Top 10 excuses Muslims give for not doing
Dawah
By
This article is
especially for those Muslims who are living in non-Muslim countries. In
General, it is for all those who have any contact with non-Muslims.
Definition of Dawah
and Islaah:
Da’wah
means a ‘call’ or ‘invitation’; which means to invite non-Muslims to Islam
as well as the Muslims to the true understanding and practice of Islam, but
many a times, in context, it refers to the invitation of Islam extended to
those who are yet to believe in or accept Islam.
‘Islaah’
literally means ‘to repair’ or ‘to improve’. In an Islamic context, it
refers to efforts to improve Muslims or to correct them.
Difference
between Dawah and Islah:
Dawah in Arabic actually means
an invitation and an invitation can only be given to an out
sider. And in Islamic terminology,
Dawah ul Islam means
an invitation to Islam. When we speak about Islam to a non Muslim inviting
to Islam it's called Dawah.
Many people even think
when we speak about Islam to Muslim it's called Dawah
and they use this term Dawah for both types of
talk. Basically when we speak about Islam to a Muslim calling him closer or
letting him know more about Islam the more appropriate word is
Islah,
- I do not have
enough knowledge to do Dawah
This is one of the most
common excuses given for not doing Dawah. The
Prophet (pbuh) said
“Convey (my
teachings) to the people even if it were a single sentence” (Sahih
Bukhari, Vol.4, Hadith
667)
In those days, times were
different. The access to knowledge was difficult. They did not have the
media, there were no books written at that time on Islam. Today the times
have changed and access to knowledge has become very easy. There
are countless number of books written by Muslims.
There are so many websites available. There are so many videos available.
Every Muslim at least knows one verse, but you can do the job more
efficiently if you master on one topic initially to simply begin. Lets say a
topic like “Is Jesus God?” or “Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
in the Bible” or other religious scriptures or some other topic depending
upon the person with whom you are doing Dawah.
If you are interested, you can do it very easily its no big deal. All the
material you can get for doing Dawah on this
site. Or you can browse through the Islamic links section to find out more.
- My own deeds
are not too good, how can I do Dawah with
others?
This is a nice statement
to hear. This shows that how humble a Muslim is.
For those Muslims, who
are not very good Muslims, doing Dawah will
surely help you become better practicing Muslims. When you share something
with others, you have the inclination to practice it yourself.
Your deeds are not really
bad. The Christian missionaries who come to missionize
the Muslims and people from other faith, they drink alcohol. Do you drink
alcohol? No ! So who is better, Are they better
or you? They gamble. Do you gamble? No! So who is better, are they better or
you? They are promiscuous. Are you promiscuous? No! So who is better, are
they better or you?
When they can do the job,
what is wrong with you? They have the falsehood with them. You have the
Truth of Islam with you. So why can’t you do the job? The non-Muslims today
want to know about Islam especially after September 11, 2001. The situation
has turned in favor of Islam. So do not miss the wonderful opportunity that
you have.
Note: When I say about
missionaries, I do not mean all of them but many of them do indulge in such
things. Generally, Muslims are more moral than the missionaries especially
those who come from the West.
- First we
should make our own Muslims better Muslims, then we should do
Dawah
This is one of the most
common excuse given by Muslims who live in Muslim
countries. Making Muslim, a better Muslim is called “Islah”.
It is important to make a Muslim a better Muslim, if he is not of the right
track. Converting people is not in your hand. I know of
“Muslims” who will not practice Islam even after you bring countless
evidence and proofs to them. So you mean are you going to stick to them only
and not move forward? Your job is to deliver the message to others. The
Quran says
“Therefore do thou give admonition,
for thou art one to admonish. Thou art not one to manage (men's)
affairs. But if any turn away and reject Allah,-
Allah will punish him with a mighty Punishment, “ (Quran
88:21-24)
Dawah and
Islah both are important at the
same time. In Medina, at the time of the Prophet (pbuh)
there were Muslims who did not use to come to the compulsory Prayers and the
Prophet said “I feel like setting their houses on fire”
Even in Medina, there
were such Muslims who were not good practicing Muslims. The Prophet (pbuh)
did not say that I’ll just make them good Muslims and stick to them only.
Yet he wrote letters to other non-Muslim kings, asking them to embrace
Islam.
If you say that, first I
will make Muslims better Muslims and then invite non-Muslims. That time will
never come. That time will not come in your entire life, nor will it come
even in your next ten generations.
I am not saying that you
should only do Dawah. Dawah
and Islah both are important. But if you have
less time than Dawah is MORE important because
the non-Muslims are involved in the sin of shirk
i.e associating partners with Allah. This is the most
henious of sins. The Quran
says
“Allah
forgiveth not that partners should be set up
with Him; but He forgiveth anything
else, to whom He pleaseth; to set up partners
with Allah is to devise a sin Most heinous
indeed.” (Quran 4:48)
So if you see a person
who is involved in such a sin. He is going to hell for sure. If you are not
going to stop that sin, then he’ll surely go to hell. So doing
Dawah is a compulsory duty upon every Muslim and
is very important task.
- My
Dawah will not be affective.
As I mentioned, our job
is not to convert people. Our job is to deliver the message of Allah. It is
he who gives guidance. The Quran
says :
“Therefore do thou give admonition, for thou art one
to admonish. Thou art not one to manage (men's) affairs.” (Quran
88:21-22)
Allah (SWT) will not
question you on the day of judgment whether they
became Muslims or not. But he will question whether you delivered the
message or not.
- Doesn’t the
Quran say “There is no compulsion in
religion”
The
Quran does say so. But it’s not right to quote the verse in bits and
pieces. The verse reads
“Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth
stands out clear from Error:” (Quran 2:256)
Your job is to deliver
the message with wisdom and beautiful preaching. (Quran
16:125). Your job is not to convert people. A Muslim CANNOT force anyone
to embrace Islam. You are supposed to deliver the Truth of Islam. The rest
is up to them whether they accept or not.
- Doesn’t the
Quran say “To you is your religion, to me is
mine”
Again, it’s the quotation
out of context. Let’s read this verse in context.
1.
Say : O ye that reject Faith!
2. I worship not that which ye worship,
3. Nor will ye worship that which I worship.
4. And I will not
worship that which ye have been wont to worship,
5. Nor will ye worship that which I worship.
6. To you
be your Way, and to me mine. (Quran 109:1-6)
The Question of rejecting faith only arises
when you present the faith in Islam to them. Your job is to deliver the
message to them. If they don’t want to accept. As
a last, resort its “To you be your Way, and to me mine.” Suppose if I see a
Hindu doing idol worship. I’ll try to convince him that it is wrong even
according to the Hindu Scriptures such as Bhagvad
Geeta 7:19-23 etc. But yet he wants to do. “To
you be your Way, and to me mine”
So this is as a last resort NOT the first.
- When we do
Dawah, the non-Muslim says “mind your own
business”
This is another common
excuse given by the Muslims. The reply is, it is
the business of every Muslim to mind other people’s business where faith is
concerned. Dawah is a compulsory duty of every
Muslim. Therefore, when the person says, “mind your own business” He is
right, that is what you are doing. You are minding your own business only.
- The person
gets hurt if I do Dawah, it affects the
friendship, and I do not want to hurt anybody.
The Question
arises, does it hurt you when you see your friend
or anyone doing blasphemy? Don’t you realize that these people are going to
hell?
Doesn’t it hurt you when they say that God has a son? The
Quran says:
88. They say: "((Allah)) Most Gracious has
begotten a son!"
89. Indeed ye have put forth a thing most
monstrous!
90. At it the skies
are ready to burst, the earth to split asunder, and the mountains to fall
down in utter ruin,
91. That they should invoke a son for
((Allah)) Most Gracious.
92. For it is not consonant with the majesty of ((Allah)) Most
Gracious that He should beget a son. (Quran
19:88-92)
Doesn’t it hurt you when they give the
worst swearing to Allah (SWT)? The Quran says
that if the mountains had feelings and emotions like you and I have, they
would fall in utter ruin, the earth will split asunder,
the skies will burst. But what is happening to you? All you need to
do is open your mouth.
Furthermore, it is a misconception that
doing Dawah will break your friendship. The
point is how your approach is. How good you are in your speech. How logical
you are in your approach. If you start insulting his religion, that can make
a difference but if you do it with wisdom and beautiful preaching
inshallah you will not hurt anyone and
your friendship to Allah should be much more important than the friendship
to your non-Muslim friend. It is Our duty to
remove the misconceptions about Islam and present the correct picture of
Islam.
To conclude, it all depends upon how strong
your Eeman (faith) is.
9.
It will create provocation among the non-Muslims
Provocation is likely to be created if a
person is a hater of Islam. Is this the reason that should stop you from
spreading the message of Almighty Allah?
Provocation is not the test. If this was
the test, then our Beloved Prophet (pbuh) was a
failure (Naoozobillah). The pagan leaders, who
loved him before, became his worst enemies. Did it make him stop from what
Allah had commanded him?
So provocation will be created among those
non-Muslims who are haters of Islam, that should in no means bother, instead
you should remain steadfast and practice what Allah (SWT) has commanded.
10.
If Every Muslim becomes a Daee, then who
will take other professions like Doctors, lawyers, engineers etc?
Doing Dawah is
a compulsory duty of every Muslim. In the Glorious
Quran, Allah (SWT) speaks about full time Daees.
The Quran says :
“Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is
good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong: They are the
ones to attain felicity.” (Quran 3:104)
Today it is a dire need of the Muslim
Ummah. We have very few people who are full time
Daees.
I am not saying that every Muslim should
become full time Daee, but every Muslim can do
part time Dawah e.g
with your colleagues who you meet everyday in the office, with your friends
who you meet in the school and university. While traveling, if you meet a
non-Muslim or you can do Islah
with those Muslims you meet, who are not good practicing ones. You can do it
using media such as computer, internet etc. You can do it in many ways.
The Glorious Quran
says
“Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with
wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best
and most gracious:” (Quran 16:125)
May Allah (SWT) make your efforts
successful! Ameen
!
