Surah Taa-Haa (20) — Ayah 44

(Ayah 44) ➊ {فَقُوْلَا لَهٗ قَوْلًا لَّيِّنًا :} Allah Almighty commanded Musa and Harun (peace be upon them) that when inviting Pharaoh, they should speak gently, in a manner that encourages, not in a way that provokes anger. Every caller to Allah must adopt this approach, because the purpose of inviting to Allah is the guidance and reform of the addressee, not to prove one's own superiority or to vent personal anger through harsh words. See Surah An-Nahl (125) and Al-Imran (159). Allah Almighty Himself taught that gentle speech, as will come ahead in verse (47), and see Surah An-Nazi'at (18, 19). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ يَا عَائِشَةُ ! إِنَّ اللّٰهَ رَفِيْقٌ يُحِبُّ الرِّفْقَ وَيُعْطِيْ عَلَی الرِّفْقِ مَا لَا يُعْطِيْ عَلَی الْعُنْفِ وَمَا لاَ يُعْطِيْ عَلٰی مَا سِوَاهٗ ] [ مسلم، البر والصلۃ، باب فضل الرفق : ۲۵۹۳، عن عائشۃ رضی اللہ عنھا ] "O Aisha! Indeed, Allah Almighty is very gentle, loves gentleness, and gives for gentleness what He does not give for harshness or for anything else besides it." And he also said: [ إِنَّ الرِّفْقَ لَايَكُوْنُ فِيْ شَيْءٍ إِلَّا زَانَهُ وَلاَ يُنْزَعُ مِنْ شَيْءٍ إِلَّا شَانَهٗ ] [ مسلم، أیضًا : ۲۵۹۴ ] "Gentleness beautifies whatever it is in, and when it is removed from something, it makes it defective." However, if gentleness proves completely ineffective somewhere and a person does not desist from stubbornness and arrogance in any way, then it is also permissible to speak the truth firmly, because in that case, "wisdom" demands it, as in Surah Al-Ankabut (46) and in the verses under commentary, in verse (48), is the statement of Musa (peace be upon him).

➋ The word {لَعَلَّهٗ يَتَذَكَّرُ اَوْ يَخْشٰى: ’’ لَعَلَّ ‘‘} is used for hope (expectation). Here, a famous question arises: when hope is mentioned in the speech of Allah Almighty, it is certain. Here, Allah Almighty knew that Pharaoh would be deprived of admonition or fear, so why did He use the word {’’لَعَلَّ‘‘ }? There are two explanations for this, and both are correct. One is that this {’’لَعَلَّ‘‘ } is in relation to Musa and Harun (peace be upon them): that you should speak to him gently with the hope that he will take admonition or become fearful. The translation is according to this, because Musa (peace be upon him) did not know that he would not believe. Similarly, no matter how rebellious the addressee is, the caller must always keep the lamp of hope burning in his heart. The second explanation is that the word {’’لَعَلَّ‘‘} comes not only in the meaning of "hope is" but also in the meaning of { ’’كَيْ‘‘}, i.e., "so that," as in Surah Al-Baqarah (21): « لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُوْنَ » "So that you may be saved." {’’ يَتَذَكَّرُ ‘‘ } that he may take admonition and believe, or at least, out of fear, refrain from oppression, because this is the most that can be hoped for from a rebellious person.

44. 1. This attribute is also very necessary for calling people to Allah. Because people shy away from harshness and run away from it, and they come closer and are affected by gentleness if they are among those who accept guidance.

44. And speak to him gently, perhaps he may take heed [29] or fear (Allah)."

[29]
The Proper Tone is Necessary for Invitation:

There are only two possible ways for someone to come to the right path and accept it. One is that he fully understands the invitation and accepts the truth, and the other is that he becomes upright out of fear of a bad outcome. Both of these possibilities were explained, and they were instructed to speak to Pharaoh in a gentle tone. Because sometimes speaking harshly has the opposite effect; instead of understanding the real message, the addressee, due to the manner and tone of speech, becomes stubborn and oppositional. Thus, this is a very important lesson for those engaged in the work of preaching and inviting to the religion.