مصلحون کبھی کوشش نہیں چھوڑتے

By Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Ali Abouseif, President of the American Imams Academy.

Great calls are born from the womb of hardship, and reforming missions rise upon the shoulders of men who know no path to despair. Reform, in its truth, is not a passing cry, nor a stirring sermon, nor an impassioned stand that blazes for an hour and then dies down; it is a long planting, a continuous striving, an attempt followed by an attempt, until God permits what He wills to sprout, and when He wills it to bear fruit, and how He wills it to reach its full reach.

Whoever imagines that reform is a swift bargain struck in a gathering, or a word delivered that overturns the world around him, has been ignorant of the nature of the road and of God's laws in souls and societies. For hearts do not all yield at the first call, minds do not all transform at the first exposition, and environments do not change by a word however true, nor by an exhortation however far it reaches. Rather it is a long movement in which seeds accumulate and seasons succeed one another; the sower may see the fruit of his planting, and he may not, and the one who comes after him may reap it, while God records for him the reward of the first planter.

The true reformer does not measure himself by the outcome alone, but by his capacity, his conveyance, and his trust. If he has expended what he is able, done the best he can, and established his proof with wisdom, mercy, and patience, then he has discharged what was upon him, and guidance remains in the hand of God, who turns hearts however He wills. In this alone is a great rest for the heart of the reformer: that he knows his task is to sow, not to own the harvest; to try, not to control the outcomes; to knock at the door without knowing when God will open it.

This is a great understanding from the jurisprudence of reform: that you persist while knowing that the fruit is not in your hand, that you hope while you see the turning away, that you sow while you see no rain, and that you remain at the frontier not because people have done you justice, but because God has stationed you there.

First: Reform Between the Duty of Conveyance and the Unseen of Guidance

Among the greatest things that settle the reformer's heart is to distinguish between what he has been charged with and what he has not. He has been charged with conveyance, not with manufacturing guidance in people's hearts. He has been charged with establishing the exposition, not with guaranteeing the response. He has been charged to call to God upon insight, not to unlock the seals of hearts with his own hand.

God said to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):

"Upon you is only the [duty of] conveyance." [al-Raʿd: 40]

And He said, glorified be He:

"Not upon you is their guidance, but God guides whom He wills." [al-Baqara: 272]

And He said, exalted be His affair:

"Indeed, you do not guide whom you love, but God guides whom He wills." [al-Qaṣaṣ: 56]

These verses do not lift from the reformer the duty of striving, but they lift from him the illusion of controlling outcomes. Hence the confusion between conveyance and guidance has been among the greatest sources of psychological exhaustion among callers and educators; for one of them burdens himself with what God did not ask of him, so he grieves because people did not respond as he wished, and he breaks because he did not see the fruit at the time he had appointed, forgetting that God did not make him an owner of hearts, but made him a witness, a bearer of glad tidings, a warner, a caller to God by His permission, and an illuminating lamp.

When this truth settles in the reformer's heart, he proceeds lightly: he works hard, perfects the means, refines the address, is gentle with people, and then returns the matter to God. He does not slacken under the pretext that guidance is in God's hand, nor does he burn from within under the illusion that guidance is in his own hand. Between dependency and burnout lies the station of the God-fearing reformer: full exertion, and full surrender.

Second: From the Light of Prophethood: Thirteen Years of Knocking on Doors

Here is the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) dwelling in Mecca thirteen years, calling to God, enduring denial, bearing harm, circulating among the tribes in their seasons, presenting himself to people, calling the near and the far, the free and the enslaved, the noble and the weak. The scarcity of responders did not cut him off, the closing of doors did not turn him back, and despair did not tempt him to withdraw from the field of the call.

He would see obstinacy in faces, mockery on tongues, harm in pathways, and siege in reality, yet he would proceed; for the task of the Prophet is not to harvest every fruit in his own time, but to convey the message of his Lord in the manner God loves and is pleased with.

In this is a great teaching for reformers: that the scarcity of fruit does not mean the corruption of the seed, that the length of the road does not indicate an error in direction, and that turning away does not nullify the value of the conveyance. The opening may be delayed not because the call is weak, but because God is nurturing the caller and the one called, fashioning for the message its men, and preparing for the fruit its season.

Third: al-Ṭāʾif: Hope When Revenge Was Within Reach

The Prophetic attempt reached its peak at al-Ṭāʾif, when the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) went out seeking a supporter for the call after the harm of his people had intensified against him. Yet he found among its people only the harshest rejection; they incited against him their fools and their boys, who pelted him with stones until they bloodied his noble feet.

In that moment, when the harm had reached its utmost, the angel of the mountains came to him asking his permission to crush them between the two mountains. Revenge was possible, the punishment was offered, and the wound was present; but the heart of the greatest reformer was wider than the moment of pain, more penetrating in sight than the bounds of the present, and he uttered his immortal words: "Rather, I hope that God will bring forth from their loins those who worship God alone, associating nothing with Him." (Agreed upon, from the hadith of ʿĀʾisha, may God be pleased with her).

How magnificent a word! He (peace and blessings be upon him) looked, from behind the rejecters, to the offspring; from behind the harm, to the future; from behind the wounding moment, to God's promise in the generations. He did not see people merely as they were, but as God might make them to be. This is a lofty station among the stations of reform: that you not imprison people in the image of the moment of their turning away, nor judge them by the harshness of their stance, for perhaps in their loins is one who will carry the light, and perhaps in their descendants is one who will be a soldier of the truth.

al-Ṭāʾif teaches the reformer that mercy is not weakness, that hope is not naïveté, and that the bearer of a message must never make his personal wound a measure for judging the future of people. For the one who harms you today may be the cause of his son's guidance tomorrow; from the house of the rejecter a righteous progeny may emerge; and God may make from the offspring of the deniers servants who affirm His oneness.

Fourth: Noah, Peace Be Upon Him: The Measure Is Not the Number of Responders but the Persistence of the Call

In the procession of the prophets stands Noah, peace be upon him, as a great witness to perseverance in the call. God said:

"And he remained among them a thousand years minus fifty years." [al-ʿAnkabūt: 14]

And He said, upon his tongue:

"My Lord, indeed I invited my people night and day." [Nūḥ: 5]

Then he said:

"Then I invited them publicly. ... Then I announced to them and confided to them secretly." [Nūḥ: 8-9]

This is not merely the story of a prophet whose call stretched long in time; it is a complete school in diversifying the means and persisting in the attempt. He called by night and by day, secretly and openly, in announcement and in confidence, and he did not make their turning away a justification for abandoning the call, nor the scarcity of responders a reason for closing the door of conveyance.

From here the reformer learns that the measure of success, in the logic of the missions, is not always the number of those who responded in one's lifetime, but the extent to which one held fast to the truth, excelled in conveyance, and was patient upon the road. The reformer may be great in the sight of God even if his followers are few, and successful in the scale of heaven even if the earth did not applaud him.

Fifth: Jonah, Peace Be Upon Him: The Danger of Leaving the Frontier Before Permission

If the story of Noah teaches the reformer perseverance, and the story of al-Ṭāʾif teaches him hope in people despite the severity of their harm, then the story of Jonah, peace be upon him, adds another exceedingly precise lesson: that the reformer is tested not only in enduring people's turning away, but also in not deserting his post before God permits him.

God said:

"And [mention] the man of the fish, when he went off in anger and thought that We would not decree [anything] upon him. And he called out within the darknesses, 'There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers.'" [al-Anbiyāʾ: 87]

There is in this no diminishment of the rank of a noble prophet; rather it is a divine teaching for reformers: that the call is not run by the impulse of the moment, and that constriction of the breast at people's turning away must never be a cause for leaving the frontier before the completion of conveyance and the granting of permission. Hence came the divine directive to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):

"So be patient for the decision of your Lord, and be not like the companion of the fish." [al-Qalam: 48]

In the story of Jonah, peace be upon him, lies a subtle meaning: the reformer may be near the moment of transformation without knowing it. He may suppose that the people are finished, while in God's knowledge their door has not closed. He may be on the verge of departing at the very moment the opening drew near.

God said concerning the people of Jonah:

"Then has there not been a [single] city that believed so its faith benefited it except the people of Jonah? When they believed, We removed from them the punishment of disgrace in worldly life and gave them enjoyment for a time." [Yūnus: 98]

How many a people the reformer sees as far while they are, in God's sight, near; how many hearts appear hard while the hour of their breaking has drawn close; how many a door he supposes shut while behind it there remained a moment of opening whose time had not yet come.

Among the subtleties of the story is that the deliverance came through the door of glorification, confession, and need:

"And had he not been of those who glorify [God], he would have remained inside its belly until the Day they are resurrected." [al-Ṣāffāt: 143-144]

Glorification is the provision of the reformer when the road constricts upon him, confession of incapacity is the door of return, and need of God is the way out from the darknesses of the self and of reality. Thus the call of Jonah, peace be upon him, in the darknesses remained a school for every bearer of a message when the attempt has wearied him: "There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers." [al-Anbiyāʾ: 87].

Sixth: The Multiplicity of the Fronts of the Attempt in the Prophetic Guidance

The Prophet's persistence in the call (peace and blessings be upon him) was not confined to a single front. He renewed the means, addressed the various classes, and opened many doors to hope. He called Quraysh, presented himself to the tribes, moved on to al-Ṭāʾif, nurtured his companions in the house of al-Arqam, then built the society in Medina, contracted treaties, established brotherhood between the Emigrants and the Helpers, managed his relationship with opponents, treated souls within the Muslim society, took into account the weakness of those new to Islam, and nurtured his household and companions with gentleness and wisdom.

In this is a great jurisprudence: the reformer does not confine himself to a single means, nor make the failure of one door a proof that the whole road is closed. If the sermon alone does not succeed, there is teaching. If teaching does not suffice, there is companionship. If companionship weakens, there is the example. If the elders prove intractable, there are the young. If the mosque grows narrow, there are the home, the school, the gathering, the visit, and the private word. The reformer does not cease to try, yet neither does he repeat the same means without insight; rather he renews, diversifies, takes account of circumstances, and moves wherever he is able to sow.

Hence the Prophetic call was an edifice of many doors: conveyance, teaching, purification, patience, brotherhood, legitimate governance, familial mercy, the reconciling of hearts, the establishment of justice, and the keeping of covenants. This is the jurisprudence the contemporary reformer needs: to learn from prophethood not merely patience upon the road, but the good management of the road.

Seventh: The Psychology of the Contemporary Reformer

How greatly the contemporary reformer needs this deep Prophetic jurisprudence — whether he be an imam, a caller, a teacher, a father, or an educator — especially in environments where estrangement intensifies and influences crowd in. He is building an identity in an age in which identities dissolve, nurturing a generation pulled at by screens and desires and doubts, trying to plant the meaning of faith in soil that may seem hard, and to preserve for the children their bond with God in a world that competes for their hearts every moment.

He may plant for years and not see of the fruit what rewards his toil. He may advise and not be heeded. He may nurture and see of the unraveling what pains him. He may preach and teach and accompany, then ask himself in a moment of weakness: is there any use?

The answer, from the heart of revelation and prophethood, is: yes. The use is in the attempt itself if its intention is sound, in the planting itself if it is sincere to God, and in remaining at the frontier if it is with trust and insight. For the law of reform is cumulative; in it the efforts of generations gather as the drops of rain gather until they become a river. How many a word a reformer uttered and thought lost, only for it to awaken after a time in the heart of a youth, a child, or a penitent. How many a seed a caller buried in a breast he did not think would benefit, only for it to leaf out when the sower is absent or has grown old.

The reformer works for those after him as those before him worked for his sake. He receives the banner without claiming that he began the road from nothing, and he hands it on without stipulating that he see all the outcomes in his lifetime. By this he is freed from the hasty measures of the market: numbers that rise, images that spread, quick impressions, and immediate praise. His true measure is this: Did I convey? Did I do well? Did I persevere? Did I remain at the frontier? Did I return the matter to God?

Eighth: The Aids of Reformers in Completing the Journey

It does not suffice the reformer to know that the road is long, until he knows by what he traverses its length. Nor does it suffice that he believes the fruit may be delayed, until he possesses the provision that makes him patient with its delay. For the long road has its provision, the heavy message has its reinforcement, and the breakings of the self have wellsprings that restore to it its certainty and its strength.

1. Certainty of the Goal Before Hastening the Fruit

The first provision of reformers is the certainty that they have a goal that is not lost with God. They do not move in a void, nor sow in nothingness, nor work merely for people's admiration or their response; rather they proceed toward God and make their entire lives a meaning of servitude.

God said: "And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me." [al-Dhāriyāt: 56]. And He said, glorified be He: "Say, 'Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for God, Lord of the worlds.'" [al-Anʿām: 162]. And He said, exalted be His affair: "And that to your Lord is the finality." [al-Najm: 42].

Whoever has the goal made clear to him, the slowness of the road grows light upon him. Whoever knows for whom he works is not harmed by people's ignorance of the measure of his work. And whoever makes God his aim, his soul does not break if the thankful are few or the turners-away are many.

2. Seeking the Aid of God, the Owner of Hearts

The reformer is in need, at every step, of seeking the aid of God; for he does not deal merely with bodies that move, but with hearts that turn over. And hearts are not in his hand. He may perfect the exposition and yet the heart does not open; the means may be weak and yet God permits guidance; the reformer may knock at a door long, then God opens it with a word he did not think was the key.

God said: "And know that God intervenes between a man and his heart." [al-Anfāl: 24]. And He said, glorified be He: "Our Lord, let not our hearts deviate after You have guided us." [Āl ʿImrān: 8].

And among the supplications of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was: "O Turner of hearts, make my heart firm upon Your religion." (narrated by al-Tirmidhī and others).

This returns the reformer to a great truth: that he does not guide of himself, nor have effect by his own independence, nor own anything of the affair of hearts except to be a permitted cause, a needy servant, a truthful tongue, and a merciful heart. So when he feels incapacity, his incapacity is not a door of withdrawal, but a door of seeking aid. And when he sees the hardness of hearts, he does not despair, but raises them to the Turner of hearts.

3. Standing in Prayer at Night: The Reformer's Recharging Station

Among the greatest things that recharge the reforming self is standing in prayer at night. For God did not prepare His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to bear the weighty word first by mingling much with people, but by seclusion before Him.

God said at the opening of Sūrat al-Muzzammil: "O you who wraps himself [in clothing], arise [to pray] the night, except for a little." [al-Muzzammil: 1-2]. Then He said: "Indeed, We will cast upon you a heavy word." [al-Muzzammil: 5]. Then He made clear the secret of the night, saying: "Indeed, the hours of the night are more effective for concurrence [of heart and tongue] and more suitable for words." [al-Muzzammil: 6]. Then He said: "Indeed, for you by day is prolonged occupation." [al-Muzzammil: 7].

As if the meaning were: whoever has by day a prolonged occupation among creation, let him have by night a prolonged standing before the Truth. Whoever bears the burdens of people must cast his own burdens at the door of God. And whoever wishes to remain gentle in his call, patient in his nurturing, wise in his guidance, must have a hidden wellspring from which he draws tranquility.

Standing in prayer at night is not merely a private supererogatory act in the reformer's life; it is a missional provision. By it the heart is purified of the dust of mingling, the soul grows calm from the clamor of people, the caller regains his first sincerity, and he distinguishes between working for God and working for the self, and between zeal for the truth and revenge for the ego.

4. The Qur'an: The Wellspring of Steadfastness and the Insight of the Road

The Qur'an remains the greatest wellspring of steadfastness. The reformer does not recite it as a passing recitation, nor summon it merely to adorn his address; rather he lives with it as the book of the road: it lays out the pains of the callers, the scheming of the deniers, the slowness of the response, the loneliness of estrangement, the denial of the nearest of kin, and the breakings of souls, then in all of that it opens the doors of steadfastness.

God said concerning the wisdom of the Qur'an's gradual revelation: "And those who disbelieve say, 'Why was the Qur'an not revealed to him all at once?' Thus [it is] that We may strengthen thereby your heart." [al-Furqān: 32]. And He said, glorified be He: "And each [story] We relate to you from the news of the messengers is that by which We make firm your heart." [Hūd: 120]. And He said, exalted be His affair: "Say, the Pure Spirit has brought it down from your Lord in truth to make firm those who believe." [al-Naḥl: 102].

The Qur'an does not present the stories for diversion, but presents the problems of the road and with them the keys of steadfastness. In it the reformer finds himself among Noah as he calls for ages, Abraham as he confronts his people, Moses as he is patient with the Children of Israel, Joseph as he is turned about between the well and the prison and authority, Jonah as he returns from the darknesses with glorification, and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as he bears the weighty word until God completes His light.

The Qur'an is not the adornment of the reformer's address; it is the life of his heart, the insight of his road, and the refuge of his spirit when the attempt has weighed it down and the waiting has stretched long upon it.

Ninth: The Jurisprudence of Remaining at the Frontier

Among the most dangerous things that befall the reformer is that he transfers himself from the station of the conveying servant to the station of the ruler over hearts. So if people respond, he is pleased with himself, and if they turn away, he accuses the road, or accuses himself with a ruinous accusation, or withdraws from the field. The correct course is that he review his means without flagellating himself, renew his intention without breaking, develop his address without surrendering the truth, and be patient for the decision of his Lord.

Remaining at the frontier does not mean stagnation, nor the repetition of failed methods, nor the claim of heroism alongside poor management. Rather it means that turning away not be a cause for abandoning the message, that fatigue not be a justification for betraying the trust, and that the delay of the fruit not be a pretext for closing the door of hope.

God said: "And be patient, and your patience is not but through God." [al-Naḥl: 127]. And He said, glorified be He: "So be patient with gracious patience." [al-Maʿārij: 5]. And He said, exalted be His affair: "And for [the sake of] your Lord, be patient." [al-Muddaththir: 7].

These verses make patience an act of worship, not merely a psychological endurance; they make its source through God, not merely firmness of temperament; and they make its goal for God, not for the praise of people. Not every patience is praiseworthy until it is for God, through God, and upon what God intends.

Conclusion

O reformer standing at the frontier: do not look to what you see alone, but to what you sow. Do not make the slowness of the fruit a witness to the death of the seed. Do not despair if a door is shut, for God has doors beyond count. Do not let a stumble seat you, for no reformer has reached his goal except after stumbles. And do not leave your post merely for the constriction of the breast, for perhaps the opening is nearer than you suppose.

Continue the attempt as the prophets continued. Hope in people for what your eyes do not see. Look to the loins as your Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) looked on the day of al-Ṭāʾif. Learn from Noah perseverance, from Jonah the danger of leaving the frontier before permission, and from Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) that reform is mercy, patience, conveyance, and the renewal of means.

And know that ceasing to try is the real failure, while the sincere attempt is never lost with God. Every word of truth, every gathering of knowledge, every sincere counsel, every tear in the depth of the night, and every attempt to reform a heart, a home, a youth, or a society, is preserved in the scale of God, even if people do not see it as an immediate fruit.

So proceed; for the planting you plant today may become a shade in which one after you takes shelter. The light you carry you may not see in its full reach, but it does not go out if it is kindled from the light of prophethood. It is inherited by those who travel the path, generation after generation, until God inherits the earth and all upon it.

For reformers never cease to try; because they know that the road to God is not severed by a moment of despair, that conveyance is an act of worship, that guidance is a bounty, that the fruit is a promise, that what was for God remains even if its appearance is delayed, and that God does not waste the reward of one who does good work.

A Final Word

Our emigration to America or elsewhere is not the safe zone; for there a future threatens our children, the stability of the family, psychological security, and soundness of judgment. And amid these bodily, financial, and recreational gains lies what comes beyond them: the environment's swallowing up of our successive generations.

The address now is to everyone called to leadership in institutions great and small, and to everyone who cares for a child or provides for a woman: the matter is no longer confined to merely calling for the preservation of religion; rather it has become imperative that we summon ourselves to consider consequences and outcomes, and to plan for the future — for a tomorrow that will come without fail and arrive without doubt; yet upon what reality of ours, and in what state? And God knows best.