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Ethics of Al-Da'iah
Prepared by: Salman bin Fahd AlAwdah.
Original language: Arabic.
Publishing house: Dar-Alwatan, P.O.Box 3310 Riyadh, Tel:+966-1-
4644659.
Publishing date: 1411H/1991G.
Ambition
Conclusion
Ethics of Al-Da'iah
Prepared by: Salman bin Fahd AlAwdah.
book logo Original language: Arabic.
Publishing house: Dar-Alwatan, P.O.Box 3310 Riyadh, Tel:+966-1-
4644659.
Publishing date: 1411H/1991G.
This Islamic awakening is inseparable from us; its glory is ours, its
victory is ours and we are most fortunate to be part of it. It is not fit for an
able Muslim to only feel fortunate and have no more contribution. We need
this feeling to be positive and to translate into a constructive word, a sincere
advice or a successful consideration. The guidance of the Islamic
awakening is not a matter within the capacity of individuals but it's the
responsibility of all. I urge you to contribute positively and seriously to this
blessed series before its fruits are picked by others.
http://www.islamland.org/books1/other\daiah\daiah_messa.htm11/30/2004 5:30:49 PM
Ethics of Al-Da'iah book - Preface
Ethics of Al-Da'iah
Prepared by: Salman bin Fahd AlAwdah.
book logo Original language: Arabic.
Publishing house: Dar-Alwatan, P.O.Box 3310 Riyadh, Tel:+966-1-
4644659.
Publishing date: 1411H/1991G.
Preface
It sounds like the prophet (peace be upon him) has confined his
message to this matter. This is not strange. If we perceive "conduct" as the
relationship between the servant of Allah and Allah, and between the
servant of Allah and other people then the matter is clear. This is what
religion is all about; How you define your relationship with the creator, how
to worship him, acknowledge his oneness and avoid what discontent him
and how you define your relationship with the created beings, included are
the angels, the prophets, the righteous people, the relatives who have the
right of love and affection. Also included are the other class, the devils,
unbelievers, hypocrites, and people straying away from the straight path
doing dissolute actions. We hate this class of beings for the sake of Allah
either totally like the unbelievers or only because of their bad actions like
the sinful even though they are still holding to the original belief. But if we
perceive "conduct" in a more restrictive sense that has to do with only the
relationship with other human beings, then the hadeeth of the prophet
(peace be upon him) is an indication of the greatness of good conduct and
its high rank in religion. This hadeeth resembles “ The pilgrimage is
Arafah” (AlTirmithi 889, Abu Dawood 1949 and others) and “ Religion
is sincerity” (Muslim 55, Abu Dawood 4944, AlNisai 4197-4198 and
others). The two hadeeths do not confine the pilgrimage to only Arafah and
do not confine the religion in only sincerity, but the objective is to declare
that staying in Arafah is the greatest pillar of pilgrimage and that sincerity
holds a high rank in religion.
From this starting point a Muslim must beautify his character with
good conduct, whether he is a Da'iah or not because this is an objective of
the message of our prophet (peace be upon him), this message by which
Allah honored the whole humanity and by which the believers have the
exclusive favor of being guided to the straight path, having their souls
purified, and being taught what they knew not. “ It is He who has sent
amongst the unlettered a messenger from among themselves, to
rehearse to them His signs, to purify them and to instruct them in the
Ethics of Al-Da'iah
Prepared by: Salman bin Fahd AlAwdah.
book logo Original language: Arabic.
Publishing house: Dar-Alwatan, P.O.Box 3310 Riyadh, Tel:+966-1-
4644659.
Publishing date: 1411H/1991G.
Truthfulness
It is necessary to have the belief that is inside along with Islam that
is apparent on the outside. It is necessary to have the right belief in Allah,
the last day, the angels, the original books and the prophets. The outer
guided behavior must be consistent with the inner beliefs and convictions.
2- Truthfulness in Sayings
My brother the Da'iah, do not lie even when you think the situation
forces you to do so, and remember the words of Abu Sufian when Hercules
asked him about the prophet (peace be upon him) . He said “ By Allah,
had I not been afraid of my companions labeling me a liar, I would
not have spoken the truth about the prophet (peace be upon
him)” (AlBukhari 7). This man being a "jahili" (holding on to the beliefs of
Arabs before Islam) had avoided lying because he was afraid that he be one
day labeled a liar even though he was in a great need to lie. Today, we know
Da'iahs are being targets of numerous attacks. Therefore, the Da'iah should
avoid all actions that weaken his position.
3- Truthfulness in Deeds
AlFudail Ibn Iyadh explained "best in deed" as the most sincere and
most correct of deed. He was asked about the meaning of "most sincere and
most correct of deed" and he replied: If the work was sincere but not correct
it will not be accepted, and if it was correct but not sincere it will not be
accepted; it will be accepted only if it is both sincere and correct.
To this extent was the truthfulness of the deeds of the prophet (peace
be upon him) . He did not accept to use an obscure eye signal to order the
killing of his enemy. This was his habit and practice (peace be upon him) all
his life. For this reason, the polytheists couldn't accuse him of lying in the
early stages of his Da’wah to Islam. They resorted to labeling him with
poetry, magic or craziness but people didn't accept this and when they
couldn't fabricate any new accusations they cried loudly: He is a liar, but in
vain.
We conclude that the first mean for the success of the Da'iah is his
truthfulness in shouldering the Da’wah, his seriousness in pursuing it and
that truthfulness in sayings and actions be his banner and way of life. It is
not important to say sweet beautiful words -- even if it is required -- but
what is more important is truthfulness, being consistent and in harmony
with oneself and that words are spoken out of self experience. It was said
that if the word came out of the heart, it would touch the heart, but if it
came out of the mouth it would not go past the ears.
Ethics of Al-Da'iah
Prepared by: Salman bin Fahd AlAwdah.
book logo Original language: Arabic.
Publishing house: Dar-Alwatan, P.O.Box 3310 Riyadh, Tel:+966-1-
4644659.
Publishing date: 1411H/1991G.
Patience
In many occasions, the people who went astray will try to frustrate
the Da'iahs by telling them that what they are calling for is unachievable,
old values that people no longer remember and that the Da'iahs should
accept a lesser objective and should revise their opinions and efforts. Under
the pressure of realities, facing the real and fictitious obstacles in the road of
accomplishing Islam and realizing the lengthy way the Da'iahs will go
through, some of them may give an ear, get influenced and start to revise his
understanding of Islam and his understanding of what the opponents say.
This position will be very acceptable if the Da'iah does it with the
spirit of the brave objective researcher who looks for the truth wherever it
is, but here he does it with the spirit of the defeated who feels that he came
out of the battle wounded or captured. He, afterwards, starts to look for a
solution in the proposals of his opponents that would save him from
fighting falsehood and distorted realities.
Take, for example, usury, which spread all over, deepened its roots,
and had all world economies, including that of the Islamic world, depend on
it. It almost got into every one pocket. This is a realization of the prophet
(peace be upon him) hadeeth “ People will witness a time in which
whoever is not usurious will be affected by its dust” (Ahmad 2/494,
Abu Dawood 3331, AlNisai 4455, Ibn Majah 2278. This hadeeth was
considered weak by AlMunthiri because of lack of link between the hadeeth
reporters AlHassan and Abu Hurairah), This hadeeth, with its weak
authenticity, has its meaning strengthened by this hadeeth reported by
AlBukhari “ A time will come when one will not care how one gains
one's money, legally or illegally” (AlBukhari 2059, AlNisai 4454).
When the ones who do not have certainty of faith come to the
defeated Da'iah trying to persuade him to take another look at an act of clear
usury, he, instead of preventing them from this unlawful earning, which
entered their pockets and from this unlawful dealing that became part of
their souls, and instead of trying to search for Islamic acceptable
alternatives for investing money and building Islamic economy upon it, tries
to find an opening in the Shari’a law no matter how weak or out of
conformity this opening is. In this manner, the people's way of a life that
span a limited period of time becomes a reference to twist the Shari’a laws
that have been constant throughout the ages. This can be explained by the
Da'iah lacking patience and then losing hope. It is best for such Da'iah to
listen to the advice of the one who said: If you cannot achieve an objective,
stop working on it and start on something you can achieve
Someone may come to the Da'iah telling him: “you work hard day
and night and undergo mountainous efforts but at the end results seem to be
little and people start to turn away from you. Moreover, you see that means
of destruction and corruption have engulfed many of them and whatever
you've been building in years will be demolished in hours.” This kind of
logic may influence many of the Da'iahs who are not used to facing
obstacles in their way. At such moments, comes the role of "patience",
patience, which is most fitting to the situation.
Therefore it is not fit for a Da'iah not to have the necessary patience
until the fruits of Da’wah are ripe.
The Da'iah may be, in his place (town, school, office,...), fighting
against reprehensible actions and for spreading Da’wah and through him a
lot of good may be happening which he may not feel because it happens
gradually like a father not feeling the growth of his child because he sees
him every morning and evening.
Many Da'iahs abandon their places thinking they are not achieving
anything. Afterwards, he regrets his decision painfully when he realizes the
emptiness that is greatly felt behind him.
The Da'iah must wait patiently for the results and must exert his
efforts putting his dependence upon Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala). He must
comprehend that from historical and realistic experiences, any good effort
done will have its fruit on the people. It never happened in this Ummah
(nation of Islam) that no one would respond to the Da'iah or no one would
listen to his advises. Similarly, it never happened that a scholar gave a
lesson and no one attended. We are not yet at the time, the prophet (peace
be upon him) told us about, when greed is an obeyed practice, desire guides
the actions and every one admires his own opinion to the point that he
rejects the Quran and Sunnah if they are not in accordance with it.
This did not happen yet at the level of the whole Islamic nation. It
may be noticed on some individuals or in some places but good is still
prevalent and people are responsive to the knowledgeable wise Da'iah.
Moreover we find people respond to Da'iahs in non-Muslim countries, in
Europe and America. Statistics show that tens are reverting to Islam in the
Islamic centers there every week.
This historical realistic fact that says that every effort will produce a
fruit, is also a fact from the perspective of Islamic Shari’a: “ Whoever
works any act of righteousness and has faith, his endeavor will not
be rejected, We shall record it in his favor” (Meaning of Quran 21:94),
“ That Allah may reward the men of truth for their truth” (Meaning
of Quran 33:24), “ He who introduced some good practice in Islam
which was followed after him (by people) would be assured of reward
like one who followed it, without their reward being diminished in
any respect” (Muslim 1017, AlNisai 2554, from the hadeeth of Jareer Ibn
AbdAllah AlBajali), “ He who called (people) to righteousness, there
would be reward (assured) for him like the rewards of those who
adhered to it, without their rewards being diminished in any
respect” (Muslim 2674, AlTirmithi 2676, Abu Dawwod 4609 all from the
hadeeth of Abu hurairah).
Therefore every work has a reward and every Da'iah has followers.
Ethics of Al-Da'iah
Prepared by: Salman bin Fahd AlAwdah.
book logo Original language: Arabic.
Publishing house: Dar-Alwatan, P.O.Box 3310 Riyadh, Tel:+966-1-
4644659.
Publishing date: 1411H/1991G.
Modesty
Imam AbdAllah Ibn AlMubarak felt that this man had some kind of
feeling of pride, arrogance, and superiority over others, which is an illness
that often afflict those who offer more worship than the rest. So, the Imam
educated him giving him an appropriate advise.
We often find some good people, perhaps some Da'iahs, and even
young students who have ill manners with their sheikhs, scholars, and
teachers, which is painful and bothering.
This has been the way of AlBatiniah sect through the ages, where
the individuals are educated to accept that their leaders and scholars are
infallible.
Men are not equal. You may see a humble student of Shari’a who
hardly knows few pages from Quran by heart and may not be able to tell a
single hadeeth from the collections of AlBukhari or Muslim let alone
knowing the chain of narrators or its meaning, you may see him confronting
the great scholars saying: "I have said", "I think", and "according to my
knowledge", forgetting how little his background is.
Modesty means being humble with those who are less than you are.
So, if you meet a younger person or someone lower in position, do not look
down at him because he may have a purer heart or less sin or be closer to
Allah than you are. Even if you meet a sinful person while you are a
righteous man do not look down at him and thank Allah who saved you
from the sins he is afflicted with. And remember that your good works may
be foiled if they result in self admiration and desire of good reputation while
his sins may be forgiven if they caused his regret, sadness, and fear of
Allah. Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the prophet
(peace be upon him) told that “ A person said: Allah would not forgive
such and such (person). Thereupon Allah the exalted and glorious
said: Who is he who adjures about Me that I would not grant pardon
to so and so; I have granted pardon to so and so and blotted out his
deeds (who took an oath that I would not grant pardon to
him)” (Muslim 2621).
So, do not think that you are superior even over sinful people. If the
advising Da'iah felt that the sinful person might have some pious deeds and
merits the Da'iah lacks, he would have treated him amicably and presented
his advise favorably which would lead to better reception and acceptance.
Modesty means that you do not admire your work if you have done
good or pious deeds because work may then not be accepted, “ Allah only
accepts from the heedful” (Meaning of Quran 5:27). Because of this, one
of the early Muslims said if I know that Allah had accepted from me a
tasbiha ( uttering Subhana Allah one time), I would be glad to die now.
suspicious about the one who advises him. This is because advise usually
has undercover a finger pointed at weaknesses and flaws. But the one who
is protected by Allah will be victorious over himself and will pray for and
thank any one advising him and pointing to him his weaknesses. This is
why the prophet (peace be upon him) defined pride as “ disdaining the
truth (out of self conceit) and contempt for the people” (Muslim 91).
The proud one thinks he has a very great and superior status. He
could never praise anyone except with pointing out real or invented flaws.
When he gets an advise he rejects it because of the inferiority complex he
has. It is therefore closer to perfection to accept criticism without
sensitivity, shyness, weakness, or bothersome. Ameer AlMoumineen Omar
Ibn AlKhattab (may Allah be pleased with him) set a good example when
he said: May Allah shower mercy over who presents us our weaknesses.
Ethics of Al-Da'iah
Prepared by: Salman bin Fahd AlAwdah.
book logo Original language: Arabic.
Publishing house: Dar-Alwatan, P.O.Box 3310 Riyadh, Tel:+966-1-
4644659.
Publishing date: 1411H/1991G.
Justice
of Quran 5:8). It is sad that even when we accept this advice from Allah
(Subhanahu wa Ta’ala), we do not put it in practice. As soon as we find
someone has done what we think is a mistake, we degrade him and turn our
attention away from him. In many instances, the many merits of someone
will obliterate his few shortcomings and the many shortcomings will
obliterate the merits. The matter is actually worse; In many occasions, It is
the few flaws that make us forget the many merits, which is contradictory to
the Shari’a rule that states: if the water amounts to two jars then impurities
(or scum) can be neglected.
It is not just to state what are negative about a book and not mention
its positive sides. For example, you say that the book contains weak or not
authentic hadeeths and that it has some strange opinions meanwhile you
ignore to mention the good scientific research and the useful ideas it may
have. Stating half the truth and ignoring the other half is a departure from
honesty.
These Da’wahs are different in their methods, their basis, and their
objectives. They are also different on how close or far they are from the
way of AlKitab and AlSunnah (The Quran and the way of the prophet,
peace be upon him).
Many have talked about these Da’wahs and studied their different
aspects. You find that many studies lack justice. This is either because the
writer of such a study is a follower of a Da’wah who likes its methods and
ways or an adversary who cannot see but flaws; and between the two, truth
is lost.
It is just that we do not overlook the Bida’ah on the pretext that Ahl
AlBida’ah (heretics) were good on some issues at the same time that we do
not ignore their good works on the pretext that they are of Ahl AlBida’ah.
This obvious interest might get wasted between two sides. A side
that views this effort as a perfect one and will incriminate any one who tries
to criticize it and another that cannot see but flaws to the point that he
renders this effort useless.
Take, for example, the Afghani Jihad, which lasted for more than ten
years with much sweat, tears, blood, sacrifices, struggle and sleepless
nights. You find someone that considers it as free from mistakes and flaws
and that it resembles the jihad of the prophet companions. He will see it as a
jihad that is above any criticism, comments, or supervision. On the other
extreme, you will find another who classifies the Mujahideen as ignorants
and of Ahl AlBida’ah without any hesitation and without giving any details.
When asked how did he arrive at such judgment he will say that they use
amulets and have mosques that are not according to Sunnah. It is even
graver! Someone has declared that this is not jihad but polytheists fighting
atheists. I have read another stray comment by someone about Muslim
groups that follows the way of Kitab and Sunnah; it says: "He is an infidel
who does not consider this group as infidels." If this was his judgment on
such a group then what do you expect about his judgments on groups who
are not as close to Kitab and Sunnah. This is not the just balance that Allah
(Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) has put for this nation and this is not the real
adherence to the way of the prophet (peace be upon him) who would
acknowledge the value of each and every one and who would not rob
people from the rights they should have. Hasn't he praised people, if it was
of common interest, because of the good deeds they have even if they were
not free from flaws. Hasn't he (peace be upon him) praised AlNajashi and
said that “ He is a king that no one is treated unfairly under his
rule” (Ibn Ishaq in Biographies and Campaigns 213, AlBaihaqi 9/9, Ahmad
in AlMusnad 5/290) even though AlNajashi was not a Muslim at the time.
Those texts that are firm and clear (Muhkam) are a "religion". They
must be accepted, followed, and believed in; no text can be abandoned as
long as it remained firm and was not substituted or deleted (Mansookh)
during the life time of the prophet (peace be upon him).
Some people will take the texts of threats and ignore the texts of
promises. For example, someone will take the hadeeth: “ The person who
severs the bond of kinship will not enter paradise” (AlBukhari 5984,
Muslim 2556, Abu Dawwod 1996), or the hadeeth:“ The Qattat (The
qattat is the person who conveys information from one person to the
other with the intention of causing harm and enmity between them)
will not enter paradise” (AlBukhari 6056, Muslim 105, Abu Dawood
4771, AlTirmithi 2127). and will label others of disbelief if they do such
acts according to what may appear as the meaning of these texts neglecting
other texts of promise and anticipation as the hadeeth narrated by Utban: “
If anybody comes on the day of resurrection who has said: La ilaha
illa Allah, sincerely, with the intention to win Allah's pleasure, Allah
will make the hell fire forbidden for him” (AlBukhari 4623, Muslim
33), or the hadeeth:“ If any one testifies that none has the right to be
worshipped but Allah Alone Who has no partners, and Mohammad
is His slave and his apostle, and that Jesus is Allah's slave and His
apostle and His word which He bestowed on Mary and a soul from
him, and that Paradise is true, and Hell is true, Allah will admit him
into Paradise with the deeds which he has done even if those deeds
were few” (Ahmad 5/314, AlBukhari 3435, Muslim 28, AlTirmithi 2640).
On the other extreme you will find someone who takes only texts of
anticipation leaving out texts of threats, making people feel safe from
Allah's design, “ After them succeeded an (evil) generation: they
inherited the book, but they chose (for themselves) the vanities of this
world, saying (for excuse): (every thing) will be forgiven us. Even so,
if similar vanities came their way they would (again) seize
them” (Meaning of Quran 7:169).
The justice is to take this text and that one until the scales are
balanced.
D. That the prophet ordered to put the shoes between the feet,
not to the right or left, except if there was no one to the left as
in the hadeeth of Abu Hurairah (Abu Dawood 654-655) and
others.
II. I have mentioned the opinions of scholars regarding this issue and
they are three opinions:
A. It is makrooh (reprehensible). This opinion was reported to
be of Ibn Omar and Abu Musa AlAshar.
It is not a shame that the Da'iah learn or teach the sunnahs that are,
at present, considered strange like wearing dresses not longer than middle of
the leg for men, or the sitting of rest in prayer or moving the finger during
tashahud. These are matters of Shari’a that are backed up by texts and need
specialized scholars to form an opinion regarding them on the condition that
it will not exhaust all their efforts leaving other issues untouched. They
need also to be applied by young people and spread by them to others when
they find that the time and place permit the acceptance of these sunnahs.
These young people also need to stop propagating these sunnahs when they
fear that the interest of the religion may be harmed and not out of the fear of
people looks and words.
When Oqban Ibn Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) came to
Omar carrying the good news of the successful conquest of Syria, he made a
one week trip from a Friday to the next until he reached Madinah and told
Omar about the conquest. Muslims chanted: Allah Akbar, and were happy
to be victorious. Then Omar looked at the shoes of Oqbah and asked: When
did you wear them? Oqbah said: It's been a week and I've been wiping over
them [instead of washing feet for Wudu]. Omar said: What you've done is
the Sunnah (AlBaihaqi 1/380). The story is authentic as Ibn Taimiah (Ibn
Taimiah Alfatawa 21/178), and others declared. The news of the conquest
and the business to bring the world under the rule of Islam did not prevent
Omar from discussing a partial detail -- in the view of some -- and then
stating what is Sunnah according to his opinion and finding.
When he was dying the choice of the next caliphate was of a great
concern to him and to the companions of the prophet (peace be upon him) .
This was an extremely important general and essential matter, but it did not
divert the attention of Omar from giving advice on some other partial
matters. A young man from AlAnsar entered visiting Omar after he was
stabbed. The young man said nice words to Omar and he was exiting, Omar
noticed that his dress was long; so he ordered to bring back the young man
and told him: "O. my nephew, raise up your dress. It is cleaner for it and it
is more pious" (AlBukhari 3700 on the authority of Amr Ibn Maimoon).
Minutes after, he was discussing the question of grand father being eligible
for inheritance with the brothers. Omar said: "I have formed an opinion
regarding the grand father. If you find it right follow it". Othman (may
Allah be pleased with him) said: "If we follow your opinion, it is on the
right direction and if we follow the opinion of the old man before you (Abu
Bakr) then he was one of good opinion" (AlDarimi 2916 on the authority of
Marwan Ibn AlHakam).
Islam governs all aspects of life at the level of the individual and the
group and all social, economical, political, scientific and other levels. Allah
(Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) has blamed and reproached the Christians by telling:
“ From those, too, who call themselves Christians, we did take a
Covenant, but they forgot a good part of the Message that was sent
them: so we stirred up enmity and hatred between the one and the
other, to the day of judgment” (Meaning of Quran 5:14).
Grouping around one part of the religion neglecting other parts is the
heritage of the perished nations and one of the greatest causes of conflict
and dissent among Da'iahs. You find a sect of Muslims that emphasizes on
the worship aspect of the religion. They will stay up praying most of the
night. They will utter athkar most of the time, and may be, they will add
unfounded religious practices borrowed from Sufism. I have been told that
one of the western spies lived with one such sect, then he reported that such
people are absolutely harmless. Their only concern is what under the ground
and what's above heavens. I'm amazed! They only talk about death, graves,
punishment, reward and about Allah, the angels, and the hereafter, but they
never get concerned with what is happening on earth.
Other groups get concerned with the political aspects of Islam. Their
struggle is in the field of forming political parties, gathering supporters,
winning elections, participating in parliaments and educating youth on
political struggle.
You also find groups who put their efforts on the sciences of
religion. They learn Sunnah and Hadeeth, and get occupied in classifying
the hadeeths, warning people against invented and weak ones. This may be
accompanied by dryness and weakness of worship and distraction from the
realities of the Muslim nation and what is been devised against it.
forgotten along the way. Add to that the different inclinations and
skills people have. Someone may have piety and ascetic benevolence
but he is not gifted with the tools of Shari’a sciences which makes
him unable to contribute in this field. Here we say that every one
knows what his strong points are. Therefore, he should exploit this
strength to contribute to the completion of the integrated Islamic
structure as did the companions of the prophet (peace be upon him) .
Among them were brave fighters like Khalid Ibn AlWaleed besides
great scholars and judicial jurists like Ibn Abbas and Ibn Masood,
and the ascetic devotee as Abu Thur, who used to shout among the
people in words and in actions calling them to turn away from this
worldly life. Very few others were a compound of virtues like Abu
Bakr, Omar, Othman and Ali. Such models will rarely repeat during
the following generations.
This extreme case of unconsciousness may not repeat very often, but
there are other more frequent cases that are less extreme. A young man once
asked me: The Ba'ath party, what are their other beliefs besides denying the
Ba'ath (In Arabic, Ba'ath means resurrection and it also means revival)?
This young man thought they were called the Ba'ath party because they
deny Ba'ath, same as the Qadariah (fatalist) sects were called so because
they denied AlQadar (fate).
On the other side of those who are separate from reality, you find
someone who transforms dealing with the current state of affairs into some
kind of defeatism. He tries to find pretexts to say that the status of people is
according to Islam. He may also renounce some Shari’a matters for the sake
of current realities or because of the psychological pressure.
cease to differ, except those on whom Your Lord has bestowed his
mercy” (Meaning of Quran 11:118,119).
Some Da'iahs call for unity and ignoring the difference without a
clear definition of whom to unite with and whom to separate from on the
grounds of his Bida’ah, stray actions, or deviations.
Ethics of Al-Da'iah
Prepared by: Salman bin Fahd AlAwdah.
book logo Original language: Arabic.
Publishing house: Dar-Alwatan, P.O.Box 3310 Riyadh, Tel:+966-1-
4644659.
Publishing date: 1411H/1991G.
Live Feeling
We are in need of Da'iahs who have burning hearts over the sad
realities all over the world of Islam and Muslims, who sympathize with
their brothers, and who materialize in themselves the meaning of "being
strong against unbelievers but compassionate amongst each other" as Allah
(Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) described the companions of the prophet (peace be
upon him). These Da'iahs must be very different from the Kharijis (An old
group of Muslims who deviated by considering that sinful Muslims will be
in Hell forever. They used to kill Muslims who do not agree with them in
their beliefs, but let unbelievers pass by them safely) who were strong
against the Muslims and permissive with the idolaters.
sad if it was the other way around. This is what we can call the alliance to
Muslims.
A part of this live feeling is to have a heart that gets sad for Muslims
when they indulge in sin or when they deviate from the right path. Instead
of allowing this to detach him from them, he will be like the physician
trying to save them or at least minimize their deviations or wrong doings.
Many are the Da'iahs who speak about Islam, but the ones with true
live feelings are only a few. This feeling when it moves in the heart of the
Da'iah, it will produce guidance, sincerity, and sharing of pain with
Muslims anywhere, but when this feeling is missing then it means one will
live only for himself and his family, enjoying life around him and forgetting
about Muslims concerns. At this stage, he is abandoning his loyalty to the
believers even if he speaks about Da’wah, Da'iahs, and misfortunes of
Muslims because he becomes like the hired mourner.
There are many who got used to repeating talks in the occasions, and
memorizing phrases that they hear and say without enthusiasm or love for
this religion or its followers.
Ethics of Al-Da'iah
Prepared by: Salman bin Fahd AlAwdah.
book logo Original language: Arabic.
Publishing house: Dar-Alwatan, P.O.Box 3310 Riyadh, Tel:+966-1-
4644659.
Publishing date: 1411H/1991G.
Ambition
We mean by ambition that one lives for his nation rather than for
himself following the footsteps of the prophet (peace be upon him) . When
Abdullah Ibn Shaqeeq (may Allah be pleased with him) asked A'isha (may
Allah be pleased with her): Did the prophet (peace be upon him) pray
sitting? She said: Yes, after people had exhausted his power. He (peace be
upon him) was at the disposal of people, receiving them, saying farewell to
them, educating them, preventing them from wrong doing, mixing with
them, shouldering their errors, and taking the burden of their concerns until
they exhausted him and even left marks on his body by pulling him to get
his attention. At the end, he (peace be upon him) grew old fast to the extent
that he prayed sitting.
The religion has three levels, Islam, Iman, and the highest level is
Ihsan. Another three fold division is found in Quran in Surat Fatir “ Then
we allowed our servants that we have chosen to inherit the book but
there are among themselves some who wrong their own souls; some
who follow a middle course and some who are, by Allah leave,
foremost in good deeds; that is the highest grace” (Meaning of Quran
35:32). The prophet (peace be upon him) had also mentioned a similar
threefold division. He first specified Islam as the condition to enter
Paradise; This is the big circle. This circle of Islam contains a narrower
circle, the circle of the salvaged party (AlFirqah AlNajiah), the party of
those who adhere to the right creed and straight behavior but stopping at
this limit. There is still the third narrowest circle, which is the greatest, most
noble and most honored, the circle of the party aided by Allah (AlTaifah
AlMansoorah). It is the party of those who defend the religion, fight for it
and endure the harm and hardship for its sake and thus Allah will make it
triumphant.
Ethics of Al-Da'iah
Prepared by: Salman bin Fahd AlAwdah.
book logo Original language: Arabic.
Publishing house: Dar-Alwatan, P.O.Box 3310 Riyadh, Tel:+966-1-
4644659.
Publishing date: 1411H/1991G.
Conclusion
To set a good example the Da'iah actions must conform to his words
as the prophet Shuaib (Peace be upon him) said “ I wish not, in
opposition to you, to do that which I forbid you to do. I only desire
(your) betterment to the best of my power; and my success (in my
task) can only come from Allah. In him I trust, and unto him I
turn” (Meaning of Quran 11:88). Therefore, they are the scholars of evil,
those who call people to come to Islam by their words but they drive them
away from Islam by their practices. So my brother, the Da'iah, be an
example both in your actions and in your words.
Here there is an issue that we must turn our attention to. It is that
many believe that the Da'iah should only ask people to do the good deeds
that he himself does and only forbid people from the wrongs that he himself
avoid. This is wrong! The right approach, supported by texts from Quran
and Sunnah, is to command people to do righteous deeds even if the Da'iah
failed to do them and to forbid wrongs even if he is falling in them. Some of
the scholars even went to stating that persons in a party drinking liquor
should advise each other to stop committing this sin. Committing a sin must
not lead to another mistake; that is refraining from forbidding the wrong.
The only condition required to command good and forbid evil is to have
sincere intention and not to do it to deceive people or get a reputation as a
Da'iah.