From the greatest favors of Allah and bounties upon a slave is to facilitate means and reasons by which he becomes one who carries out the mission of the religion and to be among those who strive and sacrifice all that is precious to them, to establish the laws of Allah on earth and in order for the Word of Allah to be supreme and uppermost and the word of the disbelievers the lower most. This high rank and honorable one is the most dignified rank and the highest levels. It is the rank of messengers and their way, may Allah their mention. This same task is to be shouldered by the scholars, who inherited this from the Prophets and Messengers.

Calling people to Allah is an obligation upon all Muslim at different levels but it differs according to the level of knowledge, wisdom, way, rank, profession and time. This obligation is evident from many verses that are clear in the Quran and here let us go through some of the verses.

Allah Says (what means):

{Let there arise out of you  a group of people inviting to all that is good, meaning Islam, enjoining virtue (meaning Islamic monotheism) and forbidding all evil (Polytheism and disbelief).} [Quran 3:104].

{Say, meaning O! Mohammad, this is my way, I invite on to Allah with sure knowledge, I and whosoever and I follow me and glorify, and exalted is Allah} [Quran 12:108].

{Invite  to the way of your Lord with wisdom and fair preaching and argue with them in a way that is better} [Quran 16:125].

In order for the one who is propagating Islam to achieve positive results in his mission, he should fulfil the following two matters:

1)     Propagating based on sure knowledge:  Allah Says (what means): “Say, this is my way , I invite on to Allah with sure knowledge, me and whosoever follows me and exalted is Allah and I am not one of the polytheist" [Quran 12:108]. It is necessary for all those who desire to call to Allah to have sure knowledge regarding the matter and issue of propagation and inviting to Allah. Some people indulge themselves in the field of propagation without possessing any knowledge.

Some scholars  said that sure knowledge is divided into three parts:

a)     Knowing what one is inviting to

b)     Knowing the situation of the one invited.

c)     Knowing how to invite

First: Knowing what one is inviting to; the propagator must know the Islamic ruling on the issue he is calling to, because he might call to something thinking that it is an obligation while it is not,  and thus obligates people with something  that Allah did not oblige them with. Or he might warn against something thinking that it is prohibited while it is not, and so on. Therefore, knowing what one is calling the people to is a vital issue.

Second: Knowing the situation of the invited: the evidence for the importance of this issue is the narration of Mu’ath  when the Prophet  sent him to Yemen,  he  said to him: “You are approaching a group form the  people of the book , so let the first thing you call  them to be the testimony that none is worthy of beiong worshipped but Allah”. Notice that he  informed him about the situation of those whom he will be calling, so Mu’ath, may Allah be pleqased with him, would be prepared and be acquainted with their situation and how he should approach them. It is a mistake that a person invites or calls another person not knowing his situation, his arguments, the kind of falsehood he is on or what he believes in,  because he (i.e. the one being called) might present an argument which the Muslim propagator does not have an answer to, which results in the retreat of the truth.

Third: Knowing how to invite: This refers to the methods of propagation, as Allah did not leave the matter up to us, but he guided us to the ideal way. The Prophet  also guided us how to priorities things which leads us to the second issue.

2)     Adopting a wise method of calling people: One of the Names of Allah is Al-Hakeem, which implies wisdom, and it is mentioned many times in the Quran in connection to knowledge. Allah knows all matters and decrees everything according to His knowledge, based on what is best for the given situation and what will yield the greatest benefit to His slaves. He is the Most Wise and Most Knowledgeable in His words, actions, sayings and rulings.

A wise person is he who places the correct matter in the most suitable place or situation, as defeined by Imaam Ibn Al-Qayyim . This can be attributed, in its perfect form, only to Allah, as He is the only One who is All-Knowledgeable of everything and the Most Wise in His decrees and rulings.

One of the things that reflect the wisdom of the caller to Islam is his basing his call on knowledge, because wisdom is derived from knowledge, as Allah Says (what means): “Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom…” [Quran 16:125]. What is the understanding and the proper definition of wisdom.

Selecting the correct method along with the appropriate words is another matter that reflects wisdom in the caller. He should address people in a comprehensible manner, to facilitate understanding on the part of those called.

For example, one should not talk to people about the virtue of optionally fasting three days every month while they do not observe the fast during the month of Ramadan, and so on.

Thus, a propagator of Islam should be mindful of these matters when calling people to the path of Allah, lest he drives them away due to a shortage in any of them.

 

Etiquettes of differing in Islam 135425

Islam has imposed high standards for how the Muslim who follows the methodology of the Prophetic Sunnah should deal with his fellow Muslim brother who has differed with him on an issue of 'Ijtihaad' (exercise of independent judgment in matters that have no specific mention in the Quran or Sunnah).


How outstanding is the statement of the Messenger of Allah  (may Allah exalt his mention): "Indeed I have been sent to perfect noble manners." [Reported by Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab al-Mufrad]

Among these manners are:





1 – Having an open heart by accepting when your Muslim brother points out some mistakes that you have made, and knowing that this is sincere advice which he is giving you as a gift for Allah’s sake. This is what is referred to as humbleness. Refusing to accept the truth and becoming angry as a result is actually from pride.


Indeed, the most truthful person - Muhammad  said: "Pride is to reject the truth and to scorn others." [Al-Bukhari]

There are many examples of modesty that our pious predecessors have demonstrated to us; from them is what Al-Haafith Ibn 'Abdul-Barr, a famous Muslim scholar, once related: “A number of people informed me that Abu Muhammad Qaasim ibn Asbagh said: 'When I travelled to the east, I stopped at Al-Qayrawaan (in Tunisia) and listened to a Hadeeth that was memorized by Musaddad from Bakr ibn Hammaad. I then proceeded to Baghdad and stayed there for some time.





“When I left, I returned to him (i.e., Bakr) to complete the Hadeeth of Musaddad; then, one day, I read to him the Hadeeth of the Prophet : "A people from Mudhar (a famous Arab tribe) came in striped woolen shirts" (in Arabic: Mujtaabi An-Nimar). He said to me: 'It is Mujtaabi Ath-Thimar.' So I said: ‘'Mujtaabi An-Nimar' is how I read it out to all those I read it to in Andalus (Andalusia) and Iraq.'





“So, he (i.e., Bakr) said to me: ‘By entering Iraq, you have contradicted us and become arrogant with us.’ Then he said: ‘Let us go to that Shaykh (scholar) - a Shaykh who is in the mosque - for he has the like of this knowledge.’ So I went with him and we asked him about this issue, so he replied: ‘It is Mujtaabi An-Nimar, just as you said. They used to wear 'Nimar' (striped clothing), with pockets at their fronts, and Nimar is the plural of Naamirah.’ Bakr ibn Hammaad then said, whilst holding his nose: ‘My nose lowers itself to the truth, my nose humbles itself to the truth’, and then departed."





Do you not see this amazing sense of justice? How dire is our need for it today! However, this is not possible except for those who purify their intentions for Allah’s sake. Imam Maalik, the founder of one of the four schools of Islamic Jurisprudence  said: "There is nothing more scarce in our time than justice."





So, what is the case in our present time, a time in which false desires are plentiful? We seek refuge in Allah from misguiding trials.





2 –Using the finest and most appropriate words when discussing and debating with one's brother, for Allah, the Exalted, Says (what means): "…And speak to people good [words]…" [Quran 2:83]





Abu ad-Dardaa', may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet  said: "There is nothing that will be heavier in the believer's scales on the Day of Judgement than good character. Indeed Allah hates the wicked and the ill-mouthed person." [Abu Daawood]

3 –Discussing with one's brother and rebutting with that which is better, for that is even more appropriate. Your guiding principle in this should be the truth and clarifying the truth; it should not be to seek victory for yourself.


A person should be sincere when he speaks. If one feels that he will argue with his brother, then give him the greeting of peace (Salaam) and remind him of the saying of the Messenger : "I guarantee a house on the outskirts of Paradise for the one who abandons arguing, even if he is upon the truth." [Abu Daawood]





`Abdullaah ibn Hasan  said: "Argumentation corrupts friendship and unties the strongest of bonds. The least harm it contains is conflict, and conflict leads to severing relations."





Ja'far bin `Awf  said: "I heard Mis`ar saying, whilst addressing his son Qidaam: ‘I present to you my advice, O Qidaam; so, listen to a father who is compassionate to you. As for joking and argumentation, leave them; they are traits I do not approve of for a friend. Having tried them, I did not find them praiseworthy, neither for a close neighbor, nor for a close friend.





Our pious predecessors, may Allah be pleased with them, have left us splendid examples of the etiquettes of differing; amongst them is what Imaam Al-Bukhari and Muslim  reported from Husayn bin `Abdur-Rahmaan  who said: "I was with Sa`eed ibn Jubayr when he asked: 'Who amongst you saw the shooting stars last night.' I replied: 'I did.' Then I said: 'Not because I was praying at that time, but because I had been stung by a scorpion.' He asked: 'So, what did you do?' I replied: 'I used Ruqyah (healing oneself or others by reciting verses of the Quran or prophetic supplications).' He asked: 'Why did you do that?' I said: 'Because of a Hadeeth related to me by Ash-Sha`bi.' He asked: 'What did he relate to you?' I replied: 'He related from Buraydah ibn Al-Husayn who said: "There is no Ruqyah except for the evil eye or a sting."' Sa'eed said: 'He has done well in halting at what he has heard [of knowledge]. However, Ibn 'Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with him, related to us [and he went on to narrate the Hadeeth]...'."





Look at this magnificent mannerism from one who inherited knowledge from Ibn `Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with him. He was not harsh; rather, he was kind to the other person due to him acting upon evidence. Then he explained to him what was better, with a gentle rectification supported by proof.