Da'wah & Tabligh - The Work of Acceptance

We must understand what Da'wah and Tabligh is. The Ulama of Haqq who carry this work as the mission of their lives have studied this work based on evidences from the Qur'an, the Ahadith and the lives of the Sahabah RA. In this day and age people carelessly say that there are so many ways or preferences. How is it such a high work has no standard? or tertib? or methodology? Yet it is not so sophisticated or complex to understand, or require rgeat ability and skill.

The thing is, this work is the work of Allah SWT. And in this work, it does not depend on how talented a person is. Rather, in this work, the most important thing is that how can a person be accepted by Allah SWT.

Acceptance is the criteria for this work, not the talents and not the abilities. And because we do not have this in our environment, so what we think is:

"...let's bring people i.e. the people who are talented to do this work."

But the reality is, this work is for those people who are accepted by Allah. It happens to that point, that a person who does not have any qualities or any abilities or any talents, so what? When he comes through the way of acceptance of Allah, he becomes so talented and Allah gives him so much that he exceeds those people who have talent. And if Allah wishes - those who have talent cannot even utilise or take benefit from their own talents. This is the way of acceptance of Allah; this is how Allah Ta'ala accepts a person. And it happens that when Allah Ta'ala desires to accept a person, this person has to go through different tests and trials. Different decisions and circumstances are put on this person. This person has to go through these circumstances and conditions. And while passing through these different tests, trials, and conditions, this person reaches a level that he becomes acceptable to Allah Ta'ala.

Because Allah Ta'ala chooses; He says:

"[...from the people he wants to do the work."

So when Allah Ta'ala chooses a person, that person has to go through various tests and trials, so that different benefits can enter the person. He goes through all that, so that through that, different qualities become embedded in the person. And because of these qualities, this person becomes accepted by Allah.

Allah Ta'ala mentions about the Prophet Ibrahim AS that he underwent so many tests, and Ibrahim AS passed all those tests. And when he passed all those tests, Allah Ta'ala chose him as Imam, as Imam of the
Millat (belief), and Imam of the Deen. Allah Ta'ala chose him. This is what the acceptance of Allah Ta'ala is; that when a person goes through this process, then Allah chooses him and selects him. And this is the most important thing - i.e. how can a person get accepted by Allah Ta'ala?

First of all, every worker of Deen must assess his personal life. This is very essential and very important. Shaykha Muhammad Ilyas Khandalwi RahA used to say that Allah Ta'ala will protect this work with such people that have the qualities to carry out this work. The people with such qualities and such attributes that they will carryout this work, then through them, Allah will protect the effort.

As such, there are four things that must come in the life of a human being;

the first is 'Ibadah,

then Akhlaaq,

then Mu'amalat, and

then Mu'asharat.

Ibadah is between a person and Allah.

The rest - Akhlaaq, Mu'amalat and Mu'asharat- i.e. the character of a person, the dealings of a person, the social life of a person; this is between a person and other people. Between a person andAllah, there is just one aspect; between a person and other people, thereare three aspects.

That's why, Shaykh Muhammad Yusuf Khandalwi RahA, in Hayatus Sahabah, has written a chapter where he has written how through the Akhlaaq of the Sahabah RA, Allah SWT gave Hidayah to other people. Their Akhlaaq, their character, their dealings and their Mu'amalat became a means of Hidayah for other people. The first thing which a person is tested is in his patience.

One Jewish scholar once came to Rasulullah SAW, and he wanted to test Rasulullah SAW in his patience, to see if he was really a nabi, and to see the dealings of Rasulullah SAW. And he dealt with Rasulullah SAW very harshly, and very rudely. But as harshly as he dealt with Rasulullah SAW, Rasulullah SAW showed even more patience. Patience and forbearance are signs of prophethood. He showed more patience, because Ambiya AS are given this quality of patience. They had so much patience, that whatever conditions come upon them, they would make Sabr and have patience on those conditions, until the decision of Allah Ta'ala comes forth. They tolerated those conditions and had patience so that Allah Ta'ala can open the doors of Hidayah for them.

The temperament of a Da'iee is one of patience and tolerance, and thus these must be adopted in the lives of every worker of Da'wah and Tabligh. The life of Rasulullah SAW before Prophethood was such that he was considered "Sadiqul Ameen", that he was truthful, pure, and trustworthy. Rasulullah SAW had all these qualities, even before prophethood, because he was in a position where he frequently had to deal with people. That is why we are told again and again that we should read Hayatus Sahabah, and we should carry out this effort according to the temperament and the methodology that is shown through the lives of the Sahabah. If we carry it out in this manner, then our efforts will be accepted. But if we do not read it, or keep these examples in front of us, and the life of Rasulullah SAW is not in front of us, then we will deviate from that path.

So if we are not guided, then how will we carry out this work with what? With cheating with one another, lying with one another, betraying one another, hating one another. And we will carry out the work in this manner. And what will happen next is that the work will be destroyed. People leave the work because of the lack of example they see around them, and the worst thing happen - they don't get involved in the work. They only become Abids, in their own spiritual comfort zone, which is also wrong and sinful, because this work is the work of all - scholars or non-scholars.

That is why it is very necessary to recognise that the first quality that the Ambiya AS developed was the quality of patience, and we have to bring this quality inside ourselves. And the more a person has patience, the more Allah SWT will use him as a means of Hidayah. There is a chapter in Hayatus Sahabah which mentions those qualities of Rasulullah SAW which were linked to the Hidayah of other people; among those, the first quality mentioned was that of patience. So we must bring this quality inside us. If we spend three days with full tertib, InshaAllah we will gain guidance.

The Prophet Muhammad SAW's Journey To Taif

For nine years, since his selection by Allah for His mission, the Prophet Muhammad SAW had been delivering the message of Allah in Makkah and making all-out efforts to guide and reform his community. Excepting a few persons who had either embraced Islam or who helped him though not accepting his creed, all the rest in Mecca left no stone unturned in persecuting and deriding him and his followers.

His uncle Abu Talib was one of those good-hearted people who helped him, in spite of his not entering into the fold of Islam. The following year, on the death of Abu Talib, the Quraish got a free hand and therefore accelerated their sinister pursuits without check and hindrance.

At Taif, the second biggest town of Hijaz, there lived Banu Thaqif, a clan strong in number. The Prophet SAW left for Taif with the hope of winning them over to Islam, thus giving quarter to Muslims from the persecution of the Quraish, and also establishing a base for the future propagation of Islam. On reaching Taif he visited the three chieftains of the clan separately, and placed before each of them the message of Allah, and called upon them to stand by his Prophet's SAW side.

Instead of accepting his message, they refused even to listen to him and, notwithstanding the proverbial Arab hospitality, each of them treated him most contemptuously and rudely. They plainly told him that they did not like his stay in their town. The Prophet SAW had expected a civil, even a cordial treatment and due courtesy in speech from them, as they were the heads of the clan.

But one of them sneered: "Hey, Allah has made you a Prophet!"

The other exclaimed with derision: "Could Allah not lay His hand on anyone else, beside you to make him His Prophet?"

The third one gibed at him: "I do not want to talk to you, for if you are in fact a Prophet, then to oppose you is to invite trouble, and if you only pretend to be one, why should I talk with an impostor?"

The Prophet SAW, who was a rock of steadfastness and perseverance, did not lose heart over this check from the chieftains, and tried to approach the common people; but nobody would listen to him. Instead they asked him to clear off from their own town and go wherever else he liked. When he realised that further efforts were in vain, he decided to leave the town. But they would not let him depart in peace, and set the street urchins after him to hiss, to hoot, to jeer at, and to stone him. He was so much pelted at with stones that his whole body was covered with blood, and his shoes were clogged to his feet. He left the town in this woeful plight.

When he was far out of the town, and safe from the rabble, he prayed to Allah thus:

"O, my Allah! To Thee I complain of the feebleness of my strength, of my lack of resources and my being unimportant in the eyes of people. O, Most Merciful of all those capable of showing Mercy! Thou art the Lord of the weak, and Thou art my own Lord. To whom art Thou to entrust me; to an unsympathetic foe who would sullenly frown at me, or to an alien to whom Thou hast given control over my affairs? Not in the least do I care for anything except that I may have Thy protection for myself. I seek shelter in Your light-the light which illuminates the Heavens and dispels all sorts of darkness, and which controls all affairs in this world as well as in the Hereafter. May it never be that I should incur Thy wrath, or that Thou should be displeased with me. I must remove the cause of Thy displeasure till Thou art pleased. There is no strength nor power but through Thee."

The Heavens were moved by the prayer, and Jibril AS appeared before the Prophet SAW, greeting him with Assalaamu'alaikum and said:

"Allah knows all that has passed between you and these people. He has deputed an angel in charge of the mountains to be at your command."

Saying this, Jibril AS ushered the angel before the Prophet SAW.

The angel greeted the Prophet SAW and said:

"O, Prophet of Allah! I am at your service. If you wish, I can cause the mountains overlooking this town on both sides to collide with each other, so that all the people therein would be crushed to death, or you may suggest any other punishment for them."

The merciful and noble Prophet SAW said:

"Even if these people do not accept Islam, I do hope from Allah that there will be persons from among their progeny who would worship Allah and serve His cause."


Behold the conduct of our noble Prophet SAW, whom we profess to follow! We get so much irritated over a little trouble or a mere abuse from somebody that we keep on torturing and taking our revenge throughout our lives in every possible manner. Does it become people who claim to follow the magnanimous Prophet SAW? Look, even after so much suffering at the hands of the Taif mob, he neither curses them nor does he work for any revenge, even when he has the full opportunity to do so.

(based on the treatise of Sheikhul Hadith Muhammad Zakariyya Khandalwi RA)

The Importance of Da'wah & Tabligh

Allah Ta'ala says in the Noble Qur'an:

"You are the best of nations sent to mankind. You command good and forbid evil and you believe in Allah." (Surah Al-Imraan)

Allah Ta'ala states that one reason for this Ummah being titled as the best of Ummah, is the practice of commanding good and preventing evil.

The Prophet Muhammad SAW said:

"Whosoever from among you witnesses evil, he should change it with his hands. And if he is unable to do so then he should change it with his tongue. And if he is unable to do so with his tongue, then he should at least consider it to be wrong. And this is the weakest stage of Imaan." (Mishkaat)

Nu'maan bin Basheer RA says that Rasulullah SAW gave an example of people sailing on a boat having an upper deck and a lower deck. The people from the lower deck required water and requested water from the people of the upper deck. The people from the upper deck refused to give water so the people from the lower deck decided to make a hole through the floor of the ship and get water from the sea.

Rasulullah SAW explained:

"If the people from the upper deck do not stop the people at the bottom from making a hole, the ship will sink and all the people travelling will drown." (Mishkaat)

Similarly, if people do not prohibit evil and sin in the society, the entire society - innocent and evil - will equally suffer.

Abu Hurairah RA states that Rasulullah SAW said:

"Command good and prohibit evil or else Allah will send such a punishment that will destroy everyone." (Ibid)

The above quotations from the Qur'an and Ahaadith are clear that commanding good and prohibiting evil is an emphasised injunction of Allah and His Rasul, and every Muslim person must carry out this injunction.

All the Prophets AS followed the footsteps of their respective Prophets and after the demise of their Prophet, they carried out the same mission. The Companions of Rasulullah SAW spent their entire lives in commanding good and prohibiting evil.

Since there will be no Prophet to come, every Ummati of Rasulullah SAW is the deputy of the Prophet SAW and he / she has to carry on the mission of the Prophet SAW.

Thus it is imperative for all Muslim to sacrifice their time, wealth and comforts to undergo difficulty and hardships in the path of Allah - to carry out this Sunnah of the Prophets - commanding good and prohibiting evil.

Nevertheless, one must be aware that the purpose of performing da'wah and tabligh is firstly to reform oneself and dutifully save mankind from the fire of Hell.

A Summary - The History Of The Muslim World

The Umayyads
The Umayyad caliphate established in 661 was to last for about a century. During this time Damascus became the capital of an Islamic world which stretched from the western borders of China to southern France. Not only did the Islamic conquests continue during this period through North Africa to Spain and France in the West and to Sind, Central Asia and Transoxiana in the East, but the basic social and legal institutions of the newly founded Islamic world were established.

The Abbasids
The Abbasids, who succeeded the Umayyads, shifted the capital to Baghdad which soon developed into an incomparable center of learning and culture as well as the administrative and political heart of a vast world. They ruled for over 500 years but gradually their power waned and they remained only symbolic rulers bestowing legitimacy upon various sultans and princes who wielded actual military power. The Abbasid caliphate was finally abolished when Hulagu, the Mongol ruler, captured Baghdad in 1258, destroying much of the city including its incomparable libraries. While the Abbasids ruled in Baghdad, a number of powerful dynasties such as the Fatimids, Ayyubids and Mamluks held power in Egypt, Syria and Palestine. The most important event in this area as far as the relation between Islam and the Western world was concerned was the series of Crusades declared by the Pope and espoused by various European kings. The purpose, although political, was outwardly to recapture the Holy Land and especially Jerusalem for Christianity. Although there was at the beginning some success and local European rule was set up in parts of Syria and Palestine, Muslims finally prevailed and in 1187 Saladin, the great Muslim leader, recaptured Jerusalem and defeated the Crusaders. North Africa and Spain When the Abbasids captured Damascus, one of the Umayyad princes escaped and made the long journey from there to Spain to found Umayyad rule there, thus beginning the golden age of Islam in Spain. Cordoba was established as the capital and soon became Europe's greatest city not only in population but from the point of view of its cultural and intellectual life. The Umayyads ruled over two centuries until they weakened and were replaced by local rulers. Meanwhile in North Africa, various local dynasties held sway until two powerful Berber dynasties succeeded in uniting much of North Africa and also Spain in the 12th and 13th centuries. After them this area was ruled once again by local dynasties such as the Sharifids of Morocco who still rule in that country. As for Spain itself, Muslim power continued to wane until the last Muslim dynasty was defeated in Granada in 1492 thus bringing nearly eight hundred years of Muslim rule in Spain to an end. After the Mongol Invasion The Mongols devastated the eastern lands of Islam and ruled from the Sinai Desert to India for a century. But they soon converted to Islam and became known as the Il-Khanids. They were in turn succeeded by Timur and his descendents who made Samarqand their capital and ruled from 1369 to 1500. The sudden rise of Timur delayed the formation and expansion of the Ottoman empire but soon the Ottomans became the dominant power in the Islamic world.

Ottoman Empire
From humble origins the Turks rose to dominate over the whole of Anatolia and even parts of Europe. In 1453 Mehmet the Conqueror captured Constantinople and put an end to the Byzantine empire. The Ottomans conquered much of eastem Europe and nearly the whole of the Arab world, only Morocco and Mauritania in the West and Yemen, Hadramaut and parts of the Arabian peninsula remaining beyond their control. They reached their zenith of power with Suleyman the Magnificent whose armies reached Hungary and Austria. From the 17th century onward with the rise of Westem European powers and later Russia, the power of the Ottomans began to wane. But they nevertheless remained a force to be reckoned with until the First World War when they were defeated by the Westem nations. Soon thereafter Kamal Ataturk gained power in Turkey and abolished the six centuries of rule of the Ottomans in 1924.

Persia
While the Ottomans were concerned mostly with the western front of their empire, to the east in Persia a new dynasty called the Safavids came to power in 1502. The Safavids established a powerful state of their own which flourished for over two centuries and became known for the flowering of the arts. Their capital, Isfahan, became one of the most beautiful cities with its blue tiled mosques and exquisite houses. The Afghan invasion of 1736 put an end to Safavid rule and prepared the independence of Afghanistan which occurred formally in the 19th century. Persia itself fell into turmoil until Nader Shah, the last Oriental conqueror, reunited the country and even conquered India. But the rule of the dynasty established by him was short-lived. The Zand dynasty soon took over to be overthrown by the Qajars in 1779 who made Tehran their capital and ruled until 1921 when they were in turn replaced by the Pahlavis.

India
Islam entered into the land east of the Indus River peacefully. Gradually Muslims gained political power beginning in the early 13th century. But this period which marked the expansion of both Islam and Islamic culture came to an end with the conquest of much of India in 1526 by Babur, one of the Timurid princes. He established the powerful Mogul empire which produced such famous rulers as Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah Jahan and which lasted, despite the gradual rise of British power in India, until 1857 when it was officially abolished.

Malaysia and Indonesia
Farther east in the Malay world, Islam began to spread in the 12th century in northern Sumatra and soon Muslim kingdoms were established in Java, Sumatra and mainland Malaysia. Despite the colonization of the Malay world, Islam spread in that area covering present day Indonesia, Malaysia, the southern Philippines and southern Thailand, and is still continuing in islands farther east.

Africa
Many Sahabah RA first migrated to Abyssinia today known as Ethiopia. The Abyssinian King Najash granted the Sahabah asylum there and permitted them to practise and propagate Islam. Therefore, Islam in North Africa first spread to Abyssinia. Islam thus entered into East Africa at the very beginning of the Islamic period but remained confined to the coast for some time, only the Sudan and Somaliland becoming gradually both Arabized and Islamized. West Africa felt the presence of Islam through North African traders who travelled with their camel caravans south of the Sahara. By the 14th century there were already Muslim sultanates in such areas as Mali, and Timbuctu in West Africa and Harar in East Africa had become seats of Islamic learning. Gradually Islam penetrated both inland and southward. There also appeared major charismatic figures who inspired intense resistance against European domination. The process of the Islamization of Africa did not cease during the colonial period and continues even today with the result that most Africans are now Muslims carrying on a tradition which has had practically as long a history in certain areas of sub-Saharan Africa as Islam itself.