THE ESSENCE OF EMBARKING ON DA’WA

THE ESSENCE OF EMBARKING ON DA’WA

 

AuudhubiLlaahiminasshaitaanirrajeem.BismillahiArRahmaanArRaheem.AlhamdulillahwassalatuwassalamualaaRasulullahwa'alaalihiwasahbihiajma'inammaba'ad.Assallamualaikumwarahamatullahwabarakatuhu.

Welcome all brothers and sisters to this noble gathering....the online dawah training workshop. It’s a pleasure and an honour to be here once again. My name has always been Abdul Aziz ShuaibIshak and the topic that has been given to me to discuss in this session is "The essence on embarking on dawah". We ask Allah to grant us the benefit of this session, and save us from any fitna that comes with it.

To begin with, Allah is the Creator of this Universe. He created man and sent him to the earth as His viceregent (Khalifah). This entire Universe has been entrusted to human beings to explore, exploit and take care of. However, Allah has stated emphatically the purpose for creating jinn and mankind.

“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.”

Sūra Ad-dhāriyāt 51:56

He also promised to send His guidance to mankind to teach how people should lead their lives on earth in order to achieve that purpose. If an individual accepts the guidance from the Creator and models his/her life accordingly, he/she will be rewarded with Paradise (Jannah).

 

But, if that individual rejects the guidance by his/her free will fills the earth with transgression, oppression, disorder and bloodshed, he/she will be punished with the hell-fire. The achievement of both heaven and hell depends on the treatment which one accords to the guidance from the Creator. The acceptance of this Guidance and living by its principles qualifies one to be a citizen of the next world (Hereafter). The rest will be treated like dirt and thrown in the hell-fire. The following verses clearly state this fact….

 

"We said: Go down all of you from hence, but verily there comes unto you from Me a guidance; and whoever follows My guidance, there shall no fear come upon them, neither shall they grieve.”

 

“But those who disbelieve, and deny our revelations, such are rightful owners of the Fire; they will abide therein eternally."

Surah Baqara 2:38-39

Now how did Allah send this guidance unto mankind? Allah (SWT) in His infinite mercy has been appointing messengers, from Adam to Muhammad (Peace be upon them) for delivering the right guidance to mankind.

The assignment of each prophet was nothing but to call his people unto the fold of their Creator, to accept His authority, follow the guidance from Him and lead their lives accordingly. The Qur'an confirms this objective.

“I have sent to every nation a messenger [proclaiming:] Worship Allaah and avoid the [worship of] false gods.”

Surah an-Nahl 16: 36

The Prophets’ call to their people was to invite them to accept Allah's authority without attaching any partner either to His Person or His attributes, and to feel responsible/ accountable to Him for every action and deed of this life in the life hereafter.

Allah (SWT) appointed Muhammad (S) as His last messenger with the Guidance and AL-DeenAL-Haq (the path of righteousness) in order to make it dominant over all the other batil (false) codes of conduct. He was specifically sent to the ummah that we find ourselves in with the shariah (ie Quran and Sunnah), an excellent code of life.He was sent with Quran and his sayings and actions(sunnah) to guide you and I in achieving the purpose for which we were created. He (S) exhorted his followers to enter into Islam (be obedient to Allah) in its totality and exert every possible effort towards making Allah's Deen dominant with the maximum amount of sacrifice of life, time and resources in His way.

The way Prophet Muhammad (S) did his job is the only model available to us in its perfect form and in minutest detail.

From the first day of his appointment to the last day of his departure from this world, He was a Da'ee (one who embarks on dawah) as Allah (swt) commanded him to.

"O Prophet! Lo! We have sent thee as a witness and a bringer of good tidings and a Warner. And as a Summoner unto Allah by His permission, and as a lamp that gives light."

Surah Azhab 33:45-46

So now what do we mean by the term dawah?

The Arabic term da‘wah is derived from the verb da‘aa which linguistically means “to call; to invite; and to supplicate, i.e. to call on God”. It is used to refer to the act of conveying or calling people to the message of Islaam. In that context it is a contraction of the phrase adda‘wahilallaah (calling to Allaah).

“Say: This is my way and I invite to Allaah with certain knowledge .Surah Yoosuf, 12: 10

As indicated earlier, da‘wah was the basic mission of all the prophets of God. They were raised up among their respective people to call them to the worship of Allaah alone and to abandon the worship of the various false gods that they had invented....

Daawah was made obligatory on our Messenger(S) in the same way that it was obligatory on all the messengers of God (peace and blessings of Allaah upon them) and upon all who follow them including you and I.

Allah(swt) instructed His Prophet (S) to disseminate the message of Islaam: “O Messenger, convey what was revealed from your Lord.”Soorah al-Maa’idah, 5: 67

It is therefore obligatory upon us as followers of Muhammed (saw) to convey the message or embark on dawah. Calling to Allaah is generally considered by scholars of Islaam as an obligation on every Muslim according to their abilities. The compulsions of dawah however are of two types. Sh. IbnBaaz(r) stated that “there are two levels of Da‘wah to Allaah:

• Fard ‘ayn (an individual obligatory duty) and
   
• Fardkifaayah (a collective obligatory duty).
  It is Fard ‘ayn on you when no one in [your] country, region or community takes up the responsibility of enjoining good and forbidding evil, if you have knowledge. It becomes obligatory on you specifically to give da‘wah, to enlighten people to the rights of Allaah, to command what is good and prohibit evil.
   
  Proof for individual obligation of da‘wah can be found in the following verse and hadith:
  “Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good preaching.” (Soorah an-Nahl, 16: 125)
  “Convey from me, even if it be only a single verse.” Sahih Al-Bukhari
  However, if there are present those who give da‘wah teach people and guide them, like our Sheikhs and mallams, then dawah would be sunnah and not obligatory for others like you and I who also have knowledge of the Sharee‘ah. Proof for the community obligation of da‘wah can be found in the following verse and others similar to it:
  “Let there arise among you a group inviting to all that is good, enjoining righteousness and forbidding evil. Those are the successful ones.”  (SoorahAal ‘Imraan, 3: 104)
  Consequently, every Muslim must learn some verses or chapters of the Qur’aan for their daily prayers and these verses can be conveyed as dawah to both the believers and disbelievers. Virtually no one is excused from giving some da‘wah. Furthermore, whenever the Prophet (S) addressed people, he used to say:
  “Let those present convey what they heard to those absent. For, perhaps he may inform one better able to understand it than him.”
  It should also be emphasized that da’wah is not limited to preaching the message but also practicing the virtues of Islam among people. There have been several instances in history of Islam, ie in the Indian subcontinent, South Asia and many parts of Africa where people embraced Islam through the values and honesty of the Muslim traders and travelers. In fact our holy prophet (S) himself was a typical example of daawah by our actions and character. Now let's look at some virtues of embarking on daawah. Allaah praises those who engage in this noble endeavor as being the best in speech.
  “Who is better in speech than one who calls to Allaah, does righteous deeds and says indeed I am among the Muslims.”
  Surah Fussilat, 41: 33
  The best words that any human being can speak are words of guidance inviting people to the purpose of their creation; the worship of God. The Prophet (S) also expounds on the great reward for this righteous pursuit saying,
  “Whoever directs someone to do good will gain the same reward as the one who does good.”Sahih Muslim
  He was also reported to have said,
  “Whoever calls to guidance will receive the same reward as the one who follows him without any decrease in the reward of [his follower].”
  Sahih Muslim
  Maashaa Allah such an immeasurable reward is specifically granted to those involved in the prophetic mission of da‘wah. As an illustration of the magnitude of the reward for guiding others to Islaam, the Prophet (S) was also reported by SahlibnSa‘d as saying:
  “For Allaah to guide someone by your hand is better for you than having red camels.”Sahih Al Bukhari
  Camels were considered the most valuable property in ancient Arabia and the red variety was the most prized of all. Consequently, the Prophet (r) here indicates that guiding others to the truth is worth more than our most prized possessions in this world, more than  Lamborghini or Bugatti .This fact is further reiterated in Chapter al-‘Asr where Allaah declares humankind in a state of loss with the exception of
   
  “Those who advise each other with truth.”
  Surah al-‘Asr, 103: 3
  Allaah also hinged the label of honor, “best of humankind,” granted to the Muslim nation on the fulfillment of their da‘wah duty of calling humankind to righteousness and prohibiting sin among them.
  “You are the best nation raised up for humankind. You enjoin righteousness, forbid evil and you believe in Allaah.”
  Surah Aal-Imraan, 3: 110.
  Thus, the Muslim nation has been given the status of the best nation because of their belief in Allaah, their promotion of morality and their opposition to vice.
  Finally,  what is the consequence of neglecting daawah. In order to stress the gravity of dawah as a duty on Muslims, Allah warned those who did not fulfill their responsibility in this regard of His curse and the curse of all His creatures.
  “Indeed those who hide the clear messages and guidance that I have revealed after I have made it clear to people in the scripture; those are cursed by Allah and cursed by all who curse.”*Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:159
  The Prophet (S) further stressed the gravity of the sin of hiding knowledge saying:
   
  “Whoever hides knowledge by which Allah benefits people in their affairs of religion, Allah will bridle him on the Day of Resurrection with a bridle from the Hellfire.”
  Sunan Abu Dawud
  On this note I shall end my presentation here by urging all of us to strive to engage in daawah as much as we can because it is an obligation as well as virtuous act that can intercede for us on the day of recompense.