Da’wah Parlour or Da’wah Center? Whose product are you?

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I have written this article putting myself before a mirror and I also want my readers especially those young energetic and enthusiastic boys and girls to read it as a reflection in the mirror. My notes are based upon many inputs I receive about Da’ees and also my own observation. I am not challenging any one’s intention here but this is an introspective note to save my young buddies’ akhera. Read it with a pinch of smile as I have tried to add some humor in it.

Don’t let your talks and notes behave like your bio data being posted on every wall, mostly girls, tagging them with daily hadith or your picture of giving talks and then sending them a thank you note for “like” or “comment”, or visiting the profiles of girls like a guest . If you do that, then you are a product of a ‘Da’wah Parlour’ using religion as your cosmetic to appear good before girls.

Gain through books than through looks: I have seen Shaikh Salem al Amry carrying brief case of printed material of his notes. It ran into hundreds of pages in 8 days he recorded 60 hours of TV talks on Touhid ! What a knowledgeable man Allahuakbar ! Yet he said he could not do justice to his topic!

I keep on receiving DVDs of various upcoming da’ees, but when I see them to provide them feedback for improvement I am shocked to see that there is little or no extra research work done on the subject. They have just picked up material from world famous orators and crammed up, that’s all. Da’wah is not about cramming up notes of other speakers and boast as your knowledge for people to assume you larger than your size.

Don’t run a supermarket of fatwas to show people that you have a huge storage of knowledge and hurl a fatwa any time on any issue. Don’t learn Islam only by browsing fatawa but interact with scholars and listen to them. I know of da’ees who will point out umpteen mistakes if you pray just two rakah salah before them, but they don’t read material on their own tazkiya and tarbiya (cleanliness of soul and getting inspired to do well).

Don’t focus on opposite sex only: A world famous Islamic scholar once shared with me his experience. He paid a courtsey visit to a Da’wah center in Singapore. He was taken around the huge premises meant for interacting with Non-Muslim visitors. To his surprise he saw young da’ees sitting over a coffee table with non mahram guests, looking into their eyes while talking big about Islam. He overheard one da’ee speaking to a young non-Muslim girl about the virtues of hijab! This was shared ten years ago, today a lot of intermingling between opposite sex is taking place in the name of Da’wah and learning deen.

It is sad to note,(I don’t know how many of my readers would agree with me on this issue) that many young girls too seem to be looking for a prince from the heap of profiles that are beautified by photos and regular updates minutes after minutes. Some of the girls get carried away by impressive pictures, clips of talks and regular updates and finally end up with a heartbreaking affair.

So readers, it is time to look into the mirror and re groom ourselves and be a good da’ee rather than look like a da’ee or appear like a da’ee, as the Qur’an says “command that is good and forbid that which is evil” and not just “command that which is good but participate in evil” In fact Da’wah is to stop all these evil and not be a part of it, because after all the main cause of the fall of Bani Israel was due to the decay of morals.

Moral of the lesson: As they say, do not judge a book by its cover, I also say, do not judge a da’ee from his profile because personality is what you are outside but character is what you are inside…………

Author : Nisaar Nadiadwala speaks and writes on Islam and Muslims he can be reached at nisaar_yusuf@yahoo.com