Page 54 - The Muslim Way of Speaking

THE MUSLIM WAY OF SPEAKING

ishment in the afterlife for those who act as Satan's spokespersons will
be similar to that slated for Satan himself. Because of this, they do not
fall into Satan's trap; they immediately take refuge in Allah, and by
speaking in conformity with the Qur'an, they ultimately render Satan's
efforts ineffective.

Enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong

With their speech, believers try both to live according to the moral-
ity expounded in the Qur'an, as best as they can, as well as encourage
others to live a moral life. That is because, in the Qur'an, they are ad-
vised that they are responsible for calling others to behave well, enjoin-
ing what is right and forbidding what is wrong:
Let there be a community among you who call to the good, and
enjoin the right, and forbid the wrong. They are the ones who
have success. (Surah Al ‘Imran: 104)
As this verse commands, Muslims must try to direct both one an-
other and other people towards the morality which Allah approves. In
the Qur'an, the faithful are instructed to speak "the finest of words."
Because of this, the faithful speak using their intelligence and their con-
science in the best possible way, and try to find the words which will be
most useful for the people they are talking to. Knowing that others' lack
of knowledge or ignorance comes from their distance from the Qur'an,
they approach them by a way of speaking filled with compassion and
mercy. They do not forget that, before they themselves learned the
morality of the Qur'an, they were prone to incorrect behavior or that
they had been able to arrive at moral perfection only because of Allah's
compassion.
In addition, while explaining the religion, they never speak in a way
that is forceful. As is outlined in this verse of the Qur'an, "So remind
them! You are only a reminder. You are not in control of them." (Surat
al-Ghashiyya: 21-22), the responsibility of the Muslims is only to give

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