Surah Fussilat (41) — Ayah 34

(Ayah 34) ➊ {وَ لَا تَسْتَوِي الْحَسَنَةُ … :} In this verse, the method of responding to the excess and evil of the people addressed by the invitation is taught. Generally, the {’’ وَ لَا السَّيِّئَةُ ‘‘} of {’’ لَا ‘‘} is translated as “good and evil are not equal.” Some people call it an additional word for emphasis, whereas instead of calling any word or even a letter of the Noble Qur’an as extra, it is necessary to try to understand the benefit for which that word, which apparently seems extra, has been brought. Because this is the speech of Allah, and Allah is far above bringing any word without need. In reality, the point being made here is that goodness is not equal, neither in terms of the individuals of its kind, because there are countless levels of good deeds—some are of a lower level, some are higher, and some are the highest, as mentioned in the hadith: [ فَأَدْنَاهَا إِمَاطَةُ الْأَذٰی عَنِ الطَّرِيْقِ وَأَرْفَعُهَا قَوْلُ لاَ إِلٰهَ إِلاَّ اللّٰهُ ] [ ترمذي، الإیمان، باب في استکمال الإیمان… : ۲۶۱۴ ] “The lowest good deed is to remove something harmful from the path, and the highest is to say ‘La ilaha illallah.’” And neither is one good deed equal in terms of its degrees, for example, there are many levels of kindness to someone. Similarly, even a single good deed is not equal when done by different people—some do it with pure intention, some with ostentation, some with full effort, some with moderate effort, and some half-heartedly. In short, no good deed is equal, neither in itself, nor in comparison to other good deeds, nor in terms of the doers.

➋ { وَ لَا السَّيِّئَةُ:} The same is the case with evil; it is not equal. There is a difference between verbal enmity and enmity with arrows and swords; there is a difference between the disbelief of Abu Talib and Abu Jahl. Therefore, the translation of the verse is: “And neither is goodness equal, nor is evil.” This point has been considered in the translations of both Shah Abdul Qadir and Shah Rafiuddin.

➌ { اِدْفَعْ بِالَّتِيْ هِيَ اَحْسَنُ:} That is, the response to evil is not just to respond with goodness, but to do so in the best possible way, which is the highest level of goodness. Sometimes, this best way is a good word and a good tone, as Tabari has narrated with an authentic chain from Ali bin Abi Talhah from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them): [ أَمَرَ اللّٰهُ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ بِالصَّبْرِ عِنْدَ الْغَضَبِ، وَ الْحِلْمِ وَالْعَفْوِ عِنْدَ الْإِسَائَةِ، فَإِذَا فَعَلُوْا ذٰلِكَ عَصَمَهُمُ اللّٰهُ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ، وَخَضَعَ لَهُمْ عَدُوُّهُمْ، كَأَنَّهُ وَلِيٌّ حَمِيْمٌ ] [ طبري : ۳۰۷۹۴۔ السنن الکبرٰی للبیہقي : 45/7، ح : ۱۳۶۸۰ ] “Allah has commanded the believers to be patient at the time of anger and to show forbearance and forgiveness at the time of mistreatment. When they do so, Allah will protect them from Satan, and their enemy will become subdued before them, as if he is a close friend.” And sometimes, the best way is not only good character and the best words, but also jihad with the hand (physical force), because of which Allah has declared the Muslim Ummah as the best nation (see Al-Imran: 110), and because of which great enemies become close friends, like Thumamah bin Uthal, Abu Sufyan, Safwan bin Umayyah, Harith bin Hisham (may Allah be pleased with them), and countless disbelievers who, due to the blessing of jihad, became bosom friends. Even today, unless the rulers of disbelieving countries are subdued by force and, like Thumamah bin Uthal (may Allah be pleased with him), are tied to the pillar of the Prophet’s Mosque and made to witness the teachings of Islam with their own eyes, it is difficult for them to become Muslim or close friends. (See also Ra’d: 22) A believer is gentle in speech, passionate in pursuit.

34. 1 Rather, there is a great difference between them.

24. 2 This is a very important moral instruction: repel evil with good, that is, repay evil with kindness, excess with forgiveness, anger with patience, indecency by overlooking, and unpleasantness with tolerance and forbearance. The result of this will be that your enemy will become your friend, one who keeps his distance will come near, and one thirsty for your blood will become your admirer and devoted supporter.

34. (O Prophet) Good and evil [42] are never equal. Repel (evil) with what is better; then you will see that the one with whom you had enmity will become as if he were a devoted friend.

[42] Responding to evil with evil harms the cause of da'wah, while responding with goodness can turn even an enemy into a friend. In this verse, a golden principle of inviting towards Allah is stated. First, it is explained that good and evil can never be the same. This is mentioned because the disbelievers of Makkah had resorted to the worst tactics to crush the call to Islam. Muslims are being made to understand that the outcome of evil can never be good. Ultimately, evil ruins the one who commits it. Therefore, the one inviting towards Allah should never respond to evil with evil. Rather, he should endure it, not give an immediate response, and the next step should be to respond to evil with goodness. In this way, the enemy himself will become subdued and ashamed, and he will be compelled to think: what kind of treatment did I give, and what kind of treatment did the other party give me? He will become convinced of your sincerity, goodwill, and integrity, to the extent that he will abandon his opposition and join you, becoming your close friend. The second benefit of this is that your goal of inviting towards Allah will not be hindered; rather, it will progress further. But if you respond to evil with evil, then more evil will arise from the other side, opposition will increase even more, and your real objective will be lost, causing irreparable harm to the call towards Allah.