The Call of the Quran
5. The call of da‘wah in the modern age
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made the path smoother for us, by making such
advances in the course of human history as have
opened up new and better opportunities for us to
spread His word. The result has been that in our
times, this historical process having reached what
might well be its zenith; it has become possible to
do with the pen what had earlier been done with
the sword.
This act of facilitation has three main aspects to it,
all of which are foreshadowed in passages of the
Qur’an. For example believers are enjoined to pray:
Lord, do not lay on us the burden you laid on
those before us. (2:286)
This prayer has been answered in the sense that
daw’ah work may now be performed in an
atmosphere conducive to the free expression of
different opinions, whereas in the past, and
certainly in the time of the Prophet, there were
stringent curbs on freedom of speech. Those who
proclaimed the Oneness of God were regularly
subjected to such forms of persecution as stoning,
burning, and the tearing of their bodies apart. The
reason for this was that earlier governments were
