Juz’ 14 – Al Hijr 1 – An Nahl 128, Critical Friends in the Quran

Juz' 14 includes the full surahs of Al-Hijr and An Nahl (the bee).

An Nahl is overflowing with reminders of all of the blessings of Allah. In addition there are directives to the Prophet on how to deal with dissent from the community. Commentators seem to disagree as to whether these verses were revealed during the Makkan or Medinan period.

Many of us talk about how to respond to non-Muslims about Islam and I hear a consistent thread of wanting to explain our identity and faith, gently and through kind actions. However, dissent within our own community also exists, and (in my observation), we don't always afford the same kindness of spirit to dissenters from within the community.

For this reason, the following ayah caught my eye:

Call unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation. And dispute with them in the most virtuous manner. Surely they Lord is He Who knows best those who stray from His way, and He knows best the right guided (16:125). 

The commentators note that "goodly exhortation may also be rendered 'beautiful exhortation' and can be understood to refer to the beautiful expression that constitute the arguments, proofs, and reminders found in the scripture, including those brought together in this surah (p.691)".  They go on to explain that the discourse of how one should dispute isn't only in the sophistication of methodology (logical proofs, etc.) but it should also involve "logical argumentation based upon sound and mutually agreed-upon principles, without harassment, rudeness, or harshness." This method requires building common ground upon which to offer logical arguments.  When I think about the kinds of arguments people in our community have, particularly on virtual forums, I find a building of common ground totally missing from the discourse. Instead, I find a heavy handed argument which reads more like a lecture rather than "virtuous" exchange.