In Surah Kafiroon, Allah says:

قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ
لَا أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ
وَلَا أَنتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ
وَلَا أَنَا عَابِدٌ مَّا عَبَدتُّمْ
وَلَا أَنتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ
لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِيَ دِينِ

Translation: Say, “O disbelievers, I do not worship what you worship. Nor are you worshippers of what I worship. Nor will I be a worshipper of what you worship. Nor will you be worshippers of what I worship. For you is your religion, and for me is my religion.” [Surah Kafiroon]

The mushrikeen (polytheists) of Mecca tried many, many different techniques to get the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) to stop spreading Islam.

Before this ayah was revealed, they decided to make a pact with him. They said, “Look, how about this–you worship our gods for one year, and we’ll worship your God for one year.” And to sweeten the deal: “And, we’ll go first.”

And they applied the Broken Record technique. Whenever the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) would try to speak to them about Islam, they would only repeat this.

And he, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, refused.

Those of you who are wondering why–although it seems on the surface like a fair trade, it’s not. Allah does not forgive shirk, worshipping other than him; not even a single sujood, or a single du’a, none of it is acceptable.

So clearly, this is not a contract the Messenger of Allah could engage with. So he refused.

And he refused.

And he refused.

Then, the Mushrikeen said, “ok, how about this–just speak highly of our gods, and we’ll do the same for you.” A smaller compromise.

And whenever people approached them, they would say, “Well, we’re trying to compromise (like we’re the good ones in this deal–even though we kill our daughters and murder on whims and …), but he’s not agreeing.”

So the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) went to the ka’bah.

Mushrikeen were there. And in front of everybody he said:

Qul, yaa ayyuhaal-kaafiroon …

Say, O you people who disbelieve. And the root verb of kafiroon is kafara, which means to be ungrateful. It’s not a nice word. It’s an ugly word. They don’t like being called kaafir.

So don’t be shy! the Messenger of Allah did this, in front of everybody! He didn’t pull any punches! We shouldn’t be embarrassed as Muslims–what’s the worst someone will do? Make fun of you? So then, O Muslim, why are you embarrassed to give The Message to those who are showing interest in it?

Allah has commanded each and every human being to stick their forehead to the ground and worship Him alone. Not just the Muslims. Everybody. It’s from the great honour and nobility of the Muslims that we do what we were created to do.

And about what Allah revealed? Here’s what it means:

• Verse 2: I’m not worshipping what you’re worshipping. (Fi’l Mudaari’–present/future tense).
• Verse 3: And you don’t worship what I worship.
• Verse 4: And I will never worship what you worship.
• Verse 5: And you will never worship what I worship.
• Verse 6: To you is your deen, and to me is my deen.

And deen, commonly translated as religion, doesn’t mean religion; it means your entire way of life, everything from how you eat and drink to clothes you wear to interaction with parents, children, schoolmates, everything.

And after this, the mushrikeen gave up their technique; they realized that it’s not going to work.

Wallahu ta’ala ‘alam.

This surah is also called Surah Tawheed, the surah of oneness (of Allah). It’s a very powerful surah.

Action Items:

• Don’t be embarrased. Realize that you have nothing to be embarrased about. And if Allah guides one person through you, that’s better than ANYTHING you can imagine.
• Share your stories. What stories do you have of embarrassment, and of da’wah turning out right?

References:

Touched by an Angel: Tafseer of Juz ‘Amma. By Muhammad Alshareef. 2009.

And, in these societies, what do people think of Muslims? By and far, they think we’re backward, oppressed, terrorists. Many of them know less about Islam then what you’d learn at one halaqah.

So what can you do about it? Be prepared. Prepare a five minute basic da’wa speech, and practice it.

Why? Because whether you go to school, work, to the mall, to the restaurant, you’ll engage with non-Muslims.

And they’ll ask you questions. Questions like why you grow a beard, wear the hijab, don’t shake hands with women, pray five times a day, eat with your right hand. All kinds of questions.

And if they do, this is your golden opportunity to explain about Islam! And you should explain tawheed, because all of Islam springs from that. And some of these people, this might be the only chance they have to learn about Islam. Take advantage of that, and explain it to them!

Your da’wa speech should go something like this:

“Well, let me tell you about Islam. We’re the purest monotheistic religion. We believe in one God, who sent many Prophets, from Abraham and Moses and Jesus to Muhammad, the last. Our book is called the Qur’an …”

Add to it, remove to it, as necessary. If they’re asking a fiqh question, you might want to mention that Allah is the law-maker, and that everything the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said or did, we take as proof–because Allah authorized him, when He said:

Translation: O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is the best [way] and best in result. [Surah An-Nisaa, verse 59]

THEN you can dive into the specific details of their question–but keep it brief, and conclude it with something tawheed based.

Why is this important? In a couple of minutes, you’ve likely given them more knowledge of Islam than they’ve learned in years. You gave them the core–tawheed, belief in Allah, and following the Prophet–and also answered their question. Who can argue with that!

And don’t feel bad if they ignore your speech and focus on their question. That’s natural. But don’t worry–they heard, and the knowledge is there, lurking in their minds, until Allah makes them remember.

What other things are important to put into (or leave out of) the five-minute da’wa speech? What are some of your experiences with this? Post them in the comments insha’Allah and share the ‘ilm!

References:
Fiqh of Da’wa, by Muhammad Alshareef.

“I am here in front of you today, and if I were to choose again, I would go back and do the same thing and do religious studies. I can’t even remember what courses I took when I was at UH. My main motivation for choosing to do Islamic studies was that I realized I needed to do something for the ummah. As we speak, we have a crisis going through our ummah. We all know, we don’t need to talk more about it, it is all over the news and everything. I know some of you won’t leave what you are doing, and I don’t expect you to, and I don’t want you to. This ummah needs the doctors, engineers, and lawyers. Not everyone in this ummah needs to be an ‘alim or scholar. And Allah (سبحانه وتعال) definitely doesn’t ask everyone to be a scholar. If you are not going to be a scholar, then you should at least know your religion. To me, I was ashamed that I knew so much about physics, chemistry, and mathematics compared to what I knew about my religion.

Our communities are in need of scholars though. We see it in our communities often, where we have an imam who is from another world practically and doesn’t understand what we are going through. It is true, they are from another world, because they haven’t grown up here. We need to stop importing imams because our communities can’t respect them. We see it in our communities that these moulvis and maulanas give fatwa and people don’t respect them, and we can’t blame the imams nor can we completely blame the community. There is a big gap between them, we need homegrown scholars and students of knowledge to bridge this gap.

Like I said before, not everyone here is going to be a scholar, and nobody expects everyone here to become one. The least everyone should do is learn your religion. Each and every one of you can read a book a month–it’s not that hard and it only requires you to make some time for it. All you need to do is cut back on some of the things we do. I know all of us have things that we can cut back on. I am not saying stop hanging around friends, or going to movies, or whatever it is you do. All I am saying is cut back on some of the things to make time for learning your religion. Our elders came here for whatever reason they came here for, we are growing here, we understand the psychology of Americans, but if we don’t have knowledge of religion how are we going to make them understand our religion? How are we going to make da’wah to them and call them to Islam? There is a need for homegrown scholars and fulfilling that need starts with you.

How to study your religion?

1. Study the Qur’an - If you can memorize US History and the 50 States in alphabetical order, then surely you can read the book of Allah (سبحانه وتعال), you can understand what the book of Allah (سبحانه وتعال) is saying. Make sure you pull the Qur’an down from that shelf for 10-15 minutes a day and read it. If you don’t read Arabic, then read the translation at least. The Qur’an is the most blessed thing to read there is so much barakah in it. It is so blessed; it is the Speech of Allah.
2. Book of Hadeeth – The best statements were the statements of Rasoolullah (صلي الله عليه وسلم). Riyadh As-Saliheen is a very good book for everyone. Read at least one or two hadeeth a day. The book is written for the laymen and thus it is very easy to understand.
3. Study basic theology. We all need to study a little bit of aqeedah. Each and every Muslim needs to know what is the Islamic belief or creed. We need to know the difference between us and them. We need to know what is the difference between God and Father.
4. Another very important area of Islam that we need to study is fiqh. Each and everyone of us needs to know how to worship Allah (سبحانه وتعال). How many of us can list the factors that break your wudoo. Forget the differences of opinion, just know at least one opinion from the madhabs–what it is, and how to do it. This is the least everyone should know.
5. Basic Laws of Islam that govern our everyday life or that determine our everyday decisions.

As the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said, “Learning knowledge is obligatory on each and every Muslim!”

This the least we need to do, and with everything else we do, it isn’t that hard at all. Allah (سبحانه وتعال) doesn’t require you to become a scholar, but at least learn your religion a little bit, and this way you will learn to respect the imams and ulemaa. And form personal experience, let this knowledge come to you from someone who is older then you, but not too old.

“…The second characteristic that everyone has to be cautious of, but especially those people who are studying the `ilm, who have been given by Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa), who have been blessed by Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa) to have knowledge and to be making da`wah, these people have to be very careful about a disease that comes to people of this nature many times, unfortunately, and this is the disease of kibr, of arrogance and pride. And sometimes the way this is reflected is where the person refuses and does not want anyone to correct him, or at least he will not accept correction from certain people. He may accept correction or be told that he is wrong by someone who is from his group, someone who is a close friend of his, but anybody else, he will look down upon anyone else, and he will not accept any kind of criticism from anybody else, and this is kibr. This is pride and arrogance, as described in the hadeeth of the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam).

The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) said that no one who has even a mustard grain seed weight of kibr in his heart, no one who has this in his heart will enter Jannah.

Someone asked the Prohpet (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam), he said that a man loves to have nice clothing on, put nice shoes., and he understood this is may kibr; the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) said, “Allaah is beautiful and loves beauty,” this is not kibr, but kibr is “to reject the truth and to look down upon the people”, to reject the truth for example when it comes to you from the source you do not like, when it comes to you from someone perhaps who is not as much upon the right path as you think you are, and to look down upon other people and to disgrace them, this is kibr.

You have to realize that, I don’t care if you are the biggest `aalim in the world, you could make a mistake sometimes, that some child could come up to you and say, you know, that was a mistake. Al-Bukhaaree was just 11 or 12 years old the first time he corrected his shaykh.

This is something that we have to be very careful about especially as I said when we are involved in da`wah and in giving knowledge. Because it is really when one gets knowledge that he feels, who are you to talk to me,… don’t talk to me, you have a problem with me,… go talk to the ulamaa’, and have the ulamaa’ come and talk to me. This is a problem, and it is very dangerous unfortunately.”

Action Plan for the Muttaqun:

• be humble with the people
• avoid despising, mocking, degrading the people with speech and actions
• accept the truth from whatever source it comes from and be sincere in correcting yourself

External Links:

• Pride: A Barrier to Paradise – By Shaykh ‘Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn Naasir as-Sa’dee-Taken from Bahjatul-Quloobul-Abraar
• Explanation of the hadeeth: “Anyone who possesses a speck of Pride in his heart will not enter Paradise” – Ibn Taimiyyah
• The Prohibition of wearing long Garments out of Pride and the undesirability of wearing them without Pride – Riyaad as-Saliheen
  
• [Audio] On the Path of Da`wah (3): Wisdom and Humbleness by Yahya Adel Ibrahim

Answerer: Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid, Islam QA

Praise be to Allaah (سبحانه وتعالى).

1. This question which the Kuffar have asked you is inherently false and self-contradictory. If we were to say – for the sake of argument – that someone created Allaah (سبحانه وتعالى), then they would ask you, Who created the creator of the creator? Then, who created the creator of the creator of the creator?! And so on, ad infinitum. This is irrational and impossible.

All of creation goes back to the Creator Who created all things. No one created Him; He created everything other than Himself. This is what makes sense and is logical. This creator is Allaah (سبحانه وتعالى), may He be glorified and exalted.

2. With regard to what our religion tells us, the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) told us about this question, where it comes from, and how to respond to it.

Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: the Messenger of Allaah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: “People will keep on asking question until someone will say, ‘Allaah created the universe, but who created Allaah?’ Whoever encounters anything like that, let him say, ‘Amantu Billaah (I believe in Allaah).’”

The Messenger of Allaah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: “The Shaytaan will come to one of you and say, ‘Who created the heaven? Who created the earth?’ He will say, ‘Allaah’” – then he mentioned something similar (to the previous report), and added, “And His Messengers.” [i.e., amantu Billaah wa Rusulihi = I believe in Allaah and His Messengers]

The Messenger of Allaah (سبحانه وتعالى) (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The Shaytaan will come to one of you and say, ‘Who created such and such?’ until he says to him, ‘Who created your Lord?’ When it reaches that stage, let him seek refuge with Allaah [say A’oodhu Billaahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem = I seek refuge with Allaah (سبحانه وتعالى) from the accursed Shaytaan] and stop thinking about it.”

The Messenger of Allaah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: “The Shaytaan will come to a person and say, ‘Who created such and such…’” and he narrated the whole report. (Imaam Muslim, 134).

In these ahaadeeth we see:Where this question comes from – from the Shaytaan;How to deal with it, which is:

1. to stop pursuing these thoughts and these tricks of the Shaytaan and to say, “I believe in Allaah and His Messengers”
2. to seek refuge with Allaah (سبحانه وتعالى) from the Shaytaan.

It was also reported that one should spit drily three times to one’s left, and recite Qul Huwa Allaahu ahad. (See “Problems and Solutions” in the Shaykh’s Books section of the IslamQA site).

3. With regard to the prior existence of Allaah, our Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) has told us about this, for example:
1. He (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: “O Allaah, You are the First and there is nothing before You; O Allaah, You are the Last and there is nothing after You.” (Narrated by Muslim, 2713)
2. He (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: “Allaah existed when there was nothing apart from Him.” According to another report: “There was nothing before Him.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari; the first report 3020; the second report 6982).

This is in addition to what is stated in the ayaat of the Qur’aan.

The believer believes without a doubt, the kaafir denies and the munaafiq doubts.

We ask Allaah (سبحانه وتعالى) to grant us sincere and certain faith with no doubts. And Allaah is the Source of strength.

Source: Kuffar Ask Who Created Allah? – Islam QA

External Links:

• Who is Allah? – By Abu Iman Abd ar-Rahman Robert Squires. © Muslim Answers
• Where Is Allaah? – ahya.org – Mahmud Murad – e-book
• Very Nice Questions about Allah – islamtomorrow.com – Yusuf Estes
• Difference Between the Creator and the Creation and the Concept of Fana – by Shaykh ul-Islam ibn Taymiyyah
• Knowing Allaah by His Words – Quranic Ayahs – Dr Saleh As-Saleh (PDF)
• Knowing Allaah – Purpose of Our Existence Our End – Allaah Makes All That Known By His Words – A call to Ponder & Contemplate

As proof that you should focus your da’wah on other then atheists, consider the Qur’an. How many verses did Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) reveal to the Jews and Christians (People of the Book)? Countless. To the mushrikeen, the polytheistic Arabs? Dozens upon dozens. To the atheists? Three to seven.

Think about that. Three to seven verses only. Subhanallah. Why? Why so few?

Belief in Allah is self-evident. It’s part of the fitrah, the natural inclination of every human being. Someone who denies something so self-evident is not terribly intelligent, and definitely not worth spending effort on. (How long would you debate with someone who tells you, while outside on a sunny day, that the sun is not shining on them? Two seconds?)

Turn your purposes to more productive purposes and inshaAllah you will see more benefit from your actions.

May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) purify our da’wah and accept our good actions, ameen.

Yasir Qadhi. Lecture. AlMaghrib. Light of Guidance. University of Toronto, Toronto. March 2006.

The companion Abdullah ibn Zubayr (رضي الله عنه) was 10 years old when the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) went on his farewell Hajj. Abdullah ibn Zubayr went, too, and witnessed the Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa sallam)’s hajj first-hand.

After the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) passed away, Abdullah ibn Zubayr became the definitive source of the fiqh of Hajj–starting at age 10–until he passed away at 73.

Why? Because he witnessed the Hajj of the prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) first-hand. He saw it all himself.

The same thing happened to ‘Aisha (رضي الله عنها), the wife of the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم). In matters that deal with and around family life, her statements are taken as the source. So if what she says conflicts with another companion’s statement, her statement overrides.

We don’t all have companions or shuyook to teach us. So seek knowledge wherever it may be–those who have learned from people of knowledge or students of knowledge can pass on what they know. And share what little you know.

And remember, it’s fard for Muslims to seek knowledge about their deen, at least with the basic obligations and prohibitions.
May Allah allow us all to fulfil the obligation of seeking knowledge. Ameen.

Muhammad Alshareef. Lecture. AlMaghrib. Conquest: History of the Khulafa. University of Toronto, Toronto. November 2005.

So said Rib’ee ibn ‘Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) to the Persian general Rustum, before the battle of Qadisiyyah. An explaination of the core of Islam. And notice it doesn’t take a two-hour speech to explain Islam, but a single, albeit long, sentence.

Whenever you give da’wah, no matter what angle, tie it back to tawhid–and if you can, plug this in. It’s our flagship, our mission statement.

Muhammad Alshareef. Lecture. AlMaghrib. Conquest: History of the Khulafa. University of Toronto, Toronto. November 2005.

And we get defensive and mangle our explainations. “Well alcohol’s not good for you” or “pigs are dirty” and so on. Which is not correct.

The answer to all these questions is very, very simple:

Because Allah or His Messenger (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said so.

That’s it. Done. Finished. Best of all, your reasons can never be negated–for example, one might say “well, pigs are no longer as dirty and viral as they used to be.” Then what are you going to say?

Speak the truth!

And, when you finally reach that level of “well what are some of the benefits we extract from this”, then you can peer into the wisdom behind the ruling and learn a few of the benefits, but in a limited way. Often times (for example, masseh–wiping over the top of your socks for wudoo, not the bottom) we simply don’t know the reason for the ruling.

Allah alone knows best.

May Allah help us to accept and understand His rulings, ameen.

If you know any good examples of non-obvious rulings, comment them in inshaAllah. Jazakumullahu khayr.

Why not saw him in half? Because the boy’s useful. He has influence among the poeple. People love him, and if he joins the king, many will follow his example.

So they took him up, and the boy said “O Allah, suffice me against them in whatever way You please”. So the mountain rumbled, and everyone fell off and died. Except the boy.

Sincere dua, immediate response. The boy had yaqeen.

He walked back to the king.

The king said “What happened to your companions?” and the boy said “Allah sufficed them”.

Now, the king’s at a cross-roads: he can realize this boy is special, and follow him, or refuse. And out of arrogance, he refused. His arrogance led to more crime. He ordered another set of soldiers to take the boy to the middle of the sea, and if he didn’t renounce by that time, drown him.

Same thing happened, same du’a, they all drowned except the boy.

He walked back to the king.

Why did he go back? Why not just run away, or go to another land? Because he realized his purpose–to give da’wah to the people, no matter what.

So ask yourself: How can I best serve Allah? Find your purpose on Earth, and stick to it. Don’t run from it.

The boy knew it, and he did exactly that.

Related Posts: The People of the Ditch (14): Belief