SISTERS IN THE DAWAH..

I have always felt, for a very long time, that sisters could and should be involved in active dawah. They are always enthusiastic and more keen than brothers. There are  millions of  females in the world that need dawah and the best way to reach out to them is through sisters daees!

Sisters find it difficult to get actively involved  in street Da’wah owing to safety & other concerns, but, there are various other Da’wah options they can explore, to fulfill their passion for Da’wah, like doing Da’wah at university campuses. Dawah Within their immediate and extended families, neighbourhood, workplace and other spheres of social interaction.

The underlying tip is: where there’s a will…there’s always a way!

so will power can create all sorts of situations and open doors for dawah activity to flourish!

In this blog i will be focussing on a street dawah table or University campus dawah table or any other places where a dawah table could be placed. This is the main context to this blog, but these ideas could be utiliser elsewhere other than street dawah.

The focus of this blog is dawah to Non-Muslims, but can be applied to every human in general

Firstly if you could embed within your mind that you are eager and enthusiastic to call people and more specifically women of the world to the worship of Allah swt then this mindset will always open and create ways for you!

Secondly, combining  willpower + thinking outside the box and then reflecting upon your daily schedule, look at your social circles and see where you could potentially engage in dawah. As individuals, we should be constantly talking about Islam with everyone we know anyway, but i am trying  to evoke ideas where collective dawah could be done.

Find a likeminded sister.

Have a look at the city/town you’re in and it’s forthcoming events.

Family festivals, indoor or outdoor conferences, book a slot/table/ stall , motivate a small team of sisters, take permission of your mahrams and go forth! its not hard!

University/ college campuses are also a ‘safe’ place for sisters to have a dawah table.

Islamic conferences, where you get all sorts of people: non practising sisters, sisters with doubts about Islam, hadith rejectors, qadiyanis and even the odd Non Muslim! Plenty of people to engage with!

Organise halaqahs in your own home, make a small poster and invite the teenagers and non practising women of your neighborhood for a weekly discussion circle! prepare a small reminder and think of  questions for discussion.

Your hijab and smile are your biggest tools of dawah. Even if you do not initiate a dawah conversation, people will ask you! ‘don’t you feel hot or suffocated in that’? ‘Do you wear this because you are commanded by men to wear it’!! and so on. You should smile, mentally inside your head rub your hands with glee and use this as an opportunity to talk about Islam!

STALL SITUATIONS:

A common question. Well by default we should be seeking constant knowledge anyway. So that goes without saying. In regards to dawah training, then there are plenty of online resources available to learn some particular arguments or styles to inspire a non Muslim to Islam.

Our basis and mindset is based upon the premise that each and every single human being has a natural fitrah to recognise and worship One God. But this natural disposition gets clouded over the years due to materialism, ignorance and upbringing. As budding sister duaat, your job is to uncover this innate nature through not only rational arguments to prove the truth of Islam but through amazing manners, discussing your own experiences, love and affection and all sorts of other means. Rational arguments about the existence of God, the miraculous nature of the Quran and prophethood are just one means not the only means. So in a way, we are trying to awaken the truth within!

Where possible, you can arrange dawah training from iERA or other active dawah orgs. This is something i am involved in too, so at the very least something online could be arranged.

Lastly, you sisters, constantly being on the dawah stalls, making mistakes, learning from them IS the best dawah training you can get! Dont be afraid of not knowing an answer, dawah training continues throughout our lives!

As a sister your focus should be on women, because, guys will get the wrong impression and there is a chance that you will draw more negativity from the crowds towards the activity and the purpose will be lost.

However, if a guy comes to the Da’wah stall with curiosity about Islam, you should answer his question and if the discussion is getting prolonged and growing deeper you can refer them to a scholar or a student of knowledge for further clarity. The tone has to be ‘professional, warm’ but formal. When it comes to interacting with the opposite sex, then formal with a view of passing or moving them along to the other stall! As opposed to ignoring or rudely telling a guy to go away!

With sisters you have  to be warm and hospitable. Greet them happily, with a smile and be open like you are with your friends and family during parties, weddings etc. They should feel comfortable and welcome around you. You have to be forthcoming and its your duty to break the ice to start a conversation. Explore and see if they have any questions already or something they would like to discuss and generate interest in the conversation. Basically you have to present Islam in a beautiful a way as the religion is. Sweetly. Peacefully.

To gain confidence and super confidence…engage in dawah constantly! Dawah is an amazing tool to give you confidence boosts in life generally! Talking to random people is a great way to overcome your social interaction fears!

There are different ways of giving Da’wah.

How you attract people towards your Da’wah stall and the campaign is really important.

Following are a few things that can help:

*Decorate the table with the catchy dawah  articles  (iERA & Youth Club have some of the best dawah cards ) and patiently wait for people to come to you.

*You go to the people with a clear idea of what you want to say and how.

*Have intriguing posters or banners on and around your Da’wah stall.

*Don’t lie.

*Don’t make up things.

*Don’t be afraid to say I don’t know and I will  get back to you.

*Don’t get defensive.

*Winning the debate is not your goal, winning the person is!

Let your focus be on everybody not just non Muslims!

Our Muslim youth are going astray too. They are finding it hard to keep the faith and stay steadfast under this unbearable pressure of the media and society. A few of them are becoming Christians, Atheists, etc. They too need reminders; it’s easier to give dawah to a Muslim than a non Muslim. There’s a lot of emotion involved and a much more spiritual affair.