Al-Baiyyinah
(The e-magazine of Witness-Pioneer)
Volume 4 Issue 1 June-July 2004
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Editorial: Dawah: A calling that pervades all activities of our life |
Md Mahmudul
Hasan |
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Nazmun Nahar |
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Muhammad
Alshareef |
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Farid Ahmed |
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Dr. Aisha Hamdan |
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Shahidul Islam
Pramanik |
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Ruby Zigrino |
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Yousuf M Islam |
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Yusuf Al Qaradawi: Summary: Atiq Ahad |
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Hanaa Ghoneim |
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Abdul Malik
Mujahid |
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Kaniz Fatima |
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Habibur Rahman |
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Editorial:
Da’wah: A calling that pervades all activities of our life
Md. Mahmudul Hasan
If we just have a look around the world, despite all
collective failings of the Muslim Ummah and the consequent tribulations that
visit them especially in the trouble zones oftentimes, the ubiquitous presence
of the Islamic faith will appear self-evident. Whatever country or region we
go, we will definitely find masjids as well as many people who devote their
precious time in worshipping Allah (SWT)
and serving His causes. And then imagine the early period of Islam when our
beloved Prophet Muhammad (
We are just the beneficiaries of what our noble predecessors did. Sometimes we appear to be incompetent successors, as the global state of affairs of the Muslims amply indicates. We have failed to ensure a continual dissemination of the message of Islam; we have been unsuccessful to properly appreciate the intellectual heritage and to maintain the mental cultivation that our predecessors heralded so successfully. Instead of following their footsteps and carrying out the moral and intellectual obligations that they logically expected from us, we have searched for our comforts and happiness in cushions and easy-chairs. We have pursued the effortless way of stopping research and, in many cases, started blindly imitating them with pleas like: “enough is done”; “we can not beat or outdo them”; “our ancestors knew better than us”; and similar other apologies. During our intellectual slumber and mental stagnation, other peoples carried on their research and poked around the world in search of wealth. When our slumber is broken and we are up, we found ourselves miserably incompetent to cope with the pace of their worldly success. Our enemies now seem not to leave any stone unturned to make our life difficult; the more than one billion Muslim populations are just some passive spectators of a cinematic performance of human predators, and inactive (sometimes reactive but not proactive) viewers of the movie of the sufferings of their fellow-Muslims in different parts of the world.
The catalogue of our flaws and failings can only go on and on. I have no intention in this piece of writing to let the readers down by representing only the bleak aspect of the Ummah of the present time. Actually the situation now is not so dire as it was roughly 50 or 100 years back. Things have, by the grace of Allah, started getting better, which in reality prompted unsympathetic measures by many power structures and political machineries both in the Muslim World and in the West. Muslim lands are now not some intellectual barren lands and not without du’at, though many of them are not properly trained. Research and intellectual cultivation is burgeoning, though in many cases haphazard and lacking in direction. We have many youths who are very keen on the promotion of Islamic causes in personal, familial, social and political spheres. I have few submissions for these du’at:
Da’wah should be considered a part and
parcel of our everyday life. It is not like doing some office work that you do
only when you are physically present at your office and your mind is set
accordingly. Da’wah is a matter of
constant consciousness. You can do da’wah
work when you are visiting your friends and relatives, teaching your
students, chatting with your colleagues, travelling with strangers (in coaches,
trains, or aeroplanes), so on and so forth. It has to do mainly with a deep
desire to show the light of truth to others. Da’wah is not just what Islam is, but what Islam looks like. In
other words, it is not just what we say about Islam, but what a Muslim does and
how s/he behaves when they accept the teachings of Islam in totality. We have
to be on the look out for an opportunity to get people understand what Islam
means and to persuade people to act upon it. Sometimes you can accomplish an
effective da’wah work by just letting
people know that you are a Muslim and by manifesting a just Islamic behaviour
of decency, honesty and integrity. Sometimes, you can do da’wah even without uttering the word Islam. We have to remember
that our task is not to convey the Message of Islam to every person and in
every circumstance. On occasion, prudence may demand total silence and not to
talk anything about Islam, as doing so may potentially cause disservice to
Islam or provoke taunting remarks about it. Not being cautious in our da’wah work can disappoint us and make
our message ridiculous. I can cite one small example of imprudent and coercive
methodology of da’wah work. This
happened in the university residential hall where I was staying during my
student life at Dhaka University, Bangladesh. Once a devoted brother of a
non-political Islamic mass movement first persuaded and then compelled a
fellow-student to attend a regular nocturnal gathering in the Markaz in one Ramadan night. Let us say
the first student is “N” and the other is “S”. “S” was not at all ready to stay
up until late night nor was he a very good devotee like “N”. “S” agreed to go
to the Markaz just because of the
persistent pursuit of “N”, and as he felt shy to say no to “N”. As “S” was not
in the habit of staying up or attending such nighttime gathering, it caused a
disruption to his normal life so he could not fast the next day. “N” was
passing by the cafeteria at lunchtime the next day, and to his utter surprise
and disappointment he saw “S” just coming out of the cafeteria after having his
lunch! Similar types of disappointment may occur if we do not follow the
principles of caution when calling people to the teachings of Islam.
In
the verse 41:33 of the Qur’an, Allah (SWT)
stipulates two important characteristics of a caller to His way. The first one
is that a da’yee “does what is just
and right”, and the second one is that s/he proclaims that they are “of those
who have surrendered themselves to God”. The first characteristic of a da’yee as specified by Allah (SWT)
tells us about the supreme importance of their being Islam incarnate, that
is, being example before humanity in matters of doing good work. The second da’yee specification carries a sense of
feeling proud of being a Muslim and a da’yee.
I have come across in the West some Muslims who feel shy to perform their
prayer at work. The dirty Islamophobic phenomenon may constitute one reason for
this shyness; but I regard such shyness as cowardice. On many occasions, I
perceived a deep respect among many Westerners for a person who is conscious
about their religious and cultural identity. Conversely, a person who is always
ready to dissociate and distance themselves from their root may earn some
momentary meretricious applauses from the Westerners, but eventually s/he will
be bound to fall into their sack of slavery and would sooner or later receive a
corresponding treatment of disgrace accordingly. History stores scores of such
examples, and reflecting upon the recent history for just a couple of minutes
can bring some to a person of average sensibility. I for one can say that I
feel honoured when I ask for a private space for performing my prayer at work.
Once I was teaching at a school on temporary basis. On my first day at that
school, I was praying Zuhr in my
classroom when my students went out for their lunch and lunchtime play. The
school authority noticed that and thought I needed more privacy for doing my
prayer. For the rest of the days of my stay at that school, the Head Teacher
used to vacate his office for me to pray.
Allah
(SWT) addresses the Prophet (
My
last submission is closely linked with the penultimate one. But this demands a
very outstanding attention. We are quite vociferous about how good is Islam!,
how unique is the Qur’an!, how
glorious is the history of the Islamic civilization!, and how just were the
Islamic rulers of the early Islamic period! But, what is the current state of
affairs of the Muslim societies and what representation of Islam average
Muslims are presenting? We very urgently need to draw a clear divide between
what Islam is and is not. Before being called to the teachings of Islam, people
need to know if they are being called to the distorted version of Islam that
they see in many Muslim individuals and societies. We should clearly proclaim
our disaffiliation with the religious exploitative machineries; otherwise the
increase of some blind devotees would just trigger the economic profits of some
clerics and pirs. Just have a look at
the life style and activities of maximum Islamic clerics or imams. Most of them
lead a monotonous life of semi-confinement in masjids, with no practical relationships whatsoever with the wider
world; research and reading would be the last thing they would feel necessary
to do. Ignorant Muslims invite and offer them sumptuous meal and give them
money (for a reason unknown to me) after their making of a ritualistic
supplication to God. Some imams and clerics earn money just by blowing a puff
into a glass of water. These are some of the scores of practices that are
foreign to the pristine teachings of Islam. We need to make clear, right at the
beginning, that we do not endorse these bizarre practices and many other social
mythologies incongruent with Islam. Some Islamic movements fear public reaction
and maintain a tongue-tied attitude to such economic exploitation being
conducted in the name of Islam. They seem to ignore the fact that this
strategic silence is costing them many otherwise sensible and educated people
who are now distancing themselves from Islam.
These are some of the most important areas we need to address to make our da’wah efforts a success, and the rest is in the hands of Allah (SWT). We hope the articles in this issue of Al-Baiyyinah would shed more light on many other aspects of da’wah.
Nazmun Nahar
What
is Da’wah?
Dawah means to invite
people to accept the truth of Islam and to act upon it. Performing dawah involves both our words and
actions.
Importance of Da’wah
in Islam
The following
Qur’anic verses amply say about how important da’wah is:
- And thus We have
willed you to be a community of the middle way, so that [with your lives]
you might bear witness to the truth before all humankind, and that the
Apostle might bear witness to it before you. . . . (2:143)
- And that there
might grow out of you a community [of people] who invite unto all that is
good, and enjoin the doing of what is right and forbid the doing of what
is wrong: and it is they, they who shall attain to a happy state. (3:104)
- You are indeed
the best community that has ever been brought forth for [the good of]
humanity: you enjoin the doing of what is right and forbid the doing of
what is wrong, and you believe in Allah. . . . (3:110)
- Call [all
humankind] to your Sustainer’s path with wisdom and goodly exhortation,
and argue with them in the most kindly manner. . . . (16:125)
- And who could be better of speech than the one who calls people to Allah, and does what is just and right, and says, “Verily, I am of those who have surrendered themselves to Allah”. (41:33-35)
- By the flight of time! Verily, people are bound to lose themselves unless they be of those who attain to faith, and do good work, and enjoin upon one another the keeping to truth, and enjoin upon one another patience in adversity. (Qur’an: 103)
The above
verses prove that the work of da’wah
is to be carried out not by the scholars or preachers only. It is a duty of all
Muslims. It was the persistent da’wah
by Prophet Muhammad (
Many ways of da’wah
Prophet (
Excuses
that are given for not performing da’wah
“I am not
knowledgeable enough”:
There is no
limit how much knowledge one needs to start da’wah
activities. Da’wah and learning goes
side by side. We should start da’wah
and also continue to learn.
“I don't have
enough time”:
Time is not and cannot be an excuse. We
know that where there is a will, there is
a way. We balance our time to work on our course-work by any means
(sometimes we take 15 to 21 credits), but why cannot we save time to read the
Qur’an, Hadeeth and Islamic
literatures? Is it justified that we do not find or cannot manage any time to
know what our Creator has said in His Book? Is it not true that time is a gift
from Allah (SWT) and we should be
ready to spend it on His causes?
“Religion is a personal matter”:
Religion is not personal. For example, if
you see a child at the edge of a cliff, are you not going to help the child
out? Or, will you say, “I am not going to help as it is none of my business?”
Similarly those who have not received the message of Allah yet, or are ignorant
about it, are also at the brink of downfall and destruction. It is our responsibility to familiarise them
with the noble teachings of Islam. Thinking that we should at first make
ourselves and other Muslims better, and will work on non-Muslims afterwards, is
not a valid argument. Because if almost all people around you are non-muslims,
shouldn't you start da’wah among
them? Or, do we need to go to a Muslim country first to give da’wah?
“I will do it when I become old (at least 40!)”:
No one knows how long s/he will live! Da’wah becomes a religious obligation
when one attains adulthood, and that is much earlier than 40.
“I
feel embarrassed”:
Once you have felt the burden of your
responsibility as a Muslim and realized the importance of spreading Allah’s
message, you will not feel embarrassed any more. It depends on the strength of Imaan.
Importance of learning Arabic language for
a da’yee
Muhammad
Alshareef
While attending
a month long da’wah course when I was
a teenager, one of our Islamic studies instructors, Dr. Mahmood Ghaazi, from
Islamabad, Pakistan, told us about an official trip he had taken to the
Vatican. His delegation met with a group of high-ranking priests. Dr. Ghazi
asked one of them, “Do you have any words that you know for certain, 100%, that
were spoken by Jesus Christ?” The priest felt
a little ashamed, but he replied honestly that there were no words that could
be traced authentically to Jesus — the language he spoke had been forever lost.
Then the priest picked up, “What about Muslims?
Do you have any words that you know for certain, 100%, that were spoken by
Muhammad?” Dr.Ghazi smiled (I am sure you are smiling too). He replied, “Not
only do we have libraries of books of words, we know without doubt, spoken by
our Prophet (
Let us turn into ourselves. Have we done our
part in protecting those words of Allah (SWT)
and of His Messenger? Prophet (
The task of informing peoples about the teachings
of Islam is too urgent for us, in the present context, to waste an age of
another generation. Literacy and education in our deen has to flood our communities in order for us to advance as a
guiding nation.
The Qur'an is Allah's way of communicating with
us, of directly guiding us to His path. Let us reflect if that communication
has really occurred. Look at any college level “Communications” textbook, and
it will tell you that the definition of "communication" is that a
message is sent, and that message is received with the understanding that the
sender intended. If I say something and you cannot hear me because my
microphone is not working, or you become bored and are daydreaming, or you do
not understand the language I am speaking, then true communication has not
occurred. To quote one “Communications” textbook:
If my meaning
was not conveyed, I question if communication has
occurred. Language may be engaged in; words have transpired. But not an act of
communication.
http://www.regent.edu/acad/schcom/phd/com707/def_com.html.
The same is true
for the words of Allah and of His Messenger. Have the words of Allah really
been communicated to us? Just reading some poor English translations of the
Qur'an does not mean a reasonable understanding of it. There are some nuances
in every language that simply cannot be translated.
If Prophet (
Do
ye then wonder at this recital?
And
will ye laugh and not weep
Wasting
your time in vanities?
But
fall ye down in prostration to Allah, and adore (Him)!
At that moment,
Prophet (
Here is just one example of the impossibility of
truly translating the Qur'an. Allah says of
the Day of Judgment, “At length when there comes the deafening noise...”
(80:33). The Arabic word for the phrase deafening
noise is Saakhah – the blowing of the trumpet – that will announce the
resurrection and humanity's repayment for its deeds on earth. It will be an
unbelievably overwhelming moment.
Looking at the word Saakhah, you would assume
that it is pronounced in two syllables, or
beats. But in Arabic, the word Saakhah is recited in a 6-count prolongation.
Listen to it being recited. It is as if the recitation of the word itself is
like a trumpet being blown. In English, we can not prolong the words “deafening
noise,” so we do not get the full strength of meaning that Allah (SWT) intended for us. Only someone who
understands the language can pick up the power of each word Allah has so
carefully and profoundly chosen to give us. Here is another example. If you, as
an English speaker, overheard a master telling his servant, “Get me water,” you
would understand that the master wants the water right away, not two hours
later. But it does not say that
anywhere. It is implicit. It is part of the nuance of the language. Whoever
loves Allah must, by virtue of that true love, love the Prophet. And whoever
loves Allah and His Prophet should, by virtue of that true love, love the
Arabic language chosen by Allah to send His final revelation.
It is the language spoken by the greatest book;
it is the language spoken by the greatest of human beings. It is the entry way
to the understanding of Islamic sciences. Someone who never learns Arabic, can
never fully understand the Qur'an and Sunnah.
What does learning Arabic do for us?
One: It moulds our character as Ibn Taymiyyah
says, “Using a language has a profound effect on one's thinking, behavior and
religious commitment. It also affects one's resemblance to the early
generations of this Ummah, the Companions
and the Taabi'een. Trying to emulate
them refines one's thinking, religious commitment and behavior.” Two:
It is our bridge to the culture of Islam. Undoubtedly, with the teaching of
language comes the teaching of ways to think and behave, through understanding
of the culture that speaks that language.
As a summer job one year, I taught English in a
Muslim country and ashamedly had to skip the numerous pages that spoke of
alcohol, dating, and lewdness. This is the culture of the English language.
Imagine the blessed culture and knowledge awaiting those who would learn
Arabic. At the University of Madinah, I had the
chance to go to school with Muslims from the UK, US and Australia. At the end
of those years, as students amongst ourselves, we would discuss what we were
going to do when we went home to Europe and America. Some of the students
stayed behind, accepting jobs of teaching English just so they could stay in
Madinah. A graduating brother beautifully rejected this when he said, "Why
would I teach Muslim Arab children English, when I have the chance to go to
Europe and teach Muslim European children Arabic?" One
of the main Arabic teachers at AlHuda School in Maryland (www.alhuda.org)
started his career teaching English to Muslims in Arab countries. He saw how
serviced the English language was and how much money was being spent to teach
and study it. He thought to himself that Arabic, the language chosen by Allah,
is more worthy of such wealth, effort and time. He changed his career path and
in his graduate studies took on the task of
teaching Arabic to native English speakers. As immigrants or children of
immigrants, most of us speak two languages. We convinced ourselves, we must learn English so we can get ahead in
this world. Now, we must remind ourselves, we must learn Arabic, so we can get ahead in the next world. [This
can put in a different way: we learn Islam and get a good sense of its culture
through Arabic, and we disseminate it through English. Editor]
Let no Muslim think that Arabic is a particular
regional tongue. It is the language of our deen.
Calling people to this language is not a nationalistic call, it is a call to
Muslims to raise their head and say, My
faith has a language, it's called Arabic!; it is a call to come to grips
with the root of the Islamic teachings.
Lest you should think I am sending you on this
challenge without any tools, please be aware that there are plenty of classes
available in the West for those who wish to learn the Qur'anic Arabic. The
AlMaghrib Institute's intermediate Arabic class is an opportunity for those
with some knowledge of Arabic to better understand the Qur'an. It is also for
teachers of Arabic who want to learn creative linguistic exercises and teaching
techniques. This class will help you understand over 350 Qur'anic words, read
300 Qur'anic ayats, learn 50 simple hadeeths, compose simple sentences and
short paragraphs in Arabic, and learn the plurals and opposites of more than
400 words. For more information about our AlMaghrib Arabic seminar, visit
www.AlMaghrib.org <http://www.almaghrib.org/>
Acknowledgement:
Khutbah.com
e-Dawah and Cyber-pen-warfare: What
are we promoting?
Farid Ahmed
Whether we like it or not, lot of our time are e-lapsed on Internet these days. No, I do not mean it to be a lapse. But it may, if we are not careful. It is certainly a blessing from Allah (SWT) that we are able to communicate in cyberspace which is so easy, so fast, and so efficient. And like any other blessing, it is therefore a test/trial as well. Because of its exponential nature of spread, one prudent use of a keystroke may buy us eternal peace. On the same token, its inadvertent use may show up as an unfortunate differentiator on the Day of Judgment.
Alhamdulillah, many of us are using this blessing in a positive, prudent way; in response to misinformed criticism of Islam, they provide good chunks of information, healthy arguments, objective deliberation, and proactive web dissemination. [May Allah (SWT) increase their beneficial knowledge and let us all be benefited from their knowledge!] In spite of that, sometimes unwillingly, we do e-lapse and get trapped in mere arguments over positions, personal vendetta, subjective criticism, and reactive comments. More dangerously, some of us sometimes forget our “role” and make motion with severe emotion without appropriate knowledge and etiquette.
So, what is that “role”? That is simply da’wah. We all are individually responsible to call to our Creator’s way passionately and incessantly, with wisdom and best preaching as mentioned in the verse 125 of surah Nahl of the Qur’an: “Invite to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'ân) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better.” This is the premise of this write-up. In light of a lecture titled ‘Guiding to Allah- By the Book’ [1], I would like to explore how best we can enjoy our cyber-ride with an objective of da’wah only.
In this first part of a multi-part writing, let us analyze the “what” part of e-da’wah: what are we giving da’wah to, what are we going to promote? Whether we write an article, or respond to someone’s question, or are engaged in an e-debate, this is the bottom-line question we need to be aware of all the time. Fortunately, the answer to this question is also mentioned in the same verse, that is 16:125 – we are calling towards Allah.
We are to talk about the issues Allah
(SWT) instructed us to, through the prophets over and over again. For
example, i) Tawheed - the oneness of Allah, ii) Preparation for the
eternal life, iii) Betterment of the humankind, iv)
prudent and sensible use of this earth and its resources. These are a
few of the core issues we need to remember during our cyber-pen-warfare. I like
to emphasize here the
Let me be more specific. Opponents of Islam love to attack with anything they have in possession. They oppose because they see some anomaly (according to their perceptions) in certain aspects of Islamic way of life. We need to understand that, most often, most of the erroneous perceptions are due to the lack of understanding of the core issues of Islam. Therefore, we need to be focused on those issues. (On a side note, as an engineering student, I can see it as a problem of signal to noise. There is too much noise in Islam opponents’ discussion covering a whole spectrum of uncorrelated issues. We need to enhance the signal component by shedding the light frequency of issues of specific core topics and by averaging out those pesky noise components.)
A vast majority of those who oppose Islamic rulings and raise questions about peripheral issues do so because of their sincere ignorance (as opposed to arrogant ignorance). Focusing on the core issues has great positive impacts on these truth-seeking minds. Here is an example of April Szuchyt, a convert to Islam, who puts the matter in the following words, “…In the beginning, my reactions were typical of any liberated, educated Western woman with no knowledge of Islam. I accused Islam of being oppressive to women and obsessed with rules. I did not realize that I was missing the ‘big picture’ that God is bigger than all other details.” [2]
We need to delineate that BIG picture of core issues. The core of these cores in Islam is Tawheed – the oneness of Allah (SWT) [3, 4], because
a) The concept of Tawheed points to the objective of creation of the humankind and the jinns. (Qur’an 51:56)
b) This is related to the covenant the humanity as a whole made with Allah. Humankind testified and accepted the rubuyiat of Allah (SWT) as mentioned in the verse 7:172 of the Qur’an.
c) The primary mission of the prophets was to propagate the concept of Tawheed.
d) All other components of iman emanates from the concept of Tawheed.
e) There is a misconception among us that people already know this basic part of iman. But in reality, we know little about the implications of Tawheed in our life. More sadly, we do not know that we understand little about this important aspect of Islam.
Now, a big picture of core issues come from the identity or uniqueness of Islam compared to other man-made isms or other distorted versions of the preaching of other prophets. In light of the four core issues mentioned above, here is a partial list of uniqueness [1] that we need to drive home in our writing:
a) Islam is the most widely followed purely monotheistic religion in the world. It is based on the oneness of the Creator, Sustainer, and Manager of the universe.
b) Since it came from the Creator, it is flawless.
c) Islam has universal appeal. It addresses the entire humankind, and it is for the entire humankind irrespective of caste, color, or creed. There is no concept of chosen creed in Islam. Islam is unique in talking about universal issues. Islam is the only religion which testifies the truth of the teachings of all the prophets from the beginning. It is the only one that links all the prophets in one thread.
d) Islamic laws are in conformity with human beings’ nature and as such it has the most reasonable, explainable and just set of rules. The set of ‘Belief’ in Islam are not merely belief; they are called iman which is much beyond the realm of blind faith [3]. All of the branches of iman are supported by explainable evidences, clues, and similitude.
e) Islam is unique in its evolution. Here the manuals/guidance of the Creator shapes the community as opposed to other man-made isms where the community is a trial-and-error product of culture, norms, and customs.
f) Islam is unique in its blessed style of conveyance where the spiritual and the legal commandments are intermingled. Islam appeals to the heart of an individual; it is unique in this sacredness of its impact. It is also unique in its balanced combination of fear and hope.
g) Islam is unique because it is the most comprehensive and complete code of life that encompasses every bit and piece of human life.
The next question then is how can we focus on the core issues?
Allah knows best and we all have to go back to Him.
References
- Guiding to Allah – By the Book, Lecture notes of Muhammad Al Shareef, Al Maghrib Insitute; URL: www.almaghrib.org
- Silent No More; Confronting America’s False Images of Islam, by Paul Findley, USA: Amana Publications, July 2002.
- Al Tawhid:Its Implications for
Thought and Life, Dr. Ismail Raji al Faruqi,
- The Fundamentals of Tawheed- Islamic Monotheism, Dr Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, Al Hidaya Publishing.
Dr. Aisha Hamdan
Most Muslims are familiar with the various reasons why Allah has required women to wear the hijab: The hijab reflects modesty, purity and respect; it lessens temptation so that more serious sins will be avoided; it protects women from the harm and molestation of evil men; a woman who wears the hijab will be evaluated for her intelligence and skills rather than for her appearance.
One important aspect that is often overlooked, however, is that the hijab is a symbol of Muslim identity. A woman who covers her head is making a statement that she is a member of the Muslim community and that she follows a particular code of moral conduct. Allah says:
O Prophet, tell your wives and daughters and the believing women to draw their outer garments around them. That is more suitable that they will be known (as Muslims and chaste believing women) and not be abused. (Qur'an: 33:59)
“...that they will be known...”: In America, where Islam is the fastest growing religion (alhumdullilah!), many people are coming to know what this head covering really signifies and to understand the religion that mandates it. The hijab, in effect, is an amazingly powerful tool for da’wah. Muslims themselves are probably not even aware of this telling impact of the hijab. As with any tool, the key for effectiveness is appropriate and knowledgeable use. The most obvious first step would be for Muslim women to actually wear the hijab. It is a tragic and upsetting phenomenon to see so many Muslims dressing in the manner of the disbelievers (blue jeans, T-shirts, short skirts, even shorts).
The Prophet (SAWS) said; “Whoever resembles a people is one of them” (Abu Dawood). This is not only happening in America and other Western countries as people attempt to assimilate and adopt the practices of the prevailing culture, but it is also occurring in Muslim countries at an alarming rate. A woman who refuses to wear the hijab is disobeying Allah and committing a serious sin, putting worldly pleasures before spiritual attainment, and neglecting her duty to the religion of Islam.
Many scholars agree that the only reason a Muslim may live in a non-Muslim country is to conduct da’wah and bring people to the fold of the true religion. How can a woman perform da’wah for Islam when she is not even practicing it herself? To do this would be a form of hypocrisy and it will not be successful. Once a woman begins to wear the hijab she completes a large portion of her responsibility for da’wah with very little effort. Each time she goes to the grocery store, the library, to work, to school, or to any other public place, she is spreading the magnificent message of Islam. This is not only because of the outer hijab that she wears, but more importantly, the modesty of her behavior that accompanies it.
When a woman refrains from flirting with men, limits physical contact, and is reserved and respectful, people may become curious and want to learn more about this intriguing faith. It may just sow the seeds of something wonderful. At the University where I teach (which happens to be a private, Catholic school), women are often interested in my manner of dress and demeanour. Each semester I have at least one student who requests my involvement in a project for another class, usually comparative religions. They are surprised when they learn the rationale for this injunction and the fact that it was part of their religious heritage as well. If I chose not to wear the hijab, I would miss these wonderful opportunities to share the beauty, peace and universality of my faith. When there is the possibility for further discussion with those who are interested, knowledge and understanding of the topic is an imperative. A very effective technique is to relate the concept to something that is familiar to the other person. Some examples of questions that could be posed include:
“Did you ever wonder why Mary, the mother Jesus (AS) wore clothing very similar to that of Muslims?”
“Why do Catholic nuns dress the way they do?”
“Did you know that in the Canon laws of the Catholic Church today there is a law that requires women to cover their heads in church?”
“Have you read in the Corinthians (Bible, 11:3-10) the verses that Paul wrote:
‘Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her Head’ – it is just as though her head were shaved. If a woman doesn't cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or shaved off, she should cover her head.”
“Did you know that there are some Christian denominations, namely the Amish and the Mennonites, who still require women to wear the head covering?”
“Were you aware that it was the custom of Jewish women to go out in public with a head covering and that some denominations still practice this today?”
These discussion points demonstrate the obvious fact that the head cover was not just introduced by Islam, rather this requirement has been in place for thousands of years.
This can also be a cogent segue to more crucial topics such as the fact that Moses, (AS), Jesus (AS) and Muhammad (SAWS) were all prophets of the same God and that they each carried the same basic message of surrendering to Allah SWT. Islam corrected the errors that had encroached into previous revelations and completed the process that was planned by Allah. We should be proud to be Muslims. We should also be grateful for the gift that Allah has given to each one of us: The perfect truth of Islam that is our key to paradise. All others are being deluded by Satan. With our gift comes the responsibility to share the truth with those who are less fortunate. We are all responsible to carry the light of Islam. The hijab is an outward manifestation of this light that burns within, and it can be an effective tool for the fulfilment of our obligations. We choose whether to develop this light into a bright, radiant star or let it be extinguished by foolish and selfish desires.
May Allah guide each of us to the true path, Aameen!
Courtesy:
Al-Jumuah Magazine,
Volume 10, Issue 5, Jumaada-A- Ulaa, 1419h
Shahidul Islam Pramanik
Ibn 'Abbaas (RA) narrates that while sending Mu'aadth to Yemen, the Messenger of
Allah Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) said:
Verily you are
going to a people from the People of the Book. So let the first of what you call them to be
the testimony that there is no true deity worthy of worship except Allah. If
they obey you in that, then inform them that Allah has obligated upon them
five-time prayers every day and night. If they obey you in that, then inform
them that Allah has obligated upon them charity to be taken from their rich,
and given to their poor. If they obey you in that, then beware of the luxuries
of their money, and fear the supplication of the oppressed, for verily there is
no veil [between the oppressed and Allah]. (Bukhari, Muslim, Nisai, Ibn Majah)
Shaykh Rabee' Ibn Haadee al-Madkhalee says: This
hadeeth explains the necessary
steps which the caller to Allah is obligated to
proceed upon. So the first
thing - which he is obligated to begin with is
the call to Tawheed, and to
single out Allah in His Oneness with worship,
and to keep away from associating
partners with Allah in a lesser or larger sense
(Mudhkiratunal Hadeeth An-Nabawee, p.9)
Fundamentals of
Da`wah:
“Say: ‘This is
my way: I invite to Allah on/with clear knowledge – I and
whomever follows me (does this). Glorified is
Allah, and I am not of the
polytheists’” (Qur’an:12:108). This is one of
the ayaat from which our righteous
predecessors extract Usool ad-Da`wah
or rules/principles/basics of Da'wah.
The Arabic word “Qul” (“Say”) in the verse indicates that we are instructed to
inform people about what follows after the command of “say”. This aayah, together with many others, is
being addressed to the Muslims in general and to the Prophet (SAWS) in particular as to how we are to
give Da`wah. It carries important
commands for us to implement. We should learn, understand, and apply them.
“Haadhihi Sabeelee”
(“This is my way”): The word Sabeel is synonymous with the
words Tareeq,
Minhaaj, and Sunnah. The instruction that follows is regarding the Sunnah of da`wah, which is very important to
adhered to.
Allah tells us to invite people to Tawheed. We are not commanded to summon
people to any individual, organization, any sectarian masjid, or schism. We are only
commanded to call the people to the meaning of Laa ilaaha illaallaah [there is no god but Allah].
Alaa Baseerah (“with clear knowledge”): This
part of the aayah
tells us about the “how” part of the method, that is, how to invite people to
the statement of Tawheed. The word Baseerah is not simple one to translate into
English, however, for right now we will use the
word “knowledge”. This is HOW we invite the
people toTawheed: with proofs/evidences from the
Qur’an and the authentic Sunnah.
Evidence can be produced by two basic ways:
Naqlee
(transmitted evidence): the Qur’an and the authentic
Sunnah, and the statements, understanding, and practical application of the
Shahaadah.
Aqlee
(rational evidence): views based on
scholarly understanding of the Qur’an and the authentic Sunnah related to the
issue at hand.
We must note
that we always seek an answer from the transmitted texts, and only go
to rational points that are based on the Qur’an
and the authentic Sunnah when we are
unable to find an answer within the transmitted texts.
In light of the verse in discussion, one must be
knowledgeable about what s/he is inviting the people to. This is a very
important condition of Baseerah
because one needs to know what s/he is talking
about. The Prophet
(SAWS) states that the seeking of
knowledge is mandatory upon every Muslim (al-Bayhaqee).
Allah says:
Everyone must
know that there is none worthy of worship
except Allah. (47:19)
Invite to Allah with clear knowledge.
(12:108)
The second condition of Baseerah is that the da`yee (caller)
should be familiar with whom he is giving da`wah
to. This is important because having this knowledge is very beneficial in
convincing the invitee(s) to accept
Islamic teachings because the da`yee
needs to know how to approach his audience. When
the Prophet (SAWS) commissioned
Mu`aadh to be the Governor of Yemen, he
briefed him that he was assigning him to an
area that was Jew and Christian dominated. This information would be
useful for Mu`aadh. He would expect to meet
people who had some knowledge of the previously-revealed
divine scriptures. Obviously the approach we pursue with a Confucianist
would not necessarily be the same approach we use
for a Sabean or for a Christian.
This hadeeth
concerning Mu`aadh is also a proof for the first
condition of Baseerah because the rest of the hadeeth informs us that the Prophet told
Mu`aadh to instruct the people in the basics of Islam.
In order for Mu`aadh to do this, he himself would
first have to have knowledge. Let us take special
note that the first thing that the Prophet ordered
him to do was: invite the people to Laa
ilaaha illaallaah [there is no god but Allah].
The third
condition of Baseerah is to be
respectful, polite, humble, but not compromising in any
Islamic principles. Allah instructed Musa (Moses) and Haaroon (Aaron):
Both
of you go to Fir`awn (Pharaoh) for without a
doubt he has transgressed, and speak to him with kind and gentle words.
(20:43-44)
Allah said to
our Prophet (SAWS):
If you had been
severe and harsh-hearted they (the believers) would have run away
from you. (3: 159)
Furthermore, we should not insult things
that the disbelievers worship besides Allah.
To ridicule and blaspheme the gods that people worship
besides Allah is in opposition to Allah's command
– “Do not revile those whom they pray to besides Allah because they will
wrongfully revile Allah [in return]” (6:108).
Anaa wa Manittaba`anee (I and whomever follows
me [does this]): The Prophet (SAWS) and whomever follows him
obey the orders that were given by Allah. The
Arabic word “man” is a particle that carries a general meaning. It
is not restricted to any place or time. Whether one
is a companion of the Prophet , or is born of
Slavic descent, or lives in 17th century Salem,
or emerges from the pre-historic Flintstone
age, or plays golf on the moon, the
whomever, wherever, and
whenever does not make any difference – as long
as s/he is following the Prophet and abiding by the dictates
o