Fatima Khan

1. THE OBLIGATION OF
DA’WAH
Presented By
Khalid I. Al-Dossary
www.dawahmemo.com

2. Allah [swt] says in the Qur‟an,
“Invite all to the way of your lord [i.e. Islam] with wisdom
and beautiful preaching, and argue with them in a way
that is better”. [Surah Nahl -125]
“And who is better in speech than he who invites to Allah
and does righteous deeds, and says: „I am one of the
Muslims.” [Surah Ha-Mim-33]
Calling people towards Allah also means completing our own
worship, the reason for which we are created. It is one of
the noblest acts that entails a high reward.

3. Do we really believe that Da‟wah is our obligation?
Reflect over this Surah which we recite everyday? [Al Asr]
By the time,
Verily, man is in loss,
Except those who believe [in Islamic monotheism]
and do righteous deeds,
and recommend one another to the truth [to perform all kind
of good deeds; Al Maroof which Allah has ordained, and
abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds Al
Munkar, which Allah has forbidden]
and recommend one another towards patience [for the
sufferings, harms and injuries which one may encounter in
Allah's cause during preaching this way of life of Islamic
monotheism or jihad].

4. Did you reflect?
Did you notice Why the word “And” has been repeated so many times
in the Surah?
If fulfilling just one of the criteria was enough for us, the repeated
word would have been “Or”.
This implies that fulfilling each criteria is a must to hope for Jannah.
[or we will be one of the losers]
So, apart from believing, and doing righteous deeds, we should also
call one another to the truth, and towards patience, i.e., do Dawah.
Do we hope for Jannah, without fulfilling our obligations?

5. There are also many related Ahadeeth:
„Convey what you have received from me, even if it is one
verse‟. [Bukharee]. Conveying a message therefore does not require a
high level of scholarship, it is in fact a responsibility of each and every
Muslim, according to his or her ability.
„Whoever hides knowledge, Allah will brand him with the
branding iron from the hellfire‟. [Ahmed]
„If one of u sees a wrong, let him change it with his hand, and
if he is unable then with his tongue, and if he is unable then
with his heart. And that is the weakest of faith‟.
„Whoever guides [another] to a good deed will get a reward
similar to the one who performs it‟ [Saheeh Muslim]

6. Some Muslims say:
We are
practicing
Muslims
but, Da‟w
ah is not
our
responsibility
.
“Allah commanded Jibrael to destroy a city because
of the evildoers therein. Jibrael said, “O
Allah, there is a person in the city who has never
disobeyed you. Allah said, destroy him as
well, because he was not offended by their
evildoing”
If there were people committing sins and people
who had the power to stop them, but did not do
so, then Allah would punish both parties before
their death.

7. Some Muslims say: [contd.]
First, we should
improve our own
community, and then
tell others.
Prophet Muhammad [saw]
couldn't convince his
only uncle, Abu Talib.
But it did not stop him
from doing Da'wah to
others !
It is much easier to tell Muslims, as they don‟t retaliate much [e.g., when
we tell them about hijab, salah, beard etc]. But we are afraid that if we
tell Non-Muslims, they will retaliate, ask questions, argue ! We don‟t
want to do our homework, make effort etc, and make excuses to escape
the obligation and still hope for Jannah?

8. Some muslims say: [contd.]
“Lakum
deenukum, wali
ya deen”. „To u is
your way, to me
is mine „ [Surah
Al Kafirun]
This is quoted out of context to
again escape from our obligation.
This Surah is referring to those who
reject faith. The question of
rejecting faith arises only when we
have delivered the message in the
first place
So, whom are we deceiving?

9. Some muslims say: [contd.]
“La ikraha
fi deen”.
“There is no
compulsion
In Religion”.
[Al Baqarah -
256]
Of course No Compulsion. But only after
first delivering the message. On the day
of judgment, the Mushrik will say –
these were our neighbors, our
colleagues, our friends who were
Muslims - they did not inform us, so how
are we to blame? So, we too will have to
follow them to hell.

10. Now, if we are convinced of the
obligation of Da’wah, lets move
to some Qualities we need to
have as a Daa'ie

11. Knowledge:
to call the people to the way of Allah with Knowledge, and
not with ignorance. Lets beware of giving Da‟wah while
being in a state of ignorance. Some pious people have said,
“Give knowledge [of Deen] everything you have, it will give
you some of what it has”. Lets ask ourselves, how much will
it give us, if we only give it our spare / leisure time?
Some Qualities we need as a Daa'ie [contd.]

12. Sincerity:
it is waajib upon the Daa‟ie to have
Ikhlaas for the sake of Allah [swt].
He / She should not be desiring to
show the people, or to have a good
image, nor should he desire the praises
and rewards of the people
Some Qualities we need as a Daa'ie [contd.]

13. The beautiful style of speech:
the Daa'ie is responsible for acquiring a respectable level of
language proficiency, to effectively convey the message.
It is worthy to note that all evil channels of
communication convey its mischief, deceit, delusion, and
falsehood through adorned speech. The Daa‟ie is more
entitled to use this, to call for the truth.
 Brevity and eloquence in conveying the Message.
 Use parables and similitude to make it more interesting.
 Clarity and repetition when necessary.
 Gestures & visual aids definitely make an impact.
Some Qualities we need as a Daa'ie [contd.]

14. Akhlaaq:
Be gentle and patient, and moderate in
Da‟wah, while dealing with people. Beware of
harshness , as it will make them distant, not
close, and causes separation, not unity. Our
words need to have an affect on their hearts.
The best believers are those with the best character.
Don‟t favour a group of people over others.
Some Qualities we need as a Daa'ie [contd.]

15. Perseverance:
Dawah will test us in many situations
[afflictions, temptations, and obstacles] that try to lure
us off from our mission. A Daa‟ie should have a
praiseworthy personality and an excellent
behaviour, calling to patience. A Daa‟ie should be
sincere in Da‟wah, and strive in spreading truth
amongst the people, and keep them away from
falsehood. And with that, we should supplicate for
guidance for them. [May Allah guide u, grant u the
ability to accept the truth. May he help u with
acceptance of the truth. [hidaak allah wa faqak
allah li qubool al haqq aanak allah alaa qubool al
haqq].The Daa‟ie should not despair, or have
hopelessness, or say anything except that which is
good. He should not say a statement which might
cause aversion to the truth.
Some Qualities we need as a Daa'ie [contd.]

16. Practice what we preach:
We should not call to
something and then not
do it ourselves, which
are the conditions of
the losers.
Some Qualities we need as a Daa'ie [contd.]

17. Deliver the Message, and leave the rest to Allah.
We must remain firm in our expectation, and hope for
the good. We should not despair in the effect of our
call, nor about the guidance of people we call to. We
should not despair about the aid and the help of Allah,
even if a long time passes.
Some Qualities we need as a Daa'ie [contd.]

18. We need to use wisdom and
tact, especially when informing
someone not to continue in a
prohibited act.
This is not easy today, as people have
come to regard some prohibited acts as
simply ordinary, and cannot
understand the objection to it. Hikma
is required to make people see the error
of their ways.
Some Qualities we need as a Daa'ie [contd.]

19. We should find out the interests of the
people, and make conversation with
them around their interests.
We should provide literature according
to their interests. E.g.
A doctor could be given Maurice
Bucaille‟s “The Bible, The Qur‟an, and
Science]
A lawyer could be given books on
Islamic Law, etc.
Some Qualities we need as a Daa'ie [contd.]

20. We should win the hearts of the
people with the light of Islam, by
simple measures such as Inviting
them to our home, preparing food
for them, being polite, and well
mannered etc.
Some Qualities we need as a Daa'ie [contd.]

21. We should be constant in Da‟wah. Results often
take place only after some time, and so we should
be aware of the stamina, efforts, and the
patience that is required.
Some Qualities we need as a Daa'ie [contd.]

22. Strong will and confidence:
It‟s desirable to exhibit a strong will,
positive self-confidence,
and the capacity to control emotions.
Some Qualities we need as a Daa'ie [contd.]

23. Posing questions:
This will often stimulate thought and sharing of ideas.
Rewarding the right answers will encourage eager
participation.
Some Qualities we need as a Daa'ie [contd.]

24. People learn in different ways.
Researchers confirm that some people learn
from what they see, some learn from what
they hear, while some prefer to read.
People‟s acceptance of a concept also
depends on their scope of intellect, cultural
background, or their field of operation. All
these diverse factors call for various
methods of Da‟wah dissemination - that
appeals and stimulates peoples
interests, senses and needs.
Realize that

25. ALWAYS REMEMBER!
Guidance is from Allah.
Our job is only to convey the message in a clear
way. We should not worry if people do not agree
or listen to us. Shaytaan will use this fact to
establish resignation and hopelessness in our
hearts, and make it appear that we could funnel
our efforts elsewhere.
Beware !

26. Remember the priority
Da'wah should start with fundamental issues, before
proceeding with those that are less central. The oneness of
Allah [Tawheed] is the beginning and the end. Each deed
should be connected with it. Muslims argue over subsidiary
matters, and give more attention to some voluntary forms of
worship, neglecting those that are obligatory. This neglect
with regards to priorities has resulted in muslims losing
their faith, the source of their strength. The present
weakness is used by the enemies of Islam to further prolong
the current state of affairs. The only form of Islam
encouraged by the enemies of Islam, and the secularists to
practice is the one which only celebrates occasions, involves
in bidah, etc. So Prioritize.

27. Prioritizing in different situations
• Keep the situation in mind: While there is a need to
warn people against the deviations of the nation of Islam
in North America, that is really of little importance in
Bosnia, or Pakistan. Similarly, there are different shirk-
Practices in different places that need to be corrected.
• Da‟wah also depends upon whether the people being
addressed are Atheists, Polytheists or the People of the
Book.
• Previously, people had to be called towards
Monotheism, away from idolatry, now a days, there is
more need to invite people to the existence of Allah, as
Atheism and Agnosticism is common.

28. Ask yourself
How do our efforts compare with those of the prophet [saw]
and his companions?
How many good deeds have we prepared for the day of
judgment?
What did we , as individuals and communities, do for Islam?
Were we distracted by our money and our children from the
obedience of Allah and jihad for his sake?
“O you who believe! Let not your money or your children
divert you from the remembrance of Allah. If any act as
such, then surely they are the losers.”[Al-Munafiqun – 9]

29. The prophet saw said, “No servant will be let go on the day
of judgment until he is asked about the 4 matters: his
lifetime, and how he spent it, his knowledge and what
did he use it for, his money, where did he gain it from and
where did he spend it. And his body, in what way did he
wear it away. [at tirmidhee].
Have we used our bodies for fasting, praying, enjoining good
and forbidding evil, or have we used them up by
succumbing to our desires?
The prophet [saw] said, “By Allah, if Allah guides a man [to
Islam] thru you, it is much better for you than being
blessed with the best pleasures of this world”.
Remind yourself

30. The means of any mission must serve its objectives.
There are Muslims who stoop to unimaginable levels to promote their
projects and ideas. It is the norm to see the funding of
schools, books, etc, coming from interest money.
Some allow mixed gathering to encourage participation.
The result will be identical. Anything that does not operate within the
framework of Islam will inevitable fail.
So we should be wary of the means we use.
Means

31. Continuous Improvement
We should try to be a dynamic individual who
commits to building up our skills and developing
our talents continuously.

32. Our prophet Muhammad [saw]
conveyed the message, fulfilled the
trust, counseled the Ummah, and
then passed away.
Our duty is to safeguard that trust
handed down to us through
generations of the Muslim
Ummah.
Conclusion

33. Dua
And finally to close from a Dua –
“O Allah, I seek refuge in You from a
Science
which gives no benefit,
a Heart that does not fear You,
a Soul which is not satisfied, and a

34. May Allah Show us
the straight
path, and guide us
all through the way