Dawah

Oct

2022

Some Reflections on Dawah, Conversions, and Gatekeeping

A new problem that I see among the younger generation of Muslims is that they do NOT want people to convert to Islam UNLESS these people already share the same beliefs and ideas that they do.

It does not help that many of these young people are clinging to liberal ideas, and only want people of similar liberal leanings to be Muslim. But there are other factors here that are baffling.

Until this generation, it was normal for Muslims to be excited if any celebrity, no matter how corrupt, expressed interest in Islam or converted to Islam. This is because we view Islam as a transformative force that could CHANGE that person and make them better.

We now have youngsters who see Islam as an IDENTITY and do not want to share that identity with people they disagree with. So they actively hope that some people DO NOT convert to Islam, because their identity is more important to them than the guidance of humanity.

We need to revive the proper understanding of Dawah and Conversion. We should do Dawah to ALL disbelievers, believing that anyone can change when the light of Islam enters their hearts. We SHOULD be excited when anyone converts to Islam because we are happy that a brother/sister in humanity has discovered the truth and will be transformed by it in shaa Allah.

We should also give converts time to learn to the religion and grow spiritually. A new convert should not be platformed too much, especially on deeper topics. My advice to converts in general is to avoid the public eye for the first few years and to focus instead on learning the religion, purifying the soul, and growing spiritually.

After a few years of transformation and growth, and once faith is firm in the heart and they have firm knowledge, then it may be beneficial to publicly be involved in Dawah and Islamic discussions.

In summary:

1) Islam is for humanity, not only the people you agree with

2) We should be happy when anyone converts to Islam and make dua for them

3) We should see Islam as a transformative force that can change the worst of people into the best of people

4) We should give converts space and time to learn the religion and work on improving their spiritual state, instead of throwing them immediately into the spotlight.

I ask Allah to guide every sincere seeker of truth, to keep every believer firm on the truth, and to soften and guide all our hearts.

Jun

2022

10 Forgotten Principles of Dawah

Dawah on social media has become a mess. People with no training or qualifications are put on pedestals and promote Islam in the most vulgar and harshest of manners. Their self-serving methods create a toxic culture of sectarianism, hatred, and cults of personality.

Dawah is not a free-for-all, in which anyone can say anything however they wish to say it. There are principles that govern Dawah. These principles are derived from the Quran and Sunnah and include the following:

1) Focus on the pleasure of Allah. Results, numbers, and conversions are secondary. The pleasure of Allah is everything.

2) Mercy and compassionate should be your standard approach. The foundation of Islamic Dawah is to be merciful and compassionate in your interactions with people. Harshness should be the exception and only when wise to do so, not the norm.

3) Seek to understand before presenting your position. You cannot reach people and guide them back to the straight path, if you do not understand how they reached their current ideas.

4) Do not write people off. Anyone can be guided back to Allah if Allah wills. Do not write people and claim that anyone is beyond guidance.

5) Always give people hope of a way back to Allah. No matter what sins or wrong ideas people have fallen into, there is always a way back. Find ways to guide people back, and do not write them off.

6) Call people to Allah, not to yourself, your sect or your channel.

7) When you do not know, then state that you do not know. Do not answer without knowledge

8) Mockery, slander, and verbal abuse does not produce any positive results.

9) Be clear and honest, but also wise and compassionate in how you present your message.

10) If you find yourself out of your depth, then take a step back and leave it to the experts.

A lot needs to be done to move away from this modern toxic culture that has developed online, but grounding our Dawah in the above principles is a good first step back towards the Sunnah methodology.

Sep

2016

Stop Romanticizing Dawah

Romanticizing Dawah

On social media today, Dawah is often portrayed as an exciting path full of great luxuries and perks. Glamorizing and romanticizing Dawah has distorted the perception of this noble act of worship in the minds of many. The result is that many people are getting into Dawah for wrong reasons and causing a lot of harm to the Dawah in the process.

The process, purpose and results of Dawah have been poorly portrayed in recent times. This has attracted too many showmen, hypocrites, fame-seekers, and copycats who lack the correct purpose, vision, goal and drive to truly make a difference in this ummah. There are so many wrong perceptions of Dawah that need clarification. These are some of the major ones.

Dawah is NOT a path to fame

Dawah does NOT lead to fame. If you see a famous Da’ee, know that is the exception, NOT the norm. For every Da’ee with one million Facebook followers, there are a dozen that nobody knows about. There are so many things wrong with thinking Dawah leads to fame, including the following:

That individual may have gone through decades of struggles and being hated by society before gaining millions of followers. All you see are the millions of followers today, and not the years of struggle without any followers.

You may think there is a shortcut to get the respect they have, but there isn’t! They sincerely worked hard for decades, wanting nothing but Allah’s pleasure and the followers are simply part of the Barakah from Allah. It was never the goal.

If Dawah led to fame, every prophet would be the most famous person of their time. Reality is that some Prophets had many followers and others only had a handful. What they had in common was not fame, but trials.

Dawah is NOT fun and easy

Where in the Quran will you find a story about a da’ee who had it easy and whose life was a fun adventure? Every story of every prophet is one of struggle, hardship, courage and often isolation. The same can be said of the stories of the sahaba and famous scholars throughout history.

So where did this idea come about that the Dawah is fun and exciting? Social Media! The selfies of duaat on business class flights staying in five star hotels and enjoying everything in this dunya has created a false image of what the life of a da’ee is. The truth is that the da’ee in that photo has his own struggles, but because only the good times are shared on Facebook, we have a distorted image.

The real Dawah is not a fun ride. It is a struggle to promote the truth in a world that hates to hear it. You will make more enemies than friends, and will find yourself in constant trouble for speaking the truth. The Dawah does not need people looking for fun and excitement, it needs people who are dedicated to the cause and willing to sacrifice everything for Allah.

Dawah is a form of worship

Dawah is an act of worship. It is from the great acts of worship and obligations done by the prophets and great Muslims throughout history. They never did it to rack up Shahadah High Scores and swap statistics. Nor did they do it for the money, the fame, or the attention. They had only one goal: to spread the message of Allah. The question we need to ask ourselves is why are we doing Dawah?

Your Intention is crucial

This leads to a key point. If you are choosing to join the Dawah world, you need to be very clear about your intentions. Dawah is only an act of worship when it is done to Allah for Allah with methods allowed by Allah, without any distortion to the message. It is a huge responsibility, and we are responsible for everything we say and do on this path.

There is no room in the Dawah world for attention seekers, fame seekers or gold-diggers. If you are in it for the wrong reasons, you are only harming the Deen and it will count against you on the Last Day.

Dawah is a form of Jihad

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “The most virtuous form of Jihad is to speak the truth to a tyrant ruler.” (Abu Dawud)

Dawah means speaking the truth, even if it upsets people. In this day and age, almost every aspect of Islam is controversial to secular minded folk. This makes it an even bigger struggle to speak the truth, and as a result some compromise their message, while others give up doing Dawah altogether.

If you are serious about Dawah, you have to get used to being politically incorrect. You have to be brave and speak the truth, even if it gets you in trouble. You have to a pillar of strength for the Deen, even when the world is crumbling around you. If not, then you are not doing Dawah to Allah, but just to yourself.

The results of Dawah in this world are not guaranteed

For some strange reason, every year I end up meeting a naive young da’ee who thinks he/she is going to be the one to turn society around completely, and that it is only a matter of time before people are following him/her. Many of these people fall completely off the Dawah within a few months when they realize their Dawah is drawing criticism, instead of change.

Newsflash folks: That is exactly how Dawah works! Dawah means telling people what they don’t want to hear. What do you think will happen when you do that? Criticism, haters, trolls, and obstacles are norms in the path of Dawah.

Reality is that there is absolutely no guarantee that you will see any results to your Dawah in this world. It isn’t sales or marketing, it is Divine Guidance. You may try new methods and new audiences but nothing is guaranteed. Throughout history, there have been Du’aat who did not gain any real following during their lifetimes, yet they are rewarded by Allah for their effort.

This is the key point to understand. If you are doing Dawah for Allah, then you are not hear to win a popularity contest. You are hear to spread the pure message of Islam to as many people as possible. Whether people accept that message or not is not in your hands. We are not here to rack up Shahadah High Scores or gain a specific number of social media followers. We are here to serve Allah, and if Allah chooses for people to come to Him through us, then that is His Mercy and Blessing. Either way, we must continue doing our Dawah for Allah.

End of Rant

Let us stop portraying Dawah as this fictional perfect life. It isn’t the reality for any Da’ee. Dawah is a duty and responsibility, and with it comes many trials. If you do it, do it for Allah. Do not expect any worldly rewards, and stay focused on the real goal: spreading the message of Allah without distortion.

May Allah keep us all steadfast on the truth and protect our hearts from deviation.

Apr

2015

Dawah and Long Term Goals

Over the past decade, I have seen many du’aat give up in their goals and vision because they were not seeing immediate results. This hasty attitude towards Dawah shows a lack of understanding of history and how the world works.

A critical analysis of the life of any great reviver of Islam will show us that their efforts to revive Islam took place over several decades, decades full of trials, patience, and constant growth and effort. It is very rare to find a reviver of Islam who accomplished much in a short period of time.

Some may claim that Umar Ibn Abdul Azeez revived Islam in two years, but they don’t take into consideration that it was the last two years of his life. And that it was after decades of studying Islam and serving in positions like Governor of Madinah or Vizier to King Sulaiman Ibn Abdul Malik. It took him a long time before he became Caliph and had the authority to revive Islam like that.

If you are serious about reviving Islam then you need to be ready for a life long commitment to the Dawah. This means you need to be ready to dedicate the next five decades at least to serving Allah’s Deen, whether you are witnessing results or not. This is the only way to cause real change in society, through constant life-long efforts with one’s trust in Allah. In fact, it is likely that the fruits of one’s efforts may only be witnessed in old age (like Ahmed Deedat), or may only really take place after one’s death (like Ibn Taymiyyah).

It doesn’t really matter when you accomplish such goals because your real goal is to do the Dawah for the sake of Allah and to earn His Pleasure in the Afterlife. We need to be real and focused on what matters most. Only then will we experience the true benefits of our Dawah in both worlds.

A reminder about the importance of Dawah in Surah Al-Asr

By Time
Indeed, mankind is at a loss
Except for those who believe, do righteous deeds, assist each other in the truth and assist each other in being patient and persistent.
(Surah Al-Asr 103:1-3)

Buy Now