Who to start with?

In Da'wah (call to Islam), start with yourself before the members of your family and other people and look at what is lacking in you in order that you may start treating it.

So if there is a common deficiency between you and one of your companions or family members, then join him with you in resolving this problem because the Messenger of Allah said: “Whoever from amongst you sees an evil he should change it with his hand and if he is not able to, then with his tongue and if he is not able to, then he should hate it in his heart, and that is the weakest level of faith.” [Muslim and Ahmed]

How is your humbleness in prayer?


When our hearts are overloaded with the pressures of life and at the point of exploding, comes the prayer as an outlet where souls can breathe the taste of tranquility, throw the troubles of life away and become happy and calm. However, for a prayer we have to provide it with what makes us Humble. Allah Says (what mean): {Indeed, they used to hasten to good deeds and supplicate Us in hope and fear, and they were to Us humbly submissive} [Quran 21:90]


Read about that which will better your condition and that of your prayer, increase your humbleness in it and soften your heart.


How is your relationship with Allah?


Are you one whose supplications are answered or do you notice most of your supplications not being answered?


Look into your Aqeedah (Faith) and the level of your certainty and reliance upon Allah, and observe closely your food and drink - are they from that which is Halal (lawful) or Haram (unlawful), or is there some doubt about their source?


If the situation was one that requires enjoining good and forbidding evil, what would you do? Prophet Muhammad said: "By Him in Who's Hand is my soul, you will enjoin good and prohibit evil or (else) Allah will soon send upon you a punishment from Him, then you will call upon Him and He will not answer you." [Ahmed and At-Tirmithi]


Maybe you would benefit from reading Hadeeths (Prophetic narrations) pertaining to the punishment of the grave and that of its bliss, about the terror of the Resurrection, and the torment of the Hell Fire. You could well continue reading for days, weeks or months, accompanying that with good actions and self-struggle.


It is imperative that a person takes his soul to account and treats his deficiencies. Match yourself against the Quran and the Sunnah (Prophet's tradition) to know who you are, and look what you have set aside for Allah to know what Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, has prepared for you because of the saying of the Messenger of Allah : “Whoever wants to know what Allah has prepared for him then he should look to what he has prepared for Allah.” [As-Silsilah As-Saheehah]


Are you prepared for the meeting with Allah?


Have you fulfilled the rights of the creation, one to another? Or are you in a constant state of postponing and deferring?


Have you converted your knowledge of repentance into crying and penitence?


Have you turned whatever you have read about loving Allah into real love for your Muslim brothers?


Do you often visit them, and overlook their faults? Do you aid the needy from amongst them, feel delight for their happiness and grieve for their sorrow?

Do you taste the sweetness and delight of Faith?

Are Allah and his Messenger more beloved to you than anybody else?

Do you give precedence to the love of Allah over wealth, business, whims and desires?


Test yourself when you hear the call to prayer, if you notice a desire to delay answering it in order to pursue your interests in trade (for example) then know that Satan has succeeded in gradually leading you astray and that your love for Allah is deficient. In this way it is upon you to consolidate yourself, giving precedence to the orders of Allah over any other worldly matter.


How is your abhorrence of entering into disbelief? Do you abhor it as you would abhor being thrown into the Hell Fire?


Do you live this abhorrence and this feeling in you, so that your sincerity to Allah is cultivated and that you may hasten to purify your soul?


Contemplate the Hadeeth of Umm Salamah, may Allah be pleased with her, who said: “‘Most of the invocations of the Messenger of Allah used to be: “O Changer of the Hearts make my heart firm upon your religion.” [Ahmed and At-Tirmithi]


Reflect upon how Ibraheem (Abraham), may Allah exalt his mention, feared associating partners with Allah, therefore he, may Allah exalt his mention, used to supplicate to save not only him, but his generation also. Allah Says in the Quran about that supplication of Ibraheem, may Allah exalt his mention, (what means): {And keep me and my sons away from worshipping idols.} [Quran 14:35]


This is what Abu Ad-Darda', may Allah be pleased with him, used to fear hence his saying: 'Verily what I fear from my Lord on the Day of Resurrection is that He calls me in front of all creation and Says to me “O 'Uwaymir (i.e., Abu Ad-Darda' himself),” so I say, “Here I am My Lord at Your service,” so He Says, “What did you act upon from the knowledge that you acquired?”


Don't forget the supplication of Yoosuf (Joseph), may Allah exalt his mention, Allah Says about it in the Quran (what means): {Cause me to die as a Muslim and join me with the righteous.} [Quran 12:101]


You should aid yourself through fear: living with the fear of eternal abode in the Hell Fire. Don't rest and sit around while the sweetness of Faith is missing or is weakened. How many people set out on journeys for the purpose of treating their illnesses and how many of them spend out of their wealth to treat these illnesses? Do not the souls and the hearts have more priority in being treated, as their matter is one of total eternity? Bring to mind the Hadeeth, “Every slave will be resurrected upon that which he died.” [Muslim], then expect death at any moment.


It is better for you if you were to meet death whilst trying to improve your own condition than to die whilst striving to improve others', being held accountable at the same time for leaving off obligatory actions just like the lantern that burns itself out and gives light to others, as in the Hadeeth: “The example of the scholar who teaches the people good things but forgets himself is that of a lantern, it gives light to the people but burns itself out.” [At-Tabarani]

 

According to many scholars in this field, the term Da'wah (call to Islam) applies to conveying the message of Islam to non-Muslims and inviting them to Allah. Non-practicing and lost Muslims need to be reeducated and motivated to become better Muslims; they already know Allah Almighty and have been given the concept of Tawheed (monotheism). Some objectives of Da'wah are as follows:

(a) Conveying the message of Islam to non-Muslims and inviting them to Allah,

)b) Making efforts to remove misinformation about Islam and Muslims from text books, reference material and media,

c) Making efforts for the integration of new Muslims into the Muslim community,

)d) To develop material resources, recruit manpower (volunteers) and provide training for Da'wah workers.

Guidance is in the hands of Allah, but the goal of Da’wah is definitely to be a reason to convert people to be Muslims, to save them from the Hell Fire. To avoid aggressiveness as a result of that is for the caller to Islam to know that guidance is not in his control, it is by the will of Allah.

Is Da'wah a duty on every Muslim?

Yes, it is a collective duty, if some fulfill its rights then it is not a duty on every Muslim.

In the Qur'an, Allah has placed the responsibility on the Muslim Ummah (community) to convey the message of Islam to mankind. Allah, TheExalted, says in the Qur'an (what means): "Thus We have appointed you a model community (Ummah), that you may be witnesses against mankind, and that the Messenger may be a witness against you". [Quran 2:143]

'Witnessing', here, means to convey the message of Islam, i.e. to call people towards Allah.

Allah also Says (what means): "Invite to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Revelation and the Qur’an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided." [Quran 16:125]

Prophet Muhammad  completed his assignment in his lifetime by conveying the message to the entire Arabian Peninsula and sending letters to the heads of surrounding countries. In his Khutbah (ceremony) of his farewell Hajj (pilgrimage), he passed on the responsibility to every Muslim when he said : "Those who are present should convey (my message) to those who are not". [Al-Bukhari]

Remember! Da'wah has great rewards. The Prophet  said: "Whoever guides someone towards good, will receive the reward of the one who acts upon it." [Muslim]

This means, if a person is converted through the Da'wah you give him/her, you get rewards for all the prayers he/she does or all the fasts that he/she does, etc.

General tips for Da'wah

·        The best Da'wah is to be a good example because people can see this without you having to talk to them.

1.     You should be a good example all the time, not just when doing Da'wah.

2. Don't be a hypocrite and not follow what you preach. For example: how would it look if you tell people that Muslims can't drink alcohol and then they see you drinking.

·        Smell good

·        Don't act like you're better than the person or people you are giving Da'wah to.

·        Don't insult the person or their religion.

·        Don't tell them that they are wrong and you are right and that they   are going to hell. But you have to be clear that the religion of the truth is the religion of Islam, and Allah doesn’t accept any other religions. And if a person dies in a state other than being a Muslim, he will be in the Hell Fire. This can be done in a wide way.

·        Don't get too deep in a subject you don't know much about, because if they have questions, you won't have answers.

·        Use common sense to explain Islam because much of Islamic ethics and rules are based on common sense and most people can relate to common sense

·        Dress according to the Sunnah, since the Sunnah of the Prophet  has so much blessings in it, and do not imitate the disbeliever.

Da'wah opportunities are everywhere

Just look for them. For example: you are invited for eating food with your co-workers, and they are going to eating pork. Let them know that you can't eat it. That is Da'wah. For teenagers specifically, whenever people are talking about dating or dances, tell them it is against your religion and why. It is not permissible for a Muslim to take friends that are disbelievers (eating pork, etc.) but if it is your co-workers, or so, then advice them. Also, it is not permissible to be present in a gathering that sins are involved.

The easiest people to give Da'wah to are the ones who already believe in Allah or some kind of deity. People who don't believe in Allah, atheists, are the hardest to give Da'wah to. Don't be afraid to give them Da'wah, but be prepared and be knowledgeable because they always look at everything from a short sighted materialistic view.

Methodology of Da'wah

·        When giving Da'wah, you have to be wise. Be careful of the words and think before you speak.

·        Know to whom you speaking to. For example, try to find out what they are interested in or if they have any problems. According to that, give them their information.

·        People will always be interested if it gives them an answer to their problem or it has something to do with them.

Da'wah to Christians

·        First of all, the best Da'wah is by your actions.

·        When doing Da'wah to non-Muslims, we should try to concentrate on what we have in common to them. For example: Islam and Christianity both believe that abortion is wrong. This is only to break the tension

·        We should let them know that we share many of the same ethics and manners.

·        Let them know that we believe in heaven, hell, angels, devils, the Day of Judgment, sins, repentance, and prophets.

·        Let them know we only believe in one Allah. And as a result, we worship Him alone, and explain what is the meaning of worship in Islam.

·        Avoid controversial issues, like is Jesus, may Allah exalt his mention, the son of Allah or just a Prophet. Don’t get in an argument, but it has to be mentioned clearly, that Jesus the son of Mary is a Messenger of Allah and not His son.

·        Do not insult them or put them or their religion down in any way.

·        Avoid argument and debates. This only leads to ruin.