Correspondence with Maulana Abul Lais Islahi Nadwi

the Court of the Hereafter was ready to deliver its final judgment. It seems that the author might have misunderstood my critique of the “practical shahadah” idea. He writes: If we, through open and private proclamation, convey the message of Islam to our audience and present them with arguments for its truth, will the proof against them then be complete? Perhaps this is something that no self-delusion or stubbornness would allow us to claim. It seems that the author interprets “open and private proclamation” as either making an announcement over a loudspeaker to the entire city or whispering it once into a passerby’s ear, then considering the proof complete as soon as our voice reaches their ears. In reality, the term “open and private proclamation” is used in the Quran regarding the preaching of Prophet Noah who called his people not for a few days, but for hundreds of years. A caller’s invitation isn’t just about making someone hear it once—it’s a deeply wise and patient process, carried out with utmost sincerity over an extended period. The Quran and Hadith clearly outline the conditions for such invitation-based speech. When all these are met, the resulting effort is what is called shahadah. 3. Regarding the argument based on the verse aqeem-