The Arabic term da‘wah is derived from the verb دعا da‘aa which means “to call; invite; and to supplicate, i.e. to call on God”. It is used to refer to the act of conveying or calling people to the message of Islam. In that context it is a contraction of the phase adda‘ wah ilallaah (calling to Allah).
Say, “This is my way; I invite to Allah with insight, I and those who follow me. And exalted is Allah; and I am not of those who associate others with Him.” [Quran (12): 108]
Do ‘I’ Need To Give Da'wah
An important matter for us to realize is that Da’wah is an obligation upon all of us. Allah (Exalted is He) says in the Qur’an:
"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." [Quran (16):125]
"Allah is the protecting Guardian of those who Believe. He brings them out of the darkness into the Light" [Quran (2):257]
Also it is Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him), said,
"Convey (my teachings) to the people even if it were a single Verse or a sentence (from the Qur'an or As-Sunna) and tell others the stories of Bani Israel (which have been taught to you), for it is not sinful to do so. And whoever tells a lie against me intentionally, then surely let him occupy his seat in the (Hell) Fire." [Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith: 3461]
Conveying the message therefore does not require a high level of scholarship, it is in fact a responsibility of each and every one of us, according to our ability, but one thing which is to be taken care is to convey authentically without any lie otherwise the one will find his place in hell as defined in above narration.
What If I Don’t Invite And Hide The Truth?
The obligation is further emphasised by the following verse which explains that not conveying the message – hiding knowledge- is disobedience to Allah, which causes Allah’s curse to descend on such people, which shows that such a sin leads to The Hellfire.
“Verily, those who conceal the clear proofs, evidences and the guidance, which we have sent down, after We have made it clear for the people in the book, they are the ones cursed by Allah, and cursed by the cursers.” [Quran (2):159]
In the same connection, The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has stated,
“Whoever hides knowledge, Allah will brand him with the branding iron from The Hellfire.” [Ahmad]
Virtues of Da‘wah
Da‘wah was the basic mission of the Prophets of Allah. They were raised up among their respective people to call them to the worship of Allah alone and to abandon the worship of the various false gods that they had invented.
"And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], “Worship Allah and avoid taghut.” [Quran (16): 36]
There are numerous verses in the Quran which describe how the former prophets invited their people to Allah. These stories serve as examples to the last Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his followers. Furthermore, there are a number of other verses in which Allah specifically exhorts the Prophet to convey the message of Islam to people. As Allah (Exalted is He) says:
“And invite [people] to your Lord. And never be of those who associate others with Allah.” [Al-Quran (28): 87]
Consequently, Allah praises those who engage in this noble endeavour as being the best in speech.
“Who is better in speech than one who calls to Allah, does righteous deeds and says indeed I am among the Muslims.” [Quran (41): 33]
In addition to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him) has Said:
“Whoever directs someone to do good will gain the same reward as the one who does good.” [Sahih Muslim]
He was also reported to have said,
“Whoever calls to guidance will receive the same reward as the one who follows him without any decrease in the reward of [his follower].” [Sahih Muslim]
According to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him), one who guides others to do good deeds gets a reward equivalent to their reward for doing good. Consequently, people guided to righteousness earn, throughout their lives, good deeds for those who guided them. Such an immeasurable reward is specifically granted to those involved in the Prophetic mission of da‘wah.
As an illustration of the magnitude of the reward for guiding others to Islam, the Prophet (peace be upon Him) was also reported by Sahl ibn Sa‘d as saying:
“For Allah to guide someone by your hand is better for you than having red camels.” [Sahih Al-Bukhari]
Camels were considered the most valuable property in ancient Arabia and the red variety was the most prized of all. Consequently, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him) here indicates that guiding others to the truth is worth more than our most prized possessions in this world. This fact is further reiterated in Chapter al-‘Asr where Allah declares humankind in a state of loss with the exception of
“those who advise each other with truth.” [Al-Quran 103: 3].
Allah also hinged the label of honor, “best of humankind,” granted to the Muslim nation on the fulfilment of their da‘wah - duty of calling humankind to righteousness and prohibiting sin among them.
“You are the best nation raised up for humankind. You enjoin righteousness, forbid corruption and you believe in Allah.” [Al-Quran, (3): 110]
Thus, the Muslim nation has been given the status of the best nation because of their belief in Allah, their promotion of morality and their opposition to vice. If they fail to believe in Allah by applying the Sharee‘ah in their governments and promote vice by permitting ribaa based economies, the production of alcohol, and the spread of lewdness, they may sink below the worst of disbelieving nations. Consequently, Muslim nations top the list of the most corrupt nations on earth today.
: Basics and Virtues){kind=link}
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