If you live in a western society, such as Canada, America, England, and so on, be aware that some scholars have said that, for people living in these societies, da’wa is fard ‘ayn–an obligation on each and every Muslim. But don’t be scared–because the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said: “By Allah, if Allah were to guide one man through you, it would be better for you than a red camel.” [Saheeh Bukhari and Saheeh Muslim] Better then a shiny red Ferrari!
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.
Masha’Allah very nicely stated. Giving adequate da’wah definitely takes practice, so the more we invite people to the right path, the more comfortable and effective we will be. May Allah guide us and help us.
Jazak Allah khair, may Allah reward you. This was a beneficial reminder, and very well written.
Alhamdulilah, this is truly important for Muslims living in the west. I pray that we are all given hidayah to do our duty and spread essential knowledge to others. Ameen. Jazakallah for the post. Ma’assalam.
Sir,
I need a guidelines for preparing speech of in Islam. What are the topics? How to organise speech in Islam? Please respond.
I am a toastmaster member. As I am a muslim I have got a lot of ideas to utilise the same club for the purpose of islamic speech. But once I get the chance to speak in front of muslim groups about islam I stuck. My brain is empty. I know the reason is no idea how can I organise the islamic speech. But I can collect informations and stuffs from internet, books and other source. Please comment.
The best thing to do is practice. Plan your entire speech out on paper ahead of time. Practice it in the mirror a few times. Keep cue cards. All these things help.
If you get REALLY stuck, print out your speech and read it off the page. It’s not much, but it’s better than getting stuck!
Sir,
I just want to get answer for the following :
I went out to visit our relative with my family in the morning and we came back at home after Maghrib prayer. We performed our prayer during our travel except Magrib prayer. In Magrib prayer time we were on our way home. We went to our nearby relative to perform Magrib prayer and started our further travel. Travelling distance was only 60 Kilo Meter. What is better? Better to perform prayer after reaching home or perform the prayer in the vehicle while travelling ? Going to one’s home and perform prayer not feeling good. Can’t we pray in the vehicle irrespective of Qibla direction? Please comment.
Sorry, we don’t give fatwa. Better check with islam-qa.com or some other reliable site insha’Allah. They can answer your questions, and more.
Assalamualaikum – another nice post :) indeed us Muslims living in the west have so many opportunities … yet sometimes we just don’t care… and a majority of the time its because of us that they get the wrong impression! (through speech and action)
I was aksed by a fello co-worker today why ppl from different faith are not “allowed” to call their god Allah.
He had heard some radio station reporting that muslims would not let other religions refers to their gor as Allah. and i was not satisfies with my answer nor was he.
so the question is how do you reply to qustions like this?
@Kokeb are you sure they’re not allowed? Coptic Christians in Egypt, for example, have “Allah” written in their Arabic bibles.