Purpose
There are diverse real life situations we find ourselves in, where we can play a vital role in conveying the call. I intend to share with you through this blog a few real life practical tips on how to possibly start a Dawah conversation and effectively convey the call in scenarios other than street Dawah.
These suggestions are mainly for those who are eager to actually engage in some sort of low level Dawah. Others could take some lessons and inspiration from this!
To make things more relate-able and rather applicable, the style I am going to use is “thinking potentially from inside of the mind of a person in their respective situations and contexts.”
Scenario 1
At the office….
You’ve been preparing yourself for the last few weeks to just go for it…You are now determined to spark a Da’wah conversation with your next door desk holder. Yes! This is it!!!
You think to yourself: Shall I start a random conversation about the office and then somehow link it to Islam? Or break a pencil in 2 & then holding it up in the air, make a small cross bow; start a discussion on the philosophy of things breaking into two, and then somehow using physics and metaphysics link the discussion to the existence of God? Or discuss last night’s footy? Or what?!!
Well, if you have these thoughts in your mind, you’ve wayyyyyy over thought this!
You are worrying about the smallest details a little too much! The initiation of a Da’wah invitation is not fake. It’s not a skit or a theater display. It is every day human thinking and emotions. If you are truly showing amazing mannerisms at the office, the opportunity shall present itself!
Check yourself before diving deep into serious Da’wah talks, it will help you and it will help your mission.
See if you can tick the following boxes:
✅ Have I always cleaned and tidied up the office washroom after wudhu?
✅ Have I made extra effort when it comes to punctuality? (Always the first into the office way before time?)
✅ Have I shown utmost chivalry, polite manners, general charm to my colleagues? (Always smiling, always helpful, never exaggerating or telling a lie!)
✅ Have I explained my position at the outset, maybe not at the interview but the first day? (The prayer timings, the not so fixed Eid Dates? Why it is desirable, out of a ‘beyond this world/unique ‘ respect, that you cannot shake the hands of someone who isn’t your wife/sister/mother/ mahram?) (Oh what’s a mahram? Well…Here is your chance, explain away!) Why you prefer cafes, classy restaurants, juice bars over pubs/bars!) Did you put all of this forward using all the positive words and emotive language indicating a request rather than a command.
If you have ticked even a couple of the above, then its a good start. So if your bases are covered and you’ve already built an amazing image of yourself in your colleagues minds, then whatever you say (unless it is UnIslamic) will be welcomed and taken with consideration.
Another key mindset to have is that you can turn the latest news headlines (2017 era) into your advantage. Rather than trying to avoid eye contact after something negative towards Muslims has been plastered all over the news, be prepared to answer curious questions from your fellow colleagues. This is your chance to remove the misconceptions and then discuss tawheed and why Allah SWT deserve worship. The news is helping you to start a Dawah conversation!
Scenario 2
Housewives in a large town or suburbs!
You and your family have chosen to live in England and so, yes! You will always be very special. How? You may be thinking? Well…
You thought you have to cook for your family only, or maybe clean for them alone?
Wrong!!!
You will have to always think about Mrs. Smith to your right, Mr.& Mrs. Jones to your left & Sir Bradley a couple of houses away. You will have to make it a ritual to cook something very nice, perhaps once or twice a month and send it round with love and care!
And whilst visiting, offer to tidy up for them too.
If you are meeting elderly women, ask if you can call them “Aunty”, and as you see them as your Aunty, offer short massages.
This and other basic manners in Islam will automatically create comfort and trust and the questions will automatically be pouring in. “So Zainab, how long have you been wearing this hijab? Do you mind if I ask, don’t you feel hot sometimes? I am sorry if I ask” OR “Why does it have to be halal?” Or even “So why are these Muslims killing each other in Syria?”
Answer with a beaming smile and hot cuppa, answer in a warm and compassionate manner. Never become defensive. If the discussion is getting long then introduce bits of GORAP.
Depending on comfort and connection, you can also dare to ask questions, like, “So Mrs. Smith, if you don’t mind, I’ve always wanted to ask you…?”
Whether or not they accept Islam; whether or not you were able to articulate your answers and explain Islam correctly, what matters is that you conveyed the call! In the circumstances and with your limited abilities, you tried something. Now you just need to build upon this.
Scenario 3
At School…
Yes, conceded and very tricky. Kids at school can be vicious. One wrong move and that’s it fella! Game over for you! So what does this mean?
Well, see this as an extra incentive to simply be the best! Yes!!!
strive to become the best cricketer, footballer, martial artist and so on! this translates to extra practice; more than anyone, that in turn makes one extra fit. Extra fit >>>>
extra cool>>> extra compliments.
Be Always in tune with the latest fashion sense, the best perfumes and you gotta be the best smiling guy at school, (beware of the Fitna of girls and help yourself with fasting regularly !!!) best hairstyle, tidy, clean, swag young bro!
Of course extra, extra tuition, because you HAVE to be the best student, excelling above all!
This could really help towards an image that would make other school kids explain:
“OH! Abdul, yeah he’s oright! Him…” that is a huge praise from an English white Non-Muslim school kid!
So you will naturally see other boys wanting to be your mate. They won’t mind at all that you quietly slip away sometimes and do some sort of prayers and that you avoid music, dancing and girls…!
Then after a few months have gone by and you have established yourself as one of the cool guys at school. This is when you always be there for advice. Become and adviser. Always ask, in the coolest and chilled out way, how’s the family? what do you get up to at the weekends and so on. Yes, this can be tricky ground. Especially in a group conversation and banter. But its the ‘one to one’ situations and conversations where you can potentially have ‘deep’ conversations about the purpose of life. share inspirational short videos from channels like ‘the merciful servant or the daily reminder’ and others. Get their opinion..
Try it!
So again, the above are theoretical examples and may even completely sound not doable. But perhaps its got you thinking? perhaps you could come up with your own strategy? or something that you could potentially try.
Many are fearful & simply do not know where to begin! So I hope, more than anything, some confidence and hope could be taken away from these ideas.
As always, This blog is merely a discussion starter. This extremely brief piece is open to suggestions, to be improved upon and built upon. I always advocate thinking outside the box and get some of our brain cells ticking in all matters related to the Dawah.
May Allah SWT aid you in your efforts and give you the courage to start Dawah conversations with any one and everyone!
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakhatuhu
My name is Ismail and I’m doing Dawah for some neglected categories of people. Please read my full article carefully.
Who are the Spiritualists?
A Spiritualist is someone who does not subscribe to any particular religion or dogma. They believe there is truth in all religions. They believe that God expresses Himself in all religions of the world and that everyone’s love for God is right for them. Thus, they say there’s no such thing as the only right way or the only true religion.
They believe there is a domain of awareness in which they “experience universality”.
Their holy book might be any holy book but they believe that whatever God said in that particular holy book is not the guidance of one religion but rather they believe it with regard to which religion is involved.
They don’t use phrases such as: “my religion” or “our religion” because they aren’t proud of any religion they are born into.
They sometimes ask questions but they never judge other religions, Islam or not. What means is that they never mock Prophet Muhammad or criticise any teachings of Islam or ask abusive questions. Even if they do have opinions in their mind they never let other people know. They keep all their doubts and disbelief to themselves till they go to their graves because they don’t want other people to regard them as being “prejudiced”. They always want to put a “peaceful” front.
They believe in most of the things Muslims believe in such as One God, angels, Predestination of Fate, and the Preserved Tablet.
How do we Muslims differ from the Spiritualists?
We believe that after the arrival of Prophet Muhammad (saw), Islam is the only true religion on the face of the earth. Allah has abrogated all other religions. The Quran is the only available guidance to mankind. We’re happy to say ‘We are Muslims’. We’re proud of our religion. And so are all those who converted to Islam!
Who are the Consciencists?
A Consciencist has some of the beliefs a Spiritualist has but differs a lot. For instance, they believe in one God and do not subscribe to any particular religion. They also do not believe there is such a thing as the one true religion.
However, they have a totally different outlook on religion. The following statement will reveal their beliefs:
[We don’t confuse religion with belief in God. Religion (including Islam) exists only to control the masses. There is a big difference between RELIGION and GOD. Religion is a governmental body and in many cases devoid of any faith at all. FAITH and LOVE for God is an individually cultivated relationship. If people could put religion away and cultivate the personal relationship with God, we wouldn’t need religion or any other walls that keep us divided and conquered.]
The next statement reveals their belief in human conscience as being better than any Holy book in the world:
[One can live without religion but cannot live without God, because when there is no God, there is no conscience, and if there is no conscience, a human turns into an animal. Conscience is the best advisor and the severest judge. Our conscience is a sanctuary for God within our souls. It is through this instrument that the Almighty is guiding our spirit and is teaching us how to live and what to do.]
Consciencists place great importance on good works rather than faith. They say:
[If we distance ourselves from the people’s deeds almost every religion is very nice.
However it is in the name of their very good religions that very often people do horrible things – Christians and Muslims alike. In other words, the better the religion is, the harsher its followers would be. So the deeds are the real test of the people’s faith and nothing else matters but what a human being does and not what he preaches. All the rest is hypocrisy, whichever name you give to it, Christianity, Islam or Buddhism.
Formally there are many “true” Christians or “true” Muslims, but when it comes to their deeds it often turns out that their deeds are incompatible with what they preach. So the ultimate test is what people do and not what they claim they believe in.
If all people displayed towards each other their best human qualities, there wouldn’t be any need to migrate from one religion to another, choosing the “best” one. Because all religions would be taking a human being to the same result – coming closer to God and being like Him.]
They believe that even an atheist can earn Paradise if they do good deeds!! They say:
[Even if atheists do something good just to please people they help, they are pleasing God this way as each of us is His child.]
To their credit, they claim to have their whole selves willingly submitted to God and they don’t like to have intermediaries between them and God.
How do we differ from the Consciencists?
RELIGION and FAITH:
We believe that Islam is not only a religion but it is also a complete way of life and is present in every field of human existence. Islam provides guidance for all aspects of life – individual and social, material and moral, economic and political, legal and cultural, and national and international. The Quran enjoins mankind to embrace Islam without any reservation and to follow God’s guidance in all areas of life.
PEACE AND HARMONY:
When Nabi, (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam), appeared, the world was divided between two main superpowers, the Persians and the Byzantines, who used to fight each other causing a lot of suffering to their people, let alone their tyrannical and repressive regimes.
At the same time, false beliefs and creeds prevailed; people were wandering away from God’s revelations which were mixed up with superstition and falsehood. Social conditions had also deteriorated; despotism, tyranny, bloodshed were dominant, and human dignity had been lost and morals were perverted.
Amidst this dark time, the Message of Islam arrived to steer mankind back to unblemished morality and right practices, and to anchor people to the infallible Revelation. Islam’s Message arrived to provide guidance, to draw mankind to the light of God and to lead people to bliss and happiness.
The first thing that Islam did was to free people from the slavery of worshipping other deities and to relieve them from the shackles of tyranny. Its purpose is to unite humankind under the One true God, never to cause divisions among them!
REVELATION AND CONSCIENCE:
As Muslims we believe in the Quran as the literal word and a guidance from Allah. Allah says:
“And thus, We have sent to you O Muhammad a revelation, and a mercy of Our Command. You knew not what the Book is, nor what is Faith. But We have made it (this Quran) a light wherewith We guide whosoever of Our slaves We will. And verily, you O Muhammad are indeed guiding (humankind) to the Straight Path.” (Quran 42:52)
Therefore, there is no way to learn the rulings of God, which have to do with His commands and prohibitions, except through His Messengers. Whoever says that he has taken the ruling of Allah from his heart or from what he received in his heart through intuition, and that he acts upon that and thus has no need of the Scriptures, has claimed for himself the unique qualities of Prophethood, because this is like what the Prophet (pbuh) said: “The Holy Spirit [i.e., Jibreel] told me in my heart…”
GOOD WORKS:
If one’s basic concept of the Oneness of God is flawed their moral behaviour and values mean very little. God tells us clearly about the greatest losers on the Day of Judgement.
“Shall We tell you the greatest losers in respect of (their) deeds? (They are) those whose efforts have been wasted in this life while they thought that they were acquiring good by their deeds. They are those who deny the proofs, evidence, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc. of their Lord and the Meeting with Him (in the Hereafter). So their (good) works are in vain, and on the Day of Resurrection, We shall assign no weight for them.” (Quran 18: 103-105)
So how about the one who do good works while rejecting faith in God???
“The parable of those who reject their Lord is that their works are as ashes, on which the wind blows furiously on a tempestuous day: No power have they over aught that they have earned: that is the straying far, far (from the goal). [Quran 14 Ibraheem]
Who are the Omnists?
Omnism is the recognition and respect of all religions; those who hold this belief are called Omnists. They accept the existence of various religions without believing in all that they profess to teach. Many omnists say that all religions contain truths, but that no one religion offers all that is truth.
Omnism neither espouses nor opposes particular beliefs about God. Instead, it affirms the necessity of one arriving at an understanding of reality based on personal experience, engagement, and inquiry, and an acceptance of the validity and legitimacy of the differing understandings of others.
Like Spiritualists and Consciencists, Omnists too believe in God and do not subscribe to any particular religion. However, Omnists do not pray to God alone!
For instance, one of the famous Omnists called Ellen Burstyn says:
“I can visualize it (=God) in different ways. I always pray to Spirit, but sometimes it’s to the Goddess. Sometimes it’s to Jesus. For me, Jesus is my guru. I think he’s a magnificent teacher. And he’s always available to me when I want him. If I close my eyes, he’s there.
Sometimes I pray to Ganesha if I need an obstacle removed. Quan Yin is one of my favorite manifestations of the divine, the embodiment of compassion. If we forget our compassion, we slide into blame and judgment and criticism too easily. So I have Quan Yin with me all the time.”
Many Omnists don’t even know who God is. Another famous Omnist called Chris Martin. In a 2008 interview he said:
“I’m always trying to work out what ‘He’ or ‘She’ is. I don’t know if it’s Allah or Jesus or Mohammed or Zeus. But I’d go for Zeus.”
How do we differ from the Omnists?
“If anyone desires a religion other than (the religion of) Islam, never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter He will be in the ranks of those who have lost. [3 Al-Imran]
As Muslims we know that we cannot practice other religions nor it is necessary to do so because our religion is the complete way of life which makes it unnecessary to take things from other religions.
We must do something to invite these people to Islam. Because these people are not only misguided but they misguide others as well. If they happen to be celebrities, all hell breaks lose. Even Muslims are falling into their traps and turning to Sufism!
Many Christians have stopped attending church. This process is taking place everywhere in the world.
Here are some of the names of present-day celebrities that misguide millions of people:
Michael Jackson, Lee and Annette Woofenden, Omar Shariff etc etc
We CANNOT use the same methods we use for those who follow a particular religion such as the Christians, Hindus etc.
For example, we cannot talk about the contradictions in the Bible. They don’t care whether Jesus wore blue cloak or purple. They pay attention to only his words: “Love thy neighbour”.
We cannot compare the atrocities done by Christians with the atrocities done by Muslims. To them ‘all the same’.
We need to use different methods and approach them ourselves. I’d very much like you to pay attention to these people and come up with ideas on how to invite these people to Islam. Please share your ideas with me via rapunzal388@gmail.com. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.
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yes we should not be defensive during Da’wah conversations, I’ll try to implement this technique Insha’Allah, seems very useful
that is very useful one .We shall first be a good example so one can listen to us in office school or with neighbours
Jzk Khair
Very useful tips
we need to show our manners. People do notice how you normaly treat them, or how You deal everything. Your behavior is your reflection.
jzk for the tips
jazakallah khair sir and yes there’s no doubt that good manners open many ways to start the conversation ……Inn Shaa Allah work on it
Jazak Allah khair .Add to this, that Dawah becomes harder when you try to speak with someone about somthing and he trys to convinse you that the thing which he is doing is right, don’t do somthing bad more than others and all people doing like that…etc. What i mean is that bad things outbreak between people, become familiar and hard to change. What should i do in such sitiuation?
Do explain more sister. Perhaps give some examples?
Jzk
what does it mean by low level dawah ? is it one to one ?
Where does this say it?
it is written in the start !
Low level as in one to one, informal. A lot of people think dawah has to always be hype, huge lectures, big audiences and so on. High level type.. but as we’ve learnt, dawah has many styles and types
Ok thank you for clarifying
JazakAllah khairan kaseerah.
Amazing blog..
Yess firstly we have to adopt good manners.✔️
Jazak Allah for sharing such amazing tips. And undeniably, before engaging in dawah, we’ve to work on ourselves first. We should be humble, kind, and generous to others. We shouldn’t escape from the responsibilities that we owe to the place where we work/study/live. Once we manage to build our positive image, people would begin trusting us, or at least they would listen to us. And lastly, we can just convey the message of Tawhid, leaving the rest to Allah for He says, “And Allah guides whom He wills to the straight path”.(Al Baqarah:213)
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Jazak Allah brother for sharing such amazing tips. And undeniably, before engaging in dawah, we’ve to work on ourselves first. We should be humble, kind, and generous towards others, and most importantly, we shouldn’t escape from the responsibilities we owe to the place where we work/live/study. Once we manage to create our positive image, people would trust our words, or at least they wouldn’t mind listening to us. And lastly, we could just convey a message of Tawhid, leaving the rest to Allah for He says, “And Allah guides those whom he wills to the straight path.”(Surah Al Baqarah: 213)
Interesting read!