By
Imam Murtadha Gusau
Monday, Ramadan 10, 1438 AH ( June 05, 2017)
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Surely, you know this and know that Islam is a universal religion that addresses all people; because it is the religion of all Prophets and the religion that Allah has chosen for people; Allah almighty says: "Truly, the religion with Allah is Islam." [Surah Al-Imran]All praise is due to Allah the Lord of the worlds, and prayers and peace be upon the master of the Messengers and all his family and Companions.
Allah Almighty has sent his Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) as a bearer of glad tidings, and a Warner, And as one who invites to Allah. Inviting people to Allah was one of the Prophet’s major responsibilities; Allah says: “Prophet, indeed We have sent you as a witness and a bringer of good tidings and a warner. And one who invites to Allah, by His permission, and an illuminating lamp.” [Surah Al-Ahzab, 33:45-46]
Hence the Prophet peace be upon him performed his responsibilities perfectly; he conveyed the message, advised the nation, and struggle in the case of Allah perfectly till he met His Lord. At the death of the Prophet, the Arabian Peninsula was believing in monotheism, and there was a generation of the righteous Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) who followed the teachings of the Prophet peace be upon him very accurately; they did their best (as groups and individuals) to convey the light of Islam (that has been bestowed upon them) to the humankind outside the Arabian peninsula. They conveyed it during their travels in the deserts risking their life. Many prominent Companions breathed their last breath in strange and remote countries during inviting for Islam. Surely, they sacrificed for their religion, and the Tabi'in (the followers of the Companions) followed their steps; they conquered the countries, subjected the nations, and were deployed in earth. Their monuments round the world are still stand as witnesses to their existence.
O dear Muslim brother who gains the fruits of the efforts of those pious people, believes in monotheism and people from around the world come to work in your country and follow your directions then take the return of their efforts.Do you realize that the ideological struggle round the world became severe nowadays, and that every ideology has its callers and followers who defend it, spend a lot of money to propagate it, launch media broadcasts for it and make studies for it? Surely, you know this and know that Islam is a universal religion that addresses all people; because it is the religion of all Prophets and the religion that Allah has chosen for people; Allah almighty says:
“Truly, the religion with Allah is Islam.” [Surah Al-Imran, 3:19]
And He Almighty says:
“And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him.” [Surah Ali Imran, 3:85]
And He says:
“This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.” [Surah Al-Maidah 5:3]
Allah accepts no religion but Islam. This means that the Muslim believes that all non-Muslims are invited to Islam that is called for by all the Messengers who did all their best for conveying it. On the other hand, Islam is a comprehensive religion for life that directs the person for clear goals in all his life affairs whether it is social, economic or political. It is a message for all people whether they are white, black, Arab or non-Arab. This means that no body, regardless of his cultural or social level, would live without Islam.Moreover, conveying Allah’s message is a great honour to this Ummah (nation), because it is a participation in the honourable duty of its Prophet _ calling people to following the straight way.Also, conveying this message is acquiring to the priority that Allah has appointed to this Ummah in His saying:
“You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah.” [Surah Al-Imran, 3:110]
Hence, all Muslims (men and women) have been ordered to convey the message of Islam by the same level of insistence and sacrifice that was for the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his Companions.After all of this, you ask yourself: “How could I invite people to Islam?”
First: you have to be a good example. The Prophet peace be upon him is a good example for us; before becoming Prophet, he was called the truthful and the honest. And after being Prophet, his manners was the manners that is called for by the Quran (according to the description of Aisha may Allah be pleased with her) till he deserved the compliment of his Creator and Sender Who said:
“And Verily, you (O Muhammad peace be upon him) are on an exalted (standard of) character.” [Surah Al-Qalam, 68:4]
That is why Allah almighty declares clearly His hate to those who say what they do not do. Allah almighty says:“O you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do? Most hateful it is with Allah that you say that which you do not do.” [Surah As-Saf, 61:2-3]And He almighty says:
“Do you order righteousness to the people and forget yourselves while you recite the Scripture? Then will you not reason?” [Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:44]
The Muslim, especially the educated one, is obliged to take benefit of his knowledge and to benefit others with it.Surely, there are characteristics the Muslim must have to be good example to the non-Muslims and to reflect Islam well. These characteristics include following the orders of Allah and His Messenger accurately. Moreover, Muslim is obliged to submit totally to Allah to make people accept him.
Second: the good and important factors that the Muslim should do include being professional in writing, addressing, arguing and conversing. By being professional in these things, the Muslim could achieve his goals by the lowest and easiest cost.
When the Muslim expresses his ideas and thoughts in an interesting and attractive way, he makes people accept Islam and do not averse to hear about it. Moreover, he should address people according to the level of their understanding; he should not address the workers as he addresses the philosophers, or addresses the atheists emotionally without material proofs.The human self by its nature loves who does beneficence to it. On the other hand, rigidity may enforce it to arrogance, insistence and averse; then arrogance could lead it to more crime. Being mildly does not mean to be hypocrite or to be insincere, rather it means to advice and does favours in good affectionate way opens the hearts. He almighty said in his commandment to his two Prophets, Musa (Moses) and Harun (Aaron), peace be upon them: “Go, both of you, to Fir'awn (Pharaoh). Indeed, he has transgressed. And speak to him with gentle speech that perhaps he may be reminded or fear [Allah]." [Surah Ta-Ha: 43-44]
Third: Knowing the person you preach to him and knowing his ideas, concepts, thoughts and problems, because this is a way to knowing the key to his heart.Actually, the Muslim is a person who knows how to diagnose the disease and provide the appropriate treatment. Moreover, he does not wait people to come to him; rather he seeks them and visits them from time to time and in appropriate times. He also invites them in the different occasions and goes to their ceremonies and parties.
Fourth: the Muslim should always emphasize the meaning of the Islamic creed and tries to plant the seed of believing in Allah in the heart of the addressed person. He always emphasizes that Allah is the All-Provider and that He is the One Who provides life and death, and that there is another life after death, and there is Judgment and reward and punishment.
Talking about the Islamic creed and illustrating it is the base of the preaching of the preacher; he must not forget that, because it is the essence of Islam. If the listeners accepted the essence of Islam, it would be easy to convince them with the other purposes of Islam.When talking about the current status of Muslims, the preacher should try to illustrate that what Muslims face today (e.g. their disunity, tardiness... etc,) is a result to being away from Islam.When the person who is invited to Islam knows the fundamentals of the Islamic creed and the meaning of there is no true god but Allah, teaching him the other teachings of Islam become easy; moreover this facilitates to him memorizing the Noble Quran.
Fifth: The Muslim is obliged to be patient in his calling to Allah; he should not quickly seek the fruits of calling to Islam. Moreover, he knows no despair or disappointment. He also knows that being patient during inviting people to the way of Allah means to advise them when it is obligatory to do this without fearing anybody; Allah almighty says:
“And say: "The truth is from your Lord." Then whosoever wills, let him believe; and whosoever wills, let him disbelieve.” [Surah Al-Kahf, :29]
Sixth: The Muslim is obliged to sacrifice in the case of Allah; he should sacrifice time, effort, intellectual efficiency, social rank, bright future, wishes and hopes. He should do this as a kind of walking in the way of the righteous ancestors who provided the best examples of sacrifice for guiding people to the straight way.The grandsons should walk in the way of their grandparents. Muslims will never restore their exalted rank without this behaviour (sacrifice). If they did not sacrifice, it would mean that they compete for the worldly benefits. “Sacrifice” means to put in your mind the concept of giving the interest of Islam the priority over any other interest and to abide to Islam under any condition. Muslim should not be diverted by trade or sale (business) from the remembrance of Allah (with heart and tongue) or struggle in the case of Him.The hearts of Muslims do not lack enthusiasm to the religion and chastity; moreover, they do not like the misleading and destruction that Islam faces. However, they need the one who guides them and illustrates the way for them. So, if you were the person who shows the way to them, you could participate in combating the threats that stand in the face of Islam round the world. If you did so, you would protect Muslims from great dangerous and would open to them huge gate by calling whom you invite to Islam.Indeed, by the serious simple contributions, the Ummah can achieve its desired goals (e.g. honour, dignity, development…etc,) and you could gain the great reward from Allah in the day that you will need help in it most.I can say that Shaykh Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami did nothing wrong in inviting our brother, the Honourable Minister of sports, Barrister Solomon Dalung to accept Islam. It is within Islamic traditions and done in good faith by the Grace of Allah.
Allah the Almighty says:
“Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth has been made clear from error. Whoever rejects false worship and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that never breaks. And Allah hears and knows all things.” [ Surah al-Baqarah: 256]One of the fundamental truths established by the sacred texts is that no one can be compelled to accept Islam. It is the duty of Muslims to establish the proof of Islam to the people so that truth can be made clear from falsehood. After that, whoever wishes to accept Islam may do so and whoever wishes to continue upon unbelief may do so. No one should be threatened or harmed in any way if he does not wish to accept Islam. This verse is decisive in establishing that each person has the right to make his or her own choice about embracing Islam.Lastly, we should take benefit from the books that were written by the pioneers in this field of Da'awah (Invitation to Allah), such as:
1. Calling to Allah and the manners of the preachers. By Abdul-Aziz bin Abdullah bin Baz.
2. The reminder for the preachers. By Al-Bahi Al-Khouly.
3. The reminder for the preachers. By Abul A’la Al-Mawdudi.
4. How to preach to people. By Abdul Badiy Sakr
5. Calling to Islam. By Manna Al-Qattan.
6. The men of thought and preaching in Islam. By Abu Al-Hasan An-Nadwi.
7. Notes for preaching and preachers. by Hasan Al-Bannah.
8. The Islamic call: Means, plans and ways.
9. Muslim youth’s duty. By Abul A’la Al-Mawdudi.
10. The fundamentals of calling to Islam. By Abdul-Karim Zidan.
May Allah guide us all to whatever pleases Him. And peace be upon our Prophet, Muhammad, and his family and Companions.Oh Allah! Make every single aspect of our life be for You and in service of Your Creation. Please remove all false intentions that we have.Oh Allah! save humanity from being its own enemy. Protect Your creation from oppression. Save the people of Nigeria from internal and external oppressors and give them justice. Protect us all from violence, crisis, fear and danger, You are our Protector.Ya Allah! let us love You as You deserved to be loved, and let us fear You as You deserve to be feared, and let us leave this world serving Your creation for Your sake.Oh Allah! increase us in beneficial knowledge, let this knowledge be with sincerity, not for seeking fame, glory, status, material wealth. Let this knowledge serve Your cause in a way that You accept, and let it benefit humanity. Oh Allah! please guide our children and all children. They are surrounded by so much temptation and forbidden things. Protect them our Lord from all of the evil influences that are around them. Give them friends who will strengthen their faith and help them stay on the Straight Path. Ameen Ya Rabb! My respected people! For a Muslim Ramadan is the month in which they can gain maximum blessings and mercy from Allah Almighty and seek forgiveness for whatever sins they have committed.Therefore, prayers, charity, Du'as etc need to be ensured during the month as these are the means that can help a Muslim achieve the desired objectives.
I pray that Allah Ta'ala allows me and you all to finished this Ramadan with the highest degree of Iman, ameen.
Wassalamu Alaikum
Written by your brother, Imam Murtadha Muhammad Gusau, from Okene Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: +2348038289761.
Comments
Post a Comment