Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
Guidance in the revealed texts is of two types: guidance through explanation, direction, and instruction, which the prophets, callers to Allah, and their followers are capable of providing; and guidance through divine enabling, inspiration, acceptance of the truth, and steadfastness upon it, which belongs to Allah alone. Therefore, there is no contradiction between saying that guidance is in Allah’s hands and saying that people are obligated to call others to Islam. The callers explain the truth and invite people to it, while placing faith in the heart and granting the ability to accept it are solely in the hands of Allah.
In the Arabic language, guidance can mean direction, instruction, and clarification, and it can also mean divine enabling.
Ibn Faris, may Allah have mercy on him, stated that the root of the word hada (هدى) refers to the meaning of proceeding in order to guide, and to another meaning related to gentleness and divine enabling.
Ibn al-Jawzi, may Allah have mercy on him, نقلًا عن أهل اللغة, stated that guidance can mean instruction and clarification, and it can also mean divine enabling.
Both meanings are found in the Islamic texts.
This means clarifying to a person the path of truth and the path of falsehood, calling him to faith and obedience, and establishing the proof against him.
Allah تعالى says:
﴿Indeed, We created man from a drop of mixed fluid to test him, and We made him hearing and seeing. Indeed, We guided him to the way, whether he be grateful or ungrateful﴾ [Al-Insan: 2–3].
And He سبحانه says:
﴿Have We not made for him two eyes, and a tongue and two lips, and shown him the two ways?﴾ [Al-Balad: 8–10].
That is, Allah clarified for the human being the path of good and the path of evil, and the path of happiness and the path of misery.
This is the type of guidance carried out by the messengers, peace be upon them, and by their followers after them, through teaching people the religion of Allah and calling them to it.
Allah تعالى says:
﴿And indeed, you guide to a straight path﴾ [Ash-Shura: 52].
And He سبحانه says:
﴿And among those We created is a community that guides by the truth and thereby establishes justice﴾ [Al-A'raf: 181].
This guidance means directing, teaching, instructing, and calling people to the truth, and it is within the ability of the messengers and callers.
The second type is for a person to be enabled to accept the truth, for faith to be made beloved to his heart, and for him to be kept steadfast upon it until death.
This type of guidance belongs to Allah alone.
Allah سبحانه says:
﴿It is not upon you to guide them, but Allah guides whom He wills﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 272].
And He تعالى says:
﴿If you are eager for their guidance, then indeed Allah does not guide those whom He lets go astray, and they will have no helpers﴾ [An-Nahl: 37].
And He سبحانه said to His Prophet ﷺ:
﴿Indeed, you cannot guide whom you love, but Allah guides whom He wills, and He is most knowing of those who are rightly guided﴾ [Al-Qasas: 56].
Thus, the Prophet ﷺ could explain the truth and call people to it, but he could not place faith in the heart of someone whose guidance he desired, nor could he compel him to accept the truth.
For this reason, Shaykh Muhammad al-Amin al-Shinqiti, may Allah have mercy on him, explained that the guidance denied to the Prophet ﷺ in Allah’s statement, ﴿Indeed, you cannot guide whom you love﴾, is the guidance of divine enabling, whereas the guidance affirmed for him in His statement, ﴿And indeed, you guide to a straight path﴾, is guidance through explanation and instruction.
After understanding the distinction between the two types, the answer becomes clear.
Allah تعالى did not require people to possess control over the hearts of others or to grant them faith, because that is beyond their ability. Rather, He required them to explain, call, instruct, and teach the truth.
Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, stated that guidance in the sense of calling people to what benefits them, establishing proofs, sending messengers, revealing books, commanding and forbidding, and teaching is something in which those who are accountable can participate. As for the guidance that consists of placing faith in the heart and granting the ability to attain it, no one is capable of it except Allah.
Therefore, the caller’s duty is to convey and explain; he is not required to guarantee that the person being called will respond.
The fact that divine enabling belongs to Allah does not mean that calling people to the truth is useless. Rather, Allah has made explanation and calling among the means through which guidance by divine enabling may occur.
Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
“Guidance is explanation and direction, followed by divine enabling and inspiration; the latter comes after explanation and direction.”
Thus, the caller explains the path, clarifies the truth, and invites people to it, then asks Allah to open their hearts to it.
This is why we understand that the Messenger ﷺ was commanded to convey the message even though the hearts of the servants are in the hands of Allah تعالى.
Guidance is of two types:
Guidance of direction, explanation, and instruction:
This consists of clarifying the truth and calling people to it, and it is carried out by the messengers and their followers.
Guidance of divine enabling, acceptance, and steadfastness:
This consists of making the truth beloved and acceptable to the heart and enabling a person to act upon it. This is possessed by Allah alone.
Therefore, there is no contradiction between saying that guidance comes from Allah and saying that people are obligated to call others to Islam, because the caller is commanded to explain and instruct, while the enabling to accept the truth belongs to Allah سبحانه وتعالى alone.
And Allah knows best.