A R C H I V E S
Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| confused about dawah |
|---|
| superFOB |
| 01/15/04 at 03:13:25 |
| [slm] I am confused, please help me out here. Lots of dawah programs going on and all sound very convincing. I have tried to extract the main points and have formulated a questionnaire to gain a better understanding of the issues at hand. Please try to answer each question in as few lines as possible, less then three lines would be ideal, but if your answer requires a couple of more lines, by all means use 'em. Please give your own understanding (no fatwas and online articles please) and please stick to the board rules.[list][*]Why should we give dawah? More specifically, towards what personal gains?[*]Can't I just pray my own salah, do my faraa'id and stack-up my deeds and hope for al-jannah? Aren't these the deeds in return for which paradise is promised?[*]Towards what or whom should we invite? Towards the religion islam, Allah [swt], knowledge of deen, or any combination thereof?[*]What should be the main focus of dawah? For instance should we give someone dawah for Hajj from the word go? Lets say we are inviting a VERY diverse group--hindus, jews, muslims, african pygmies. There must be something that would appeal to ALL. What should we say?[*]Whom should our dawah target? Non-muslims, muslims, ourselves, the jinn, any other audience?[*]What method or tools should be employed? Conferences, literature/pamphlets, media, internet, interfaith, or any combination thereof? Lets say you want to devise a plan that can be implemented ANYWHERE by ANYONE. What do you suggest?[*]How important is knowledge for dawah and what is the minimum prerequisite? There must be a bare minimum requirement for EVERY muslim out there. What is it?[*]Is it possible that parallel dawah efforts cohabit harmoniously? How?[*]This one is pushing the limits. Please take extra care when answering this. Would you weigh a da'ee according to their ethnicity? For example, if you are a turk, would you consider a dawah from, say, an arab? What about desis, malays, etc? Please mention your ethnic group.[*]If you are involved in some dawah effort, what are your views on other parallel dawah movements? Do you consider them outdated/extremists/modernists/ok/whatever? If they are OK, why don't you join them instead of splitting up the resources?[*]What is the measure of success for any dawah effort? For instance is the number of reverts within a certain period of time in a specific geographical location any indicator?[*]How dedicated you find yourself to your dawah effort? What is your contribution to the local dawah effort?[*]How much more are you ready to sacrifice for the deen? Would you learn a new language, correct your tajweed, or learn any chapter of the deen with an intention of teaching someone? [Intention = a desire in the heart && a target date && prayer/dua for its success][*]What is the most active dawah effort in your community/school? What is it, please describe it briefly. Please mention your community and whether you are associated with this effort. (you might be assoicated with more than one dawah effort, btw)[*]Have you gained any thing that you wouldn't have otherwise from your local dawah effort? Please mention what you've gained.[*]Given an opportunity to give dawa to a middle class person or a ghetto dweller, whom would you choose to give dawa first and why. Ethnicity need not matter here.[*]Please briefly specify a list of aadaab/etiquettes of dawah. Its a major issue--adab while inviting muslim/non-muslim/another da'ee.[/list]-super "confused" FOB |
| 02/08/04 at 01:54:42 |
| superFOB |
| Re: confused about dawah |
|---|
| jannah |
| 01/15/04 at 10:33:17 |
| wlm, excellent topic... i'd love to join the discussion inshallah.. would love to hear what others have to say first?? |
| Re: confused about dawah |
|---|
| superFOB |
| 01/16/04 at 14:08:30 |
| [slm] No takers? You don't have to answer ALL the questions. I can post a mock reply if it makes things easier. - super "impatient" FOB |
| 01/16/04 at 14:08:49 |
| superFOB |
| Re: confused about dawah |
|---|
| al-ajnabia |
| 01/16/04 at 17:59:40 |
| [slm] I'm thinking of how to say waht I mean without it turning biographical. My limited number of braincells have had to go back to learing Arabic and how to teach English and when they unclench I may be able to frame it effectively, Inshallah Salam, Al-Ajnabia :-) |
| 01/16/04 at 20:48:25 |
| al-ajnabia |
| Re: confused about dawah |
|---|
| al-ajnabia |
| 01/16/04 at 20:42:39 |
| [slm] question one: Personally, I cant keep it in and I feel bad if I do. Theoretically it has the potential to work every once in a while at least temporarily and it relieves immediate loneliness. qusetion two: What if you found out you hadn't been praying right and you didnt have soem truth you had been sharing to fill in as back up? question three: whoever you seem to be giving it to at the moment, whenever you really feel inspired, Allah wants everybody, but we cant always be the most effective if we pick certain people for the various reasons. Question four: Oh heck no. A little gain that is stable is better than great ideas poorly acquired. Question five:wherever you personally seem to be most effective and causing the most good question six: yea sure. that works. question seven: if you try to teach what you dont know, dont qualify your statements or decieve people in such a way that they reject the actual truth, or if you present the quran oor hadith in such a way that your target rejects it, you are screwing up. Nothing much is gained by counting kafirs. the minimum prerequisite is honesty. Question eight: yes Question nine: The main dawa effort I have most experinced is primarily good for children and muslims who have been marginalized. I am part of the resource base of this group. None of the other groups that I know of have as much understanding of the characters of Americans as we do, however all of these groups are physically accessable to us if not accessable in their hearts. We were here first, have had the most lasting success and we dont like their attitude towards us, however we are always looking for a turn around and thinking of ways to speed that process. Question ten: if the children are seperated form their parents do they change to the religion at hand truely in their hearts, or do they blend in and spread their ideas within other religions in such a way that other religions consider us a real problem? Question eleven: 24/7 but I'm pretty creative so this encompases a lot of activities. question twelve: My entire living effort seems to somehow work itself itno my dawa. question thirteen: us question fourteen: I need anything at all they tend to know this even before I do. Well, thats my take on this, salam, Al-ajnabia :-) PS shukran to Faith for the urls |
| 01/16/04 at 20:49:24 |
| al-ajnabia |
| Re: confused about dawah |
|---|
| Abu_Hamza |
| 01/16/04 at 22:24:36 |
| [slm] [quote] I am confused, please help me out here. Lots of dawah programs going on and all sound very convincing. I have extracted the main points and have formulated a questionnaire to gain a better understanding of the issues at hand. Please try to answer each question in as few lines as possible, less then three lines would be ideal. Please give your own understanding (no fatwas and online articles please) and please follow the constitution.[/quote] gee, so many requirements! :) You ask us questions whose answers can fill books, and yet you insist that we be brief?! Ok ... [quote]Why should we give dawah? More specifically, towards what personal gains?[/quote] There should be no *personal* motive behind giving da'wah except fulfilling the obligation that Allah (awj) has put on you, so that you have an answer for Him that Day when He asks you what you did to serve His Deen. [quote]Can't I just pray my own salah, do my furood and stack-up my deeds and hope for al-jannah? Aren't these the deeds in return for which paradise is promised?[/quote] The general answer to your question is, yes you can. As long as you are not in a situation where you are the *only* qualified person to perform that specific type of da'wah work. Otherwise, it becomes fard on you to perform that work, and not fulfilling that fard accounts for sin. P.S. Plural of [i]fard[/i] is [i]faraa'id.[/i] [quote]Towards what or whom should we invite? Towards the religion islam, Allah [swt], knowledge, or any combination thereof?[/quote] We invite people to lovingly surrender themselves to the One who created them, i.e. become [i]Muslims[/i] in the true sense of that word. We invite people to make all their deeds, desires, ideologies, systems of life ... everything ... subservient to their Creator. And in order to do this, they must *know* who that Creator is, and what He wants from them. [quote]What should be the main focus of dawah? For instance should we give someone dawah for Hajj from the word go?[/quote] Da'wah is given based on the situation of the person it is being given to. The focus of the da'wah would depend upon what the person is in most need of. As I'll point out later, this requires the daa'ee to know both the priorities of sharee'ah, as well as the circumstances of the person receiving da'wah. [quote]Whom should our dawah target? Non-muslims, muslims, ourselves, the jinn, any other audience?[/quote] Everyone is a target of da'wah in general. But there should be priorities given to certain people over others. And that depends on your qualifications (what your expertise are) and your surroundings (who needs what and how much). P.S. Do not forget to include *yourself* in the (top of the) list of your da'wah targets. [quote]What method or tools should be employed? Conferences, literature/pamphlets, media, internet, interfaith, or any combination thereof?[/quote] The best means. Depends on who the target is, what kind of da'wah you're doing, and what kind of area you live in. [quote]How important is knowledge for dawah and what is the minimum prerequisite?[/quote] Knowledge is fundamental for da'wah. Without knowledge, it may be haraam for you to give da'wah, because you may teach something wrong to the people. The minimum prerequisite depends on what you're teaching, what the level of knowledge is of others making da'wah in your area, and who your target is. [quote]Is it possible that parallel dawah efforts cohabit harmoniously?[/quote] Absolutely. If people do it with the right intention and methodology, that is how da'wah is *meant* to work. [quote]If you are involved in some dawah effort, what are your views on other parallel dawah movements? Do you consider them outdated/extremists/modernists/ok/whatever? If they are OK, why don't you join them instead of splitting up the resources?[/quote] I see them lacking a comprehensive approach towards da'wah. I see them lacking in certain areas, though they may be excelling in others. Therefore my da'wah helps to fill that void that exists in their da'wah efforts, though I wouldn't necessarily work *separately* from them. [quote]What is the measure of success for any dawah effort? For instance is the number of reverts within a certain period of time in a specific area is any indicator?[/quote] There are quantifiable indicators and unquantifiable indicators. It depends on what kind of da'wah work you're doing. But in general, our measure of success can only be measured in the Hereafter when Allah (awj) establishes the Scale. [quote]How dedicated you find yourself to your dawah effort? What is your contribution to the local dawah effort?[/quote] Allahu musta'aan. Skip. [quote]How much more are you ready to sacrifice for the deen? Would you learn a new language, correct your tajweed, or learn any chapter of the deen with an intention of teaching someone? [Intention = a desire in the heart && a target date && prayer/dua for its success][/quote] Yaa Rabb. Skip. [quote]What is the most active dawah effort in your community/school?[/quote] The Islamic school. The focus is on the local Muslim youth in general. [quote]Have you gained any thing that you wouldn't have otherwise from your local dawah effort?[/quote] Yes. And if I had not, then I would question my intentions for being involved in da'wah work. Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah |
| 01/16/04 at 22:24:57 |
| Abu_Hamza |
| Re: confused about dawah |
|---|
| superFOB |
| 01/17/04 at 01:39:52 |
| [slm] Two brave souls have replied, mashallah. Keep them coming folks. Being the eternal optimist I am, I take this to be the lull before the storm. I have tweaked the post a little bit after the feedback from these two replies, please take note of them. I would hike to remind once again, the would-be posters, that the goal of this thread is not to criticize or glorify, but to gain an understanding. The last two replies followed the etiquettes quite nicely. Imho, this thread would benefit us all, don't you think? |
| 01/17/04 at 01:45:21 |
| superFOB |
| Re: confused about dawah |
|---|
| BrKhalid |
| 01/20/04 at 06:43:13 |
| Asalaamu Alaikum ;-) Excellent topic Brother ;-) Maybe one of the reasons people haven’t responded yet is because of the number of questions and the fact that they probably need some thought before answering. Anyways here are my thoughts on one of the questions: [quote]What is the measure of success for any dawah effort? For instance is the number of reverts within a certain period of time in a specific geographical location any indicator?[/quote] This reminded me of something Imam Anwar Awlaki said on his Lives of the Prophets Series. He talked about Nuh [Noah] (as) and how he preached and gave dawah to his people for 950 years but even after all that there were only a few believers who entered into the Ark with him. Does this mean Nuh was unsuccessful? As Br Abu Hamza has already said: [quote]….our measure of success can only be measured in the Hereafter when Allah (awj) establishes the Scale.[/quote] Those who know me on the board will know that I always go on about the following Hadith: [color=Red]Narrated 'Umar bin Al-Khattab: Allah's Apostle said, "The reward of deeds depends upon the intention and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for Allah and His Apostle, then his emigration was for Allah and His Apostle. And whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for." [Bukhari][/color] The point being that when we do dawah [a good deed] with the right intention [to bring people to or closer to Islam for Allah’s sake] then we know Allah will reward us for it. Ultimately that’s the *real* success in doing dawah [ie the success in the Hereafter] There is also a subsidiary gain in doing dawah in as much as people become Muslims or start improving on their Islam thereby increase their good deeds. The reward for this is stated in the Hadith as: [color=Red]"Whoever guides others to do good will have a reward like that of the person who does the good deed." [Muslim][/color] Hence if one invites someone to go for Hajj and they actually do, Allah grants the reward of Hajj to both!! Okay so that’s success in the Hereafter from doing dawah but what about measuring success in the wordly life? [dunya] Does the fact you may preach for 950 years and only influence a handful of people make you unsuccessful in giving dawah? On the face of it, it would seem so but there’s an implicit assumption here that dawah *alone* is the cause of changing people’s actions. In reality, however, it is only the catalyst or spark which helps a person move towards Islam because Allah alone is the One who Guides. Hence, one may give dawah very eloquently and with much knowledge but it may never reap any fruits. The wisdom for those giving dawah is to know that the act is more important than the results and hence one should not be deterred if no one listens and similarly one should not feel a sense of pride when huge numbers hear and act upon your call. We do things sincerely for the sake of Allah and hence success or failure in any of our actions is not a measure for evaluating our efforts. In fact if one feels pride at having called others to Islam or one feels despondent at having no one listen, one should question one’s sincerity for true believers would treat these differing situations exactly alike. As ever Allah [swt] knows best. |
| 01/20/04 at 06:44:53 |
| BrKhalid |
| Re: confused about dawah |
|---|
| al-ajnabia |
| 01/20/04 at 17:09:23 |
| [slm] sometimes when doing dawa it is important to rmember not to disuade people from what they are alredy doing right. If a person migarated either with the hijra or at another time and formonst in his mind was a woman, does it matter at all if his intentions in regard to that woman were of the highest nature and in his undrestanding his feelings and the nature of them was part of his compliace with the message? Maybe... The variety of circumstances is so vast, and the variety of back grounds of people almost infinate. Also the amount of differnt individual commands within Islam are also extreemly vast. Is it correct adab to perform dawa in such a way as to cause a crisis in faith in a person who had been carying out a great number of these commads on a deep level in ordreto pressure an individiual into apearing to comply with an order that can been seen or measured so that their compliance with the other valid comands of Allah falters? Is it good dawa to hide the loop holes that Allah revealed from those for whom they are neccessary for the sake of aparent religious practice? Wouldnt we all have a better ummah as muslims if honesty about ones true level of surrender and true comprehension of external pratices were as vehemantly called for as Fasting on RAmadan for all "true" believing mulsims, or Prayer form all muslims whether or not they have someone to really take the time it takes to teach them properly just as thought they had been children of the most learned schollars their whole lives? I hear so much about the importanceof prayer, but this amount that I hear is not reflective of the amount of time a person recieves in instruction of it unless they are born in an outwardly praying family , and even then, how much time was taken to instruct their parents? I think causing people to give up waht they know, abandon the councel of those who know them and take up a way that the person calling them only understands part of is a serious business, and it is because of this that I think a high level of honesty is neccessary to avoid negative personal culpability. Noah may not have convinced many but he kept religion itself from being drowned utterly. He was also a prophet, all prophets were honest. He had to ark[ive] quite a bit for a duration but when the flood passed he let all back out. All that dark sky for so long alone on the tossing waves fearing all that he was sending out, even jsut a little dove, was lost hopeless useless, I'm sure he knew of his reward in the hear after, yet he was watchful enough and concerned enough about the results of his deeds in dunya to hear the tapping of that dove over the sound of the sloshing flood when time came to let in a sign of hope. If you claim to really feel it, how will any one out doing good deeds know that they need to come up and really make you feel it? Waht if that person who was going to make you really feel it decided to start pretending to feel it themselves? Well any way, "open up the window let the dove fly in", or is that haram because its from a bluegrass song? Salaam, Al-ajnabia :-) |
| Re: confused about dawah |
|---|
| faith |
| 01/22/04 at 04:29:44 |
| [slm] When I first read this thread started by Br. SuperFOB, I thought that da'wah is considered "fardhu kifayah", ie. if some members of the muslim community is doing da'wah, then it is not obligatory upon the rest of the muslim community. However, I investigated further, and listened to a lecture by Bilal Philips, and now I am convinced that the obligation is upon each and every muslim to do da'wah - and that I am guilty of passively hiding Islam from my colleagues, friends who are non-muslims. I have typed out PART of the transcript from the audio lecture, which can be found on http://www.islaam.com/LecturesByScholar.aspx?id=8 synopsis: 1- where does it say that we have to do da’wah? 2- who told us to do da’wah? 3- should we/should we not do da’wah? 4- do we have to do it, or is it optional if we want to do it? 5 –what exactly is this da’wah? 6- what is this obligation? Where does this obligation comes from? Where is it stated? The Obligation of Da’wah Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips Verily all praise is due to Allah, and as such we should praise Him, seek His help, seek His forgiveness, and seek refuge in Him from the evil which is in ourselves and from the evil which resulted from our deeds for whomsoever Allah has guided, none can misguide, for whomsoever Allah has allowed to go astray, none can guide. I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship but Allah, and that Muhammad [saw] is the last messenger of Allah. As brother Shabeer has introduced the topic, is fundamentally the obligation of da’wah, and we’ll be looking at it from 2 aspects. 1st and foremost, the general obligation. We derive from the quran and the sunnah the principle that da’wah is obligatory on each of every muslim. It is part and parcel of commanding the good and “amal bn ma’roof” and “nahya wal munkaar” and prohibiting the evil about which Allah has described the ummah, describe it as being of its distinguishing characteristics. We have from the quran a direct command in which Allah (subhana wa ta’aala) says:“call to the way of your Lord with wisdom” (as understood from the quran) “and with good speech” (surah An-Nahl: 125), and though this is a general command, and some may conclude from that this is for the specialist, the specially trained, Prophet Muhammad [saw] also made a statement, which is authentically reported, “convey from me whatever you have learned even though it may only be a verse from the quran”. This is what brings it right down to the individual level, that whatever knowledge we have, we have an obligation to we share it. We have also other descriptions wherein Prophet [saw] said “the best of you is he who learns the quran and teaches it to others”. He didn’t stop at saying the best of you is he who learns the quran but teaching it to others is an integral part of that learning for it to be blessed by Allah. The obligation of sharing that knowledge, passing on that knowledge, has to also be there. And this is absolutely necessary because of the fact that Allah, through His Prophet [saw] has made the seeking of knowledge compulsory. As you all know, Prophet [saw] has said, “seeking knowledge is compulsory for every muslim”. Wherein not also compulsory for those who had knowledge to pass on that knowledge on, then that command would not have made sense because it would have been putting a burden on muslims which they could not fulfill. So the 2 have to work together. And this is why when Prophet [saw] described this world as being cursed, he said, “the whole of this world is cursed, everything inside of it is cursed, except the remembrance of Allah, and what encourages you and helps you to remember Allah, and scholars of knowledge and the students”. That relationship, the scholar and the student, passing on the knowledge, gaining the knowledge. This is showing the significance of seeking knowledge, passing it on in Islam. This is of course directly related to da’wah what other knowledge, when Allah (subhana wa ta’aala) through His Prophet [saw] has made seeking knowledge compulsory for us, what other knowledge than the knowledge of Allah, and what Allah requires of us in our daily lives. This knowledge should be given priority over other knowledge. So it is compulsory for us to gain knowledge and it is compulsory for us to pass on this knowledge to those who don’t know. But in order to further stress the critical nature of passing on the knowledge, because though we may be encouraged and told, people still may have reluctance etc. Allah (subhana wa ta’aala) on the other side, has put a curse on those who don’t pass on the knowledge, to stress to us how serious the passing on of knowledge is. He cursed those who do not pass on the knowledge. Those who hide the knowledge. In surah al-baqarah: 140, we find Allah (subhana wa ta’aala) “who is worst, than the one who hides a witness which is with him from Allah”, - the witness is Islam, recognize that commitment is from Allah (subhana wa ta’aala). There is none worst or oppressive that such an individual, Furthermore, the curse is mention in verse 159: “verily those who hide what we have revealed of the clear messages and guidance after it has been made clear to the people in the scripture such are cursed by Allah, and cursed by all who would curse”. For Allah to put the curse on someone for not passing on that knowledge is indicating that is must be obligatory. Furthermore, we have Prophet Muhammad [saw] saying in a narration found in an authentic Jami’ah Soliheen (quoted by Abu Dawood and an-Nasi’ee ibn Majah), “whoever hides knowledge will be branded by Allah with a branding iron from the hellfire”. We know as a general principle in Islam, if a hellfire is associated with any action, it means this action must be haram. So we have both sides of the picture. 1 – it is haram for us to hide that knowledge, and the other is that it is obligatory for us to pass on that knowledge. Now the hiding, of course some people may say “I’m not preventing people from getting that knowledge”, because of course somebody may say if they come up to you and ask you “what is Islam?”, if you refuse to tell them for whatever reason, then it is obviously directly hiding that knowledge. But the other way is for you to passively hide that knowledge. Where you go to work in, 5 days a week, for the whole year, you have a person sitting next to you in your work, and you have to deal with this person everyday, and you never say a word about Islam. Your neighbour who has lived beside you for 10, 15, 20 years, and you said hi to him when you’re going out, you know, and when you come home, but you don’t give him anything beyond that. This is passively hiding that knowledge, and on the day of Judgement, such individuals, those who worked with you, those who studied with you in school, those who are your neighbours, etc., if they end up going to hell, they will be blaming us. They will be pointing their fingers at us, saying, such and such lived next door to us all those years and never said a word to us, went to work with us all those years and never said a word to us. So, that obligation is not something to be taken lightly. We should feel bad whenever we are with non-muslims and we don’t share that knowledge. Of course, the reality is that the certain circumstances may not be conducive. It is for us to try to find those circumstances. We should feel the urgency, the need within ourselves to share it. Try to find some route to get that information across to them. And in terms of da’wah, of course, some of us may say, they are Christians, or atheists, and with my language, I can’t really explain it really well to them, I’m new in this country, whatever, I’m not that educated. No, the point is that, we have to give them whatever we have. Whatever little you can say, say it. You find pamphlets that are being printed at the different da’wah centres, and get those and pass it on. Leaflets, booklets, whatever means you have at your disposal, you should try to convey it. But of course, the one of the most effective means, is by Living Islam yourself. By being an example, by being distinguishable in this society. Meaing that, if one lives here, and one has accepted all of the outer trappings of this society, where one becomes indistinguishable from the non-muslims, then it is very difficult to give da’wah. If you’re doing the same as they are doing, living as they are living, then you’re just like them, really what’s the difference? You know, Prophet [saw] has said, “whoever imitates the way of a people, then becomes of them”. So Prophet Muhammad [saw] in so many circumstances stressed that we should, in our outer dress, for example, distinguish ourselves from the disbelievers. It was the customs of the Arabians to wear a turban, everybody wore it – the disbelievers and the believers. So Prophet s.a.w said, “wear caps under your turbans to distinguish yourself from the disbelievers.” Similarly, we have principles of Islamic dress which we should conform to, in order that we become distinguishable in this society. And this distinction, often at times, serves as a means of introducing Islam to the non-muslims. They will ask why are you wearing this, why do you look like this, and becomes a means to introduce a subject to them. But of course, the outer aspect as it is important, the inner aspect is even more important. That we, as individuals exemplify Islamic character. Because Prophet Muhammad [saw] summarized the essence of the Deen in terms of Islamic character, in good character, “verily I was only sent to complete for you the highest of character training”. Morality. Morality as described and identified by Allah (subhana wa ta’aala) in quran, and by the Prophet [saw] through the sunnah. So, the character, of the believer, becomes a means of da’wah. And we know much of Islam was spread to the greater of the world through the characters of muslims who went to different countries as traders, etc........... You have to listen to the audio for the rest of this lecture. [PS: All errors are my own - verses conveyed in arabic were not written down, only their translations]. Peace :-) |
| Re: confused about dawah |
|---|
| superFOB |
| 02/08/04 at 01:58:36 |
| [slm] Anyone want to take a shot at this? I really want to read what you people think. I have pushed this post up yet again, so please write something. |
| 02/08/04 at 01:59:14 |
| superFOB |
Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board |