Targhib means to encourage someone to do something. Tarhib, on the contrary, means to discourage someone to do something by frightening him about the consequences. Both encouragement and fear have a significant effect upon guiding people to the good deeds and making them abstain from the bad ones. Because of this characteristic of human psychology, Allah the Almighty employed targhib and tarhib (encouragement and fear) in the Qur’an and His Messenger (pbuh) used them prudently in the Sunnah.
Mathani is one of the attributes of the Qur’an. Along with its other meanings, mathani refers to “something which carries meanings in pairs.” In other words the Qur’an deals with the issues from two angles like from its negative and positive sides or presents the issues with their opposites. The subject can be better understood by means of some examples.
Allah’s attribute of “Mercy and Compassion” is stated and the servants’ hopes are increased in the second verse of the first chapter of the Holy Qur’an, while in the third verse there is a warning that Allah “is the Owner and Master of the Day of Judgment,” and thus servants are prevented from negligence. Likewise, in the same chapter, first believers ask for guidance for the straight path and then take refuge in Allah for protection from going astray and from being among those who are subject to Divine anger.
In the first five verses of the second chapter (al-Baqarah) of the Qur’an, the prominent features of the righteous believers are mentioned after the statement that the Qur’an is guidance for them. Then the following two verses deal with the disbelievers’ situation and the great penalty waiting for them in the Hereafter. In the twenty-fourth verse of the same chapter disbelievers are threatened by fire whose fuel is of men and of stones; whereas in the twenty-fifth verse believers are promised unbelievable blessings and gardens underneath which rivers flow.
We usually see that the styles of targhib and tarhib are used together in the Holy Qur’an. Allah’s Mercy, contentment, and blessings from Paradise are used for encouragement; while Allah’s punishment, Hell, and His various tortures are used as a means of discouragement.
In the chapter of Hijr, Hell is described as follows after the narration of the story between Adam and Satan:
“For over my servants no authority shall you have, except such as put themselves in the wrong and follow you. And verily, Hell is the promised abode for them all. To it are seven gates: for each of those gates is a (special) class (of sinners) assigned.” (al-Hijr 15; 42-44)
Right after these verses the Qur’an begins to describe Paradise:
“The righteous (will be) amid Gardens and fountains (of clear-flowing water). (Their greeting will be): enter ye here in peace and security. And we shall remove from their hearts any lurking sense of injury: (they will be) brothers (joyfully) facing each other on thrones (of dignity). There, no sense of fatigue shall touch them, nor shall they (ever) be asked to leave.” (al-Hijr 15; 45-48)
Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) also employed the method of encouragement and fear in his speeches. He encouraged the doing of good deeds by reminding of their spiritual rewards and discouraged the committing of sins by mentioning their punishment and explaining their harms. According to the narration of Bilal b. Harith al-Muzani, Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said that:
A servant says something pleasing to Allah the Almighty, but he does not think that he will gain Allah’s contentment by means of it; whereas, because of that word, Allah the Almighty becomes content with that servant until Judgment Day when they will meet.
Again another servant says something attracting the wrath of Allah the Almighty, but he does not think he will get punished because of that word; whereas Allah becomes angry with that servant until Judgment Day when they will meet.” (Tirmidhi, Zuhd, 12; Ibn Majah, Fitan, 12)
This tradition teaches us one of the most important principles in manners, or being cautious about what we say, by means of the method of encouragement and fear. It articulately demonstrates that a simple word uttered carelessly may lead to very important results. It was narrated by Haritha bin Wahb (r.a.):
“I heard the Prophet saying,
“Shall I inform you who the people of Paradise are? They are very humble, obscure and unimportant looking people, to whom people do not pay attention, but if they take an Oath that such and such a thing will happen, Allah will fulfill his oath (by doing that thing).
Shall I inform you who the people of the Fire are? They comprise every cruel, violent, proud and conceited person.” (Bukhari, Ayman, 9; Adab, 61)
In this hadith, by defining both the people of Paradise and the people of Hell at the same time, the Messenger of Allah encouraged us to perform the necessary actions and be among the people of Paradise and warned us to stay away from blameworthy actions and behaviors which shall be punished.
Another good example for the usage of the method of encouragement and fear is as follows: Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) stated that:
“The wailing and lamentations of two people of Hell will intensify. Allah the Almighty will order:
“Take them out of here” and ask them:
“Why are you crying?” They will reply:
“We have done this to obtain Your mercy.” The Absolute Truth the Almighty will tell them:
“My mercy to you is in the form of throwing yourselves into the Fire.” They will leave. One of them will throw himself into the Fire and Allah will turn the fire into coldness and he will be saved. The other one will stand up but will not be able to throw himself into the Fire.
Allah the Almighty will ask:
“Why didn’t you throw yourself into the Fire like your friend did?” the man will reply:
“Dear Lord! I was hoping that You would not send me back into the fire after You had saved me from it.” Upon this Allah the Almighty will state:
“I have given you what you hoped for” so both of them will enter Paradise by Allah’s mercy.” (Tirmidhi, Jahannam, 10)
Human nature is prone to indifference towards monotone teachings. This is why preachers of Islam should abstain from monotony in their teachings. Along with others, they also need to use the method of encouragement and fear evenly. They should neither frighten people continuously nor give them constant hope. The emphasis upon frightening might even be a little stronger, for it is a fact that warnings and threats are more effective upon human psychology than encouragement.