Allah says:
[وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ
قَوْلاً مِّمَّن دَعَآ إِلَى اللَّهِ]
(And who is better in speech than he who invites to Allah,) means, he calls
the servants of Allah to Him.
[وَعَمِلَ صَـلِحاً
وَقَالَ إِنَّنِى مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ]
(and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims.'') means, he
himself follows that which he says, so it benefits him as well as others. He is
not one of those who enjoin good but do not do it themselves, or who forbid evil
yet they do it themselves. He does good and avoids doing evil, and he calls
people to their Creator, may He be blessed and exalted. This is general in
meaning and applies to everyone who calls people to what is good and is himself
guided by what he says. The Messenger of Allah is the foremost among people in
this regard, as Muhammad bin Sirin, As-Suddi and `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin
Aslam said. It was also said that what was meant here is the righteous
Mu'adhdhin, as it was mentioned in Sahih Muslim:
«الْمُؤَذِّنُونَ
أَطْوَلُ النَّاسِ أَعْنَاقًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَة»
(The Mu'adhdhins will be the ones with the longest necks on the Day of
Resurrection.)'' In As-Sunan it is reported that the Prophet said:
«الْإِمَامُ ضَامِنٌ،
وَالْمُؤَذِّنُ مُؤْتَمَنٌ، فَأَرْشَدَ اللهُ الْأَئِمَّةَ وَغَفَرَ
لِلْمُؤَذِّنِين»
(The Imam is a guarantor and the Mu'adhdhin is in a position of trust. May
Allah guide the Imams and forgive the Mu'adhdhin.)'' The correct view is that
the Ayah is general in meaning, and includes the Mu'adhdhin and others. When
this Ayah was revealed, the Adhan had not been prescribed at all. The Ayah was
revealed in Makkah, and the Adhan was prescribed in Al-Madinah after the Hijrah,
when it was shown to `Abdullah bin `Abd Rabbihi Al-Ansari in a dream. He told
the Messenger of Allah about it, and he told him to teach it to Bilal, may Allah
be pleased with him, who had a more beautiful voice, as we have discussed
elsewhere. So the correct view is that the Ayah is general in meaning, as
`Abdur-Razzaq said, narrating from Ma`mar, from Al-Hasan Al-Basri, who recited
this Ayah:
[وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ
قَوْلاً مِّمَّن دَعَآ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَعَمِلَ صَـلِحاً وَقَالَ إِنَّنِى مِنَ
الْمُسْلِمِينَ ]
(And who is better in speech than he who invites to Allah, and does righteous
deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims.'') and said, "This is the beloved of
Allah, this is the close friend of Allah, this is the chosen one of Allah, this
is the most beloved of the all the people of earth to Allah. He responded to the
call of Allah and called mankind to that to which he had responded. He did
righteous deeds in response and said, `I am one of the Muslims.' This is Allah's
Khalifah.''
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