that seem beneficial had already been anticipated by Islamic legislation.

For this reason He says: “Those are the ones whose hearts Allah knows; so turn away from them, admonish them, and address them with penetrating words about themselves” (al-Nisāʾ 4:63). In other words, these are the people whose inner thoughts Allah knows, even though they parade before the public as believers in Allah and as reformers who seek to harmonize the rulings of the sharia with those of man-made law. Allah is fully aware of what lies in their hearts and of the schemes they plot for the Muslim community. “So turn away from them”—the command to shun them itself conveys a threat—“and admonish them, and speak to them concerning their own selves with eloquent, incisive speech,” meaning: speak to them in words so forceful that they reach the core of their souls and cause them to take heed.

Then He says: “We sent no messenger except to be obeyed by Allah’s leave” (al-Nisāʾ 4:64). That is, We did not send the messengers merely for their sayings to be recited and then ignored; rather, We sent them for the sole purpose of being obeyed—for otherwise their mission would be pointless.

The very essence and implication of a divine message is that the Messenger must be obeyed: “We sent no messenger except to be obeyed by Allah’s leave. If, when they had wronged themselves, they had come to you and sought Allah’s forgiveness, and the Messenger had sought forgiveness for them, they would surely have found Allah Ever-Relenting…"