Dawah is an invitation to someone to participate in some event or to do something. Islamic Dawah is the call to the Truth, to the way of God, the straight path, as well as to the virtuous, dignified and contended life. It invites humanity to comprehend and invoke the ‘Absolute Reality’, a living force behind all realities that derive their strength and vitality from it. It is the call to come closer to Allah the Exalted, the Lord and Master of the universe, the Most Glorious, Powerful, of Whom it is said “there is none like Him” (Qur’ān, 112:4).
God is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe as well as the Provider of subsistence to every living being. As a living Reality, God wants close relation with humans, His most auspicious creatures, and provides them with a comprehensive and appropriate system in which to live in peace and harmony with happiness and exuberance. He, thus, calls humans to “the Home of Peace” (Qur’ān, 10:25) the most superior, sophisticated, beneficial and felicitous life.
Dawah in Islam is an earnest plea to follow this system of life and venerate the Supreme Suzerain Who alone is capable of being worshipped. It urges humans to accept this Truth, surrender to His authority, submit to His will, obey His commandments and manifest His sovereignty and suzerainty in all aspects of their lives and in all spheres of society. This is the message that God conveys to humankind time and again and this is the crux of Dawah towards which the servants of God call people.
Apostles and guides, who have been raised from time to time from among their own people, conveyed the same truth and impressed people to accept it and act upon it. They embodied this principle in their lives, manifested it in their thought and action and called their people to go through the path of God in order to make their lives beneficial and meaningful as, besides that, all is falsehood. They struggled hard, faced all odds, overcame various obstacles but remained steadfast to the Truth and never compromised with falsehood and untruth. Prophet Hud told his people with no ifs or buts, “O my people! Worship Allah! Ye have no other god but Him. (Your other gods) ye do nothing but invent!” (Qur’ān, 11:50).
Similar messages have been conveyed by all other apostles to their people. Prophet Abraham declared that there would be no compromise with their people if they worshiped other than Allah (Qur’ān, 60:4). Prophet Noah exhorted; “O my people! I am to you a Warner, clear and open: that you worship Allah, fear Him and obey me” (Qur’ān,71: 2-3). This indicates that the fundamental truth is one that is the unity and sovereignty of God; the straight path is one that manifests His ascendency in thought and action; and Din, the appropriate system of life, is one that is submitting oneself to His will. These ideals and paragons have been revealed by God throughout ages and His apostles communicated these to humans and impressed them to act upon these principles. The Qur’ān explains:
We have sent the inspiration, as we sent it to Noah and the Messengers after him: We sent inspiration to Abraham, Isma’il, Isaac, Jacob and the tribes, to Jesus, Job, Jonah,
Aaron, and Solomon, and to David We gave the Psalms. Of some messengers We have already told thee the story; of others we have not – and to Moses Allah spoke direct (Qur’ān, 4: 163-164).
THE PROPHETIC MISSION
God sent His messengers and apostles to convey the Truth, reveal the essentials of virtue, expose the difference between right and wrong and guide people to the right path so that they make sense of their lives, live in dignity and augustness and achieve success, milk and honey. The messengers devoted their lives to completing their tasks, called people to the Truth, acquainted them with the glory, eminence and distinction of God and instilled in the minds and hearts of people His omnipotence and omniscience. They convinced their people to venerate God, Who deserves alone all gratitude, all our worship and devotion. They carried the torch of the Truth to every nook and cranny, established the sovereignty of God on earth and completed the mission for which they were sent.
The important fact was that the apostles were raised among their own people and from the same socio-cultural background. The purpose was to let people know that the ideals which they were teaching were not meant for any other creature but human beings, who can follow them because they are appropriate to their nature and can enrich their lives.
Further, the Truth must be conveyed in the language of the people in simple and clear terms and within the same socio-cultural context so that people may understand it, grasp it and appreciate its significance. At the same time, people would have no excuse that no Warner came and apprised them of glad tidings; so they remained gasping in the darkness of ignorance. The Qur’ān exhorts:
O People of the Book! Now hath come unto you, making (things) clear unto you, our Messenger, after break in (the series of) our messengers, lest ye should say: “There came unto us no bringer of glad tidings and no Warner (from evil).” But now hath come unto you a bringer of glad tidings and a Warner (from evil), and Allah hath power over all things (Qur’ān, 5:19).
The apostles and guides dedicated their lives to calling people to the Truth and guiding them to the right path. They preached “with due care whatever the people needed to know to seek the countenance of God and to do the full existence in this world.” When, according to Amin Ahsan Islahi, the moral and social consciousness of man was awakened and material resources were developed to the extent that the message of the Truth could easily reach every corner of the world, God sent the last Prophet and through him completed the creed and conferred a perfect and comprehensive way of life on humankind suitable to their nature, temperament and requirements.
The way of life given by God through the last Prophet was not parochial and limited to a particular land and community but it was universal and appropriate to the entire humankind for its perfection, overall wellbeing and amelioration. Thus, the significant task of the last Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) was to guide the entire humankind to the right path, to enlighten the minds and hearts of humans with the Truth, inculcate a sense of submission to God in them and convince them to embrace virtues and righteousness.
The last Prophet left no stone unturned to discharge his responsibilities and complete his mission. He succeeded in changing the minds of people, inspiring them to act on the commands of God and establishing the suzerainty of God on earth. He raised a band of dedicated persons to maintain and continue the system of life which God bestowed upon humankind.
The mission of the Prophet was so important that God strengthened it and raised a whole Ummah to carry it to every part of the world, spread the Truth to every land, witness the propriety and authenticity of the system of life which God commanded, and implant it in every heart and on every land. The Qur’ān clarifies this:
Thus have We made of you an Ummah justly balanced that ye might be witnesses over nations, and the Messenger a witness over yourselves (Qur’ān, 2:143).
Now after the Prophet Muhammad, who was the last in the series of prophets, the responsibility of calling people to the Truth and showing them the right path lies on the Ummah. It is necessary to preserve the Divine guidance (hidayah) and manifest it in our thought and actions in order to institute the Truth in the phenomenal world and to be witness of the Truth before humankind.
This magnanimous task can only be carried out by the Ummah, which should make all possible efforts to operate the mechanism of guidance and establish the ascendancy of the Truth. The Qur’ān says: “Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong. They are the ones to attain felicity (Qur’ān, 3:104). Thus, it is the obligation of the Ummah and its members to continue the mission of the Prophet and invite people to what is righteous and virtuous. This is a noble act and so momentous that for it the Ummah is placed on a pedestal and considered the best community. The Qur’ān declares, “You are the best of peoples evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing in Allah” (Qur’ān, 3:110).
AN INTELLECTUAL INTERACTION
Dawah, from the sociological perspective, is an intellectual interaction, in which a person conveys a set of ideas which he considers valuable to others, convinces them of its efficacy and impresses their minds to think over it and weigh it up and react. It is an appeal to human consciousness to judge what is right and wrong, and good and bad. If one considers a way of life right and genuine, one should accept it. There is no coercion or compulsion in Dawah which is against its own principles. The Truth has itself a captivating quality that impresses others to accept it for their own wellbeing. In the Qur’ānic language, “Truth stands out clear from error and those who reject evil and believe in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy handhold that never breaks” (Qur’ān, 2:265).
It is, in fact, a dialogue between two persons where one presents a system to the other, who is free to accept or reject it. If the other accepts, it is so far so good. If he rejects, the one tries again and again and even then if the other rejects it, the one comes back happily because he has performed his duty. Ismail al-Faruqi observes:
It is a kind of academic seminar on a large scale where he who knows better is free to tell and to convince, and the others are free to listen and be convinced. Islam puts its trust in man’s rational power to discriminate between the true and the false.
In this intellectual interaction what is most important is what is conveyed and how it is received and understood by the other party. The content of what is conveyed should be directly related to the core of the Truth and the message of God. It should be ensured that the theme is conveyed in a correct way without any distortion and it is also received and understood correctly. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) was very particular that people understand his message in the same sense and with the same effect. It is reported:
Aisha said that the speech of Allah’s Messenger was (such that) all those who listened to him understood him (Abu Dawood).
The important point of the content should be stressed to create a distinct effect upon the recipient. When the Prophet had to say something important, he used to repeat it and say it three times (Bukhari). The interaction will be fruitful if both the parties are sincere and indulge in dialogue with good intentions. The conveyor of the Truth should be interested in refining and purifying the life of the recipient. He should acquaint the recipient with the right path and its outcome on his life. On the other hand the recipient should have the desire to comprehend the Truth and act upon it to make his life constructive and worthwhile.
DAWAH AS SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION
The other sociological significance of Dawah is that it is a vital process of social transformation. Sociologists have been interested in the study of social change. They have highlighted the factors that initiate change and their impact on individuals’ lives. It is generally said and observed that changes in material condition, particularly in levels of economy, bring about changes in other aspects of the social structure and in the mindset of people.
Changes from the material condition to the non-material always create problems and sometimes lead to contradiction. First, it leads to unnecessary competition in society. Persons want to have more and more and in this attempt they cross all limits of dignified and civilized living. They do not hesitate even to grab the privileges of society at the cost of their brethren and social interest as well. Under these conditions, the exploitation, suppression and oppression of a section of society begin and gradually become rampant throughout society.
Second, the affluent members of society gradually seize political power and introduce such a system as to suit to their own interests and provide themselves a better opportunity of enjoying social privileges. The others, particularly the weaker and downtrodden sections of society, are deprived of the basic facilities of life and remain at the bottom of the social hierarchy. This not only creates unsystematic inequality in society but, according to the Marxian framework, also initiates conflict, tension and turmoil and, at the end of the day, changes the entire shape of society.
Islamic Dawah, on the other hand, is the type of transformation that refines and purifies human thinking. It modifies the human mindset and instils in it the fear of God. It gives the impression that humans are created by God for a certain purpose, that is, for complete submission to His will. They are equal as they are the progeny of the same father and mother. Their position is of a servant and of His vicegerent on earth. In these capacities they have to follow God’s way of life and implement it on earth.
Humans constitute the family of God; they have to take care of each other, help each other in times of difficulty and distress and live in peace and harmony. The resources and privileges of society are for all, and they should not be monopolised, destroyed and damaged but should be used properly and shared by all.
In human life, the mere satisfaction of urges is not important but the way one satisfies them is more important. Humans are free to earn a livelihood but in case of excess, it should be shared with others. Economic transactions and production should be done not only on the basis of profit but also keeping in view societal needs and national preferences.
The important point in the process of Dawah is that it initiates changes from the mindset to the physical condition or from the non-material aspect to the material aspect of society. In this case, humans restrain their behaviour of being greedy. Their purpose is not to get as much money as they can but to seek the pleasure of God and, thus, they pursue economic activities in a genuine way approved by God. This transformation creates a healthy society based on mutual help and cooperation and devoid of suppression and exploitation.
DAWAH AS A DISTINCT METHOD
Dawah is a noble task performed with a view to spreading goodness, making the Truth prevail and establishing the ascendency of God in every part of the world. It is a sincere attempt to introduce righteousness to others, direct them to the right path, save them from evil and distress and, in a nutshell, change their lives for the better. This magnanimous task should be performed with due care, utmost sincerity and in the most convincing way. This is the reason why the Qur’ān provides a distinct methodology for it.
The Qur’ān explains in clear terms: “Invite (all) to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious” (Qur’ān, 16:125). It indicates that the caller of the truth should use his/ her own intellect to decide how to convey the message of the truth in a particular situation and to a particular person. The preacher should take into consideration the socio-cultural background of the recipient of the message, his mindset and level of understanding and adopt a persuasive way to communicate the ideas.
According to Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi, the above passage of the Qur’ān stresses two important points: Persons who do Dawah work “have both their freedom and their constraints. They are free to pursue Dawah to a particular extent. At the same time, they are forbidden from going beyond certain limits”.
“Wisdom, according to him, stands for common sense, tact, persuasive charm, preaching in a way which does not betray any opportunism or bowing down to someone or politicisation. Let it be realised that politics and preaching are poles apart.”
The other significance of this method is that Dawah is also applicable to the person who calls to the Truth. When one communicates the basic tenets of the Truth, the communication also affects one’s own mind and soul. It fortifies the faith and strengthens the commitment of the person who invites others to goodness. Dawah, in this respect, not only calls upon others to accept the Truth but also inspires the preacher to strengthen his faith in the Truth and manifest it in his thought and action.