Grooming for Da'wah
Da’wah is basically more than a profession. It is not just delivering speeches and authoring books. There are hundreds of writers who write thousands of books and articles inthe print media and internet, yet only few achieve what they should achieve.
Many Daees focus on publicity materials and crammed speeches of world class orators to go ahead in Da’wah. Over my travels and interaction with various da’ees and D’awah organizations I have observed many things which needs to be addressed .
D’awah is an Attitude
I have no doubt in my mind that inviting people to Islam and remove misconception of this beautiful faith is the best activity one can take up, while continuing his profession. Da’wah is one of the oldest volunteered service done by most noble men on the earth and carried forward by their pious followers. Every Prophet was a D’aee, and a daee is not a monastic person. He is a man who runs his family, goes to work and spares time passionately to promote truth in the society. Da’wah is a religious service in many forms. It extends from Economic upliftment of widows, needy, orphans etc, to helping a way farer reach his destination.
Da’wah is a parallel career for every Muslim. Firstly let us fix two things firmly in our minds that Da’wah is not converting people to Islam, because there is no command in Qur’an to convert people. Da’wah is an invitation. If our attitude changes our personality changes. We are not a zealout community with angry red eyes out to convert people on the basis of disagreement.
Secondly Da’wah is not a glamour oriented career, though some people do it that way. Don’t do Da’wah to be a hero in your community. Rather it is a humble effort to promote those values which make a human a real human. I have seen many prospective da’ees fading out by , breaking rules of Shari’ah in maintaining hijab, ,accounts of funds etc. Da’wah is a responsibility and not a privilege.
Fundamentally Presenting. Those ambitious da’ees who worry about their inability to recollect proper refutations against allegations hurled at Islam avoid dialogues with Non Muslims. The best thing for them would be to focus on their fundamentals. Like in my last year of schooling we had an excellent teacher Mr. Sharma, who used to discuss with us about his successful methodology in teaching and opening the locked minds of weak students. He used to say : If I find a student weak in any subject I ask him to go back to previous standards books and do some revision. There has to be something wrong in the fundamental that makes it hard for him to understand the advanced lessons. Instead of focusing too much on why Islam allows polygamy and asks for hijab, try to remain of concept of God, Tauhid, and the Islamic monotheism. This is the basic fundament of Islamic D’awah or Interfaith dialogue with non Muslims. If you read Qur’an, every Prophet worked on this and they remained firm on this, the rest became easy.
What is the basic fundamental of Islam? But naturally, a strong faith. The greatest performers in Da’wah, the Prophets like Noah, Ibrahim, Musa, Isa and Muhammad (Peace be upon them) spend countless hours on strengthening their fundamentals. Look at their supplications in Qur’an.
Yunus (pbuh) said: There is no God but You, most perfect, indeed I have committed wrong. It was not once but continuously done till Allah brought him out of the belly of the fish.
Our Prophet (pbuh), whenever he woke up for predawn prayers known as Tahajjud, he used to recite the last few verses from Surah Al-e –Imran which states: Indeed in the creation in the night and the day, are signs for people who understand.......... The days were meant for efforts while the nights were reserved for refueling the faith. This was the habit of da’ees of early generation which has been overlooked by many modern day da’ees.
That was the reason why they immediately reflected back to Allah when ever an urgent need arrived. How firm would Ibrahim (pbuh) have been when he quickly rejected the offer of Angels’ help when thrown in fire and said : Hasbiallahu wa ne’amal wakil. (Enough is Allah as my protector)
A da’ees is not always a teacher or a preacher but ……………..
Many successful salespeople have discovered that they get better results and learn more in practical sales than they have learnt from listening to discourse of seniors. Replace this claim with: Practicing Islam is the best form of Da’wah. People would like to see Islam in action rather than just listening to the claims of Islamic speakers or read books about Islam. Consider this D’aee who assertively insists about the importance of hijab in a society, and then he himself is seen around sitting with females, talking and laughing with them, looking into their eyes and not a sign of bashfulness seen!
Once Islam is put into implement, then the rest becomes easy. In business, in dealing with people, in cheerfulness, in tolerance, every where Islam spears through the hearts of the people.
Da’wah should be done passionately
The best sign that you are passionate about D’awah is : you don’t want to get out of it. You may change organizations or methods but if you are in D’awah passionately, then you will not want to get out of it. It’s a one way entry if done earnestly. Once you choose Daw’ah as your passion then you have chosen the most noble, humble hardworking, lengthy, but most rewarding profession. Daw’ah has the capacity to mould your personality, from a shy, ugly duckling it cam make you a beautiful swan.
Once a person with inferiority complex turns into a confident one with not feeling apologetic or ashamed of growing a beard, or cutting his trousers above his ankles ................After all this is what Islamic Personality all about ..
Author: Nisaar Nadiadwala motivates for speaking up for good causes. He can be reached at nisaar_yusuf@yahoo.com
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