CaLLinG foR IsLaM

A neighbor and her family are evicted from their home because she lost her job and can’t keep up the payments. A man you know is beaten and robbed by a gang of local teenagers. A girl who used to live down the street gets pregnant and tries to kill herself after her parents berate her and her boyfriend walks out. When such problems arise we usually explain them in personal terms: “Those boys are bunch of thugs”, “I thought that house was more than Mrs. Jones could afford”, or “That girl was always a wild one”. [Source: Social Problems-A Brief Introduction by James William]

These are some examples how people nowadays will value at the social problems; they always claiming to the person blameworthy and deserve to be like that without knowing what the real reasons behind the cases are. These situations are related so much in da’wah [calling to Islam] which is we as a human being is deserve to fulfill the human needs without having prejudice in life.

Calling to Islam, it is not merely trying to convert those who are not Muslim into Islam, but it has a deeper meaning which is showing the true way of ‘how to be a human being’. If someone [non-Muslims] has the same problem like I have stated above, the society should not becoming bitter, harsh, jeering and so on to him/her directly without knowing the ‘why’, but the society should examine the situation and try to get to the bottom of it. He/she still has the right to live as a human and still has the right to correct what already gone wrong.

The society and the Muslims [who are calling to Islam, the Da’ie] are matching, because the Islamic missionary is the invitation to the ideals of peace, non-aggression, respect of the dignity of man and his basic right. Deep involvement in human welfare and service to mankind is essential to Islam and of prime importance in Da’wah. Thus, it is reasonable if the ‘problem person’ that the Da’ie approached did not convert to Islam as long as the Muslims already gave the idea of Islam; peace to all creatures to him/her. The da’ie should show their best performance in order to establish Islam such as using very pleasant words and being respectful to people. Even the Prophet Moses used very nice words to Pharaoh, although Pharaoh was the very cruel and unkind creature.

One of the basic needs that are really important in human life is the love and belongingness. All people deserve receiving and giving love, affection, trust, acceptance and being part of a group [family, friends, work]. People are not perfect and always doing mistakes, that is why people should learn how to forgive and forget each other. The message of Islam never contradict with human needs, yet it always in line and never fail to fulfill the true contentment of being a human. When we look at the ‘Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs’, all the levels of needs are the Islamic missionary which what the Da’ie are ‘fighting’ for. In fact, to make it happen is very tough in deed the Da’ie should be more tolerant on it.

Yet like Allah said in Quran when the Prophet Moses preached Islam to Pharaoh, Allah did not give hope that Pharaoh will embrace Islam, but Allah said ‘perchance he may take warning or fear [Allah]’. [Ta-Ha: 44] From this, the Da’ie can understand that to ‘alter’ someone from bad to good is not immediate, and we should give him/her some times to think and analyze about himself/herself first. From the story of the Prophet Moses also the Da’ie should examine their weaknesses such as the Prophet Moses asked from Allah to remove the obstacle from his speech and asked the Prophet Aaron to go together with him to meet up Pharaoh [Source: Al-Quran, Ta-Ha: 25-32]. Thus, the Da’ie should not blameworthiness to the people as lazy, stubborn, rebellion, etc to those who are still not ‘be good’, however do check up to their selves, evaluate how they approach people, and aim to be a true human being.

Assignment: One of the Prophet's PBUH Method of Da'wah

QUESTION: Cite one event in the seerah (life) of the Prophet and discuss his method of da’wah.

Someone will become a Muslim if he/she can admit the teaching of Islam, but the question is what is admitting Islam? Is it if someone said that ‘I am Muslim’ or ‘I accept Islam’ automatically can be a Muslim? How come someone be able to declare a Muslim if he/she does not have knowledge at all about Islam? Of course, the answer is ‘no’, and we will proclaim that accepting Islam is when someone conscious in mind and in heart, admits all the Prophet’s teachings and practices Islam with the understanding of it. It is impossible to be a Muslim and live as a Muslim without having the knowledge and without practicing the Islamic teachings.

For the duration of the Prophet Muhammad’s [PBUH] time, he sent Mus‘ab bin ‘Umair the first Muslim ‘ambassador’ to Yathrib [Medina], after the First Pledge of Aqabah with the six men from Yathrib to teach the people there the doctrines of Islam, give them practical guidance and make attempts at propagating the Islam among those who still professed polytheism. These happened during the eleventh year of Prophet Hood, which was before the Prophet’s migration [Hijrah] to Medina [Source: The Sealed Nectar by Al Mubarkafoury]. It shown here that the Prophet comprehends the Islamic teaching must comprise the pure understanding of Islam as a comprehensive system of life. Islam is not only a system of beliefs and worship, but it is a complete guide covering all aspects of life.

Someone who was born in a Muslim family, had name like a Muslim, dressed like a Muslim and declared him/herself as a Muslim, actually this person is not a Muslim, because the true Muslims are when they have the knowledge what is the true meaning of Islam and affirm their faith with full of consciousness. The difference among a Muslim and non-Muslim is not depending on name. Someone whose name Johnny does not represent he is a non-Muslim and someone whose name Abdullah also does not mean he is a Muslim. The correct difference between Muslim and non-Muslim is depending on the knowledge. Someone is a non-Muslim because he/she does not know how the relationship between his/herself with Allah and does not know the true system of living in this world.

During the Prophet Muhammad [PBUH] arrived in Medina, one of the first actions was building a simple mosque. There was also a courtyard, where Muslims met to discuss all the concerns of the Ummah - social, political, education and military. We can notice here that the knowledge is essential as far as the other major parts of society. The knowledge is similar to the function of a torch light to show the right lane during a dark night and to keep away from the lost path. The Prophet understands with no knowledge the Muslims will be weaken and fragile because in order to spread Islam, the Muslims should have the capability to understand the true Islamic teachings.

I am not saying that all the Muslims have to be like the ulama’ [the Islamic scholars] and have to read a lot of thick books for years in order to gain the knowledge, but it is sufficient if all the Muslims provide a some time in everyday life just to learn regarding Islam. This is a responsibility to really comprehend about the Prophet’s teachings, and understand which rules to command and which rules to eliminate. Furthermore, how come a Muslim is able to to spread the messages of Islam to the rest of the world if he/she does not have a profound knowledge about it?