Tafsir
When Dawah work is passing through a phase of being thwarted by opposition, it is a very difficult stage for the preacher (da‘i). Not a day passes without the preacher wanting to take some new step to alleviate the difficulties of the situation, whereas God’s will is that he should wait patiently. Once the Prophet Muhammad experienced just such situation. In view of the gravity of the case, he awaited further guidance from God. According to a tradition, forty days passed and still Gabriel did not come. When Gabriel appeared, the Prophet asked him, ‘Why did you take so long?’ He replied that he was bound by God’s will. When he received God’s command, he came down to earth, otherwise he did not. It was against this backdrop that the Prophet is given the advice about exercising patience. God is fully aware of the prevailing conditions and if, this being so, fresh guidance is not forthcoming from Him, it means that what is required is that the current conditions should be tolerated. Had the demands of wisdom been otherwise, then certainly fresh commandments would have been given. There is nobody who knows better than God, and there can be no guidance better than His. It is not correct to seek a commandment on the issue of taking a practical step when the situation warrants maintaining the status quo. Doing so would amount to an attempt to have a commandment revealed prematurely.