- 1. THE OBLIGATION OFDAWAHPresented ByKhalid I.
Al-Dossarywww.dawahmemo.com
2. Allah [swt] says in the Quran,Invite all to the way of your
lord [i.e. Islam] with wisdomand beautiful preaching, and argue
with them in a waythat is better. [Surah Nahl -125]And who is
better in speech than he who invites to Allahand does righteous
deeds, and says: I am one of theMuslims. [Surah Ha-Mim-33]Calling
people towards Allah also means completing our ownworship, the
reason for which we are created. It is one ofthe noblest acts that
entails a high reward. 3. Do we really believe that Dawah is our
obligation?Reflect over this Surah which we recite everyday? [Al
Asr]By the time,Verily, man is in loss,Except those who believe [in
Islamic monotheism]and do righteous deeds,and recommend one another
to the truth [to perform all kindof good deeds; Al Maroof which
Allah has ordained, andabstain from all kinds of sins and evil
deeds AlMunkar, which Allah has forbidden]and recommend one another
towards patience [for thesufferings, harms and injuries which one
may encounter inAllahs cause during preaching this way of life of
Islamicmonotheism or jihad]. 4. Did you reflect?Did you notice Why
the word And has been repeated so many timesin the Surah?If
fulfilling just one of the criteria was enough for us, the
repeatedword would have been Or.This implies that fulfilling each
criteria is a must to hope for Jannah.[or we will be one of the
losers]So, apart from believing, and doing righteous deeds, we
should alsocall one another to the truth, and towards patience,
i.e., do Dawah.Do we hope for Jannah, without fulfilling our
obligations? 5. There are also many related Ahadeeth:Convey what
you have received from me, even if it is oneverse. [Bukharee].
Conveying a message therefore does not require ahigh level of
scholarship, it is in fact a responsibility of each and
everyMuslim, according to his or her ability.Whoever hides
knowledge, Allah will brand him with thebranding iron from the
hellfire. [Ahmed]If one of u sees a wrong, let him change it with
his hand, andif he is unable then with his tongue, and if he is
unable thenwith his heart. And that is the weakest of faith.Whoever
guides [another] to a good deed will get a rewardsimilar to the one
who performs it [Saheeh Muslim] 6. Some Muslims say:We
arepracticingMuslimsbut, Dawah is notourresponsibility.Allah
commanded Jibrael to destroy a city becauseof the evildoers
therein. Jibrael said, OAllah, there is a person in the city who
has neverdisobeyed you. Allah said, destroy him aswell, because he
was not offended by theirevildoingIf there were people committing
sins and peoplewho had the power to stop them, but did not doso,
then Allah would punish both parties beforetheir death. 7. Some
Muslims say: [contd.]First, we shouldimprove our owncommunity, and
thentell others.Prophet Muhammad [saw]couldnt convince hisonly
uncle, Abu Talib.But it did not stop himfrom doing Dawah toothers
!It is much easier to tell Muslims, as they dont retaliate much
[e.g., whenwe tell them about hijab, salah, beard etc]. But we are
afraid that if wetell Non-Muslims, they will retaliate, ask
questions, argue ! We dontwant to do our homework, make effort etc,
and make excuses to escapethe obligation and still hope for Jannah?
8. Some muslims say: [contd.]Lakumdeenukum, waliya deen. To u
isyour way, to meis mine [SurahAl Kafirun]This is quoted out of
context toagain escape from our obligation.This Surah is referring
to those whoreject faith. The question ofrejecting faith arises
only when wehave delivered the message in thefirst placeSo, whom
are we deceiving? 9. Some muslims say: [contd.]La ikrahafi
deen.There is nocompulsionIn Religion.[Al Baqarah -256]Of course No
Compulsion. But only afterfirst delivering the message. On the
dayof judgment, the Mushrik will say these were our neighbors,
ourcolleagues, our friends who wereMuslims - they did not inform
us, so howare we to blame? So, we too will have tofollow them to
hell. 10. Now, if we are convinced of theobligation of Dawah, lets
moveto some Qualities we need tohave as a Daaie 11. Knowledge:to
call the people to the way of Allah with Knowledge, andnot with
ignorance. Lets beware of giving Dawah whilebeing in a state of
ignorance. Some pious people have said,Give knowledge [of Deen]
everything you have, it will giveyou some of what it has. Lets ask
ourselves, how much willit give us, if we only give it our spare /
leisure time?Some Qualities we need as a Daaie [contd.] 12.
Sincerity:it is waajib upon the Daaie to haveIkhlaas for the sake
of Allah [swt].He / She should not be desiring toshow the people,
or to have a goodimage, nor should he desire the praisesand rewards
of the peopleSome Qualities we need as a Daaie [contd.] 13. The
beautiful style of speech:the Daaie is responsible for acquiring a
respectable level oflanguage proficiency, to effectively convey the
message.It is worthy to note that all evil channels ofcommunication
convey its mischief, deceit, delusion, andfalsehood through adorned
speech. The Daaie is moreentitled to use this, to call for the
truth. Brevity and eloquence in conveying the Message. Use parables
and similitude to make it more interesting. Clarity and repetition
when necessary. Gestures & visual aids definitely make an
impact.Some Qualities we need as a Daaie [contd.] 14. Akhlaaq:Be
gentle and patient, and moderate inDawah, while dealing with
people. Beware ofharshness , as it will make them distant,
notclose, and causes separation, not unity. Ourwords need to have
an affect on their hearts.The best believers are those with the
best character.Dont favour a group of people over others.Some
Qualities we need as a Daaie [contd.] 15. Perseverance:Dawah will
test us in many situations[afflictions, temptations, and obstacles]
that try to lureus off from our mission. A Daaie should have
apraiseworthy personality and an excellentbehaviour, calling to
patience. A Daaie should besincere in Dawah, and strive in
spreading truthamongst the people, and keep them away
fromfalsehood. And with that, we should supplicate forguidance for
them. [May Allah guide u, grant u theability to accept the truth.
May he help u withacceptance of the truth. [hidaak allah wa
faqakallah li qubool al haqq aanak allah alaa qubool alhaqq].The
Daaie should not despair, or havehopelessness, or say anything
except that which isgood. He should not say a statement which
mightcause aversion to the truth.Some Qualities we need as a Daaie
[contd.] 16. Practice what we preach:We should not call tosomething
and then notdo it ourselves, whichare the conditions ofthe
losers.Some Qualities we need as a Daaie [contd.] 17. Deliver the
Message, and leave the rest to Allah.We must remain firm in our
expectation, and hope forthe good. We should not despair in the
effect of ourcall, nor about the guidance of people we call to.
Weshould not despair about the aid and the help of Allah,even if a
long time passes.Some Qualities we need as a Daaie [contd.] 18. We
need to use wisdom andtact, especially when informingsomeone not to
continue in aprohibited act.This is not easy today, as people
havecome to regard some prohibited acts assimply ordinary, and
cannotunderstand the objection to it. Hikmais required to make
people see the errorof their ways.Some Qualities we need as a Daaie
[contd.] 19. We should find out the interests of thepeople, and
make conversation withthem around their interests.We should provide
literature accordingto their interests. E.g.A doctor could be given
MauriceBucailles The Bible, The Quran, andScience]A lawyer could be
given books onIslamic Law, etc.Some Qualities we need as a Daaie
[contd.] 20. We should win the hearts of thepeople with the light
of Islam, bysimple measures such as Invitingthem to our home,
preparing foodfor them, being polite, and wellmannered etc.Some
Qualities we need as a Daaie [contd.] 21. We should be constant in
Dawah. Results oftentake place only after some time, and so we
shouldbe aware of the stamina, efforts, and thepatience that is
required.Some Qualities we need as a Daaie [contd.] 22. Strong will
and confidence:Its desirable to exhibit a strong will,positive
self-confidence,and the capacity to control emotions.Some Qualities
we need as a Daaie [contd.] 23. Posing questions:This will often
stimulate thought and sharing of ideas.Rewarding the right answers
will encourage eagerparticipation.Some Qualities we need as a Daaie
[contd.] 24. People learn in different ways.Researchers confirm
that some people learnfrom what they see, some learn from whatthey
hear, while some prefer to read.Peoples acceptance of a concept
alsodepends on their scope of intellect, culturalbackground, or
their field of operation. Allthese diverse factors call for
variousmethods of Dawah dissemination - thatappeals and stimulates
peoplesinterests, senses and needs.Realize that 25. ALWAYS
REMEMBER!Guidance is from Allah.Our job is only to convey the
message in a clearway. We should not worry if people do not agreeor
listen to us. Shaytaan will use this fact toestablish resignation
and hopelessness in ourhearts, and make it appear that we could
funnelour efforts elsewhere.Beware ! 26. Remember the priorityDawah
should start with fundamental issues, beforeproceeding with those
that are less central. The oneness ofAllah [Tawheed] is the
beginning and the end. Each deedshould be connected with it.
Muslims argue over subsidiarymatters, and give more attention to
some voluntary forms ofworship, neglecting those that are
obligatory. This neglectwith regards to priorities has resulted in
muslims losingtheir faith, the source of their strength. The
presentweakness is used by the enemies of Islam to further
prolongthe current state of affairs. The only form of
Islamencouraged by the enemies of Islam, and the secularists
topractice is the one which only celebrates occasions, involvesin
bidah, etc. So Prioritize. 27. Prioritizing in different situations
Keep the situation in mind: While there is a need towarn people
against the deviations of the nation of Islamin North America, that
is really of little importance inBosnia, or Pakistan. Similarly,
there are different shirk-Practices in different places that need
to be corrected. Dawah also depends upon whether the people
beingaddressed are Atheists, Polytheists or the People of theBook.
Previously, people had to be called towardsMonotheism, away from
idolatry, now a days, there ismore need to invite people to the
existence of Allah, asAtheism and Agnosticism is common. 28. Ask
yourselfHow do our efforts compare with those of the prophet
[saw]and his companions?How many good deeds have we prepared for
the day ofjudgment?What did we , as individuals and communities, do
for Islam?Were we distracted by our money and our children from
theobedience of Allah and jihad for his sake?O you who believe! Let
not your money or your childrendivert you from the remembrance of
Allah. If any act assuch, then surely they are the
losers.[Al-Munafiqun 9] 29. The prophet saw said, No servant will
be let go on the dayof judgment until he is asked about the 4
matters: hislifetime, and how he spent it, his knowledge and
whatdid he use it for, his money, where did he gain it from
andwhere did he spend it. And his body, in what way did hewear it
away. [at tirmidhee].Have we used our bodies for fasting, praying,
enjoining goodand forbidding evil, or have we used them up
bysuccumbing to our desires?The prophet [saw] said, By Allah, if
Allah guides a man [toIslam] thru you, it is much better for you
than beingblessed with the best pleasures of this world.Remind
yourself 30. The means of any mission must serve its
objectives.There are Muslims who stoop to unimaginable levels to
promote theirprojects and ideas. It is the norm to see the funding
ofschools, books, etc, coming from interest money.Some allow mixed
gathering to encourage participation.The result will be identical.
Anything that does not operate within theframework of Islam will
inevitable fail.So we should be wary of the means we use.Means 31.
Continuous ImprovementWe should try to be a dynamic individual
whocommits to building up our skills and developingour talents
continuously. 32. Our prophet Muhammad [saw]conveyed the message,
fulfilled thetrust, counseled the Ummah, andthen passed away.Our
duty is to safeguard that trusthanded down to us throughgenerations
of the MuslimUmmah.Conclusion 33. DuaAnd finally to close from a
Dua O Allah, I seek refuge in You from aSciencewhich gives no
benefit,a Heart that does not fear You,a Soul which is not
satisfied, and a 34. May Allah Show usthe straightpath, and guide
usall through the way
