Da'awa

Assalamu'alaikum wa rahmatullah

As a Muslim, which means a Muslim who is not confined to any movement, border or particular group and as an individual who puts the allegiance to the God the Highest and the noble prophet Muhammad s.a.w through our ancestors and brothers of the past whom prayers accompanying us as the fort. I believe in the amr ma'ruf nahi munkar which means the advice toward chastity and charity and to remind myself to stay away from the evil.

Why am I saying to remind myself in the first possessive pronoun rather than to remind people? I believe that my soul is linked to others soul through the common "faith". If I do not practice, then who else to practice the "faith" and the spiritual practices prescribed within the "shari'a"? Our method of da'awa is based from the tradition of sages and prophets as prescribed in the sirah and through the enlightenment of the Glorious Quran where the words taught us to take the example from the analogies and from proverbs. When we practice, then we already calling the people toward the faith in Him because it is not our right to force people to believe in what we believe or to judge others.

Etymology

Literal Meaning

Da'awa is the Arabic word derived from دعَى which means an invitation or a call and the word دعوة in the active participle verb form literally means issuing a summon or making an invitation. The meaning is not really proselytizing though it could be used to mean preaching.

A Muslim who practices the da'awa either as a "religious worker" or in a "volunteer community effort" is known as a داعي dā'ī or plurally as دعاة du'āt. The wikipedia mentions that a dā'ī is a person who invites others to understand Islam and its Path 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. There are various dialogues about religions since whenever it is. However, the way the dialogues moved on sometimes had been deflected by the clinging of those who were involved in them to manifestations of the intellectual sparks. What I mean here is that, those involved within the dialogues identified themselves to the issue but not to their "nature" so "egoism" is in the scene. There are strategies for dialogues but it is not a topic for this post.

As for myself here, this site is not to proselyte anyone nor converting anyone! I am just sharing my life as a Muslim guy and I am talking to the God the Highest Himself through mediums around this world. I just wanted fellow non-Muslims and Muslim brethren to know that I live just like others. I am a human-being who possess the same intellectual faculties like everyone else in the world. I am not a demon nor am I an angel. I love to treat others the way I treat myself although I sometimes receive different treatment as opposed to the way I treat them.  

Technical Meaning

The word refers to determination for everyone to involve himself with charity, chastity and guidance. Inviting one self to perform charity and to protect one self from vices and crimes may the "self" receives salvation in this world and the hereafter. On the other hand, da'awa means inviting the souls with wisdom and good words to return to His guidance through His messenger, Muhammad s.a.w who transmits the revelation. This is the meaning of amr ma'aruf nahi munkar that we hold for our selves.

Muslim Scholars View

These guys are the figures of Muslim Brotherhood and I mingled with some of their supporters here as well as with those from other movements such as Tabligh. However, I am not a member of this particular movement nor any movement because I am just a "Muslim". I am just presenting their definitions with regard to the term in discussion. There are various definitions which were derived from the basic root word for this term.  

Jum'a Amīn 'Abd al-'Azīz

He defines in the Jurisprudence of Da'awa that, Da'awa Islamiah is the final message revealed to the noble prophet Muhammad s.a.w in the form of revelation from the God the Highest which is pure from impurities. The word revealed to him is a miracle in its value and later being recorded into copies after the narration pours down through the tongue of the noble prophet s.a.w sequence by sequence. Reciting the revelation is done in the value of worship.

Dr. 'Abd al-Ra'of Shalabi

He explains that the Da'awa Islamiah is a movement which would eventually bring a transformation in a society. From the blasphemy to the faith, from the darkness into the enlightened ones and from the narrow space to the broad one, in this very life and the hereafter.

'Ali 'Abd al-Ḥalim Maḥmūd

He stated his opinion that the da'awa to the God the Highest means, we are inviting the man-kind to have faith in the God the Highest, messages brought by all the noble prophets and messengers of the God the Highest, obedience to His commandments, totally stopping oneself from disobedience or disloyalty to Him and to have faith in the words of the messengers of the God the Highest. The significance of da'awa is to invite everyone to Islam, the seal of the word of the God the Highest, and to the perfect and comprehensive path. Islam is the religion which is guaranteed on its protection by the God the Highest as recorded in the Glorious Quran while other religions are protected by their adherents. He believes that Islam would be established without any blemish nor changing (Manhaj al-Iṣlah al-Islāmi fi al-Mujtama', 2005).

Dimensions of Da'awa

From opinions stated above, we may conclude that da'awa is an effort to invite man-kind to have faith in the God the Highest and to validate the messages transmitted through noble prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

Da'awa also means to invite one to practice the example of noble morality as according to the Glorious Quran and the traditions taught through the noble prophet Muhammad s.a.w. It could be perceived in two different dimensions....

• The general significance of da'awa, which is a science about the methods and the opinions on how those who practice the da'awa could attract the attention or the interest of one to agree, to embrace, to be in accordance or to execute a particular ideology.
• Da'awa as according to Islam is to invite one through wisdom to the righteous path, appropriate to the commandments of the God the Highest toward a better society and for the happiness of this life and the hereafter. 

The God the Highest invites His servants to perform those which would lead them toward the peace of mind and which would make them strong in going through this life such as holding firm to the teachings through prescribed practices. The God the Highest had send messengers to inform and to invite man-kind and other beings to the path which is pleased by Him and to leave behind His prohibitions.  

Fortunate be those who validate the message as the God the Highest which means, "And whoever makes the God the Highest and His messenger and those who are faithful as their allies, indeed the party of the God the Highest is always the winner" (Surah al-Ma'idah 5:56).

In every cycle of period, da'awa is among the needs for everyone to protect himself from the predominant social problems. It is necessary for the practitioners of da'awa to deliver their invitation with wisdom and the most important thing is to avoid from insulting the intellect of the audience of the da'awa which I always see because I am also a target of the movements even though I am a Muslim. There is also an urge about the duty of the practitioners to actively "encourage" fellow Muslims in pursuance of greater piety in all aspects of their lives in Islamic contemporary thought but it somehow does not work well but making people going far from Him after being "preached" by the practitioners. 

There are methods of the da'awa as to ensure that it could be a real "cure" for the problem. To cure the problem is to know on which is the suitable medicine for prescription and what is the condition of the patients. We cannot just treat everyone the same. It shows that a practitioner shall need some preparations and a strong self-identity. 

To face people is not an easy job since there are various kinds of people. One could take the example of those who were involved in customer service and retail business on how they attract their buyers through advertisements, persuasion and how they deal with customers at their shops. They have got to have patience in explaining things with regard to their "service". To be a practitioner of da'awa is not something for us to get an easy money through lectures given at the mosque on invitation or to live with the expense donated from others to us. It is a sincere service rooted in our devotion to the God the Highest. It is about the aim of the da'awa.

There are physical and mental preparations for those who work as a volunteer in this service since one would face disappointment and also failure just like what had happened on prophets such as Jonah a.s. who was disappointed with the people of Nineveh that made him ran away from the area appointed for his service. So, it is important for the practitioner of da'awa to equip himself with social sciences, political and economic sciences, psychology, to be inquisitive and using all sort of intellectual faculties in dealing with people around. 

General Ethics

Kindness and Gentleness

With regard to noble prophet Muhammad s.a.w nature which is mild in sharing the message of Islam, the God the Highest says which means...

"And by the mercy of the God the Highest you dealt with them gently. If you were harsh and hard-hearted, they would have fled from around you" (Surah Āli-'Imran 3:159).  

The Glorious Quran also mentions the commandment of the God the Highest to Moses and Aaron who were sent to bring the reminders to Pharaoh as recorded in Surah Ta-Ha 20:44 which means...

"So speak to him, both of you, mildly in order that he may reflect or fear the God the Highest".  

Noble prophet Muhammad s.a.w said, "Whenever gentleness is in a thing, it beautifies it and whenever it is withdrawn from something, it defaces" (Bukhari compilation vol. 4, pp. 1370; no. 6274). He also said, "One deprived of gentleness and politeness is deprived of all good" (Bukhari compilation vol. 4, pp. 1370; no. 6270-6271).

Wisdom

"Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has strayed from His way, and He is most knowing of who is rightly guided.." (Surah al-Naḥl 16:125).

A classical example of diversion in da'awa can be seen in the case of prophet Joseph a.s. in prison when two prisoners asked him to interpret their dreams (Surah Yusuf 12:35-41). 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 please, the interpretation of these as we believe that you are a righteous man". 

Joseph a.s said, "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 the God the Highest and the hereafter. And I followed the religion of my forefathers... Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And we would never attribute any partners whatsoever to Him. This is from His grace to us and to man-kind, but most people are not thankful.

O my two prison companions! Are many different lords better than Him, 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 Him. Judgment belongs to Him 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 master to drink and as for the other, he will be crucified and birds will eat from his head. This is the case judged concerning which you both inquire..."   

Common Language

This is what I always talk about when some of those practitioners using weird terminologies and why I am using English in my posts. Because it is widely known.

"I did not send any messenger except that he spoke the language of his people to explain to them". (Surah Ibrahim 14:4).

And we must speak in the language that people know and understood. If you are in Japan then use Japanese to inform people and not Urdu! If you are in Russia then use Russian, not Bengali! Try to speak in their national languages or the language of the majority. That makes the study of languages and its cultural sphere important for the practitioners.

Location

Practicing da'awa in the right location and appropriate place is crucial. For example, Mount Ṣafa in the period of prophet Muhammad s.a.w was used for announcements. So, he went there to make his point. He chose that particular location because he knew the people who he was inviting to the "path". He knew their general nature and characteristics, so he chose that particular place. He climbed up to its summit and addressed his people by saying, "O Quraish men! If I were to tell you there was an army behind this hill, would you listen to me?".

Conclusion

My conclusion for this is that, da'awa is an obligation for a part of people in Muslim society who are sane and who could recognize the law and norms. When there are those who dedicate themselves for this service then others are not obliged no more.

This service is a noble service and should be conducted with the burden of morality. As for myself, I am practicing the approach of the noble prophet Muhammad s.a.w where he begins his da'awa with his reflection in the Hirā' cave in holy Mecca at the time he was a young man and he has got not so much support except from his clan and his close family members such as his wife, lady Khadijah r.a and his uncle, Abu Tālib. 

He begins with himself and later that he moved stage by stage until the nations being formed before the period of the Resurrection begins which also includes us within the cycle...

Sealed with prayers for mercy, peace and love, amin!

Tools for Da'awa Part II

Assalaamu'alaikum wa rahmatullah

Let us continue with the highlights sharing, insha Allah...

7. Psychology to Help Others

Psychology is important for each da'ie. When performing da'awa we need to know the individual that we are targeting to help in order to spread charity and chastity to him or her. In this term, we have to act with mercy and compassionate as what has been recited in the Holy Name of Allah. If we do not know how to deal with people emotion, feeling and psychology then it would be a da'awa in vain. At least when performing da'awa we would leave some effects in the sentiment of the target audience of da'awa. 

As per my experience dear brothers and sisters, I mingled with naughty and problematic youngsters. They became my friends because nobody wanted to be their friends. When I was an undergraduate student in Universiti Sains Malaysia for example, I mingled with Amir. At that time, I was under the period of keeping the Covenant with Allah. I would not mingle with people around if I made promises and renewing it again with Allah. But when a needy person approached me, I would have to be merciful and compassionate to him. Does not matter if he is problematic, scary like a Yakuza member or non-religious watching obscene movies. I never show up my worship to others or even calling the "friend" to mosque nor looking at them strangely like some of Mahasiswa Islam or Tabligh Jama'at members. But I would ask them to wait for me when I wanted to perform salat if I spend my time with them. I would give them all sort of non-religious reasons to leave them for a moment such as excusing myself to the toilet. In the beginning perhaps they thought that I was one of them, but when spending time longer with me they began to realize that I was an orthodox Muslim guy who happened to be unorthodox in approach to deal with them. I never say anything, but they slowly performing salat in their rooms. Other than that, I would stop them from paying in the restaurant counter because I know they would leave the restaurant without paying. I helped them to pay without asking them to pay me back. But in the beginning I usually pretend that I was also not paying and running with them. But I circled the restaurant and going through the kitchen to see the workers paying for all the expense for everyone. Just not to make those "friends" losing their dignity in front of others.

When performing da'awa, we need to see the level of thought in the society. There are many kind of people in the society. We need to set where our level need to be at the range of people we mingle with. If we are mingling with the Yakuza member, we should not act like a preacher. But trying to find the way according to their way of thinking and speaking to them in their language. When talking to village folks, we do not have to show off like a scholar in front of them because it is useless. They would not understand us. That is why I feel quite weird to listen to some of Tabligh Jama'at members using jargon such as hidayat, bayan, takazah, ghasht and others. I asked them again what are those meaning? I understood Urdu and Punjabi language, I spoke in the language fluently when I was a little kid and now I just could understand them. But what I mean by asking them is that why do they use those terms to people who don't understand them? Village folks in Malayan Peninsula were not all ignorant about religion. They have their own mosque, local religious mission orders and local religious teachers. Why are we using foreign terms when talking to them? I would convey what those folks would say when they heard some local jama'at members utter the words here. These people are bunch of show off. What the hell those words mean? Just because they mingle with foreign Hindustani made them forget local norms and way of speech? They might be trying to impose their influence on us? Do they think that we are bunch of ignorant who are about to testify sahadat?

How do I know this? I mingled with all sort of people in the society. From village folk thugs which also include my father, Bangladeshi or Pakistani migrant workers, foreigners, town boys, naughty kids, non-Muslim Chinese students and elders, liberal art lecturers, feminists, gay groups, transvestites and others. The way we deal with these people is actually different and quite diverse. They could be Muslims, they could be non-Muslims. We could not view them as the same in term of emotion, feeling, thought, speech, and daily norms. Some people already has the basis of receptor to accept new knowledge but not all people posses that such as the "orang kampung" or village folks or maybe those random people in the street. Say, if a knowledgeable professor in Petro-Chemical discussing with them about certain concept and using jargon of the field. What would happen to those audience who happens to be village folks? They would just sleep or wandering on what the hell is this crazy guy talking about? We don't even know how to pronounce those words he is saying. So, one needs to know psychology when dealing with others or spending time with them. Try to put our selves in their shoes and not looking in the view of individuality though we claim that we are acting collectively.

8. Morality

This is what is known as ihsan. When we perform da'awa, we would not only talking about this idolatry or that idolatry. We would first need to know what is meant by idolatry? It is not as easy as bombing others or destructing any building. The basis of idolatry is materialism. Just check our heart, if we think that material is more important for us so we had already committing shirk (polytheism). For me how would I look up at people? I would look at them from their "heart". Not from the eloquence of their speech or the way they dress up their selves. There are ways to know this whether if we look it up at their appearance, their speech or their writings but I am not going to explain it here because it is not really easy to be expounded in words. This has nothing to do with mystical stuffs. I am sure certain kids would come to me and ask this and that. I don't like mysticism and I don't get revelation from Allah like a prophet. The only revelation is contained in al-Quran and in the Sunnah of noble prophets of Allah. These two sources are accessible by everyone no matter what rank you are in your society.

There is no need to prolong the ethics taught by Aristotle. One need to know to explain on the right and wrong in acts. I was not exposed to Greek studies but I was exposed to Buddhism studies. What I know was that our deed is influenced by our thought (heart). Quite long explanation too but as to say morality is not only to be recorded in documents. It is to be practiced as lessons for the others as what has been taught to us by Hassan and Hussain r.a. What is better for us is to follow the examples of prophet Muhammad s.a.w, his family members, his companions and all the jurisprudence schools in term of morality and conveying da'awa to others. We learned from them and we practice them right away. No need to talk about this figure or that figure but we are just talking around and still far from practicing. Usually I don't really talk much in front of people. I speak only when it is important I am just using common sense on the basis that I had already know to act and observe the effects more. 

Other than that, I don't really agree with some Tabligh Jama'at members' bayans regarding the previous nations to magnify their da'awa movement. Da'awa is certainly a good thing but we should know that it is not the morality of a Muslim to downgrade the contributions of previous prophets, messengers of Allah and their nations. The nations of prophet Jesus a.s had already performed their part in their era as what has been mentioned in our glorious Quran. Some part of the nations of prophet Moses a.s also had performed their part when they entered the land of Cana'an under the leadership of sage Yushya' bin Nun. We should not compare our selves with them as there are gaps of era, difference in time period, society and region. Problem always risen when we consider that everything should be the same as what we think but the fact is unlikely the same. 

Other simple thing is that Quran is to be practiced and not only to be memorized and recited in prayers or in Quranic recital contest to see whose recitation is the best in its poetry sound style. When we recite Quran, we ponder the verses and we jot down what Allah suggests us to do in order to go through this life. It also includes our daily morality and how we interact with society and nature. Quran is for those who are alive and not for those who were dead. There is no need for a religion to those who had already dead. Death is the time to be laid into rest for another period to come.

9. Contemporary Political System Knowledge

This is according to the time where we live. As what I had already mentioned in International Relation studies and Global Political Economy about theories such as liberalism, realism, marxism and constructivism. This were taught in the West and around the world. How they evaluate the world is through these theories. We can talk about political structure of empires in the past but we need to also know about nowadays because we live in today's life not in the past.

When performing da'awa in Europe, the method would be changing as Europe is not the same as Bangladesh. If we think that Europe or Russia is the same like Pakistan, then it would be a huge gaps and problems. Political system in Europe for example is different than Pakistan or Bangladesh political system. 

When brothers and sisters are living in Europe or Russia, brothers and sisters should be acknowledged on what are the policies in European Union or Russia. Then check back what is the policy of your home countries say Bangladesh or Saudi Arabia. You cannot impose the system of your country in others. To change the system without conforming to local and natives agreements would be a huge disaster as respecting each other is part of the Sunnah in Islam.

10. Local Language

Then brothers and sisters need to know the language where brothers and sisters needed to perform da'awa. It is to make sure that the dai'e could understood the feeling and the emotion of the speakers. No matter how 'aalim is a person, he would be like a mute person if he does not speak in the language spoken around. Many religious scholars in our country who lived in Mecca and Egypt for many years and speak in fluent Arabic but they are not fluent in their own language. I had seen this too. So, they would just stay in their academic circle perhaps in university or certain region without the knowledge that they sought being conveyed to others. That is why I tried to do some translations in Chinese as an ordinary person who were educated in Islamic studies stream. Many people in our country condemn about Chinese communities who are ignorant about Muslim traditions but they did nothing in order to solve the problem rather condemning.

11. Arabic and Global Language 

It is also important to master Arabic language. Sources about Islamic sciences are mostly in Arabic. In Malaysia, those sources are also in Malay because our elders had initiated the writings in Malay. A dai'e must also know English as it is a global language. If we only speak in Malay, then our target audience of da'awa perhaps is only in domestic ranging. If we wanted to spread the mercy of Allah, we need to conform to the multilevel system. That was what had been done by apostles of prophet Jesus a.s in the part of the past nations. They spread their faith across borders as far as China and Japan in the East. Being a translation and interpretation student, I was also exposed to the translation of Bible and translation theories proposed by figures such as E. Nida, Basil Hatim, Cicero and the Language of Law. I do not join any institution because I am just devoting myself for Allah and not for money. Many people do not understand my principles so they think that I am crazy, haha. I do not study anything for myself. I studied them for Allah and yes... They are torturing moments and not fun at all. I have no time to build good lifelong friendship with proper people like what I had seen when I was in the university. I could just be a mere operator in factories. End up my life just like others.

There are another two points in my notes. I'm trying to simplify them and burn the note... hehehe. I don't need them but I can share it with people.

Continue....