How to Give Dawah (Quran Weekly)

How to Give Dawah

By Nouman Ali Khan

Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh

Introduction: The Purpose of Dawah

This quick reminder is in regards to a popular question, what Islam has to say about converting others to Islam. I'd like to put this into perspective by reminding you that the Quranic term, the fundamental term that keeps coming up, even as a base core definition of the Quran is the term Dhikr, Tadhkira, Dhikra, a reminder.

Human Nature and Divine Reminder

Islamic theology essentially looks at the human being as a creation that was given the innate knowledge of the existence and the rights of his or her creator. So we were born with this innate knowledge. And over time we forget, we get indulged into things in life and we kind of forget the purpose for which we were created. And at the end of it all, messengers are sent to remind us what we have forgotten about our own selves.

So in a sense, it's bringing us to what we are supposed to be, what we were supposed to have known all along. And so messengers, their fundamental role is to remind people.

The Prophet's Experience with Dawah

The messenger himself, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, the final messenger, Muhammad, when he was delivering his message, there were people that found his message appealing, that were immediately attracted to it and listened to it and were willing to sacrifice pretty much all of the norms of their life to now accept this message because it wasn't an easy thing to do.

At the same time, there were people who, first, didn't think much of that message, didn't pay much attention. There were those who, from the very first time they heard it, they were completely averse to it, they couldn't stand it and their aversion and their animosity only increased over time. And as the messenger constantly tried to get the message out and remind people, he saw very few results over the course of several years.

Allah's Guidance on the Role of a Messenger

So what should have been a large following was still really minuscule compared to what the population of the city, of the town was, compared to what his actual audience was. So it started seeming like he's not getting anywhere. And at this occasion, Allah tells him a very important reminder.

"So remind, you are only a reminder."

It's a very powerful statement in the Quran. Remind. He didn't even say remind them فَذَكِّرْهُمْ . Just remind. By not even mentioning them in the statement, he says then remind. You know what that does? It makes you unconcerned about what happens with them. That's not your job.

Your job isn't to save anyone. They have responsibility for themselves. In another place, for example, before I come finish this ayah, Allah says:

"Tell them the truth is from your master. Whoever wants, they can accept, they can believe. Whoever wants, they can disbelieve. It's your call."

The Messenger's Concern and Allah's Reassurance

In the end, you have to make that decision. The job of a messenger is to remind. But since the messenger knows for a fact, what is going to happen to these people, if they don't take benefit of this reminder, what is ahead of them? He starts worrying about them.

He starts becoming more and more desperate in trying to get, how can I convince you that what I'm trying to tell you is not for me, it's for you, it's for your good. And so obviously, when people try to see someone trying to convince them constantly, over and over again, to try to sell them something. You know the first assumption a person has? The one trying to convince me of something has some ulterior motive, they have an agenda.

Messengers' Sincerity and Lack of Personal Gain

It's something they want out of me. Why are they making this sale to me? Why are they making this pitch to me so badly? They're desperate to get, there's something behind it. This can't be about me, this has to be about them.

So allegations came to messengers about them pursuing power, them wanting some kind of reward. And so messengers would constantly declare, throughout history, and Quran records similar quotes from different messengers. You know:

"I am not asking you for any compensation."

I'm not asking you for your wealth, for your money. I'm not asking for any of these things. So:

"My reward lies only with Allah, it's nowhere else."

I'm not looking for any other compensation in any way, shape or form.

Allah's Support for His Messenger

So when the messengers did that, they're not asking for a compensation, they're just delivering this message, no strings attached, and the idea is it's something for you, not even for me. You know, it's something that will sort your relationship out with the one who created you.

And still they didn't see a response from so many people, they would start worrying to death. And one of the things that would happen is they would start thinking, some of them including our messenger, maybe I'm not doing my part, maybe I'm not doing enough, maybe, you know, something's missing in me because they keep pointing out flaws in me, maybe I haven't done enough. And then Allah comes to the aid of His messenger, and He tells them, no, no, there's nothing wrong with you.

"You are on an incredible character."

You don't have to worry about anything. There's nothing wrong with you. Someone who took this incredible reminder from an incredible character like you, and they couldn't benefit from that, clearly the wrong is on their side. The wrong is on their side. So you don't have to worry yourself.

The Prophet's Deep Concern for His People

And the messenger would worry himself so much that Allah mentions in Surah Al-Kahf, He says:

"Are you gonna kill yourself with grief? Are you gonna literally destroy yourself because of the consequences of their disbelief? If they don't believe in this speech, out of grief for them, is that what you're gonna do?"

So Allah basically tells them, don't worry about it. Here He says, فَذَكِّرْ You just remind, tunnel vision. Your job is to remind, not to convert, not to see results, not to see people accept Islam and enter into the religion in false.

Guidance Belongs to Allah Alone

That's none of you. You have nothing to do with that stuff. You know, in Ali Imran, the messenger got really upset at one point with the Quraysh. And the ayat came down:

"You're not responsible to guide them. Allah guides whoever He wants."

It came directly to messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, it's not your job literally to convert them, to guide them. Allah guides whoever He wants. Your job, to remind.

In this ayah, He says فَذَكِّرْ Just remind.

"You are nothing but a means to deliver reminder over and over again."

The word مُذَكِّر means someone who reminds continually. Just keep on reminding, that is your job as a messenger. Keep on reminding people what their purpose in life is.

"You are not in any way, shape or form an authority, you know, a controller over them. You're not there to watch over them."

The Muslim Approach to Dawah

That's not your job. And that's the exact attitude Muslims take as an inspiration from the messenger himself, peace and blessings be upon him. That's the Muslim position on dawah. When we give someone dawah, our job is to do justice to what Allah commanded His messenger to do, remind.

Do justice to the act of reminding. Do your best to try to remind someone. That's it. What happens after that, you should be sincere, you should be worried. But know that you're not in the authority to do anything. And if our reminders are sincere, who knows, maybe it takes a year or 10 years, but a person might come around just because our reminder was sincere.

The Reality of Teaching and Learning

You know, my teacher used to tell me, when you make dawah, you give speeches or teach even, teach even a word to anybody, it's not your words that teach anyone. You know, your words have no effect. They fall on somebody's ears, but their passage from their ears into their minds, into understanding, and into their hearts, and into their action, those doors are locked.

And the only one who can say, kun, and open those doors, and have that one word effect, is Allah. So you could be, it could be the case where someone's given a speech to a thousand people, right? And there's a massive audience listening to this one person speak. And Allah decides this, in that two-hour speech, or in that 10-year sermon, or decades of sermons, centuries of sermons by Nuh, peace be upon him, there's gonna be this one word he says, that one day, that's gonna just make its way through into somebody's heart.

That's by Allah's kun, that's it, that one day, that it happened. That's not Nuh, peace be upon him, that's not Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, that's Allah opening a door. That's it.

Allah as the Turner of Hearts

So in a dua, we say:

"O the one who turns the hearts," as we say about Allah.

So our job is not to convince, debates are futile. We've reduced Islam into debates, proving Quran is the word of Allah, or proving that Islam is true, etc., etc., and just knocking heads.

The Futility of Debates

A lot of times people that debate, they're really bad at sports. And so they find entertainment in debate. And we end up giving them exactly what they want, just to boost on their ego. They're not debating you because they're looking for purpose in life, they're just debating you because they get high off of it. That's a high for them, to make you feel stupid, and to just constantly pointed criticism after criticism. And you're going through all these different hoops to try to answer this and that, and the other, you know.

Following the Prophet's Example

And yet look at what the messenger is being told. Let them make their accusations. They didn't come with one accusation, he's insane, okay. Nowadays, orientals will say, he has schizophrenia, that's why the ayats are so sporadic. What's so different? It's the same thing. Then they said, you know, he just wants leadership in our town. Now they said he had political motives. There's a PhD paper written about the political motives of Muhammad, right. So, I mean, how is it any different? It's the same thing.

But through all of this, instead of busying himself convincing people, no, no, I'm not insane. No, no, no, I'm not after your money. No, no, no, this is not my agenda, that's not my agenda. You just keep on reminding.

Allah's Defense of His Messenger

And actually it's Allah who came to the aid of His messenger. He told the messenger himself:

"You're not insane at all."

Doesn't matter what the entire world says, I'm telling you, Allah is telling you, you're not insane, now you don't have to worry about what they say. And what's awesome is in the same surah where he began with, مَا أَنتَ بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ بِمَجْنُونٍ At the end of that surah he says, say that for sure he's insane. By the time you get to the end of that surah, it's like the beginning, Allah already told him, you're not insane, don't worry about it.

By the time you get to the end of that surah, those words don't even carry any weight anymore. Those words are no longer hurtful for the messenger. Let him say it. You already know you're not. You've already been told by Allah you're not.

Our Attitude Towards Conversion

So that's our attitude towards converting, if you will, converting others. Our job is not to convert anyone. Our job is to deliver a message and do justice to delivering it the way the messenger delivered it.

The Importance of Character in Dawah

I'll just say one last thing about delivering the message of Islam. Because I think we take a very shallow, simplistic kind of look at this issue of how to deliver the message of Islam. One of the most fundamental ingredients in the messenger's dawah, in the messenger inviting people to Islam, what gave it strength was his character. He had legitimacy, he had credibility.

He was known as the honest, the truthful. He had intelligence, he had credence within the community. He was known as someone people can rely on. If you don't have those things, if you don't have those qualities as a person, or as a community, if you don't have those qualities, then you're not in a position to speak about high ideals.

The Hypocrisy of Poor Character

It's like the guy who comes late at work everyday and he's giving a lecture about punctuality. It doesn't carry any weight. It means nothing. It's pointless. It's actually a joke. It's a mockery. You are the last person that should be talking about higher ideals.

If Islam is a call to your purpose in life, part of that is justice, and ethics, and morality, and concern for humanity. If we display none of these things, we're the last people to show patience, we're the last to control our tongues, we're the last to... These basic human qualities that any human being can appreciate.

The Prophet's Universal Qualities

The messenger had qualities that even the kuffar appreciated, right? Before Islam. Before any teachings came that you have to be this way or that way, he had universally good qualities. These are qualities that you don't have to be Muslim to appreciate. If we don't have those qualities, forget dawah. What dawah are you making? You don't possess the basic ingredients to be able to deliver this message.

Conclusion

So I pray that we're able to understand what it means to deliver this message, and we're able to understand that our job isn't to convert, but to remind and fulfill the prerequisites of what it means to become a person who delivers reminder. May Allah make all of us in the ummah deliverers of reminder, and do justice to the sunnah of the messenger, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him.

BarakAllahu li walakum.