B. Paying Attention to Time and Place

Öğren lisân-ı asr ü rüsûm-i zemâneyi

Bak tab-ı nâsa vakte münâsip tekellüm et^[1]

                                     Şeyhülislam Muhammed Es’ad

One should take circumstances and possibilities into consideration provided that they are not contrary to the basic principles and spirit of Islam. Time and place play a very important role in having a positive effect upon the listener. Watching for people’s most appropriate time and choosing the most suitable place have certainly an accelerating effect upon achieving a goal. Otherwise, a preacher would cause boredom, opposition, and antagonism in his listener, and he may even eventually become a shield between his audience and the Divine truth. Conveying a message at an appropriate time and place generates positive and effective results while words spoken out of place and time may end up causing the listener to dislike and reject them.

In this context poet Ziyâ Paşa’s warning is very meaningful:

Bir yerde ki yok nağmeni takdîr edecek gûş

Tazyî-i nefes eyleme, tebdîl-i mekân et!

“If somewhere there is no ear to value what you say, do not waste your breaths. Change your place (and find those who would appreciate your words.)”

Therefore preachers should primarily determine the conditions of their time and place, and then they should plan accordingly. An ill-timed beginning may end up in failure. This was why when Abu Dhar (r.a.), who had just embraced Islam, asked:

“O Messenger of Allah! What would you command me to do?” Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) told him:

“O Abu Dhar! Keep your conversion to Islam as a secret and go back to your town. And whenever you hear me calling people openly to Islam, come back to us.” (Bukhari, Manaqib, 6)

The following incident narrated by Aisha (r. anha) shows how careful the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was about observing the best time and place when performing his mission.

“Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) told me:

“Do you know that when your people (Quraish) rebuilt the Ka’ba, they decreased it from its original foundation laid by Abraham?” I said,

“O Allah’s Apostle! Why don’t you rebuild it on its original foundation laid by Abraham?” He replied:

“Were it not for the fact that your people are close to the pre-Islamic Age of Ignorance (i.e. they have recently become Muslims) I would have done so” (Bukhari, Hajj, 42)

Time is also very important when taking a stand against the opponents of the mission. Farwa b. Musaik (r.a.) said that:

“One day I asked the Messenger of Allah (pbuh):

“O Messenger of Allah! Should I get together with the believers of my tribe and fight against the non-believers?” He allowed me to do it and appointed me as the leader of my tribe to fulfill this task. When I left Medina, the Prophet (pbuh) asked:

“What happened to the Gutaifi man?” after he was told that I had left, he sent someone to me and called me back. When I arrived, I saw that he was with some of his Companions. The Prophet (pbuh) told me:

“Invite your people to Islam. Accept the conversion of those who accept Islam, but do not be hasty in fighting against those who refuse. Wait until I send you another order.” (Tirmidhi, Tafsir, 34/1)

During the Meccan period Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) abstained from impulsive behavior and actions which did not bear results in his fight against idolatry. He first invited people to accept the principles of faith thus he primarily strived to establish a strong basis for the Islamic faith.

On the other hand, it is also necessary to take the time and place into consideration when educating and bettering believers. Abu Wail (r.a.) narrates:

“Abdullah b. Mas’ud (r.a.) used to give a religious talk to the people every Thursday. Once a man said:

“O Aba Abdur-Rahman! (By Allah) I wish you could preach to us daily.” He replied,

“The only thing which prevents me from doing so, is that would I hate to bore you, and no doubt I take your interests into account when in preaching by selecting a suitable time just as the Prophet used to do with us, for fear of making us bored.” (Bukhari, Ilm, 11-12)

It is necessary to be brief and terse in speech not to bore the audience and not to upset those who have urgent things to do. A preacher should not be too persistent and cause his listeners animosity.

Again Abu Wa’il (r.a.) reported:

 Ammar delivered a sermon to us which was short and eloquent. When he descended (from the pulpit) we said to him:

O Abd al-Yaqzan! You have delivered a short and eloquent sermon. Would it not have been better had you lengthened it? He said: I have heard the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) say:

“The lengthening of prayer by a man and the shortning of the sermon is the sign of his understanding (of faith). So lengthen the prayer and shorten the sermon, for there is charm (in precise) expression.” (Muslim, Jumu’a, 47)

In another narration Ikrima (r.a.) said that:

“Ibn Abbas (r. anhuma) said, “Preach to the people once a week on Fridays, and if you won’t, then preach to them twice, but if you want to preach more, then let it be three times a week only, so as not to make the people fed-up with the Qur’an. If you come to some people who are engaged in talk, don’t start interrupting their talk by preaching, lest you should cause them boredom. You should rather keep quiet, and if they ask you, then preach to them at a time when they are eager to hear what you have to say. And avoid the use of rhymed prose in invocation for I noticed that Allah’s Apostle and his Companions always avoided it.” (Bukhari, Daawat, 20)

Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) paid the utmost attention to time and place in conveying his message. Sometimes he made explanations when he was asked a question; sometimes he prepared his audience by using salient language in his speech when he was going to teach something important. Thus his speeches were not just common words forgotten the very next day but they have become valuable instructions and unforgettable beautiful memories left to his followers.

As can be appreciated, observing the best time and place is of the utmost significance in conveying the message of Islam. This is why a preacher of Islam should always look for the most appropriate time and place in order to fulfill his responsibilities properly.