DAWA/ TABLIGH: How To Do This Work
The most important point in this work of Dawa /
Tabligh is the way and method that we will do it. We simply need to follow
exactly the principles adopted by the Sahaba (ra) who followed the teachings
and practices of the noble prophet (pbuh) to the letter.
In this true form and meaning, the Tabligh is a very important action and a very great benefit. Verily, it is to follow truly the path of the prophets (as), because this work is a great work, and it is also based on the high principles that we must always follow carefully. Each individual needs to feel the need to reform himself instead of changing others. While doing this work, and even outside the Jamaat [Community], he should behave like a true Muslim, a sincere servant who at all times obey and follow Allah’s commandments as per the Shariah and he seeks always the blessing and pleasure of Allah (twt). This is the basic condition, the Ruh (soul) and foundation of this work of Tabligh. Once this has been rooted deeply and firmly into the hearts of the workers [of Deen], the other principles, regulations and actions that I will mention further on will become easy to follow:
As much as possible
each individual who is engaged in this work needs to contribute for all his
expenses (transportation, food etc.). If his situation allows, he can
“discreetly” help other Dai-Illallah who are in need.
All people engaged in
this work should at all time show respect, tolerance and care to each other.
Everyone must encourage his fellow brother [comrade]. This affection and
understanding will become a great blessing for the place where they are
working.
Conversations, talks,
encouragement must be done with conviction and gentleness in simple and
respectable language. Any disagreement and source of discontent must be avoided
at all costs. The respect and esteem that we have for the Quran-e-Karim and the
Hadiths, we must have them also for the Ulamas [i.e., the true Ulamas
who have not let go of the rope of Allah] because it is through these scholars
of Deen that Allah (twt) has blessed us with the true knowledge and
light of Islam. The slightest disrespect towards them can be considered as
hatred towards Islam and this can bring the wrath of Allah to the whole
community.
They should spend their
free time studying the books of Deen or remain in the company of the Muttaqun
(pious people) and those who have knowledge. In this way they can learn many
important things about faith [Iman], about Allah (twt) and His
Messenger. Special care must be taken while they do this work of Tabligh
where they must not say or discuss or do any unnecessary, unimportant or silly
thing.
Make efforts to live an
honest and pure life; take every precaution to not overspend and at the same
time to fulfil every obligation, big or small, to our family, relatives and
people who know us.
At no time should we
discuss things that are not important or that have a difference (difference in
opinion). We should spend all our time to give our Dawat [invitation] to
Allah (twt), speak on His greatness, His ability and His Sifat (attributes)
which are unique; keep our conversation on the important points of Tabligh,
(where there are six principles and) in truth these are the principles which
every Muslim must always put into practice in his life.
Every action, work or
talk needs to be done with greater sincerity and purity of intention (Niyyat)
because an action may be small in doing it with sincerity, but it yields
greater reward and brings much good. On the other hand, an action without
sincerity can be great, but it does not yield any reward, or benefit neither in
this world nor in the hereafter.
Hazrat Mu’az (ra) who
was appointed as Governor of Yemen asked the Messenger of Allah (as) to give
him some special advice. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) told him: “Take care
to do all actions of Deen with honesty and sincerity; a small action which is
done with sincerity is sufficient”.
There is another Hadith
in the same direction: “Allah (twt) accepts deeds that are done just for His
pleasure and contentment”. In another place it is mentioned: “Allah
(twt) does not look at your face, nor your wealth but only your heart and your
deeds.”
So, the most important
point of this Tabligh work is that we do it with all the necessary
sincerity and purity. We shouldn’t do this work to gain honour or get noticed
[i.e., for the eyes of people]. The progress and success of this work
completely depends on how sincere we are.
Summary & Conclusion
In my previous sermons
I gave you an overview of this Tabligh work; I explained the importance
and urgent need to do this work. Now, it only remains to see how all this can
guide us and give us relief and benefits which we desire in this time [era]
which is filled with confusion, disorder and rivalry.
For this, once again,
Allah has done His favour in this century when He has sent you a guide who
comes from Him and whom He has promised in the Quran who will come to you and
guide you to do this hard work and to inspire the others with Sabr
(endurance) to work for the Deen of Islam as a profitable business.
The Quran presents this in the following way: “O believers! Shall I guide you to an exchange that will
save you from a painful punishment? (It is to) have faith in Allah and His
Messenger, and strive in the cause of Allah with your wealth and your lives.
That is best for you, if only you knew. He will forgive your sins, and admit
you into Gardens under which rivers flow, and (house you in) splendid homes in
the Gardens of Eternity. That is the ultimate triumph.” (As-Saff, 61: 11-14)
This verse describes a
trade, which if all of us [Muslims] agree to do, promises us deliverance from
all hardships and punishments. What is this trade? It is to have firm faith in
Allah (twt) and His Messenger, to strive courageously in the way of Allah,
without hesitating to give our life or wealth.
Here too, we find reference
to this work that guarantees us well-being and eternal happiness. There is no
doubt that this simple work will bring us great benefits; Allah (twt) will
forgive all our sins, mistakes and shortcomings that we had done with knowledge
(or in ignorance) and He will give us great rewards in the hereafter.
This concerns success
in the hereafter, which is indeed the greatest victory for a Muslim. But there
are clear indications regarding life on this earth as well. We will obtain the
other benefits that we desire [or love]: prosperity, the help of Allah (twt)
and victory over all our enemies.
In other words, Allah
(twt) asked us two things:
1.
Firstly,
to have firm faith in Him and His Messenger and,
2.
Secondly,
to fight in His way, and if necessary, to give our life and all our wealth [in
His way]. In return for this, Allah (twt) also promised us two things:
1)
Firstly,
a nice quiet place in paradise, eternal life and a happiness that never ends;
and
2)
Secondly,
He has promised glory and success in this life.
The first thing we are
asked for is strong faith. That is exactly the purpose of this Tabligh
effort - that we all develop the richness of true faith.
The second thing we are
asked for is to strive (fight) in the way of Allah. By the way, what does
‘Jihad’ mean? Normally, Jihad means to fight [or make war] against the Kuffar
(infidels) and those who commit Zulm (who go beyond all limits, who
commit injustice and inflict torture on the innocent). But in general it means
propagating Allah’s word and establishing Allah’s command, and this is the
purpose of this work of Tabligh as well.
From now on it should
be clear to us that happiness and success in the afterlife depends only on
perfect faith in Allah and His Messenger – Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) and any other
Messengers He sends to revive the teachings of Islam – and striving in His
path. Similarly, success and prosperity in this life also depends entirely on
that same faith and devoting all our efforts in the way of Allah.
When Muslims fulfil
these two conditions - firstly to have firm faith in Allah and His Messenger
and secondly to strive in His way - only through these two efforts can they
develop high moral qualities and an excellent character. Only then will they
deserve to obtain the Khalifa (vicegerent) that Allah (twt) has promised
and the superiority (i.e. the right to rule) on earth, an inevitable reality
according to the promise that Allah (twt) has made in the Quran-e-Majeed:
“Allah has promised those of
you who believe and do good works, He will surely make them successors on
earth, as He did with those before them; and will surely establish for them their
faith which He has chosen for them; and will indeed change their fear into
security - (provided that) they worship Me, associating nothing with Me.” (An-Nur 24: 56)
This verse mentions a
direct promise to rule, but it will come about through firm faith and good
deeds. This thing [i.e. true faith and the other requirements as mentioned in
the verse] was present in the time of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and it
continued during the time of the Khulafa-e-Rashidin [i.e. the Righteous four
caliphs after the Messenger of Allah (pbuh)].
Virtually all of Arabia
ended up becoming Muslim during the time of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and
the other surrounding countries ended up converting to Islam, during the times
of the Khulafah-e-Rashidin [Righteous Caliphs] or just after. Later,
this promise continued to be fulfilled in favour of many heads of Muslim states
and the pious caliphs [who had the fear of God] and it is waiting to be
fulfilled if the Muslims meet the conditions which are clearly expressed in
this verse: “It is certainly Allah’s party that
will prevail.” (Al-Maida 5: 57).
Alhamdulillah, Summa
Alhamdulillah, you are lucky
today that a Khalifa who comes from Allah is present among you, and has
initiated this blessed work of Dawat-i-Illallah, and many sincere Muslimeen
– who submit to Allah – will do this work with devotion. Insha-Allah.
So when we analyze the
current situation, we find that the time has come that all Muslims together
with the Khalifatullah we should “Arise and
Create a New World”, such a world where humanity live ISLAM
fully and safely. Alhamdulillah, in my previous sermon I gave you a
practical solution to improve this situation and how to do this blessed work;
in fact there is no other solution except to put Islam in our life, just like
the Sahaba (ra) and the Muslims who came after did.
CONCLUSION
To conclude, there is
no other way to gain honour, happiness, peace and tranquillity in this life
except adopting and firmly grasping the work and method of Tabligh. And
for this, each of us needs ready to spend all his energy and good for this
purpose. Like in the Quran, Allah (twt) says:
“And hold
firmly to the rope of Allah and do not be divided.” (Al-Imran 3:
104).
The blessings and
benefits of this work of Tabligh are clearly visible and deserve that we
witness it with our eyes. If we all Muslims together make a firm decision to
follow this remarkable example which I have just mentioned and adopt the
correct Way of Life which is described in this Blessed Book [i.e. the Quran],
we have all the hope that through this effort, Allah (twt) can remove all our
difficulties and misfortunes, we will regain strength in our Iman, in
our ability to do good deeds, with the result that we will acquire honour, dignity
and glory in this life and eternal success in the hereafter. Muslims will be
able to set an example to the rest of the world on how to live in peace, tranquillity
and happiness, a natural desire that all people in this world have.
Verily: “All honour is for Allah, His Messenger and the
believers.” (Al-Munafiqun 63: 9)
Therefore, [the duty of] Tabligh rests on all of us, the Muslims of our time, and we need to understand our obligations towards Islam and to fulfil our obligations in our interest, and the interest of future generations and for humanity in general. The path is clear and has been well traced. Let’s start our walk and always keep in mind our end goal, that is, to gain pleasure and acceptance from Allah (twt). Insha-Allah Ta’ala Al-Aziz. Ameen, Summa Ameen, Ya Rabbul Aalameen.
---Friday Sermon of 01 July 2022 ~01 Dhul Hijjah 1443 AH delivered by Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir A. Azim (aba) of Mauritius.