Do’s and don’ts of Dawah

Dawah, calling to Islam is a Muslim’s duty… It’s a duty because Islam was never intended to be monopolised by the Muslims. Ar-Rahman, The All Merciful, sent His last Prophet Muhammad sws to be a Mercy to all the nations. Islam has a universal mission, not just to save one tribe or one ethnic group. Islam is too precious to be monopolised by Muslims. Every human being has a right to know Allah. It’s our duty to tell them about Islam. Tell them out of love for Allah, out of our deep sense of gratitude to Him. Islam is a precious gift from Allah: if we value it, then we must get to know it and then share it.

The methods we use in sharing Islam are crucially important. Every gift deserves to be wrapped in the way that signifies its value. Our speech, our manner of sharing Islam is the wrapping. We cannot just preach Islam in a careless, clumsy or undignified way. Allah’s Word deserves the best presentation. This is what the Holy Quran has to say:

“Ud’oo ilaa sabeeli Rabbika bil hikmati wa maw idatul hasanah..”

(Sura An-Nahl 16:125)

“Invite to the Way of your Lord, with wisdom and beautiful speech.”

Wisdom and beautiful speech: What a combination! Wisdom and beautiful speech means, to be truthful, sincere and articulate, and always to be sensitive to the psychology of your audience. We must understand their prejudices, their fears and anxieties. We must take an audience-centred approach, not a speaker-centred approach. In other words, we must be less concerned with what we want to say, than with what our audience needs to know.

Being wise in spreading Islam does not mean trying to be ‘clever,’ using tricks and deception, making exaggerated claims or statements that cannot be verified. We should never use pressure tactics, or try to rush anyone to accept Islam. Islam does not need media makeovers or slick marketing strategies. … Islam is not a product to be sold or bargained with. Muslims who do the work of Da’wah are inviting people to make the most important decision of their lives. That’s a big responsibility. We should never behave like dodgy insurance salesmen, eager to sign up new business, whatever it takes…. Islam isn’t a sales commodity and we’re not running a ‘Shahadah factory.’ Taking Shahada is a serious business. It’s a life-changing decision that must be taken thoughtfully, with due consideration for the responsibility of becoming a Muslim. Don’t take it lightly and don’t expect others to take Islam lightly.

Instead of working so hard to convert others to Islam, perhaps we can spend more time helping the new Muslims to stay in Islam! One da’wah worker told me that his group had a 40% failure rate. That is, 40% of those who take shahadah actually leave Islam again between 6 to 12 months later. I was shocked! One might say, OK, at least 60% are still Muslims! But what about the remaining 40%? Are they still well disposed to Islam? Or do they tell others that they’ve tried Islam and it doesn’t work? It’s too difficult, or the Muslims talk beautifully about their religion, but they don’t practice what they preach. They don’t welcome others into their homes. They eagerly persuade you to take Shahadah then they forget about you. They might even say that they found Muslims can be very exclusive and racist. They don’t mix with people outside their own tribal or ethnic group…

If this is the price for clumsy da’wah work, then we must seriously reconsider whether we’re doing more harm than good.

Certainly, we should never pressurise anyone to take shahadah. That’s the wrong kind of da’wah. Remember, Allah’s Prophets were constantly reminded that their duty is only to convey the message. The Prophets had no say in who accepts and who rejects the message. They never used pressure, or emotional blackmail. We too must realize that Allah chooses whom He pleases to guide. We should not step beyond what Allah’s prophets were called on to do.

Even Prophet Muhammad sws was constantly reminded by Allah, not to be distressed if people refused Islam. His job was only to convey the message. Guidance comes from Allah alone, from no-one else. In every Jumu’ah the imam declares:

May- Yahdillahu fa huwal muhtad, wa may- yudlill falan tajidaa lahu waliyan murshida. (Sura Al Kahf 18:17)

“Those whom Allah chooses to guide, no one can lead astray; Those whom Allah leaves to stray, no one can guide…”

So remember, it’s not about numbers. It’s about quality. Throughout history, the great achievements of Islam had nothing to do with the size of the Muslim population. It had everything to do with the quality and calibre of individual people. Sincerity, Ikhlaas, is what really matters. We Muslims must be sincere in everything we do. We must be consistent in our thoughts, words and actions. Inwardly and outwardly, Zahir and Batin, we must be made of the same substance. There should be no difference between our private views and our public pronouncements.

Even if modern politics and diplomacy is rife with double-speak, this is not good enough for Muslims who follow the prophetic Sunnah. We should never be guilty of speaking with a ‘forked tongue.’ That’s hypocrisy. Hypocrites are fuel for the hottest parts of hellfire. Sura Al Baqara warns us to “Beware of the fire whose fuel is men and stones,” (Quran 2:24)

Those who take on the responsibility of persuading others to enter Islam should also keep regular contact with their new brothers and sisters. You can’t just urge someone to make a life changing decision, then simply walk away and forget about them…

If we want to spread the message of Islam, we must be critically aware of the consequences of our actions. We must realize that while Islam has the power to transform a society from the outside, it must also improve us from the inside. We must be willing to hold up a mirror, to see our own faults and to have the courage to tackle them and to purify ourselves, inwardly and outwardly. This is how we can acquire a qalb saleem, a sound heart that is pleasing to Allah, and inspiring to others around us.

The most eloquent proof of Islam is to be a good living example. More powerful than the best planned da’wah effort is the behaviour of an individual Muslim whose good conduct inspires others in a life-changing way. This is unplanned da’wah, just being yourself; being true to yourself, being true to your beliefs and values, being true to Allah, and not trying so hard to impress people.

I’ve heard of many beautiful stories about this kind of unintentional da’wah but we have time for only one or two examples.

Some years ago a BBC reporter was covering the floods in Bangladesh. He hired a ‘river taxi’ in other words, a man with a boat, who took him from one flooded village to another. Around midday, this poor boatman tied his boat to a jetty and said: “Sir, I have another appointment. It will only take 10 minutes. I can’t miss it. Just wait here, please. I’ll be back in 10 minutes. I promise!”

The journalist was irate. “No, you’re not going anywhere! I paid you for a full day’s work. I’m not letting you run off to do other things in my time!” The more the boatman pleaded, the more determinedly the reporter held his ground. Finally, the poor fellow opened his bag, took out his customer’s money and said, “Sir, I really cannot miss this appointment. If you like, you can take your money and find yourself another taxi.”

To find another taxi would involve so much hassle. With a sigh of resignation, the reporter said: “Oh, go on, but hurry up and get back here in 15 minutes!” He watched the boatman walk along the riverbank and enter a nearby mosque… Only then did he realise that the man simply wanted to do his midday prayers!

When he had completed his prayers, the boatman returned with a cheerful “OK Sir, I’m all yours now.” They continued down the river, filming from village to village until the reporter’s work was done.

The BBC reporter returned home but somehow he could never forget that boatman in Bangladesh. How many people would risk losing a whole day’s cash earnings, perhaps his only earnings for several days, just in order to do his prayers on time? What tenacity, what sincerity, what faith! The memory lingered on. Its impact was unforgettable and ultimately life-changing.

Years later, this BBC reporter embraced Islam. He took shahadah directly as a result of his experience in Bangladesh. A simple river taxi, a poor boatman whose appointment with Allah was more important than the money for his daily bread…

Talking of bread, I have another inspiring story of unintentional dawah.

On a recent visit to South Africa, I was listening to a talk show on the car radio. One man called in to give his story. It went something like this…

“Some years ago I had a serious problem with gambling and drinking. I lost my home, my wife and my family. Homeless, down and out, I started begging and wandering the streets. It was unusual for a white person like me, because Apartheid made things so easy for white people.

One night I met a Coloured [mixed race] guy who had the same sad story. We shared our last bottle of brandy. We were both very hungry. So we turned out our pockets to see what money we had left, just enough to buy one sandwich. He said: “There’s a white restaurant  over there. You go and buy a sandwich. We can share it. They won’t let me in.” . So, I bought a sandwich and came back to share it with him. I gave him his half and started eating mine. We were both famished. He sat there, opened his half sandwich and asked me, what’s in it? I said, “bacon.” He closed the sandwich and handed it back to me. “No thanks, you have it,” he said. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “I can’t eat that,” he replied, “it’s not halaal for me. I’m a Muslim.  Then he just stood up and walked away. I never saw him again.

I was puzzled. But I was also hungry so I ate his half sandwich. As time passed, I slowly rebuilt my life, but somehow I could never forget this incident. For years this memory haunted me. Imagine, a man loses everything, his home, his family, his whole life is messed up because of his addiction to alcohol and gambling. He hasn’t eaten for days, and when he finally gets something to eat he refuses it because he’s a Muslim and he won’t touch a  bacon sandwich! This man was such a contradiction, and yet I admired his integrity. Gambling and alcohol were his weakness, but that bacon sandwich was just one step too far. He wouldn’t cross that line!

I started to wonder about his religion. It had a powerful influence on him. I had to find out more about Islam.  Soon I got some books and I started reading…

Today, ten years after that fateful encounter, I am a Muslim. Alhamdulillah. My name is Yusuf, and I just phoned in to your program to tell you my story. If this man is still alive, if he’s listening, I don’t even know his name, I just want to say thank you for not eating that bacon sandwich. You faith, you iman, touched my heart that day. Remembering that simple act is what brought me to Islam.  Allah has opened my heart to Islam through a homeless, drunken, vagrant gambler like me. I pray that Allah will forgive us both. I pray that Allah  will help you find your way back to the safety of your religion. Jazakalallah kharan. As-salaamu’alaykum.

I hope that we can all learn from these two real-life examples. We have no power to guide anyone. Allah chooses whom he pleases. If Allah considers us worthy, He may use us as instruments through whom others may be guided. That will be the greatest honour. We should simply focus on our main task: explaining simply and showing by our own living example, what it means to be a Muslim.