[Derived from a conversation of Javed Ahmed Ghamidi]
The responsibility that Allah Almighty has placed upon the scholars is nothing other than inzār—that is, to warn people about the punishment of the Hereafter. Allah has stated:
وَمَا كَانَ الۡمُؤۡمِنُوۡنَ لِيَنۡفِرُوۡا كَآفَّةً ؕ فَلَوۡلَا نَفَرَ مِنۡ كُلِّ فِرۡقَةٍ مِّنۡهُمۡ طَآٮِٕفَةٌ لِّيَـتَفَقَّهُوۡا فِى الدِّيۡنِ وَ لِيُنۡذِرُوۡا قَوۡمَهُمۡ اِذَا رَجَعُوۡۤا اِلَيۡهِمۡ لَعَلَّهُمۡ يَحۡذَرُوۡنَ.
It was not possible that all Muslims should have come out; but why did this not happen that a few from each of their groups could come forward to obtain sound understanding of religion and warned the people of their nation [about these attitudes they had adopted] when they returned to them so that they could remain secure from God’s grasp? (9:122)
The requirement of this great responsibility of warning is that:
Inform them that this world is merely a testing ground, which is destined to come to an end one day. In this world, human beings have been sent for the purpose of preparing righteous souls for the eternal world created by God, distinguishing between those who respect the boundaries set by God and those who break them, separating the obedient of Allah from those who rebel against Him, and then populating paradise with pure and compliant human beings while making rebellious individuals with impure souls the fuel for hellfire.
The continuous reminder and admonition of these truths is the fundamental responsibility of the scholars. For this purpose, they possess the Book of Allah, the message of which, if conveyed without any omission or alteration, conquers the hearts and minds with its divine power.
In fulfilling this responsibility, they must necessarily adhere to the limits established by Allah in this matter. The most important aspect of this is that they should confine themselves to reminders and admonitions. Allah has not provided any leeway for coercion or compulsion beyond this. If Allah had intended to grant any such leeway, He would have given it to those exalted personalities who were at the highest level of self-purification, who were intensely concerned for the salvation of people in the hereafter, whose discourse was manifestly clear, and with whom God communicated directly. These eminent figures were explicitly told:
If they do not believe in spite of this, then just remind them [O Prophet]! You are one who only reminds. (88:21-22)
اِنَّكَ لَا تَهۡدِىۡ مَنۡ اَحۡبَبۡتَ وَلٰـكِنَّ اللّٰهَ يَهۡدِىۡ مَنۡ يَّشَآءُ ۚ وَهُوَ اَعۡلَمُ بِالۡمُهۡتَدِيۡنَ
[In spite of this, they will not believe; so, do not worry much O Prophet.] You cannot guide those who you want; in fact, only God guides [according to His law] whomsoever He wills and only He knows well those who are guided. (28:56)
اِنۡ تَحۡرِصۡ عَلٰى هُدٰٮهُمۡ فَاِنَّ اللّٰهَ لَا يَهۡدِىۡ مَنۡ يُّضِلُّ وَمَا لَهُمۡ مِّنۡ نّٰصِرِيۡنَ.
If you are very desirous for their guidance, what will you gain from this [O Prophet] because God does not guide those whom He leads astray [according to His law] and also no one can be their helper. (16:37)
It is evident that if the work of the prophets is limited to mere reminder and admonition, then how can a religious scholar standing in their following exceed this! His task is simply to convey the message of the Qur’an and Sunnah to people by employing his best abilities. His language should be sweet, his reasoning strong, his manner benevolent, and his criticism courteous. It is this style of invitation that captures hearts and cultivates growth even in barren lands. Once this approach is adopted, there is no need to eliminate the existence of ideological opponents; rather, if Allah wills, the existence of the opponents gradually transforms into complete support and cooperation for them.
However, it seems to be the tragedy of the entire Muslim community that the proponents of religion appear to evade their fundamental responsibility. It seems as if enlightening people about the truths of monotheism and prophethood, and warning them of accountability in the hereafter, is no longer their concern. Instead, the tasks they have chosen for themselves mainly involve inciting naive individuals against their ideological opponents, issuing decrees of apostasy against them, and declaring them deserving of death.
In this entire approach, the fact is completely overlooked that in this world, at most, a decision can be made about whether a person or group is legally considered Muslim or non-Muslim. However, as far as true faith is concerned, only Allah Almighty can determine it. We neither have the ability to look into hearts nor should we attempt to do so. If scholars believe that the ideas of a person or group are incorrect, they should clarify the error of these ideas on an intellectual level and strive to bring them to the right path through compassionate advice and exhortation. This is their primary responsibility.