A short guide on how to start Dawah ( Invitation to Allah) for beginners based on many years of work in the field.

Doctor Ahmed Salem AL Shehri

 

Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, who says In the decisive revelation:

وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ قَوْلًا مِّمَّن دَعَا إِلَى اللَّهِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا وَقَالَ إِنَّنِي مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ ‎﴿٣٣﴾

 “And who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah and does righteousness and says, "Indeed, I am of the Muslims." Fussilat (Chapter 41), Ayah 33

And prayers and peace be upon His trustworthy Messenger, who says:

وعن سهل بن سعد رضي الله عنه أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال لعلي رضي الله عنه ‏:‏ ‏ "‏فوالله لأن يهدي الله بك رجلا واحدا خير من حمر النعم‏"‏ ‏ (‏متفق عليه‏)‏‏‏

Sahl bin Sa'd (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said to 'Ali (May Allah be pleased with him), "By Allah, if a single person is guided by Allah through you, it will be better for you than a whole lot of red camels."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

And upon all his family and companions, and those who followed their path, were guided by their guidance, and called upon the call of Islam. Until the Day of Judgment;

And after: The call to Allah Almighty Is a great obligation, one of the obligations that the honorable prophets and messengers, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon them, singled out, and after them made It a mission and a message for those who followed them and those who followed their approach, who must convey the religion of Allah Almighty to human beings in every time and place until the Day of Judgment, in fulfillment of what the Almighty says:

 قُلْ هَٰذِهِ سَبِيلِي أَدْعُو إِلَى اللَّهِ ۚ عَلَىٰ بَصِيرَةٍ أَنَا وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَنِي ۖ وَسُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ ‎﴿١٠٨﴾‏

Say, "This is my way; I invite to Allah with insight, I and those who follow me. And exalted is Allah; and I am not of those who associate others with Him." Surah Yusuf (Chapter 12), Ayah 108.

Sheikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah – may Allah have mercy on him - said: Allah Almighty mentions that He commanded him - that is, His Messenger – to call people to Allah sometimes, and sometimes to call people to Allah’s way, as Allah Almighty said:

ادْعُ إِلَىٰ سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَالْمَوْعِظَةِ الْحَسَنَةِ ۖ وَجَادِلْهُم بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ ۚ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَن ضَلَّ عَن سَبِيلِهِ ۖ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ ‎﴿١٢٥﴾‏

Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has strayed from His way, and He is most knowing of who is [rightly] guided. Surah An-Nahl (Chapter 16), Ayah 125.

This is because it is known that the one who Invites others to a matter must, in what he calls for, Two things: one of them Is the intended goal, and the second Is the means and the path that leads to the Intended goal, so for this He mentions the call sometimes to Allah, and sometimes to His path, for He, Glory be to Him, Is the object of worship By invitation(.

The caller must have a number of things, including:

-1 Choosing the best style of speech and choosing what suits the situation of the invitee including choosing the appropriate time and place for the dialogue, and a lot of gentleness and preparation.

-2 And the first thing he starts with is the softness and kindness that causes acceptance.

-3The cheerful, smiling , and give a gift , to gain and open the guest before his invitation , all of this is from the wisdom commanded to before the invitation to Islam.

Some of the most important things to uphold during the invitation. To set a good example of himself.

To do the best and help that person if he needs help in a worldly matter.

Helping the invitee and treating him kindly with a gift and the like before starting a conversation with him let the best person interact to gain his or her heart?

The dahi should start with the foundations. ( Let the first thing you invite them to be there is no divinity to worship but Allah.)

The prudent propagator should avoid any offensive words, or a word that suggests mocking of the religion of the invited person, because that would upset the invitee and hurt his heart.

The caller should focus on common matters, and address the bright aspects of the invitee›s religion, praising them and telling him that Islam supports that, urges it, and complements it.

It should show on the invitee›s face and in his eagerness and compassion for the invitee and that he is his brother, all of us are the children of Adam.

Knowing the condition of the invitee, his gender, nationality, age and cultural level, taking this into consideration and addressing him or her in a manner that suits the invitee, and in the appropriate style.

One of the most successful and effective methods is to start by praising the thought of the invitee and thanking him for his impartiality and that one of the most important causes of contentment, and success is impartiality for the truth.

Then he mentions the many beauties of Islam, the most important of which is that it is the final and complete religion for the guidance of all mankind, and that Islam is derived from submission to Allah and peace with creation.

The speaker should explain to the invitee that Muhammad, my Allah›s salutations and peace be upon him believes in all the Messengers, loves them and praises them (the messengers believed in what was revealed to him from his lord (and that we believe in all the prophets and do not differentiate between them.

Summary of the years in the work of Dawah: He makes it clear to the one who is invited that we agree that Allah is the Creator, the All-Knowing, Glory be to Him.

If the person being addressed agrees that God alone is worthy of worship, then the discussion moves to proving

the prophethood of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and that he brought what Jesus, peace be upon him, brought, with the addition of laws to regulate the lives of people completely and in accordance with his being the final messenger. Therefore, its legislation was complete and valid for the guidance of all humanity until the Final Hour.

If he agrees with the prophethood of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, then he has embraced Islam If he refuses, then we move on to arguing with goodness and urging him with reason and with a set of obligations mentioned by Ibn Abi Al-Izz.

The Inviter: Inviter would say:

Do you think that Muhammad is a messenger to the Arabs, or to the people of Mecca only, or to all people? Often the invitee will think a little and say:

Rather, he is a messenger for the Arabs only then if we agreed for the Arabs then…

Inviter:We agreed that he is a messenger to the Arabs? Invitee:yes

Inviter: Do the Messengers lie?

Invitee:no

Inviter:We agreed that Muhammad is a messenger of the Arabs.And that the messengers do not lie?

Invitee:Yes, agreed

The Inviter: Muhammad, whom we have mentioned that he does not lie, says that he is the Messenger of Allah to all people What do you think? If he agrees Mohammed is a messenger of Allah, that means he is a Muslim         alhamdulillah, but if he insists on denying the prophethood of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, then he moves to another rational method by giving him some news of scientific miracles, which are widely spread on the Internet.

Likewise, the caller tells him some stories of the prophets and nations, and then asks him ho w Muhammad knew all these details with such accuracy, and he was illiterate. He did not read and did not travel away from Mecca.

Thus the Inviter still moves from one method to another, and often the invitee will not delay long if he is sincere and truthful in his request. And if he finds good manners and good presentation and strength in the arguments.

If the one who is invited is a woman, then the best thing to start with her is the story of Maryam and the recommendation of the Qur’an for her, and that she has a special chapter in her name. And that the Qur’an chose her over the women of the world.

We also should indicate to her that the Qur’an mentioned Maryam 31 times, while the mother of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was not mentioned even once.

This is the greatest evidence of the fairness of the Qur’an. Muhammad was right.

Likewise, Jesus was mentioned in the Qur’an 34 times, while Muhammad, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him, to whom the Qur’an was revealed, was mentioned by his name only 4 times This is another proof of his sincerity.

It is advised in the invitation of the Christians, especially, to focus on the fact that we believe in all the prophets, especially Jesus, and that he is the word of Allah, and that whoever denies his prophethood among the Muslims is a disbeliever...

There are many and varied other methods.

They are acquired by practice. It is collected experience, and blessings of guidance, our Lord, Glory be to Him, bestows of them whatever He wills upon whomever He wills of His servants.

Finally: I recommend for everyone to supplicate to Allah in his prostration and ask to help him and loosen the knot of his tongue. And that Allah would open the heart of the invitee before, during and after his invitation. He is the guide, and he is the turner of the heart.

This is a brief summary I wrote in a hurry And insights from my experiences Practical lessons learned.

You may find someone else better or that see better And success is from Allah alone.

If I am correct, then it is from my Lord alone, to Him be all the praise. And if I make a mistake, it is from myself and the devil, and I ask Allah’s forgiveness.

Oh Allah, make us guided, and guides. And make us keys to good. And may Allah bless our master Muhammad.