Al-Hijr 15:94–96

On Spreading the Religious Message Stage by Stage as Convenient

Before the revelation of the verse (94): فَاصْدَعْ بِمَا تُؤْمَرُ‌ (Now, proclaim what you are commanded to), the Holy Prophet ﷺ and his noble Sahabah ؓ used to make Salah and recite Qur'an secretly (lest they are seen and harmed). The process of passing on the religious message to others and the mission of teaching and training was also kept secret being limited to a counted few. The reason was that doing so openly would have given the disbelievers the opportunity to bring harm to them. In this verse (95), Allah Ta` ala has Himself taken the responsibility of seeing that they stay safe against those who deride their faith and bring harm to them. Therefore, from that time onwards, the mission was pursued openly and publicly in all its aspects, recitation of the Qur'an, acts of worship, the call, the propagation, everything.

The people who have been referred to in the verse: إِنَّا كَفَيْنَاكَ الْمُسْتَهْزِئِينَ إِنَّا كَفَيْنَاكَ الْمُسْتَهْزِئِينَ (Surely, We are sufficient for you against those who deride - 95) their ring leaders were five in number: (1) Al-` As ibn Wa’ il (2) Aswad ibn al-Muttalib (3) Aswad ibn ` Abd Yaghuth (4) Walid ibn Mughirah (5) Harith ibn Talhah. They were killed simultaneously and miraculously when signalled by Sayyidna Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) .

This event provides a guideline in matters of Tabligh and Da'wah. In places and under circumstances where a worker in the way of Allah sees no good coming out of saying what is true and right openly, rather apprehends harm coming to him in doing so, then, under such conditions, doing so secretly is also correct and permissible. However, when there is the option and ability to proclaim things openly, then, no delay should be made in taking a public stance.