Tenth Principle: The Qur’an’s methods of calling disbelievers, whatever their creed may be.
It invites them to Islam and to faith in Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) by portraying the beauty of his sacred law and religion and by presenting the proofs of his prophethood, so that anyone who seeks truth and fairness may be guided and so that the evidence may stand against the obstinate.
This is the greatest approach by which all who differ from Islam are addressed. The excellences of Islam, the virtues of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the signs and proofs given to him are by themselves entirely sufficient for the call, without first refuting every doubt or argument they advance; once the truth becomes clear, it is understood that whatever opposes it is false and misguided.
The Qur’an also summons them by instilling fear through the stories of bygone nations and the punishments of this world and the Hereafter; by exposing the evils and baneful outcomes embedded in false religions; and by showing that such faiths rest on heedlessness and denial of Allah’s universal and revealed signs, while their followers languish under the domination of ignorance and the blind imitation of forefathers, elders, and leaders. It warns them against obeying these leaders, for they are the chiefs of evil and callers to the Fire; their own souls will eventually be rent with regret over what they did and sent ahead, and they will wish they had obeyed the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) instead of obeying lords and chieftains. Their love, friendship, and loyalty will then be transformed into hatred and enmity.
The Qur’an further calls them—just as it calls the believers—by reminding them of Allah’s favors and blessings, declaring that the One who alone creates, governs, and bestows outward and inward gifts is the very One whom the servants must obey, by carrying out His commands and avoiding His prohibitions.
It also calls them by laying bare the defects of their false religions and the ugliness they contain, then setting these side by side with Islam so that what deserves preference and what must be chosen becomes perfectly clear.