What Kind of Warner Are You?

I have had the bad habit of reading the news all too regularly here lately. The state of affairs of humanity has become burdonsome, it is, like the cliche goes, like a ton of bricks coming down on one. We are so misguided, and chase after ephemeral dreams, and for what? This reminds me of what I heard a shaykh say about the meaning of nadhir. Nadhir, for those of you who might not know, is the Arabic word for warner, and is used to describe the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in the Qur'an. Shaykh Husain Abdul Sattar, the shaykh whom I heard discussing this from his tafsir series at sacredlearning.org, discussed that there were two different types of warners. The first type is one who threatens. This is like a robber with a gun who warns you that if you don't give him your money, then he will kill you. The second type of warner is like the parent who sees his child approaching a great harm. He warns the child that if he continues, then he will be hurt.

If we look at the two types of warner, we see a distinct difference in their motives. The first is warning for his own selfish motives, and with disregard for the one he warns. He is only giving the person an out, a way to avoid a harm that the warner himself does not mind inflicting to get what he wants. The second type of warner, however, is warning out of love and deep concern. There is nothing in it for the parent, in and of itself, whether or not the child gets hurt. The parent warns the child so that he does not become injured. Instead the parent would rather see the child live painlessly, for he knows that that is what is best for the child. The distinction is quite clear.

To return, a nadhir is the second type of warner. This is what the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was. He did not act out of threat, rather out of concern and deep love for all of humanity. There was nothing in it for him if anyone accepted his message, he was the Elect of Allah, His Chosen. There was no personal gain for him to be had. He deeply loved humanity, and he saw the Hellfire in front of him as much as he saw Paradise. He knew, and could see, where people were heading. He knew the danger was real for us, whether or not we see it ourselves. Out of his deep love for us he warned us of where we are headed.

Now, we must ask ourselves what kind of warner are we? How often do we condemn someone for our own selfish feelings and motives. We want to look better, or feel that we are better than the other person. We are only threatening that person, telling them that if they don't give us what we want, then there are consequences.

However, we should look at the other person with love and compassion. We need to demonstrate mercy towards the other person. When we warn and make dawa, we need to do it because we have true concern for the creation of Allah. We need to want what is best for them. We need to save them from the fire into which they are heading headlong. This is important, because this is sincerity. And it is our hearts that Allah will judge.