Presenting Islam to Non-Muslims in a Way That is Best

The purpose of sending Prophets to every nation has always been the same right from the beginning. They had one and only responsibility to teach their people about the commands of Allah SWT, and take them out of darkness towards enlightenment. Just like a successful teacher instructs its pupils with great care, like engaging students in dialogue, answering their questions with logic and showing patience etc. same way all the Messengers of the Almighty especially Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) invited the Arabs to Islamic teachings being a role model Himself. But it is not confined to them alone, rather it is moral duty of each of us to communicate message of righteousness to those who are unaware. The act of preaching is known as Da`wah, and the one executing it is called Da`ee. This effort is made obligatory to perform on every one who has religious knowledge by God, the Exalted:

“Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has strayed from His way, and He is most knowing of who is [rightly] guided…” (Quran, 16:125)

Since attracting someone to a new religion is an extremely delicate matter, so it has been stressed in the above Quranic lines that this action has to be carried out with a lot of concern. The prerequisite for this deed is proper insight of information that is being transferred to others. It has to be followed with nice way of conversation, and last but not least, staying calm and pass on point of view in the most respectable manner while being opposed. Taking an example of a child, who only understands the language of love, and readily absorbs lessons of parents, conversely, when they are treated with rage, they resist whatever is being endorsed. An uninformed person also needs to be taken as a kid, who would only comprehend pleasant speech.

The process of Da`wah to non believers requires a great deal of heed and following of proper strategy which we will try to elaborate here.

Guidelines for Letting Non Muslims Know About Islam

Aim

“The basic aspiration behind this endeavor is simply to pass on the true essence of the Religion of Peace.”

It includes a clear vision of just playing a role like that of a herald, who acts as an official overseas carrier of messages. There should be no compulsion on any receiver of this memorandum to readily accept it. First, they have their own religious beliefs, which they have been acting upon for many years. Second, everyone has its own liberty of views and opinions. That is why uncle of Rasulullah (PBUH), Abu Talib, even after protecting Him from oppressions of Kuffaars (non believers), had not accepted Islam till his death.  And Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) did not opt for making him accept God`s revelations by force but kept on showing true path, until he was about to die, when Prophet (PBUH) asked him to say Shahadah in order to be forgiven by the Almighty eventually.

So, the intention should be to demonstrate the direction of uprightness to non Muslims, and let them determine their own final conclusions about it. It should be kept in mind that Hidayah (guidance) always comes from the Gracious Lord, whoever He prefers, which is why Hazrat Umar (R.A) suddenly accepted Islam after listening to recitation of Furqan e Hameed. Our role should be just to support this cause, and left results in the keeping of Allah Almighty.

Approaches

As a successful company strategizes its operations through careful action plans, and achieves its objectives by realizing and fulfilling needs of their customers. Similarly, a Da`ee has to consider its target population as its customers, and needs to attract them with huge effort, because these lessons are new for them, and might not even listen to them. So, the procedure has to be carefully mapped out and should follow some of the following useful considerations:

One To One Interaction

One of the most helpful methods of starting this journey is to know about person that is to be given illumination about Islamic instructions. By making close relationship with that individual, one would know about its social status, and belonging to a specific group etc. This would in turn assist in planning the whole process effectively. The interaction should be highly friendly in nature, and it should not start with religious discussion straight away. Rather, first one has to begin with general conversation, which might lead towards actual topic. For example, a Da`ee could ask, “What is your general view on killing innocents?”, and if reply involves Muslims being terrorists, then one can recite Holy verses to explain the rightful spirit of Jihad in Islam, and prove the murderers of blameless people as having no religion.

“Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land – it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one – it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors.” [Quran, 5: 32]

The above stated Ayah was revealed when Muslims had believed in rumors that some Jews of Madina were going to kill the Holy Prophet (PBUH). So, the Almighty ordered them not to kill somebody unjustifiably by mentioning tale of sons of Israel. It clearly shows that our religion forbids assassination of anyone for no reason. Hence, after knowing delusions of non believers, one can clarify them through wisdom of Quran.

Understanding Culture of Target Audience

Believing in a particular religion and belonging to a specific civilization are two different things. We Muslims too have our own versions of interpretation of things in diverse regions of the world. And when it comes to non Muslims, they not only have great differences of traditions, but also have high sense of freedom of speech, especially in the West. So, a preacher has to carefully identify with intended listeners` cultural backgrounds to be able to reason its dialogue according to their needs and preferences. One can modify its outlook and speak in local language if necessary, as one could even be rejected to have a chance of talking seeing its typical Muslim dressing, and way of speech etc.

Having Small Sessions

Depending upon the anticipated addressees, a Da`ee has to maintain steady flow of information to them. One has to avoid overburdening of Islamic lessons on them, as they are new to these instructions, and definitely need time to absorb them. So, sittings have to for short duration of time, so that audience may not lose interest and not come back again. It requires a great degree of patience and consistency from speaker, and evasion from being overjoyed by feeling of working in the way of Allah with a view to make people aware of our religious views all at once. One should give them a step by step overview of key Islamic obligations like daily prayers, Quran learning and understanding etc. on a daily basis.

Focusing On Main Ideas Of Islam

A Da`ee needs to stick to the central Islamic concepts, from which other teachings originate. There is no need to talk about specific topics, because a listener has to comprehend the basics of a new religion first. One should also avoid going into deep discussion about less important issues (Ikhtilaf) and try to finish it in precise and to the point answers. However, there should be no compromise on elimination of all sorts of doubts they might have in their minds.

Universality of Islam

It should be noted that one has to present sacred views as being consistent throughout the world. One can take help from Quranic verses which give examples of the past civilizations, and their Prophetic directions which also emphasized on similar directions as Islam. The presentation of this religion should only be as a means of perfecting lessons of preceding people. There should also not be shown any kind of offensiveness to other religions, as the basis of every religion has always been about worshiping single God.

Telling the Truth

A Da`ee should always be on top of all the knowledge about main Islamic themes, but whenever it comes across situations where it has got no answers, then, there is no need to talk from oneself. One should tell eloquently about its lack of insight about a particular topic, and should refer to Quran, Sunnah of Prophet (PBUH), and other knowledgeable personalities who could prove useful.

Entertaining All Sorts Of Criticism

Being a parson of Islam, one should not feel distasteful on receiving strict disapproval from non believers. All one can do is to convey the message and rest should be left to Allah SWT.

“Go, both of you, to Pharaoh. Indeed, he has transgressed. And speak to him with gentle speech that perhaps he may be reminded or fear [Allah]. They said, “Our Lord, indeed we are afraid that he will hasten [punishment] against us or that he will transgress. [ Allah ] said, “Fear not. Indeed, I am with you both; I hear and I see.” [Quran, 20: 43-46]

In these verses, the Almighty Lord directs Musa (A.S) and His brother, Haroon (A.S) to invite Firaon (Pharaoh) with softness of tongue. This shows that the process of Da`wah should always be in this way, even when one might get greatly disrespected, as in this case, Pharaoh who opposed and did not believe in tawheed (Oneness) of God. It shows that there is a need for great patience in this process, and keep trying with a hope of Allah`s guidance being important, even if one knows it is very hard to convince particular people.

In short, the process of Da`wah is a compulsory act which calls for concrete understanding of Islamic commandments to be able to respond to all kinds of queries of non Muslims correctly. They should also be treated with gentleness, and there must not be any sort of compulsion or showing superiority of given instructions over other religions. Last but not the least; target audience should be carefully assessed before for sake of effective preaching. May Allah Almighty give us all the will and desire to first understand our religion, spread the word of righteousness to others, and bring as many ignorant people to Islam as possible. Aameen!