Sunday, August 4, 2019

'Dawa': Care People, Speak Wisely

Dawat-i-AllahInvitation to Allah: Part IV 

Who is a Dai-i-Allah ?

A Dai-i-Allah is a person who has made the promise to invite people to Allah, and as long as he makes that promise, as long as he takes that determination, then he does it faithfully all the time, all lifelong. And until his last breath he remains a Dai-i-Allah. It is this type of Dai-i-Allah that the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam must have/ produce. And we must also do the work of Dawat-i-Allah with great intelligence.

The Types of Intelligence Needed

By the quality of intelligence, we understand that, firstly we must take a look at history and through historical narratives, we must come to the conclusion that the remedy against all adversity in this area lies in giving and increasing our friendship towards others. It is at this time that people will accept our words [our message in the Dawat-i-Allah]. If not, they will not accept it.

A second type of intelligence, its second quality, which most of the time we put aside, is that we have to talk about the time [the appropriate time] and the situation [we are] because every word is better in its current situation and context. If someone is worried about his work or his mind is busy with other things – he’s lost in thought - and you get to the task of giving him the [divine] messages, then that will not have any effect on him because it is not the moment to give him this message. This person’s situation does not allow him to receive this message. You also need to know that if a person develops disgust for this message, even though what you are presenting to him is a good thing, then he will not be happy. Everyone to whom you are presenting the message in this situation will not appreciate the message. So, think that if the way of presenting [the message] does not take over this disgust, then the Dawat-i-Allah will yield nothing. The work we have to do is a very fragile work. By adopting the model of the Prophet (sa), we must become a blessing for others; and to reach this end, we must speak with wisdom; we must use wise words.

In this type of intelligence, there is a quality. We also need to understand the character of the person before [engaging in Dawa/ tabligh with him]. And then we talk to him and we have to adopt that kind of intelligence, good manners all the time. We have to study his character well and we need to know his thoughts [his faith/ opinion etc.], with what words [that we say] he feels revolted or interested, and that’s when we talk to him, according to the words, the ideas [and the faith] that he reveals openly.

Another type of intelligence is that you have to look and analyze your own character and your thoughts too; this is very important. Each person cannot do the Dawat-i-Allah in all circumstances. Allah (swt) has given everyone a quality, a specialty [or talent] in him and the specialty of each person is different from each other. But we cannot say that a person has no quality of Dai-i-Allah in him. It will not be good to say that. If someone says that about another person, he will be responsible for what he said before Allah. It would be more fitting to say that each person has different qualities / talents in him. So take a lot of caution before saying anything on someone; do not tell someone that “so as not to say that you are a zero], but let’s rather say you are very weak”, or “so as not to say that our belief in you is nonexistent, let’s rather say than it is very weak.” This kind of words shows a terrible arrogance, and indeed Allah hates arrogance in any form.

Every era is different. Different time, different hours/ epochs begs a new type of intelligence or a change in the quality of intelligence [that we must have or adopt]. It is for this reason that we must enjoy these times too; to reap the benefits. In these different times/ epochs, different words are applicable. And it is at this moment, in these different situations and applications of intelligences and words that your words will have the desired effect. For example, in a moment of sadness, you use a different kind of words/ expressions. It is the same for moments of contentment; different words depending on the situation you are in and depending on the situation of that person whom you are inviting to Allah. You lead him to the right path. If a frightening situation takes place, then you need to apply other words etc.

Another type of intelligence is that you go in search of suitable land for the Dawat-i-Allah [that is, those who will be receptive to the message of Allah]. There are sometimes Dai-i-Allah who continue to preach with certain types of people who, through their reactions, you have the proof that these are quarrelsome people, who will dispute and will always persist that they are truthful and these people [those who persist, even after your Dawa] do not end up having Taqwa (fear for Allah). So, your Dawat-i-Allah is useless with these people, as a saying goes, you are throwing vegetable seeds on the pavement [on infertile land or bricks] where it would be impossible for those seeds to grow, and yield any fruit or be successful.

So, firstly, you have to look for suitable people, those who preserve good qualities in them, those who in the future will become your helpers and your friends in the path of Allah, such people who will become Dai-i-Allah themselves. Sometimes the people with whom you do the Dawa may become better Dai-i-Allah than you [than those who previously did the Dawa with them].

And then you have to watch over your plantation too. This is also a form of intelligence; to know how to take care of the people who are under your responsibility in the field of Dawat-i-Allah, those to whom you have given the message. In a field or plantation, you must make every effort to keep it clean and fertile. For that, you bring machines to remove all the debris and to plough the land, and it is with a lot of trouble that you sow the seeds, then you water your plantation. So, as a planter, you must never give up your plantation [the work of Dawat-i-Allah and the people with whom you make the Dawa]. You must continue to cultivate it and take care of it so that next year [in the future] you can reap the fruits of your labours. That’s when you will make a good harvest.

Speaking of harvest, fruit, planting, keep in mind that all the efforts you make in the field of ​​Dawat-i-Allah, must be imperatively for Allah. I repeat it constantly. The work of Dawat-i-Allah must be done to please Allah, to lead people to worship Allah, to worship the One God, not to the Khalifatullah. All your labours must be done for the pleasure of Allah and not to please the Khalifatullah. Do not repeat the mistakes of others. In this century, Allah has raised me as His Caliph to put people back on the right path; to direct them to Allah and not to me. The belief in Allah comes first, and then comes the belief in the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). We must establish people on the uniqueness and worship of Allah above all else. They have to understand that very well. The members of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam must not become such people who pretend to do the Dawa, and disguise or embellish the monthly reports - the spiritual fruits - with such words to confuse the Khalifatullah, to lead me make to believe that everything is going well, that you are making tremendous progress in the area of ​​spirituality and the Dawat-i-Allah while it is not true at all. This will be serious in the eyes of Allah.

And keep in mind that you have to make tremendous efforts in the path of Allah to win the gold medal from Allah. The Indian Ocean Island Games (IOIG) has just concluded and Mauritius after decades (40 years) has for the first time won the IOIG, winning the highest number of gold medals in the history of the games (IOIG): 92 gold medals - with a total of 224 medals (gold, silver and bronze). This is a social/ mundane competition, and as Mauritians, we are proud that our island has excelled in the games (the sporting competition).

When we think in terms of belonging to a country or a team, we can do a lot of things. And it is this spirit of unity that must continue, both in the realm of this world and in the realm of spirituality. Here in Mauritius, we are all Mauritians, and during the games we have demonstrated this Mauricianism. Now that the competition is over, we must preserve this spirit of unity among the citizens of our country.

In the realm of this world, athletes make enormous efforts to win the gold medal, but what about efforts in the field of spirituality? Think well, O members of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam that Allah is showing you that the golden thread is in the hand of His Caliph. The Khalifatullah knows who are the ones who deserve this gold thread; the gold medal in the field of spirituality, in the path of Allah. If you want to excel in the realm of spirituality, you have to make enormous efforts with sincerity and diligence, not for ostentation, or you come forward to present your reports as thick, well-prepared and successful whereas this is not true; where the truth is masked by lies.

So, O members of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam, do not become among those who behave this way. When in 1999 I attended the annual conference of the Jamaat Ahmadiyya in England (UK), I also spent a lot of time in the offices of the officers who work directly under the caliph (at that time, the fourth caliph of the Ahmadiyya Movement) and I have seen many reports coming and they sort out which of the reports which must be presented before the caliph. The reports of the missionaries who “succeeded” in inviting people to Ahmadiyya and to the caliph are presented in order to please the caliph, while a report where the person invited people to the uniqueness of Allah only, and has given much importance on the Dawat-i-Allah, then this message of truth, this struggle for the Dawat-i-Allah is ignored to give preference to the reports which flatter the greatness of the caliph. So, I deplore such practices and I put the members of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam on guard against such practices!

So, you have to preserve your plantation. You must do the Dawat-i-Allah only for the sake of Allah so that Allah will be happy with you. Remember! When you cultivate the land, and plant the seeds, then it is after about a year that you will reap the fruits of your labours.

So, in this lapse of time, thieves can come (to steal the fruits/ destroy the crops), the plantation can suffer the blow of diseases, and drought and other calamities can destroy it. So you will have to water it, take good care of it. You have to make a lot of effort to bring back the fruits of your labours. As for a child, you have to take care of him, so for your plants [in the way of Allah] it is also the same. The Dawat-i-Allah is based on that intelligence which you demonstrate or which you shall demonstrate in the future [Insha-Allah]. And then, it is you who will enjoy all [the fruits of] these labours and rewards, and you will be pleased that you have become good Dai-i-Allah. But if you rejoice, and you take this good news and bring it into your homes without making any effort to get in touch with them again, and you do not go to meet them a second, third, fourth or fifth time, then you will be deprived of all these fruits because the long-awaited effect of the Dawat-i-Allah did not manifest, and the fruits are not yet in your bags. You will need to monitor this closely and continuously. If you do not watch it, then all your efforts will go up in smoke [will be wasted].

If you do not water a plantation, it will not bring you anything, and that water is of two kinds. First, there is the water of knowledge that you distribute in this world. This is very necessary, but the real water that is essential is the water from the sky [from Allah] with which the true fruit of your labour will be harvested; this water is your tears which turn into water from the heavens. If you only give your fields the rain of knowledge and you try to cultivate it, then do not keep the hope that you will reap a lot of fruit. You absolutely must have recourse to supplication to God - Allah (duahs). You must pray for Allah’s help, and as a result it is the tears of the believers - in their supplications - that will bring all these fruits and this great blessing. Insha-Allah.

Good Advices.

Aside from good advice, there is real advice; such advice which is pure and clean and which preserves a certain resistance in them and which does not keep any relation with the differences in the groups/ sects [Firqa / Firaq]. These counsels come directly from the heart and have a direct effect on the heart. The proofs [for the Dawat-i-Allah] come afterwards.

[In this context, the Khalifatullah (atba) at the beginning of his sermon warmly thanked all Muslims, members of several Jamaats / groups [Sahih Al Islam, Sunnah, Ahmadi, Shia, Wahabi, Tabligh-e-Jamaat etc.] who came to read the funeral (Janaza) prayer of one of our sisters yesterday [01 August 2019] in the heart of Plaine-Verte in Port-Louis. This sister had once taken Bai’at in the Jamaat Ahmadiyya at the time when the Khalifatullah was still working for the Jamaat, and it was he who had presented to her the form of Bai’at so that she could sign and integrate the Jamaat Ahmadiyya. This sister has suffered a lot, and without any arrogance, the Khalifatullah (atba) said that he and his family did everything to help him, and now, as Allah knows the contents of hearts, He is the one who opened the way so that he could lead her funeral prayer.

He said that this also is a form of Dawa, by our good behaviour, by the way we address people. He was very moved by the warm welcome of the Muslim brothers and sisters, and he said that this is how all Muslims should live, in unity, by putting aside all disputes and differences. We are all Muslims, and in this misfortune, Allah manifested a blessing where they prayed behind an Elect of God. Alhamdulillah.]

It is for this reason that the Qur’an says in you should not rush into your debates/ preaching. You have to present the theme of your Dawa with a lot of intelligence and this intelligence begins with the good advice that can give balm to people because they will know that you too, you suffer for them, you feel their suffering and you are truthful [your Dawa is true]. And then they will also understand that you have no personal interest in doing this work, but that you are sincerely interested in them, in their [physical, moral and spiritual] well-being.

Do the Dawat-i-Allah like the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa)

Do the Dawat-i-Allah as our beloved prophet (pbuh) used to do and he used to say about his adversaries that their hearts were destroyed by sadness, and that it is by lack of knowledge that they thwarted the messages of Allah.

We can say that our beloved prophet (pbuh), as a result of the adversity of his adversaries, he did not get angry. It was not the flame of anger that came out of his eyes, but it was the water of love [his tears filled with love] that came out of his eyes, in their favour. When he prayed for them, his tears flowed. It is this type of Dawat-i-Allah that we must do. If we adopt this quality, then the promise of Allah (swt) will be obligatorily fulfilled on us, Insha-Allah. Allah (swt) will approach those who are sincere, the seekers of truth and will save us all from the wrongdoers. Insha-Allah.

Good Behaviour is a Good Way to Do the Dawat-i-Allah.

Good behaviour is a very positive result in the field of Dawat-i-Allah. The more tenderness you have in your heart, the more you worry about humans, so you will become more steadfast upon the truth; you will acquire Taqwa. And besides, good behaviour will then refine your Dawat-i-Allah [will make it better] and you will have better results.

May Allah help you, help us all to demonstrate the best features of the Dawat-i-Allah that will make us successful in this path, where we - the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam - will develop these excellent qualities with the help of Allah through duahs to lead the world to the Tawheed, the worship of one God, Allah (swt). Insha-Allah, Ameen.

----Friday Sermon of 02 August 2019¬ 30 Dhul-Qaddah 1440 AH delivered by Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hadhrat Muhyi-ud-Din Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of Mauritius.