Abdur Raheem Green

The Obligation of Giving Dawah

The word "dawa" in Arabic literally means invitation, and that is what this is about. Inviting people to Allah, and specifically inviting those who are not Muslim to embrace the religion of Islam and become part of the body of the Muslim ummah.

All Muslim have a duty then to invite others to Allah according to their individual capacity and circumstance, and there is another duty that follows on from that that is often neglected and that is duty of care to those new Muslims to ensure that not only are their religious needs but also in fact their worldly needs are looked after.

It is painfully obvious that this is obligation that has been often neglected and even forgotten altogether, and when it is done it is often done in a haphazard and random manner. Many have been deceived into thinking that giving dawa is not their job and that it is beyond their ability and it is something that should be left to the imams and the experts. The fact is that looking at the time of the Prophet saws and at his noble companions all of them, even the most simple of them looked at inviting others to Islam as a duty and an essential part of their religion.

The Prophet saws described him self as being like the one who invites others to participate in a feast. So those who accepted ate from the feast and those who refused did not. It is very clear though that the Prophet did invite, and encouraged people to enter into Islam and warned them of the dire consequence of failing to accept that call. He did not merely present information about Islam. So this calling and inviting is in fact one of the greatest tasks of all the messengers, and those who follow that example are following in the footsteps of the best of all the human beings.

"Who is better in speech than one who calls to Allah, works righteousness and says: "I am of those who bow in Islam"? 41:33

Hasan al Basree recited this verse and said: "This person is the beloved to Allah, the walee of Allah and is the most beloved to Him from amongst the people of the earth. He answered the call of Allah and invites the people to the very same call he responded to. He works righteous deeds within his response and declares, 'Indeed I am from the Muslims."

So remember oh Muslim that this life is short and the next eternal, and that is your deeds that Allah will weigh up for you in scales. So whoever's deeds are heavy with good, they will have a happy end. So think about what will maximise you scale of good deeds, and make it heavy!

So bear in mind that when you read what the Prophet said "That whoever encourages someone to do a righteous deed then they will get the reward for that person doing that righteous deed without that persons reward being reduced in the least." So if you are the means for someone entering Islam, then no wonder it is better than all the best of the wealth of this world, since every time that person prays, fasts, reads Quran, gives charity, remembers Allah, then you get a share of the reward for that. So not fail dear reader to part of this call, and do not fail to contribute as much as you can to this blessed invitation, for according to the degree of you contribution so is the extent of your reward!

The best of nations

When the Muslims take up this duty and raise this call, and extend this invitation then and only then will we be the best of all nations, since doing that is a condition of our success as Allah says:

"Ye are the best of peoples raised up for mankind enjoining what is right forbidding what is wrong and believing in Allah." Al Imran 3:110

We have embarked on a project to help try and make this a reality. It is called iERA, for a new era in dawa.
You can find details here www.iera.org.uk.

Calling to good and prohibiting evil is the distinguishing mark of this nation, and instrumental to our success, so when we abandon that the the description of being the best of peoples can no longer apply to us, rather we might become like those whom Allah cursed due to their hiding the truth that they had:

"Verily, those who conceal the clear proofs, evidences and the guidance, which We have sent down, after We have made it clear for the people in the book, they are the ones cursed by Allah and cursed by the cursers." [al-Qur'aan, al-Baqara(2):159]

I pray and hope that Allah guides us to be from those who are callers to this noble deen of Islam. Ameen.

Abdur-Raheem Green
http://www.iera.org.uk