Most Muslims know that Islam is a universal religion, meant for all mankind. Allah (swt) is the Lord of the entire universe, and Muslims have been entrusted with the duty of conveying His message to all mankind. Alas, most Muslims today have become complacent towards this duty! While accepting Islam as the best way of life for ourselves, most of us are unwilling to share this knowledge with those to whom the message has not yet been conveyed.

Usually people use the word ‘Da’wah’ for the act of conveying the message of Islam, without differentiating whether the person addressed is a Muslim or a non-Muslim. Many consider Da’wah and‘Islaah’ to be one and the same activity. The appropriate word used for inviting a non-Muslim to Islam is Da’wah and for providing correct and additional knowledge of Islam to a Muslim is Islaah.

The Arabic word ‘Da’wah’ means a call or an invitation. In Islamic context, it means to strive for the propagation of Islam. Thus Da’wah means conveying the message of Islam to Non-Muslims and inviting them to Islam.

The Arabic word ‘Islaah’ means to improve, correct, rectify or repair. In Islamic terminology, Islaah means correcting a Muslim or providing more knowledge of Islam to a Muslim.

It is sad to note that most of the activities, which we label as Da’wah, are actually Islaah. Activities such as classes, seminars, talks, forums and other religious gatherings are meant and targeted to Muslims only. The Glorious Qur’an says:

{Ah! Who is more unjust than those who conceal the testimony they have from Allah? But Allah is not unmindful of what ye do!}   [Surah-Al Baqara: Ch-2: Ver-140]

{You are the best of people evolved for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, and believe in Allah.}   [Surah-Al Imran: Ch-3: Ver-110]

But honour comes with responsibilities! Similarly, this honour from Allah (swt) to Muslims also comes with responsibilities. Therefore it is the responsibility of every single Muslim to do Da’wah and Islaah.

{By (the Token of) Time (through the ages), verily Man is in loss, except those who have Faith, and do righteous deeds, and (join together) in the mutual teaching of Truth, and of Patience and Constancy.   [Surah-Al Asr: Ch-103: Ver1-3]

These are the 4 minimum criteria to attain salvation, one of which is “(join together) in the mutual teaching of truth” i.e. to do Da’wah and Islaah.

Moreover if you turn away from this responsibility of spreading the message of Tawheed, then Allah (swt) will replace you with others who love Allah (swt) more, just as He says:

{If ye turn back (from the path), He will substitute in your stead another people; then they would not be like you!}   [Surah- Muhammad: Ch-47: Ver-38]

If you spend in the way of Allah you will get a return of 700 times. In business terminology you will get a profit of 70,000%. As the Quran says:

{The parable of those who spend their substance in the way of Allah is that of a grain of corn: it grows seven ears, and each ear has a hundred grains. And Allah gives manifold increase to whom He pleases.}   [Surah-Al Baqara: Ch-2: Ver-261]

The Qur’an practically guides us on how Da’wah should be done. As it says:

{Invite (all) to the way of thy Lord, with wisdom and beautiful preaching, and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious!}   [Surah-An Nahl: Ch-16: Ver-125]

One should not concentrate only on one and ignore the other. Therefore, to say that those who do Da’wah should not do Islaah or those who do Islaah shouldn’t do Da’wah is wrong.

However, by looking at the scenario of the Muslims today, we realize that there are many Muslims who are doing Islaah and have completely ignored Da’wah. Thus the people dedicated to do Da’wah are very few as compared to those doing Islaah. Therefore it is more of our responsibility to concentrate on Da’wah in order to fill this vacuum, but while doing so, Islaah should not be ignored.

We must start doing Da’wah and stop giving excuses such as:

This is one of the most common excuses given for not doing Da’wah. The Prophet (pbuh) said:

{Convey (my teachings) to the people even if it were a single verse (from the Qur’an or the Sunnah), and tell others the stories of Bani Israel (which have been taught to you), for it is not sinful to do so.}   [Sahih Al Bukhari: Vol-4: Book-56: Book of the Virtues and Merits of the Prophet (pbuh) and his Companions: Hadith-667].

This Hadith clearly states the duty of Da’wah is not rest upon those with sound knowledge of Islam, i.e. scholars or Imams alone but every single Muslim. In those days, times were different. The access to knowledge was difficult. They did not have the media, there were no books written at that time on Islam.

Today the times have changed and access to knowledge has become very easy. There are countless number of books written by Muslims. There are so many websites available. There are so many videos available. Every Muslim at least knows one verse, but you can do the job more efficiently if you master on one topic initially to simply begin. Let’s say a topic like ‘Concept of God in major Religions’ or some other topic depending upon the person with whom you are doing Da’wah. If you are interested, you can do it very easily its no big deal. All the material you need for Da’wah is available on the net.

This is a nice statement to hear. This shows that how humble a Muslim is. For those Muslims, who are not very good Muslims, doing Da’wah will surely help you become better practicing Muslims. When you share something with others, you have the inclination to practice it yourself.

Your deeds are not really bad. The Christian missionaries who come to missionize the Muslims and people from other faith, they drink alcohol. Do you drink alcohol? No! So who is better, Are they better or you? They gamble. Do you gamble? No! So who is better, are they better or you? They are promiscuous. Are you promiscuous? No! So who is better, are they better or you?

When they can do the job, what is wrong with you? They have the falsehood with them. You have the Truth of Islam with you. So why can’t you do the job? The non-Muslims today want to know about Islam especially after September 11, 2001. The situation has turned in favor of Islam. So do not miss the wonderful opportunity that you have.

Note: When I say about missionaries, I do not mean all of them but many of them do indulge in such things. Generally, Muslims are more moral than the missionaries especially those who come from the West.

This is one of the most common excuse given by Muslims who live in Muslim countries. It is important to make a Muslim a better Muslim, if he is not of the right track. Converting people is not in your hand. I know of ‘Muslims’ who will not practice Islam even after you bring countless evidence and proofs to them. So you mean are you going to stick to them only and not move forward? Your job is to deliver the message to others. The Quran says:

{Therefore do remind them, for you are only a reminder. You are not a watcher over them; But if any turn away and reject Allah, - Allah will punish him with a mighty Punishment.}   [Surah-Al Ghashiyah: Ch-88: Ver-21-24]

In Medina, at the time of the Prophet (pbuh) there were Muslims who did not use to come to the compulsory Prayers and the Prophet said “I feel like setting their houses on fire.”

Even in Medina, there were such Muslims who were not good practicing Muslims. The Prophet (pbuh) did not say that I’ll just make them good Muslims and stick to them only. Yet he wrote letters to other non-Muslim kings, asking them to embrace Islam.

If you say that, first I will make Muslims better Muslims and then invite non-Muslims. That time will never come. That time will not come in your entire life, nor will it come even in your next ten generations.

I am not saying that you should only do Da’wah. Da’wah and Islaah both are important. But if you have less time than Da’wah is MORE important because the non-Muslims are involved in the sin of shirk i.e. associating partners with Allah. This is the most heinous of sins. The Quran says:

{Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgives anything else, to whom He pleases; to set up partners with Allah is to devise a sin most heinous indeed.}   [Surah-An Nisa: Ch-4: Ver-48]

So if you see a person who is involved in such a sin. He is going to hell for sure. If you are not going to stop that sin, then he will surely go to hell. So doing Da’wah is a compulsory duty upon every Muslim and is a very important task.

As I mentioned, our job is not to convert people. Our job is to deliver the message of Allah. It is he who gives guidance. As the Quran says:

{Therefore do remind them, for you are only a reminder. You are not a watcher over them.}   [Surah-Al Ghashiyah: Ch-88: Ver-21-22]

Allah (SWT) will not question you on the Day of Judgment whether they became Muslims or not. But he will surely question whether you delivered the message or not.

The Quran does say so. But it’s not right to quote the verse in bits and pieces. The verse reads:

{Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error.} Surah-Al Baqara: Ch-2: Ver-256]

Your job is to deliver the message with wisdom and beautiful preaching. Your job is not to convert people. A Muslim CANNOT force anyone to embrace Islam.  You are supposed to deliver the Truth of Islam. The rest is up to them whether they accept or not.

Again, it’s the quotation out of context. Let’s read this verse in context:

{Say: O ye that reject Faith! I worship not that which ye worship, nor will ye worship that which I worship. And I will not worship that which ye have been wont to worship, nor will ye worship that which I worship. To you be your Way, and to me mine.}   [Surah-Al Kafirun: Ch-109: Ver-1-6]

The Question of rejecting faith only arises when you present Islam to them. Your job is to deliver the message to them. If they don’t want to accept. As a last, resort its “To you be your Way, and to me mine.” Suppose if I see a Hindu doing idol worship. I’ll try to convince him that it is wrong even according to the Hindu Scriptures such as “Bhagavad Geeta: Ch-7: Ver-19-23” etc. But if he yet wants to do then, “To you be your Way, and to me mine”. So this is as a last resort NOT the first.

This is another common excuse given by the Muslims. The reply is, it is the business of every Muslim to mind other people’s business where faith is concerned. Da’wah is a compulsory duty of every Muslim. Therefore, when the person says, “mind your own business”, He is right, that is what you are doing. You are minding your own business only.

The Question arises; does it hurt you when you see your friend or anyone doing blasphemy? Don’t you realize that these people are going to hell? Doesn’t it hurt you when they say that God has a son? The Quran says:

{They say: "(Allah) Most Gracious has begotten a son!" Indeed you have put forth a thing most monstrous! At it the skies are ready to burst, the earth to split asunder, and the mountains to fall down in utter ruin, that they should invoke a son for (Allah) Most Gracious. For it is not consonant with the majesty of (Allah) Most Gracious that He should beget a son.}   [Surah-Maryam: Ch-19: Ver-88-92]

Doesn’t it hurt you when they give the worst swearing to Allah (swt)? AND MOST OF YOU EVEN JOIN THEM IN GREETING MERRY CHRISTMAS etc. The Quran says that if the mountains had feelings and emotions like you and I have, they would fall in utter ruin, the earth will split asunder, and the skies will burst. But what is happening to you? All you need to do is open your mouth.

Furthermore, it is a misconception that doing Da’wah will break your friendship. The point is how your approach is. How good you are in your speech. How logical you are in your approach. If you start insulting his religion, that can make a difference but if you do it with wisdom and beautiful preaching, Inshallah! You will not hurt anyone and your friendship to Allah should be much more important than the friendship to your non-Muslim friend. It is our duty to remove the misconceptions about Islam and present the correct picture of Islam. To conclude, it all depends upon how strong your Imaan i.e. faith is.

Provocation is likely to be created if a person is a hater of Islam. Is this the reason that should stop you from spreading the message of Almighty Allah? Provocation is not the test. If this was the test, then our Beloved Prophet (pbuh) was a failure (Nauzubillah). The pagan leaders, who loved him before, became his worst enemies. Did it make him stop from what Allah had commanded him?

So provocation will be created among those non-Muslims who are haters of Islam, that should in no means bother, instead you should remain steadfast and practice what Allah (SWT) has commanded.

Doing Da’wah is a compulsory duty of every Muslim. In the Glorious Quran, Allah (SWT) speaks about full time Da’ees. The Quran says:

{Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong: They are the ones to attain felicity.}   [Surah-Al Imran: Ch-3: Ver-104]

Today it is a dire need of the Muslim Ummah. We have very few people who are full time Da’ees. I am not saying that every Muslim should become full time Daee, but every Muslim can do part time Da’wah e.g. with your colleagues who you meet everyday in the office, with your friends who you meet in the school and university.

While traveling, if you meet a non-Muslim or you can do Islaah with those Muslims you meet, who are not good practicing ones. You can do it using media such as computer, internet etc. You can do it in many ways. The Glorious Quran says:

{Invite (all) to the way of thy Lord, with wisdom and beautiful preaching, and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious!}   [Surah-An Nahl: Ch-16: Ver-125]

May Allah (swt) make our efforts successful!  Ameen!