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The need for the Da'wah carriers (those who call for Islam) to live with the Ummah and interact with it
in a natural way is something that need to be emphasised
consistently. This should be done as one carrying the da'wah
(calling for Islam). In addition, the Da'wah carrier who carries
the da'wah has to apply the ideas on the events as they happen and he should not force the ideas or
present them in a hypothetical way. Some Da'wah carriers took this to mean that there is a need to
continuously approach the people & discuss the ideas with them and to get the people to
understand that the Islamic State is the way to solve all problems. The discussion would continue to
the point that the people should not busy themselves in any other action such as building schools or
mosques. Furthermore, few Da'wah carriers understood that it is the duty of the
Da'wah carrier to attend meetings and lectures and to object to any issue that is being discussed and tilt the subject towards the
concepts of Khilafah (Islamic ruling system) and render it as the dominant subject of discussion. In addition,
some Da'wah carriers understood this as applying the ideas and rules on the events as they happen such that the
Da'wah carrier should be waiting for others to commit a mistake in speech or action. Subsequently, the
Da'wah carrier would hasten to correct the erroneous speech or action. Indeed, this is an understanding among a few
Da'wah carriers that led them to carry the in such a manner. This resulted in the
Da'wah carriers finding themselves isolated from the people, and the people view the
Da'wah carrier as a theorist who does not talk about problems that the people face on a daily basis. Instead they keep talking
about the issues that are not related directly to the daily life of the people, that is to keep talking
about the Islamic State and the Da'wah carrier refuses to take part in the real daily issues and problems that face the
people. This also resulted in some of the Da'wah carriers being
ridiculed coupled with being prevented from interacting with the people or from
presenting their viewpoints.
It is important that the Da'wah carriers live with the Ummah in a natural way. Living with the Ummah in a natural way
means to live as a normal human being would. The person lives, gets married, gets sick, sends his
child to school, and goes for a picnic, builds a mosque or schools, gives a lecture, works, tries to solve his problems with others, and tries to take care of his own
affairs. In other words, he practices different activities on a daily basis. This is the way a person
lives, and this is the life that we were asked to live in a natural way. But we live with the people in
a natural way as people who carry da'wah. This means that we engage in activities in our daily life
with other people as Da'wah carriers who carry the da'wah. This leads the
Da'wah carriers to live their lives and convey their ideas to the people in a natural way while living and interacting with them in order to
change the society and raise its awareness of reestablishing the Islamic order.
We can outline a particular mechanism for this strategy of da'wah, and what we need to talk about here is how to
live with the people in a natural way.
As mentioned before, people have different issues and problems in their lives. As an example, if the
community desires to build a mosque, so if the Da'wah carrier
lived with the Ummah in a natural way then the Da'wah carrier
should deal with this issue and participate in building the mosque or collecting
the funds for that purpose. Simultaneously, during this work, the Da'wah
carrier should give the people the ideas about building mosques, the
real role of the mosque in Islam and that it is the duty of the Islamic State to build
the mosques and that the existing states, which impose themselves on the Ummah, are not doing
their job in this regard. By doing this, the Da'wah carrier has lived with the Ummah in a natural way as a
person who carries the da'wah. On the other hand, if the Da'wah
carrier refused to participate with the people when they asked for his help in working with them in building the mosques and he explained to
them that instead, they should work to build the state which will build the mosques, then the
Da'wah carrier, by saying that and not participating with the people, would not have lived with the people in a
natural way. If the people were kind to him by listening to him this time, they would not feel that
the Da'wah carrier is one of them, and eventually this will put a barrier between him and the people.
Furthermore, if the community in a certain area needed money to build a school, and the
Da'wah carrier participated by sharing his views on the issue or by
collecting donations, or by approaching people to talk to them about such a cause, then he will be living with the people in a natural way.
When discussing about building school the dawah carrier can
enlighten the people about the unique features of the educational
system of the Islamic state. But if the Da'wah carrier was asked to help and his
response was that the people should not put the effort and the money in building schools, instead
they should invest it in establishing the state, he will be separating himself from the people. This is
because people want the Islamic State for no other reason but to run their affairs according to Islam,
and if they felt that the Da'wah carrier does not care about their own affairs, how can they have the
confidence in the State when it is established, that it will take care of their affairs?
Another example tells us that if the people decide to organize a picnic in a certain area, then it is the
duty of the Da'wah carrier to participate and help them, whether by sharing his views or through his efforts or
any other assistance he can provide. The Da'wah carrier, at the same time, should be conveying his ideas to
the people while working with them. If the Da'wah carrier continues to live with the people in this way, then
the people will receive the idea from him in a natural way, and the people will have the feeling that
the Da'wah carrier is an integral part of them and no force can separate him from the people. On the other
hand, if the Da'wah carrier does not behave this way, he will be separating himself from the people and the
Da'wah carrier, therefore, he does not understand what Islam
is demanding from him. Sometimes, the Da'wah carrier may participate with the people in such actions; and it may not be possible for
him to give the ideas. Under such conditions, he should not force the ideas on the people because
people can't be forced to listen to him. So, if the opportunity does not arise or come up for the
Da'wah carrier to convey his ideas to the people and discuss them, he should know that there will be many other
opportunities later. On the other hand, it should be clear that carrying the
da'wah is not only by discussion. The fact that the Da'wah carrier
is present in an occasion of marriage or death is by itself a form of
da'wah, even if he does not discuss any subject. Similarly, if the
Da'wah carrier participates with the people in building a mosque or a school, he is doing
da'wah even if he did not hold a discussion with them. Da'wah or
Invitation to Islam, therefore, is carried out by discussion and other means, and we should not limit
the means to discussion. An episode in the life of the Prophet (saw) illustrates that he helped a
non-Muslim, Al-Arashi in getting his money from Abu Jahl. This is an example of living with the people in a natural way.
Note that the Prophet (saw) did not tell that man that he should refrain from asking Abu Jahl for his
money and that he should become a Muslim in order to change the society so that he eventually will
get his money. We could only wonder the response of that Al-Arashi would have been if the
Prophet (saw) had told him that. This is an excellent example from the life of the Prophet (saw) on
the necessity to live this type of life with the people. This does not mean that the
Da'wah carrier has to spend all his efforts in all these things. This is because
nobody expects from a person to participate in everything that is happening; rather the person
would help in certain events. Similarly, the Da'wah carrier will participate in certain events and therefore will
be living with the people.
The other aspect that need to be redressed is applying the ideas on the events as they happen. This
simply means that the Da'wah carrier discusses with the people on whatever subject they talk about and give
the Islamic viewpoint on that subject. If the people were discussing the issue of curricula, then he
talks about curricula; if the people talk about the issue of collecting money, then he talks about this
issue; if the people talk about Afghanistan, the Da'wah carrier
should talk about Afghanistan. The Da'wah carrier should not talk about the problem of Palestine when the people are discussing collecting money to
do a certain project. Similarly he should not talk about collecting money if people are talking about
the problem of Palestine. Similarly, if people are discussing the subject of Aqeedah, he should talk
only about Aqeedah, but if he can move the discussion in a natural way (need to emphasize in a
natural way) without alluding to the subject of the state, then he can do that. But he should not
force this subject on the people.
It should be clear that applying the ideas on the events as they happen does not mean that the
Da'wah carrier becomes a policeman on people's views and ideas. He should not jump to correct others whenever
they talk, and he should not stand to respond whenever somebody gives an opinion that differs from
ours. Indeed, this is not what is meant by applying the ideas on the events as they happen. The
verse that dealt with stealing talked about stealing when the action occurred, and did not talk about
a different subject. Similarly, the verses that dealt with fornication dealt only with this subject and
nothing else. This is what is meant by applying the ideas to the events as they happen. However,
this does not mean that the Da'wah carrier should remain passive when kufr ideas are injected. But our
response should be different on issues where more than one Islamic idea is mentioned as a solution.
It should be clear that if these things are followed accordingly, the Ummah will adopt the ideas
from the Da'wah carriers in a natural and practical way, and not in an artificial theoretical manner. This
natural transfer of ideas permits the Da'wah carrier to project a good image of himself in the minds of the
Muslims, an image of a person who is aware and care, about the affairs of the people and carries his
responsibilities towards them and shares their problems. The natural result of here would be that the
Ummah will support the Da'wah carriers.
But if we refuse this, this will result in separating ourselves from the people, and project a negative
image of ourselves in the mind of the people, an image of a philosopher and theorist whose main
concern is research, discussion, objection, and correction. People, then, will not support the
Da'wah carrier because people will not support this type of people. It is reported that Imam
Sha'fee (ra) used to tell others not to criticize him in front of the people, so how about people who are even below the level
of Sha'fee like the ordinary people.
Therefore, we should see the people in the mosques and in the places where they gather to live with
them in a natural way, take the initiative to do the work instead of talking, and we should realize
that telling others that any other understanding or action besides
political Islam is a waste of time will help in widening the gap between
da'wah carieers and the Ummah. Each one of us should ask himself if he wants to be a factor that helps the people to turn their back
away from the Da'wah carriers or the ideas of Islam. Rather, each one should be looking for ways and
means to help consolidate the Ummah around the Da'wah carriers.
This question needs an answer from everyone of us, and each one should realize that the future of
this da'wah depends on the answer. So let us give a good answer because this is a part of our
responsibility and part of the trust that Allah has placed upon our shoulders. Therefore, we should
fulfill our obligations, and we should realize that each one of us is a front
in the defense of Islam.
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work or ''Work for Islam'' - know the difference
Invitation
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