Dawah

For other uses, see Dawa.

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Da‘wah or Dawah (Arabic: دعوة‎) usually denotes the preaching of Islam. Da‘wah literally means "issuing a summons" or "making an invitation", being the active participle of a verb meaning variously "to summon" or "to invite" (whose triconsonantal root is د ع ى). A Muslim who practices da‘wah, either as a religious worker or in a volunteer community effort, is called a dā‘ī, plural du‘āt. A dā‘ī is thus a person who invites people to understand Islam through a dialogical process, and may be categorized in some cases as the Islamic equivalent of a missionary, as one who invites people to the faith, to the prayer, or to Islamic life. Da'wah activities can take many forms. Some pursue Islamic studies specifically to perform Da'wah. Mosques and other Islamic centers sometimes spread Da'wah actively, similar to evangelical churches. Others consider being open to the public and answering questions to be Da'wah. Recalling Muslims to the faith and expanding their knowledge can also be considered Da'wah.

Early Islam

In the Qur'an, the term da'wah has other senses. In Sura 30:25 of the Qur'an, it denotes the call to the dead to rise on the Day of Judgment. When used in the Qur'an it generally refers to Allah's invitation to live according to His will. Thus, when used in the first centuries of Islam, it increasingly referred to the content of that message and was sometimes used interchangeably with sharī‘a and dīn.

Da‘wah is also described as the duty to "actively encourage fellow Muslims in the pursuance of greater piety in all aspects of their lives," a definition which has become central to contemporary Islamic thought.

Purposes of Da‘wah

In Islamic theology, the purpose of Da‘wah is to invite people, both Muslims and non-Muslims, to understand the worship of Allah as expressed in the Qur'an and the sunnah of the Prophet, as well as to inform them about Muhammad. Da‘wah produces converts to Islam, which in turn grows the size of the Muslim Ummah, or community of Muslims.

Da'wah or Call towards Allah, is the means by which the Islamic Prophet Muhammad spread the message of the Qur'an to mankind. After Muhammad, his followers or Ummah assumed the responsibility of the Dawah to the people of their times. They convey the message of the Qur'an by providing information on why and how the Qur'an preaches monotheism.

Importance of Dawah

The importance of Dawah has been emphasised many times in the Quran, addressing the followers of Muhammad:

“Who is better in speech than one who calls to Allah, does righteous deeds and says indeed I am among the Muslims.” Sura Fussilat, 41: 33

“You are the best nation raised up for humankind. You enjoin righteousness, forbid corruption and you believe in Allah.” Sura Ali-Imran, 3: 110

“Let there arise among you a group inviting to all that is good, enjoining righteousness and forbidding evil. Those are the successful ones.” Sura Ali-Imran, 3: 104

“Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good preaching.” Sura An-Nahl, 16: 125

In the Hadith of Muhammad, dawah has also been mentioned to further emphasise importance and virtues:

"Whoever directs someone to do good will gain the same reward as the one who does good.”

"Whoever calls to guidance will receive the same reward as the one who follows him without any decrease in the reward of his follower."

"For Allah to guide someone by your hand is better for you than having red camels."Camels were considered the most valuable property in ancient Arabia and the red variety was the most prized of all.

“Convey from me, even if it be only a single verse."

Muhammad sent Muadh ibn Jabal to Yemen and told him “You will be going to Christians and Jews, so the first thing you should invite them to is the assertion of the oneness of Allah, Most High. If they realize that, then inform them that Allah has made five daily prayers obligatory on them. If they pray them, then inform them that Allah has made the payment of charity from their wealth obligatory on their rich to be given to their poor. If they accept that, then take it from them and avoid the best part of people’s property.”

Methodology of Dawah

Kindness/Gentleness

Addressing Muhammad in the Quran with regards to his companions:

“If you were harsh and hard hearted, they would have fled from around you.”Sura Ali-Imran, 3: 159

“And by the mercy of Allah you dealt with them gently.”Sura Ali-Imran, 3: 159

Instructing Moses and Aaron who were preaching to Pharoah who was proclaiming he was God: “So speak to him, both of you, mildly in order that he may reflect or fear God.” Sura Ta-Ha, 20: 44

Muhammad was reported by his wife, Aisha to have said “Whenever gentleness is in a thing it beautifies it and whenever it is withdrawn from something it defaces.”

Muhammad was quoted by Jareer as saying,“One deprived of gentleness is deprived of all good."

Wisdom

“Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom ...”Sura An-Nahl, 16: 125

A classical example of diversion in dawah can be seen in the case of Prophet Yusuf in prison when two prisoners asked him to interpret their dreams. Then it occurred to them, after they had seen the proofs to imprison him for a time. And there entered with him two young men in the prison. One of them said: “Indeed, I saw myself pressing wine.” The other said: “Indeed, I saw myself carrying bread on my head and birds were eating from it.” [They asked:] “Inform us of the interpretation of these things. Indeed, we believe you are one of the righteous.” He replied: “Whenever food came to you as your provision, I informed you about it before it came. That is from what my Lord has taught me. Indeed, I have abandoned the religion of a people who did not believe in Allah and the Hereafter. And I have followed the religion of my fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and we would never attribute any partners whatsoever to Allah. This is from the Grace of Allah to us and to humankind, but most people are not thankful. O my two prison companions! Are many different lords better than Allah, the One, the Irresistible? You are only worshiping besides Him names which you and your fathers made up for which no authority was revealed by Allah. Judgment belongs to Allah alone. He has commanded that you worship none besides Him; that is the upright religion, but most people do not know. O my two prison companions! As for one of you, he will pour wine for his lord to drink and as for the other, he will be crucified and birds will eat form his head. This is the case judged concerning which you both inquire.” Sura Yusuf, 12: 35-41

Speaking Common Language

“I did not send any messenger except that he spoke the language of his people to explain to them.” Sura Ibrahim, 14: 4

Location

Doing Dawah in the right location. For example, Mount Safa in the time of Muhammad was used for announcements. So Muhammad went there to make his point. He chose that particular location because he knew the people he was inviting to Islam. He knew their nature and characteristics, so he chose Mount Safa. He climbed up to its summit and addressed his people saying: “O people of Quraysh, if I were to tell you there was an army behind this hill would you listen to me?”

Modern Dawah Movements

Modern Dawah movements are varied in their objectives and activities for example:

• Muslim Brotherhood has focused on a methodology of building grassroots institutions and funding welfare projects which has helped it survive decades of repression under various dictatorships in many middle eastern countries, with the group and its many off shoots still enjoying popular support and power.
• Jamaat-e-Islami has focused on presenting Islam as complete way of life and on methodology of building grassroots institutions and funding welfare projects.
• Tablighi Jamaat works on trying to bring the Muslims back to the fundamental practises of Islam such as worship, they do this through encouraging members to speak and to teach them the virtues of good actions, the movement has a following of over 100 and 150 million people.
• Ahmed Deedat was a notable debater who was a revolutionary figure amongst Muslims for his effort debating Christian polemics, many Muslim debaters from popular debaters to grassroots Dawah campaigners use his books and videos as reference material.
• Zakir Naik as a student of Ahmed Deedat followed in his teachers footstep by debating Christian polemics and holding Q&A sessions with Christians, Zakir Naik is particularly notable for taking the effort of debating Christian polemics to the Muslim mainstream with his popular channel Peace TV.
• Hizb ut-Tahrir is a movement which focuses on educating the Muslim masses on khilafat and establishing khilafat.
• iERA is a research academy based in the London which with its many departments seeks to debate non-Muslim intellectuals, help new Muslims, have nationwide training schemes to train speakers, produce academic research papers on statistical, sociological, intellectual, Dawah, organisational and communicational issues.

See also

• Islamic missionary activity

References

• Encyclopaedia of Islam, Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, OCLC 399624
• Hirschkind, Charles (2004). "Civic Virtue and Religious Reason: An Islamic Counter-Public" in Drobnick, Jim Aural Cultures. ISBN 0-920397-80-8.
• The Multiple Nature of the Islamic Da'wa, Egdūnas Račius, Academic Dissertation, October 2004. University of Helsinki, Faculty of Arts, Institute of Asian and African Studies.
• Saqr, Abdul B. How to Call People to Islam, Trans. Shakil Ahmed. Riyahd: WAMY.

External links

• To know more about the meaning and purpose of Dawah see the DawahCity.com
• Just Dawah aims to help people gain the confidence and skills to give dawah through training. justdawah.org