Da’wah (Presenting Islam to Non-Muslims):
Some Useful Hints
(ICII Publications, 1993, International Council for Islâmic Information (ICII), MCC, Ratby Lane, Markfield, Leicestershire LE67 9RN, United Kingdom, Phones: (01530) 244944, 244945 Fax : 244946)
Da'wah, conveying the message of Islâm to non-Muslims, is an obligation upon Muslims. Allah the Almighty commanded and guided us in the Qur’ân to perform da'wah (in a specific manner):
"Invite (call) to the way of your Rabb with wisdom and beautiful preaching and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious. " (Qur'an 16:125).
The 4 key words in this verse are "invite", "all", "wisdom", and "beautiful preaching". Many da'wah workers and organizations around the globe have successfully based their da'wah activities on this verse.
To them, to "invite" implies to gently pursue, attract, be polite, be friendly, be caring and understanding, amongst other things. We cannot, for example, "invite" a non-Muslim to listen to anything about Islâm, let alone study Islâm or become interested in it, by calling him Kafir, unclean, or other hurtful names. The Holy Prophet r did not allow even the pagans (who, by the way, not only refused to follow the Prophet’s teaching, but dumped camel intestine on him, boycotted the Muslims for three years and killed his closest companions, amongst other things) to be lampooned in satirical poetry by, Hassan bin Thabit by saying "what about the fact that I have common descent with them?" (Bukhari, from Aisha)
We should follow the example of the Holy Prophet r by not reviling others. In this way, we portray a highly civilized form of behavior, as demanded by Islâm, and therefore become the best advertisement for Islâm, which is exactly what a true da'ee should be. Muslims who give the religion a bad name and image by behaving in fanatical, violent, highly emotional, not receptive to reason, narrow minded, dogmatic and other un-Islâmic ways, do, unfortunately, make the work of the da'ee that is much more difficult. They simply reinforce the already negative image of Islâm in the world today.
Remember also the command from Allâh to the Prophets Moosa and Haroon, peace be upon them:
"Go both of you to the Pharaoh. Lo! He has sinned. Speak to him a gentle word, so that he may listen or feel fear." (The Qur'an 20:43 -44)
So even to the Pharaoh, who boiled people in cauldrons of oil, proclaimed himself God, etc., we are required to say a gentle word, let alone those less evil than him.
The next important word is "all". This means ALL, with no exceptions. Every non-Muslim is a potential Muslim how so bad or anti-Islâm he may seem to be. Remember Umar bin Khattab (r.a.), Khalid bin Walid (r.a.), before their conversion to Islâm, for example. Muslims should not be very choosy in who they are willing to interact with. There are at least three reasons for this:
I. It is better for us to explain Islâm to everyone, however hostile, hypocritical and cynical they may seem to be, rather than let them teach themselves and perpetuate the misconceptions, or worse, the distortions, misrepresentations, etc. By participating, we can at least make known to them the true Islâm. 'Waste of time', you say? See reason no. 2.
2. The objective of da'wah work is not to convert the non-Muslims, but simply to deliver the message of Islâm to them, in the best way we can, and that means with "wisdom and beautiful preaching". Acceptance or rejection is up to the individual concerned. The success of any da'wah activity is not in your hands. Only God has the power to give hidayah (guidance) to anybody or any people. Not even the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) was given this power. Remember the case of his beloved uncle Abu Talib (r.a.)
3. A Muslim da'ee who has tried to get the attention of non-Muslims (or for that matter, uninterested converts or born Muslims) will know how difficult it is to succeed. Certainly it is not as "easy" as carrying out da'wah only to Muslims who are already committed, e.g. those who regularly go to mosque, attend Islâmic talks, seminars, da'wah programmes etc., and whose attention are not difficult to obtain.
The next key words in verse, 16:125 are "wisdom" and "beautiful preaching". Let us consider them together, for the sake of brevity. They require that we prepare an effective strategy to make the invitation successful. One strategy that has been quite successful is reproduced here in the form of a set of guidelines: