Islamic Daawah

Introduction

Islam is a religion that has been around for more than thousands of years. Since the time that
our beloved prophet Adam (A.S), the first man to set foot on earth. He was the first believer
and witness of Allahs might and power. Since then the message of Islam has been
transmitted, passed on and preached from generation to generation, peoples to peoples and
nations to nations. Allah says in the Quran: And We sent not before you any messenger
except that We revealed to him that, "There is no God but Allah (21:25). We acknowledge
Islam as our true faith and believe due to the proof put for us in the world, the miracles of
Allah, the Quran and our beloved prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). This beautiful religion has
been preserved to this day. Allah does not accept any other faith other than the one and only
Islam as he says in the Quran: Indeed, the religion near Allah (is) Islam (3:19). As
dutiful Muslims, it is our obligation to practice and preach the true faith of Allah and the
message of his messengers. Our target should be those who are misguided be it nonMuslims or Muslims. This process of preaching is known in Islam by its original Arabic
word Daawah.

Daawah: Nature, Need and Importance

When doing Daawah, there are certain problems we have to consider which are, the message
of Daawah, the Dai himself or the person preaching the message, the subject preached to or
the audience receiving the message and the methodology of Daawah which is the most
important part of the Daawah. We have to make sure that all of the above problems are
planned if we would want to practice the proper way of preaching Islam. We are to preach
using an effective method which is in accordance with the Quran and Sunnah. Daawah
should not be neither harsh nor very soft where compromises for religion will have to be
made. Wisdom is important when preaching, Good advice and counseling known as
Mawizah Hasanah should be well performed as well as decent arguments when it comes to
rebutting certain ideas that go against Islam, if made by an audience. Allah says in the
Quran: Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with
them in a way that is best. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has strayed from His
way, and He is most knowing of who is [rightly] guided. . (al-Nahl: 25)
As we are aware, we are at a time when the world is in its utmost turmoil and chaos which is
all due to the neglect of Islamic faith and way of living. Seeing as this is the real cause, there
has never been a better time to preach than now. We are to try and establish the Islamic way
of life if we would want to live in a better world. With the numbers on the rise for suicides in
Japan, homeless youth in the America and inflation around the globe, there is no better
answer to all these problems and more other than Islam. Unfortunately, many do not
understand that Islam is a way of life, a religion of peace and far most a way of correcting a

society both at the public and individual level. It is clear that ignorance about Islam is
spreading. This is where Muslims have to play their role when it comes to Daawah.
Misconception must be corrected and ignorance must be guided. Daawah, in the world today
should be Muslims number one priority. Daawah is the answer; Islam is the answer, for it is
the way that is strait and the solution to peace. Allah says in the Quran: But Allah doth calls
you to the Home of peace: He doth guide whom he pleases to a way that is straight.
(10:25).

Definition and its relation to other sciences:

Daawah is an Arabic word meaning to call. In the Quran, the word Daawah is used several
times. It is taken to mean the desire, call or prayer for/to Allah. And when My servants ask
you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the
supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in
Me that they may be [rightly] guided. (2: 286)
The technical meaning of Daawah is to enable the continuity of Islam as a sole religion. This
is done in many ways whether it be through talking, actions or simply writing books on
Islam. In the typical case of Daawah however, many would go preaching by tongue to
people of different faiths about Islam. Nevertheless, Muslims require Daawah to bring them
closer to Islam; a reminder of their purpose in this world. And remind, for indeed, the
reminder benefits the believers. (51:55).
A Dai should not only learn the methods of Daawah but other sciences related to it. This is
because a Dai interacts with people of different races that come from different cultures with

different ideologies. If a Dai was to approach all with the same methods and with no
knowledge other than the basics of Islam, then Daawah will not be done effectively.
Understanding Daawah is not easy since it requires a study of many methods of practicing it.
Psychology, sociology, economics and culture studies are all examples of sciences which are
very closely related to Daawah. Rather, many would argue that in order to become a Dai, the
person has to possess at least some general knowledge of the above stated sciences. For
example, if Daawah were to be done to a person with depression which is considered to be a
psychological llness, a Dai would have to know somewhat how to approach the person for
Daawah and likewise with a person with anxiety or obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
An example of a Dai who was very knowledgeable is the Sheikh Ahmad Deedat. He did not
just debate and argue supporting Islam based on no effort, it took him years of study and
practice
Sources of science of Daawah
There are two main sources where we can learn about Daawah:
1. The Quran: Allah revealed to us many stories of prophets in the Quran so that we may learn
the science of Daawah and how to preach. It teaches us about the kind of people that were
preached to. Al-Mala who was the high and noble people of the society, they were chieftains
and were generally rich and strong. Most of them did not accept the message due to
arrogance and pride, they had desire to rule not want to listen to anyone because that would
affect their ruling. Al-Mala were also ignorant, they did not believe that life on earth was
mortal and that the hereafter was the real life. From this, we can heed and understand how to
deal with those who are arrogant and proud. As Prophet Musa (A.S) did, he went to Firaun

and spoke to him with wisdom and not with anger and dismay, even though Firaun was the
most arrogant ruler. Allah says in the Quran: Go, both of you, to Pharaoh. Indeed, he has
transgressed. And speak to him with gentle speech that perhaps he may be reminded or fear [
Allah ]. (20:43-44)

2. The Sunnah of the prophet Muhammad (S.A.W): Another source of which we can refer
to is the teachings of the blessed prophet (S.A.W) in order to learn the methods of Daawah.
We can learn and see from his life his approach to the people of Quraysh which required
wisdom and courage that was granted to him by Allah. He preached in secret for the first
three years to his close friends and family and later he preached to the public after many had
already become Muslims. This shows the wisdom of the prophet (S.A.W) when preaching.
There are also many stories and Hadith narrated on his wisdom when preaching and
teaching others about Islam; he would approach the different tribes in different ways. A
story was reported by Anas bin Malik: "Whilst we were in the Mosque with the Messenger
of Allah (S.A.W) a Bedouin came and stood urinating in the Mosque. The Companions of
the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W) said, 'Stop it! Stop it!' and were about to attack him. But
the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W) said, 'Do not interrupt him; leave him alone.' So they left
him until he had finished urinating, then the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W) called him and
said to him, 'In these Mosques it is not right to do anything like urinating or defecating; they
are only for remembering Allah, praying and reading Qur'an, or words to that effect. Then he
commanded a man who was there to bring a bucket of water and throw it over the (urine),
and he did so." (Muslim). We can learn from the story of the way the prophet (S.A.W)

approached the man with wisdom which is lacking in a lot of the Muslims of today when it
comes to Daawah.

Conclusion

In our world today where everything is controlled by the enemies of Islam who are
constantly trying to hurt the image of Islam be it, through the media, or by spreading certain
misconceptions about the religion, there has never been a better time for us Muslims to do
Daawah. It is our most available tool to correct all the accusations made against Islam by its
enemies. Our job is to correct the mindset of the non-Muslims specifically westerners whose
idea about Islam so far has only been negative. It is therefore necessary upon us Muslims to
learn the methods of Daawah and how to preach well. In this way, many non-Muslims will
realize how beautiful of a religion Islam is and would want to revert. Moreover, it gives
more room for those already practicing to do their rituals freely without being stigmatized.
It is clear what Muslims must do. Learn Islam and preach it.