Argument in the Qur’an (6/8)

Answers from the Qur’an to Argumentative Individuals

In the Qur’an, Allah tells believers how to answer those who argue with them:

Both the believers and the unbelievers give an account in front of many witnesses. Each side presents the truth as they see it and condemn those who are liars. In this case, the believers seek to make the unbelievers declare their ideas in public. The Qur’an expresses the truth that when religious morality prevails and everyone practices religion, many individuals will deny their former deeds and desires and try to make it appear that they had been in the company of the believers since the very first beginning. Given that the believers’ condemnation of the unbelievers is willed by Allah, it is, therefore, an act of worship.

Here is an answer that believers give to these individuals:

This clear and effective advice is the best and most practical method available for communicators of religion to use. Indeed, these are the key answers that Allah desires for every possible question. The verse below shows the kind of answer that may be given:

The unbelievers and those who argue with the believers all deny the existence of the Hereafter. Allah reveals the answer that must be given to such people:

Allah gives the following examples for the believers to use when confronted with such people:

To Those Who Claim They Are Going To Paradise

Say: “If the abode of the Hereafter with Allah is for you alone, to the exclusion of all others, then long for death, if you are telling the truth.” (Surat al Baqara: 94)

To Those Who Practice Their Ancestral Religion

When they are told: “Believe in what Allah has sent down,” they say: “Our faith is in what was sent down to us” and they reject anything beyond that, even though it is the truth, confirming what they have. Say: “Why then, if you are believers did you previously kill the Prophets of Allah?” (Surat al-Baqara: 91)

Remember when We made a covenant with you and lifted up the Mount above your heads: “Take hold vigorously of what We have given you and listen.” They said: “We hear and disobey.” They were made to drink the calf into their hearts because of their unbelief. Say: “If you are believers, what an evil thing your faith has made you do.” (Surat al-Baqara: 93)

They worship, instead of Allah, that which can neither harm them nor help them, saying: “These are our intercessors with Allah.” Say: “Would you inform Allah of something about which He does not know either in the heavens or on Earth?” May He be glorified and exalted above what they associate with Him! (Surah Yunus: 18)

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 say: “Allah.” Say: “So will you not guard against evil?” (Surah Yunus: 31)

Say: “Shall I inform you of the greatest losers in their actions?” People whose efforts in the life of this world are misguided while they suppose that they are doing good. Those are the people who reject their Lord’s Signs and the meeting with Him. Their actions will come to nothing and, on the Day of Resurrection, We will not assign them any weight. (Surat al-Kahf: 103-105)

Say: “To whom does Earth belong, and everyone in it, if you have any knowledge?” They will say: “To Allah.’ Say: “So will you not pay heed?” Say: “Who is the Lord of the Seven Heavens and the Lord of the Mighty Throne?” They will say: “Allah.” Say: “So will you not believe?” Say: “In whose hand is the dominion over everything, He who gives protection and from whom no protection can be given, if you have any knowledge?” They will say: “Allah’s.” Say: “So how have you been bewitched?” (Surat al-Mu’minun: 84-89)

If you ask them: “Who sends down water from the sky, bringing the earth back to life again after it was dead?” they will say: “Allah.” Say: “Praise be to Allah.” But most of them do not use their intellect. (Surat al-‘Ankabut: 63)

If you ask them: “Who created the heavens and Earth?” they will say: “Allah.” Say: “So what do you think? If Allah wills harm for me, can those whom you call upon besides Allah remove His harm? Or if He wills mercy for me, can they withhold His mercy?” Say: “Allah is enough for me. All those who truly trust put their trust in Him.” Say: “My people, do as you think best; that is what I am doing...”. (Surat az-Zumar: 38-39)

Those who say: “Allah has made a contract with us that we should not believe in any Messenger until he brings us a sacrifice consumed by fire.” Say: “Messengers came to you before me with the Clear Signs and with what you say. So why did you kill them, if you are telling the truth?” (Surah Al ‘Imran: 183)

Whenever they commit an indecent act, they say: “We found our fathers doing it and Allah commanded us to do it too.” Say: “Allah does not command indecency. Do you say things about Allah that you do not know?” (Surat al-A‘raf: 28)

To Those Who Deny the Existence of Allah, Religion, and the Qur’an

Say to those who do not believe: “You will be overwhelmed and crowded into Hell. What an evil resting-place!” (Surah Al ‘Imran: 12)

Say: “O People of the Book, come to a proposition that is the same for us and you–that we should worship none but Allah, associate no partners with Him, and not take one another as lords besides Allah.” If they turn away, say: “Bear witness that we are Muslims.” (Surah Al ‘Imran: 64)

Say: “I am forbidden to worship those you call upon besides Allah.” Say: “I do not follow your whims and desires. If I did, I would go astray and would not be among the guided.” Say: “I stand on a Clear Sign from my Lord, and yet you have denied it. I do not have in my possession that which you are in such haste to bring about. Jurisdiction over it belongs to Allah alone. He tells the truth and He is the Best of Deciders.” Say: “If I had in my possession that which you are in such haste to bring about, the affair between me and you would have been decided. Allah has greatest knowledge of the wrongdoers.”(Surat al-An‘am: 56-58)

They do not measure Allah with His true measure when they say: “Allah would not send down anything to a mere human being.” Say: “Who, then, sent down the Book that Musa brought as a Light and Guidance for the people?” You put it down on sheets of paper to display it while concealing much. You were taught things you did not know, neither you nor your forefathers. Say: “Allah!” Then leave them engrossed in playing their games. (Surat al-An‘am: 91)

Say to those who do not believe that if they stop, they will be forgiven what is past; but if they return to it, they have the pattern of previous peoples in the past. (Surat al-Anfal: 38)

When Our Clear Signs are recited to them, those who do not expect to meet Us say: “Bring a Qur’an other than this one or change it.” Say: “It is not for me to change it of my own accord. I follow nothing except what is revealed to me. I fear, were I to disobey my Lord, the punishment of a Dreadful Day.” Say: “Had Allah so wished, I would not have recited it to you nor would He have made it known to you. I lived among you for many years before it came. Will you not use your intellect?” (Surah Yunus: 16)

To Those Who Ask About the Final Hour and the Pangs of Hell

People will ask you about the Last Hour. Say: “Only Allah has knowledge of it. What will make you understand? It may be that the Last Hour is very near.” (Surat al-Ahzab: 63) Those who do not believe say: “The Hour will never come.” Say: “Yes, by my Lord, it certainly will come!” He is the Knower of the Unseen, Whom not even the weight of the smallest particle eludes, either in the heavens or in the earth; nor is there anything smaller or larger than that which is not in a Clear Book. (Surah Saba’: 3)

They say: “When will this promise come about, if you are telling the truth?” Say: “The knowledge is with Allah alone, and I am only a clear warner.” When they see it right up close, the faces of those who do not believe will be appalled and they will be told: “This is that for which you were calling.” Say: “What do you think? If Allah destroys me and those with me, or if He has mercy on us, who can shelter the unbelievers from a painful punishment?” Say: “He is the All-Merciful. We believe in Him and trust in Him. You will soon know who is clearly misguided.” Say: “What do you think? If, one morning, your water disappears into the earth, who will bring you running water?” (Surat al-Mulk: 25-30)

To Those Who Hate Religion

There you are, loving them when they do not love you, even though you believe in all the Books. When they meet you, they say: “We believe.” But when they leave, they bite their fingers out of rage against you. Say: “Die in your rage.” Allah knows what your hearts contain. (Surah Al ‘Imran: 119)

Say: “O my people, do as you are doing, just as I am doing. You will certainly come to know who will have the best home in the end. The wrongdoers will certainly not be successful.” (Surat al-An‘am: 135)

Do they have legs with which they can walk? Do they have hands with which they can grasp? Do they have eyes with which they can see? Do they have ears with which they can hear? Say: “Call on your partner-deities. Try all of your wiles against me and grant me no reprieve.” (Surat al-A‘raf :195)

When We let people taste mercy after hardship has afflicted them, immediately they plot against Our Signs. Say: “Allah is swifter at plotting.” Your plotting is recorded by Our Messengers. (Surah Yunus: 21)

When Our Signs are recited to them–Clear Signs–you can detect denial in the unbelievers’ faces. They all but assault those who recite Our Signs to them! Say: “Shall I inform you of something worse than that? The Fire that Allah has promised those who do not believe. What an evil destination!” (Surat al-Hajj:72)

To Those Who Wish To See a Sign

They ask: “Why has no Sign been sent down to him from his Lord?” Say: “Allah has the power to send down a Sign.” But most of them do not know it. (Surat al-An‘am: 37)

To Those Who Want To See a Miracle

Say: “I do not say to you that I possess the treasuries of Allah, nor do I know the Unseen, nor do I say to you that I am an angel. I only follow what has been revealed to me.” Say: “Are the blind the same as those who can see? So will you not reflect?” (Surat al-An‘am: 50)

They have sworn by Allah with their most earnest oaths that if a Sign comes to them, they will believe in it. Say: “The Signs are in Allah’s control alone.” What will make you realize that even if a Sign did come, they would still not believe? (Surat al-An‘am: 109)

What are they waiting for but for the angels to come to them, or for your Lord Himself to come, or for one of your Lord’s Signs to come? On the day that one of your Lord’s Signs does come, no faith which a self professes will be of any use to it if it did not believe before and earn good in its faith. Say: “Wait, then; We too are waiting.” (Surat al-An‘am: 158)

They say: “Why has a Sign not been sent down to him from his Lord?” Say: “The Unseen belongs to Allah alone. So wait; I am waiting with you.” (Surah Yunus: 20)

Those who do not believe say: “Why has a Sign not been sent down to him from his Lord?” Say: “Allah misguides whoever He wills and guides to Himself all who turn to Him.” (Surat ar-Ra‘d: 27)

Say: “If there had been angels on Earth going about in peace, We would have sent down to them an angel from heaven as a messenger.” Say: “Allah is a sufficient witness between me and you. He is certainly aware of and sees His servants.” (Surat al-Isra’: 95-96)

They say: “Why have no Signs been sent down to him from his Lord?” Say: “The Signs are with Allah. I am only a clear warner.” (Surat al-‘Ankabut: 50)

To Those Who Accuse the Prophets and Messengers of Opportunism

They are the ones Allah has guided, so be guided by their guidance. Say: “I do not ask you for any wage for it. It is simply a reminder to all beings.” (Surat al-An‘am: 90)

Say: “I have not asked you for any wage–it is all for you. My wage is the responsibility of Allah alone. He is witness of everything.” (Surah Saba’: 47)

To Those Who Call the Prophets and Messengers Liars

If they call you a liar, say: “Your Lord possesses boundless mercy, but His violent force cannot be averted from those who do evil.” (Surat al-An‘am: 147)

If they deny you, say: “I have my actions, and you have your actions. You are not responsible for what I do, and I am not responsible for what you do.” (Surah Yunus: 41)

To Those Who Say The Prophet (saas) Invented The Qur’an

Do they say: “He has invented it”? Say: “Then produce a surah like it and call on anyone you can, besides Allah, if you are telling the truth.” (Surah Yunus: 38)

Or do they say: “He has invented it”? Say: “Then produce ten invented surahs like this and call on anyone you can, besides Allah, if you are telling the truth.” (Surah Hud: 13)

Or do they say: “He has invented it”? Say: “If I have invented it, the crime will be laid at my door. But I am innocent of the crimes that you commit.” (Surah Hud: 35)

Say: “If both humanity and jinn banded together to produce the like of this Qur'an, they could never produce anything like it, even if they backed each other up.” (Surat al-Isra’: 88)

Or do they say: “He has invented it”? Say: “If I have invented it, then you possess no power to help me against Allah in any way. He knows best what you hold forth about. He is witness enough between me and you. He is the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.” Say: “I am nothing new among the Messengers. I have no idea what will be done with me or you. I only follow what has been revealed to me. I am only a clear warner.” Say: “What do you think? If it is from Allah and you reject it, when a witness from the tribe of Israel testifies to its similarity and believes while you are arrogant...! Allah certainly does not guide those who do wrong.” (Surat al-Ahqaf: 8-10)

To Those Who Associate Allah With His Creatures

Those who associate others with Allah will say: “If Allah had willed, we would not have associated anything with Him, nor would our fathers [have done so], nor would we have made anything forbidden.” In the same way the people before them also lied, until they felt Our violent force. Say: “Do you have some knowledge you can produce for us? You are following nothing but conjecture. You are only guessing.” (Surat al-An‘am: 148)

What then of Him Who is standing over every soul, seeing everything it does? Yet still they associate others with Allah! Say: “Name them! Or would you inform Him of something in the earth He does not know, or are they words that are simply guesswork on your part?” However, the plotting of those who do not believe seems good to them and they bar the way. Anyone misguided by Allah has no guide. (Surat ar-Ra‘d: 33)

They have made others equal to Allah to misguide people from His Way. Say: “Enjoy yourselves! Your destination is the Fire!” (Surah Ibrahim: 30)

Say: “Have you thought about your partner-deities, those you call upon besides Allah? Show me what they have created of Earth; or do they have a partnership in the heavens?” Have We given them a Book whose Clear Signs they follow? No indeed! The wrongdoers promise each other nothing but delusion. (Surah Fatir: 40)

When harm touches humanity, he calls upon his Lord, repenting to Him. Then when He grants him a blessing from Him, he forgets what he was calling for before and ascribes rivals to Allah, so as to misguide others from His Way. Say: “Enjoy your unbelief for a little while. You are among the Companions of the Fire.” (Surat az-Zumar: 8)

To Those Who Doubt

Say: “O humanity, if you are in any doubt about my religion, I do not worship those you worship besides Allah. Rather I worship Allah, Who will take you back to Him, and am commanded to be one of the believers.” (Surah Yunus: 104)

To Those without Faith

Say to those who have no faith: “Do as you think best. That is what we are doing. And wait. We too are waiting.” (Surah Hud: 121-122)

To Those Who Do Not Believe In the Prophets’ and the Messengers’ Mission

Those who do not believe say: “You are not a Messenger.” Say: “Allah is a sufficient witness between you and me, and anyone else who has knowledge of the Book.” (Surat ar-Ra‘d: 43)

To Those Who Deny the Resurrection

They say: “What! When we are bones and crumbled dust, will we then be raised up as a new creation!” Say: “It would not matter if you were rock or iron or indeed any created thing that you think is harder still!” They will say: “Who will bring us back again?” Say: “He Who brought you into being in the first place.” They will shake their heads at you and ask: ‘When will this happen?’ Say: “It may well be that it is very near.” (Surat al-Isra’: 49-51)

He makes likenesses of Us and forgets his own creation, saying: “Who will give life to bones when they are decayed?” Say “He Who made them in the first place will bring them back to life. He has total knowledge of each created thing.” (Surah Ya Sin: 78-79)

Say: “Yes, and you will be (raised up) in a despicable state.” (Surat as-Saffat: 18)

To Those Who Oppose the Believers

If they argue with you, say: “Allah knows best what you are doing. Allah will judge between you on the Day of Resurrection regarding everything about which you differed.” (Surat al-Hajj: 68-69)

About The Punishment Allah Will Give To The Unbelievers

Say: “Shall I tell you of a reward with Allah far worse than that: that of those whom Allah has cursed and with whom He is angry–turning some of them into monkeys and into pigs–and who worshipped false deities? Such people are in a worse situation and further from the right way.” (Surat al-Ma’ida: 60)

An Explanation of Human Helplessness

Say: “What do you think? If Allah's punishment were to come upon you or the Hour, would you call on other than Allah, if you are being truthful?” (Surat al-An‘am: 40)

Say: “What do you think? If Allah took away your hearing 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! Say: “What do you think? If Allah’s punishment were to come upon you suddenly by night or openly by day, would any but those who do wrong be destroyed?” (Surat al-An‘am: 46-47)

Say: “Who rescues you from the darkness of the land and sea? You call on Him humbly and secretly: ‘If you rescue us from this, we will truly be among the thankful.’” Say: “Allah rescues you from it and from every plight. Then you associate others with Him.” Say: “He possesses the power to send you punishment from above your heads or from beneath your feet, or to confuse you in sects and make you taste one another’s violence.” Look how We vary the Signs so that, hopefully, they will understand. (Surat al-An‘am: 63-65)

Say: “What do you think? If Allah made it permanent night for you until the Day of Resurrection, what deity is there other than Allah to bring you light? Do you not then hear?” Say: “What do you think? If Allah made it permanent day for you till the Day of Resurrection, what deity is there other than Allah to bring you night to rest in? Do you not then see?” (Surat al-Qasas: 71-72)

Say: “Who is going to shield you from Allah if He wills evil for you or wills mercy for you?” They will find no one to protect or help them besides Allah. (Surat al-Ahzab: 17)

Say: “My Lord expands or restricts the provision of anyone He wills. But the majority of humanity do not know it.” (Surah Saba’: 36)