I have a very sensitive but innocent question to ask and I must say at the outset that I do not mean any disrespect to anybody. I need clarification not only for myself but for a number of brothers who think along the same lines as me. This relates to the issue of dawah or propagation of this beautiful deen of Islam.
Alhumdulillah many of the Jamaat brothers go out on gush, quite regularly and mostly on a weekly basis. The whole basis of gush is very systematic. There is out-gush where the brothers go outside their locality and there is in-gush, within their locality, among various other rituals. No doubt there is hikmah in the system of gush and it works well to serve as a reminder to the community to read salaah in congregation, visit those that are sick, kindle kinship between brothers, engage in deeni dialogue and so on. However, week in, week out, the system seems to focus only on our Muslim brotherhood, and the same people, irrespective of whether they are reading all their salaah or not, are visited over and over again.
My question to you is when do we go out to non-Muslims and invite them to the Siratul Mustaqeem? We are often told that we need to perfect ourselves before we can go out, but when is that? Learning is an everyday occurrence. Surely, Sahabah RA went out to spread the word, while they were learning. I say this because everything we do stems from what Nabi SAW and Sahabah did, which forms the basis of our deen. The message of Islam is for all mankind and not only exclusive to Muslims. The late Shaikh Ahmed Deedat did a wonderful job in the field of dawah. So why is it that we only focus on improving ourselves, when we know we will never be perfect, instead of taking the message to the rest of humanity and, in the process, constantly striving to improve ourselves?
Respected Mufti Saheb, I chose to direct these questions to you because I know that you are not one to pull any punches and will call a spade a spade. Please educate me and enlighten me on what I deem a very crucial aspect of this deen.
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Tableegh literally means, ‘to convey/propagate’. Tableegh in Shari’ah means to convey the message of the Qur’aan and Hadeeth to the whole of humanity and to invite them towards Allah. Without any specification of procedure, means or attachment to a group, Tableegh in itself is the duty of every Muslim, as proven from numerous verses of the Qur’aan and Ahaadeeth of Rasulullah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam.
Tableegh (propagation) of Deen can be done in a number of ways. A Muadhin calling out the Adhaan, a teacher teaching in a madrasah, a father commanding his children to do good actions, a person preaching to non-Muslims about Islam, the Ulama giving lectures and publishing pamphlets, people going out in Jamaat and Gusht, etc. are all forms and methods of Tableegh.
Tableegh or Tableeghi Jamaat, as is commonly known, is only one method of propagating Deen. It does not independently represent or suffice for the responsibility of propagation, although it is one of the most common and widespread methods.
Shari’ah has not mandated a particular format for Da’wah work. Religious education, Tableegh, Khanqahs, lectures, etc. are different ways of discharging this collective responsibility and they are all important in their own right. Each of these methods is unique and each one has its methodology and structure. Shari’ah is flexible in terms of Muslims discovering and creating methods of propagation as long as these methods do not conflict with the principles and dictates of Shari’ah. It is in light of this, that different branches of tableegh/da’wah have different structures.
For the preservation of the Muslim Ummah and Deen in its true and pristine nature, two parallel forms of Da’wah are necessary. Firstly, it is important to ensure the religious and spiritual wellbeing of the Muslim Ummah and to strive to mould Muslims in the true sense. Secondly, the effort of propagating Deen to the non-Muslims should also continue.
Your reasoning for propagating Deen to the non-Muslims is correct. However, the concern for changing ourselves is lacking in us. One can safely say that the focus of Nabi Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam and the Sahabah was more towards propagating to the non-Muslims than Muslims. However, one major issue that is overlooked is the status of the Imaan of the Sahabah and their approach towards their religious obligations. The habits and traits of the Sahabah, their clothing and disposition, their trade and social practices, their nobility and impeccable character were many a times greater means of da’wah than any verbal da’wah. It is towards attaining these qualities that the focus of the Tableegh Jamaat is.
Especially in today’s times when the ship of the Muslim Ummah faces numerous threats from within itself and it is overburdened by its own members, wisdom and intelligent dictates that we should first strive to save those who are already on the ship rather than getting more on board and risk losing many of those already on board. ‘Allamah ‘Ayni Rahimahullah mentions a beautiful principle in his book al-Binaayah: ‘Wisdom demands that one does not lose that which is already in possession in seeking that which one does not possess.’[1]
Mufti Shafi’ ‘Uthmani Rahimahullah discusses this aspect in his Tafseer book, Ma‘aarif al-Qur’aan, under the verse where Rasulullah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam was alerted by Allah to give preference to the religious needs of the Muslims over those of non-Muslims. He writes: ‘At this occasion, the Holy Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam was faced with two different requirements at the same time. On the one hand, he was required to teach a Muslim and to encourage him on attaining perfection. On the other hand, he had to provide guidance to non-Muslims. The principle laid down here makes it clear that the first requirement takes priority over the second one. It is improper to delay the first task (educating Muslims) because of the second task. This indicates that education of Muslims and their reform are more important than, and take priority over getting the non-Muslims to embrace the faith.
The following verses clarify the principles more elaborately: “As for the one who does not care [about faith], you are anxious to pursue him!” [80:6][2]
In any case, the Ummah is still not absolved of the responsibility of propagating Deen to non-Muslims. Regardless of the state of the Ummah, this process has to continue. What we have mentioned above regarding the importance of the effort of the Tableeghi Jamaat was to address your concern of the high level of importance that is attached to it.
With regard to propagating Deen to non-Muslims, we totally agree that not much is being done for this cause. The potential of the Ummah is far greater than what we see today. The efforts of other religions in propagating their creed may well have surpassed our efforts. The concepts of learning entirely foreign languages and missionaries from first world countries settling in the most remote parts of the world purely for religious duties dates back centuries in other religions. Unfortunately, for us as Muslims, this is a rare ‘spectacle’.
As much as we understand the gravity of the matter and the severe need for propagating Deen to non-Muslims, we cannot in anyway drag the Tableegh Jamaat into the picture. As explained above, every branch of propagating Deen is unique and has its own structure and aims. This branch also, like the rest of the other branches, does not object to Muslims inviting non-Muslims to the faith. Rather, just as every branch has its own principles and guidelines that are structured to facilitate its progress in the direction of its aims and objectives, the Tableeghi Jamaat too has its principles. The branch of propagating to non-Muslims is an entirely separate branch from this and has its own principles. One may not question why a certain branch does not carry out a certain exercise.
For instance, if a group of people establish a Maktab for the aim of teaching children the basics of Deen, somebody cannot question why such an institute does not provide specialized courses in Hadith, Tafseer and Fiqh. There are separate institutes for such purposes.
Similarly, one is free to propagate Deen to non-Muslims. The focus of the Tableegh Jamaat is on changing the lives of the Muslims, yet at the same time, they are not indifferent to people preaching to non-Muslims. However, where the elders of the Tableegh Jamaat regulate such preaching, one should abide by it. For instance, the specialized activities of Gusht and Jamaat in the path of Allah are assigned only for the benefit of the Muslim Ummah. Hence, in occasions other than that, one may give Da’wah to non-Muslims as well.
It is like a student who enrolls in a full time Madrasah. He undertakes to study the books of the syllabus. If the Madrasah feels that for the academic progress of the students, they should not take lessons in any other books, the Madrasah may regulate this. This does not mean that the student is bound to follow this regulation in his vacation as well. He may study other books then.
An important point to take note of is that one should not be too confident of his Deeni condition and only focus on preaching to non-Muslims. The importance of the efforts of the Tableegh Jamaat is also based on a number of Ahadith, which explicitly mention that one’s Imaan will not be sufficient to take him into Jannah. Whilst one may eventually enter Jannah due to his Imaan, there is absolutely no guarantee that one will enter Jannah right from the beginning. One will have to cleansed of his misdeeds and negligence by being flung into Jahannum. It is for this reason that a simultaneous effort of giving da’wah to the Muslims should also be carried out. The underlying reason for this is that when one preaches to non-Muslims, he shall focus on basic and fundamental matters only, whilst his da’wah to Muslims shall serve as a reminder to himself for the more practical and technical aspects of Deen without which Deen is incomplete.
Further, preaching to non-Muslims requires one to be well versed in the teachings of Deen. People are generally sensitive regarding their religion and are reluctant to change their religion unless they are totally convinced. As such, non-Muslims usually have questions, misconceptions and objections which need to be addressed. If one is unable to address these, this might not only leave the person unconvinced, but he might become even more convinced upon the truth of his religion. Further, many a times the arguments of the non-Muslims are such that one not having adequate knowledge of Deen too will be convinced by them. This is very dangerous and poses a great risk to the wellbeing of one’s Imaan. Therefore, those preaching to non-Muslims should be well equipped and prepared for this. And most definitely, this requires one to set his Deeni affairs straight before risking his Imaan.
We have received reports of up to 1,500 people reverting to Islam in the last few months in South Africa alone by virtue of Tableegh Jamaats moving in remote areas. This shows that the effort of Tableegh is also a means of Da’wah to non-Muslims.
We hope we have cleared all your doubts. We appreciate your query and laud you for your concern of saving the lives of humanity from the hellfire.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Nabeel Valli
Student Darul Iftaa
Lusaka, Zambia
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
www.daruliftaa.net