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A message from the Director General of the ICC

Da’awa Inviting to Allah “…every drop raises the ocean…”

Who, why and what?  What is your name and what do you do?  Why did you come to this seminar?  What do you want to get out of it?

Why do we give Dawa?  why do we do things as Muslims?  what do we hope to achieve?  What are the conditions in order for deeds to be accepted?

The virtues of giving da’awa…. “ Who is better in speech than one who calls to Allah, works righteousness and says: "I am of those who bow in Islam"? 41:33 “ Who is better in speech than one who calls to Allah, works righteousness and says: "I am of those who bow in Islam"? 41:33 Hasan al Basree recited this verse and said: Hasan al Basree recited this verse and said: “This person is the beloved to Allah, the walee of Allah and is the most beloved to Him from amongst the people of the earth. He answered the call of Allah and inviteds the people to the very same call he responded to. He works righteous deeds within his response and declares, ‘Indeed I am from the Muslims. “This person is the beloved to Allah, the walee of Allah and is the most beloved to Him from amongst the people of the earth. He answered the call of Allah and inviteds the people to the very same call he responded to. He works righteous deeds within his response and declares, ‘Indeed I am from the Muslims. “…every drop raises the ocean…”

…..some hadith from “Riyadh-us-Saliheen” compiled by Imam an Nawawi  Chapter 19 Inventing New Ways of virtue and vice  Chapter 20 Recommending for Good, Inducement for Doing Good and Tempting Towards vice.  Chapter 21 Co-operation in good and virtuous deeds  Chapter 22 Tendering Good Advice  Chapter 23 Enjoining Virtue and Forbidding Evil  Chapter 23 Divine Wrath on a Person who verbally Enjoins Virtue and Prohibits vice but Acts Contrarily

Story of the sabbath breakers Ask them concerning the town standing close by the sea. Behold! they transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath. For on the day of their Sabbath their fish did come to them openly holding up their heads but on the day they had no Sabbath they came not: thus did We make a trial of them for they were given to transgression. When some of them said: "why do ye preach to a people whom Allah will destroy or visit with a terrible punishment?" Said the preachers: "to discharge our duty to your Lord and perchance they may fear him." When they disregarded the warnings that had been given them We rescued those who forbade evil; but We visited the wrong-doers with a grievous punishment because they were given to transgression. When in their insolence they transgressed (all) prohibition We said to them: "Be ye apes despised and rejected.“ Quran 7:

Hudhayfa said that the Prophet said: “By Him in whose hands is my soul you must enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong or else Allah will send upon you a chastisement, and you will make dua, but your supplications will not be accepted.” Tirmidhi “Will we be punished while there are righteous people amongst us?” “Yes, when the evil is more than the good.” Agreed upon Nu’mand ibn Bashir relates that the Prophet said: “The example of a person who obeys Allah and the one who disobeys Allah is like the passengers on a boat...

The ruling on giving da’awa in general 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. 3:104 Ye are the best of peoples evolved for mankind enjoining what is right forbidding what is wrong and believing in Allah. 3:110 Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and fair preaching and argue with them in a way that is best 16:125 Say: This is my way; I call to Allah with sure knowledge, I and whosoever follows me. 12:108

 Abu Sa’id Khudri relates that he heard from the Prophet as saying: “If anyone notices something evil, should change it with his hands and if he cannot he should change it with his tongue and if he cannot he should at least hate it in his heart and that is the weakest form of faith.” Muslim “…every drop raises the ocean…”

Who can give Dawa? ““““Convey from me, even if it is one ayah.” Bukhari ““““Let the one who is present convey to the one who is absent, for the one who is absent may understand it better than the one who is present.” Bukhari

Essential Skills  Communication  People  Organizational

Communication words Spoken and written clarity Economy of words, Repetition, The language people understand example Good character Humility, gentleness, tolerance, forgiveness and overlooking of faults, returning evil with what is better, Listening, empathy appearance Dress, Smell, Smile Good deeds the heart From the heart to the heart, The noor of Allah “…every drop raises the ocean…”

The Tools  I’lm (knowledge) and yaqeen (certainty)  Sincerity  Wisdom  Gentleness and kindness  Patience  Practice what you preach  Taqwa and good character  Du’aa

DO NOT………  have useless arguments  lie about Allah and His Messenger  talk about things that you don’t know  make dawa an excuse to do haram  make temptation an excuse not to do dawa  give up and loose hope “…every drop raises the ocean…”

Authenticity of Qur’an + Sunnah  A - Apostasy  C - Why convert when I’m satisfied with what I have?  C - Why are non-Muslims not allowed into Mekkah + Medinah Prove God’s existence  B - Why the main sects?  B - Oppression of women  B - Pre-destination  B - Polygamy  B - Aishah’s (RA) age at marriage TerrorismHomosexuality Fixed punishments  A - Jihad + holy war Anti-semitism  C - If there is a God, why is there suffering?  C - Isn’t it enough just to be a good person?  A - If God is so powerful why does he need to be worshipped? Mistakes in Bible but still ok for guidance…  A - Why don’t you eat pork now when there are fridges? How do we know Muhammad (SAWS) was a prophet? How to counter Christian quotations from the Bible…  B - If we all worship the same God why do we need religion?  A - Why do we bow down to Mekkah?  A - Pagan origins of Islam…  C - If God wants us to worship Him, why doesn’t He just show Himself (i.e. instead of sending prophets)?  B - I’ve never felt God A - Jesus changed my life…  C - Religion causes war! Who created the Creator?  C - Counter to trinity explanations… Why did God create? Evidence of Darwinism Scientism How do we explain abrogation?  C - Wine in paradise…

The systematic approach 1. The premise of our discussion 2. The “nature” of God a)Different from the creation b)“Out-side” space and time c)Conclusion: “An intelligent, powerful being, self- sufficient and eternal” 3. One God 4. The limits of reason and need for revelation

The systematic approach 1. Some other attributes…. a)Bountiful b)Destroyer 2. How do we know that the Qur’an is from Allah a)Concept of God b)Miraculous c)The Prophet  Advantages of this method  Disadvantages of this method

The systematic approach