, even when some command is set forth in the Quran and Hadith in the absolute sense, we shall have to see, according to the circumstances, what is the best way to carry out that command. Whatever is practical in accordance with circumstances will be adopted to implement that command. Ignoring the circumstances is not the Islamic way and is not the Sunnah of the Prophet of Islam.

This way of proceeding may be called the natural method. In this world, in any matter, a result-oriented struggle can be only that which makes full concessions to the circumstances. Not making concessions to circumstances is to clash with nature, and Islam does not teach us to clash with nature.

Throughout all of his twenty-year prophetic career, the Prophet of Islam made full concession to circumstances. For his followers also this was the only method. Regardless of the environment, they had to understand it fully and had to plan their activities according to circumstances. Without this they could not receive divine succour.

Concession to circumstances is the equivalent of concession to nature. The laws under which the Creator has created this world have to be followed: this is concession to circumstances. This concession is essential to achieve success in any effort, whether it relates to religion or to the world.