Page 50 - Communication and Argument in the Qur'an

48 COMMUNICATION AND ARGUMENT IN THE QUR’AN

ing and your sight and sealed up your hearts, what
deity is there, other than Allah, who could give them
back to you?” Look how We vary the Signs, yet still
they turn away! (Surat al-An‘am: 46)

Say: “Who provides for you out of heaven and Earth?
Who controls hearing and sight? Who brings forth the
living from the dead and the dead from the living? Who
directs the whole affair?” They will reply: “Allah.” Say:
“So will you not guard against evil?” That is Allah, your
Lord, the Truth. And what is there after truth except
misguidance? So how have you been distracted?”
(Surah Yunus: 31-32)
Urging them to think, Prophet Ibrahim (as) also mare his
people find the perversion they are in:
Recite to them the story of Ibrahim, when he asked his
father and his people: “What do you worship?” They
replied: “We worship idols and will continue to cling to
them.” He asked: “Do they hear you when you call, or
do they help you or do you harm?” They said: “No, but
this is what we found our fathers doing.” (Surat ash-
Shu‘ara’: 69-74)
Since whether or not to believe is left to people’s own
free will, believers are duty-bound to help other people
think about the truth. In order to perceive what is right in a
particular matter, people must first think about it. For this
reason, believers will communicate in a way that will lead
other people to think.