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"TERM 4" Week2; Class - 'DAWAAH -

Characteristics of a Da'ee'
Allah the Exalted said,

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 Yousuf 12:108]

So whomsoever traverses this manhaj, then he is from amongst the successors of the

Messengers (salawaatullaahi wa salaamuhu alayhim). So it is obligatory upon him that he be

described with inward honesty and outward purity. The most important aspects of that are

found in the Quran itself.

1. Acting in sincerity to Allah

Allah said,

Say, " Allah [alone] do I worship, sincere to Him in my religion, So worship what you will

besides Him." Say, "Indeed, the losers are the ones who will lose themselves and their

families on the Day of Resurrection. Unquestionably, that is the manifest loss." [Suratuz
Zumar 39:14-15]

And Allah said,

So whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord - let him do righteous work and not

associate in the worship of his Lord anyone." [Suratul Kahf 18:110]

From Umar ibnul-Khattaab (R.A.) who said, I heard the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.)

saying, Action are by intentions and every person shall have what he intended. So whoever

performed hijrah (emigration) in order to attain wordly goods, or in order to marry a woman,

then his hijrah is for what he performed it for. (Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood, Tirmidhi &

Nisaaee)

2. Strong connection with Allah

The strong connection with Allah is the fuel that keeps the person who wants to call for Allah

on the right track and endure the hardships that he may face during dawah.

The caller does not rely upon anyone other than Allah

The caller does not expect rewards from any other than Allah

The caller is a Rabbani (person connected to Allah). Meaning after the knowledge and

the group work there is still a strong spiritual presence about this person. They mind

their prayers, stand in the night while others are sleeping and weep for Humanitys

guidance. It could also imply that they dont get caught up in the means forgetting the

ultimate objective. Many movements lost their course when they were intoxicated with

attracting the large crowds. However, the truth is the truth and it must stay the ultimate

goal. Let us not forget that some Prophets had 0 followers. Thus, this principle insures

quality over quantity. Allah says, Who created life and death as a test for you to see

which of you is best in actions. Commenting on this a scholar said, Allah said, Best in

actions not most in actions.

3. Knowledge

Allah said,

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 Yousuf 12:108]
This entails knowing what one is calling to, who one is calling to and the environment which

one lives in and taking time to understand its norms, customs and cultural nuances.

4. Wisdom

Wisdom, according to the Arabic language, means to put something in its proper place. Thus,

when it is time to be soft, one is soft, when it is time to be firm one is firm, when it is time to

play, then it is time to play, and when it is time to work, it is time to be serious. The Prophet

[may the peace and blessing of Allah be upon him] said, There is a time for this and a time

for that.

5. Kindness & Gentleness

Kindness and gentleness towards the one being spoken to, even if the one being spoken to is

an insolent tyrant. Allah the Exalted said to Moosaa & Haaroon (Alayhimas-Salaam)

Go, both of you, to Pharaoh. Indeed, he has transgressed. And speak to him with gentle

speech that perhaps he may be reminded or fear [ Allah ]. [Soorah Taahaa 20:43-44]

And Allah said to His Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.)

So by mercy from Allah , [O Muhammad], you were lenient with them. And if you had been
rude [in speech] and harsh in heart, they would have disbanded from about you. So pardon

them and ask forgiveness for them and consult them in the matter. And when you have

decided, then rely upon Allah . Indeed, Allah loves those who rely [upon Him]. [Surah
Aali-Imran 3:159]

And the Prophet (S.A.W.) said, Gentleness does not enter into anything except that it

beautifies it and harshness does not enter into anything except that it disgraces it. (Muslim)

6. Practice what you preach

Allah said in dispraise of the one who se action is not in accordance with his speech,

O you who have believed, why do you say what you do not do? Great is hatred in the sight of

Allah that you say what you do not do. [Suratus-Saff 61:2-3]

And Allah said,

Do you order righteousness of the people and forget yourselves while you recite the

Scripture? Then will you not reason? [Surah Al-Baqarah 2:44]

And Allah mentioned about Shuayb (A.S.) that he said to his people,

He said, "O my people, have you considered: if I am upon clear evidence from my Lord and

He has provided me with a good provision from Him... ? And I do not intend to differ from you

in that which I have forbidden you; I only intend reform as much as I am able. And my

success is not but through Allah . Upon him I have relied, and to Him I return. [Surah Hood
11:88]

7. Humility (Tawaadu)

He must observe humility so that his call will be accepted and his statement will be listened

to. Allah said,

So by mercy from Allah , [O Muhammad], you were lenient with them. And if you had been

rude [in speech] and harsh in heart, they would have disbanded from about you. So pardon

them and ask forgiveness for them and consult them in the matter. And when you have

decided, then rely upon Allah . Indeed, Allah loves those who rely [upon Him]. [Surah
Aali-Imran 3:159]

8. Patience

Allah said,

By time, Indeed, mankind is in loss, Except for those who have believed and done righteous

deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience. [Surah Al-Asr 103

1-3]

That is to say, all of mankind are losers, except those who can be described with these four

characteristics. So these bring one out of the state of loss, and these four characteristics

comprise al-eemaan (faith). So there is no doubt that this eemaan must be built upon

knowledge. And this knowledge is the recognition of Allaah the Exalted by His Attributes, and

the recognition of His Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam), and the recognition of the

Religion of Islaam by its proofs. So action must follow this knowledge by way of statement,

deed, and belief. Allaah the Exalted said:

So know that there is no deity worthy of worship besides Allaah, and repent for your

sins. [Soorah Muhammad 47:19]

Indeed Imaam al-Bukhaaree (d.256H) rahimahullaah inserted a chapter in his book to

illustrate this, so he said:

Chapter: Knowledge comes before statement and action. (Bukhari) So Allaah pointed out

the second matter by His statement: and do righteous deeds So knowledge without
action is like a body without a soul. Therefore, there can be no benefit in it, rather it becomes

an argument against its owner. Allaah the Exalted said:

O you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do? It is extremely hateful to

Allaah that you say that which you do not do. [Sooratus-Saff 61:2-3]

So the action cannot be righteous, except if it is done purely for Allaah, in accordance to the

Shareeah of Allaah. Then Allaah pointed out the third matter by His statement: and advise

each other to the truth This refers to dawah (calling to Allaah) upon knowledge, wisdom

and a good preaching, as Allaah the Exalted said:

Say: This is my way, I call unto Allaah. I and those who follow me, and I am not from

amongst the polytheists. [Soorah Yoosuf 12:108]

Then He pointed out the third matter by His statement: and advise each other to

patience. Therefore, it is inevitable that the one who calls to Allaah must be patient and take

into consideration that which he will encounter of hardship along the way of teaching and

calling to Allaah. So he must follow the path of the Prophets and Messengers and become

patient where they were patient, until the call to Allaah has been conveyed; despite whatever

he encounters from hardship in that.


And Allah said,

O you who have believed, persevere and endure and remain stationed and fear Allah that

you may be successful.

[Surah Aali- Imran 3:200]

Warning to the Daaee

Beware of being extreme

It is correct to name this awakening which pleases and excites every believer, an Islamic

movement, an Islamic revival and an Islamic movement. It is necessary to encourage and

guide this awakening towards adhering and clinging to the Qur'aan and the Sunnah of the

Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) as well as warning leaders and individuals

within this awakening from exceeding the limits, exaggerating and being extreme in their

actions.

In accordance with what Allah says in the Qur'aan,

"O people of the scripture, do not exceed the limits in your religion." [An-Nisaa 171]

The Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) is reported to have said: "O you

people, beware of being extreme and exceeding the limits in the religion, for that which

destroyed the people before you was none other than extremism in the religion." He

(sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) also said: "The extremists are destroyed, the extremists are

destroyed, the extremists are destroyed."

Speaking about Allah without knowledge

Beware of speaking about Allah, the Most High, without knowledge. It is not permissible for

one who believes in Allah, the Most High, and the Last Day to say: 'This is halaal and this is

haraam' or 'This is permissible and this is prohibited', except with a proof and completely

depending upon that. It should be sufficient for him to do what the people of knowledge did

before him, and that is to restrain oneself from rushing into saying that which he does not

know but rather to say: "Allah knows best" or "I do not know".

How excellent is the speech of the angels when they said to their Lord, Glory be to You, we

have no knowledge except that which You taught us. [Al-Baqarah 32]

When the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) were asked

about something that they did not know, they would say: "Allah and His Messenger know

best." This is only because of the completeness of their knowledge and their faith and their

glorification of Allah, and being far removed from embarking on matters beyond them.

Beware of being hasty

How many calamities, difficulties and problems have afflicted those who are hasty! The days

and nights are going and leaving behind the traces and consequences of hastiness! How

much corruption and destruction and un-praiseworthy consequences have occurred because

of partisanship and the following of desires? We ask Allah to keep us safe from that.

Beware of partisanship to a group

It is not permissible for one to blindly follow this person or that person, or the opinion of such

and such a person. Nor should he follow blindly the methodology, or group of any individual.

Beware of Blind Support or Opposition Because Their Opinion Agrees or Conflicts With

Yours

The deen of Allah must be the authority that judges everything. Beware of following your

brother just because he agrees with you over an opinion and oppose another because he

disagrees with you over an opinion or an issue. This is not being just or fair. We know that the

sahaabah differed in issues, but this did not effect the good faith, support and love between

them, radiallaahu 'anhum. So the believer acts by Allah's laws and he accepts and submits to

the truth and he makes it precede everything else.

The believer should not oppress his brother, or act unjustly towards him if he differs with him

over a opinion from the issues of Ijtihaad, in which the proofs may not be clear or issues in

which there may be differing interpretations of the text. He may have an excuse, so you must

advise him and love the khair (goodness) for him and do not allow the differing to induce and

prompt aggression and discord between you. Do not enable the enemy to take advantage of

you and your brother. And there is no movement or power except with Allah the Most High.