Definition of Da’wah: Invitation . . to Islam
Is Da’wah obligatory on all of us? - Sura Asr (103) Most surely man is in loss, Except those who believe and do good, and enjoin on each other truth, and enjoin on each other patience.
Is Da’wah obligatory on all of us? - 16:125 Invite all to the way of your Lord with Hikmah (wisdom) and beautiful preaching, and argue with them in ways which are best . . .”
- 2:143 And thus We have made you a medium (just) nation that you may be the bearers of witness to the people and (that) the Messenger may be a bearer of witness to you; . . .
Is Da’wah obligatory on all of us? - And not alike are the good and the evil. Repel (evil) with what is best, when lo! he between whom and you was enmity would be as if he were a warm friend.
Is Da’wah obligatory on all of us? - Doing da'wah and amr bil ma'roof / nahy anil munkar are ways of a believer to reflect and take care of himself, and to travel on the path to His Lord.
THEN, WHY DOES ISLAM SAY THAT THERE IS NO COMPULSON IN RELIGION? (2:256) - We invite people to the truth. (How our Prophet invited others to Islam. This is where our duty ends and we can pray to Allah for their guidance. Any means of force, compulsion, or deception attached to calling others to the faith is against the purpose of da'wah and the teachings and examples of the prophets. We cannot use deception e.g. (provide food and lodging to refugees) and expect them to follow our religion out of obligation.
Excuses for not doing Da’wah: - I am not a scholar
- I am not religious (first I have to be religious, then only can I work on others . . .)
- Religion is a personal thing
- Not enough time
- May lose friends or job
- I feel embarrassed
- I will do it when I am old
Excuses for not doing Da’wah con’t . . - Might get hurt (O you who believe! take care of your souls; he who errs cannot hurt you when you are on the right way; to Allah is your return, of all (of you), so He will inform you of what you did).
- (the aya commands the mu'mineen to be steadfast and to take care of their souls/selves, and to not be affected by those who are misguided, and to Allah is the eventual destination)
Excuses for not doing Da’wah cont . . - You mix with those who are misguided and you yourself will become tainted. You may destroy yourself in trying to save others from destruction.
- Allah would have guided them if He would have wanted to.
Intention
Characteristics (non-Muslims look at people, not religion)- Good listener
- Soft spoken and kind & gentle (never curses)
- 3:159 Thus it is due to mercy from Allah that you deal with them gently, and had you been rough, hard hearted, they would certainly have dispersed from around you;
- Never lies or breaks promises.
- Surat al-saff sura 61 verses 2-3 “O you who believe! why do you say that which you do not do? It is most hateful to Allah that you should say that which you do not do.
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Characteristics cont . . - Good student, employer, employee, customer, citizen, husband, son/daughter
- Patient
- Optimistic
- Goes out of the way to help
What should you know? - Clear concept of Tawheed (Oneness of Allah) and be able to explain it
- Able to prove Qur’an is a Divine Book
- Prove Oneness of Allah from Qur’an, Bible and logic
- Prove the Prophet hood of Prophet Muhammad (saw)
- Able to give a clear view of Islam
- Memorize references from the Qur’an, Bible and Vedas
- Islamic History, World History, current events, statistics on moral decline of the western society
- Be able to prove that Islam is a guidance for all mankind and a complete way of life
How do you start it? Do/say things that invite questions:- At prayer time, say “I know have to go for prayers”
- Say “As-Salaamu alaikum” audibly and clearly upon meeting a fellow Muslim
- If you sneeze, say Al-Hamdu lillah audibly and clearly
- If a non-Muslim sneezes, say “May Allah guide you”
- Say Insha Allah when talking about the future
Caution - Do not those who believe know that, had Allah willed, He could have guided all mankind? As for those who disbelieve, disaster ceases not to strike them because of what they do, or it dwells near their home until the threat of Allah come to pass. Lo! Allah fails not to keep the meeting.
This is one of the reasons why we shouldn't occupy ourselves overly much with the destiny of those who are misguided.
About da'wah in shi'a viewpoint: It is an important concept in shi'ism as well but it is treated differently than it is with sunnis. - With typical sunnis, they believe that you have to convince someone of the truth. Some of the extremist sunnis, like the wahhabis, believe that you can even force someone to accept the truth. Regarding the verse la ikraaha fi al-deen (there is no compulsion religion), they believe it has been abrogated. This may explain the behavior of the Saudi government in imposing their rigid interpretation of Islam upon their residents.
About da'wah in shi'a viewpoint: - provide information
- be there as a resource
- participate at gatherings - town meetings and interfaith discussions.
- very important point in shi'a da'wah is that we believe hidayah, or the guidance to accept islam, is ONLY given by Allah (swt).
- pray to Allah to grant someone hidayah, but the actual grant is from Allah (swt).
About da'wah in shi'a viewpoint: - many ahadeeth say that you shouldn't get into arguments about matters of faith because its not good for your spiritual growth.
- present a point of view, but do not be overly hard to convince the person who's listening -- the truth should stand for itself. This applies even with our discussions with sunnis.
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