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Alhamdulillah Rabbil ‘Aalameen, wa salatu wasalamu ala ashrafil anbiya’i wal mursalin. Muhammadun Rasulullah ﷺ, tasliman kasiran kasiran. My brothers and sisters, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala sent us into this world with this beautiful religion called Islam. And Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala gave us the responsibility of not keeping this goodness to ourselves, but to share it with others. This is the nature of the human being. If you observe people’s behavior—normal people, I’m not talking about those putting on a show—if they have anything good, they like to share it. Whether it’s a good idea, a recipe for food, or a place they visited that they liked; all of this. So people share what they like. They enjoy sharing the goodness they possess. Now, there is nothing greater in terms of goodness than Islam, because Islam is the way to live a life which is beautiful in this world, and to die in a state where Allah is pleased with us, to get Jannah. So how much more important is it to share that—the secret of how to live a beautiful life in this world, and to attain Jannah in the Akhirah? How much more important is it to share that with people?
If you feed a poor person, he takes care of his hunger temporarily, and tomorrow, the next day, he is hungry again. But if you, through your actions, through your talk, through any means, help a person get into Jannah, then Jannah is forever, right? So this is something very important for us to keep in mind. And therefore, Dawah through Islam is something by which we share the goodness that Allah has blessed us with, with the rest of the world.
Now, a very important thing to understand regarding Dawah: Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala said to His Prophet, “Wa ma ‘alayna illa al-balaghul mubeenu.” For us, it’s not anything more than to clearly communicate and convey. The problem arises when we get into trying to convince people instead of staying in the mode of conveying. Dawah through Islam is not about convincing anybody. It’s not about winning arguments. It’s not about forcing a point of view on someone who is not interested. It is just purely conveying—conveying in the best possible way, to the best of our ability. The most powerful method involves our actions. Actions speak louder than words, as we know. And actions have the potential to compel people; however, they completely destroy your credibility if you are not careful.
So the action by itself is not merely saying what is good or bad. If the action does not support the speech—if the walk is different from the talk, or if your action does not support your speech—the credibility of the speech gets completely destroyed. That is why, if you look at the life of the Sahaba, the life of Rasulullah himself, the focus is always on action. It’s not just on learning. It’s not just finding clever arguments. It is about living that message of Islam. Now, Dawah, which means invitation, to invite, is the individual and collective purpose of our creation: to worship Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala and obey Him in every way for the benefit of people—to enjoy good and forbid evil. Know Allah and worship Allah (*Ya’budun wa Ya’rifun*).
Now, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala mentioned that our individual responsibility is to believe because you cannot sell something you do not have faith in yourself. So first of all, one must believe in Islam, believe in *La ilaha illa Allah Muhammadun Rasulullah*, believe that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad ﷺ is the last and final messenger of Allah. He is our leader; we follow him in excellence in every aspect of our lives. This is what we need to try to do. That is the individual responsibility. And collectively, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala said, “You are the best of people and you have been extracted for the benefit of the people.” To do what? To enjoy good and forbid evil and to have faith in Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. To know Allah and worship Allah is the individual responsibility of all Muslims. To spread goodness all around—convey, not convince. Convey clearly and completely. Do not try to convince and force. All of these things point to the same thing.
Allah said, “Convey what has been sent down onto you.” Remember this. Remember, this is the advice being given to the Rasul himself. So how much more important it is for us to understand this and remember that Allah did not send you to convince anybody. Allah sent you and me to convey: *Balighu ma ‘urzu ilayk*. Then Allah said, “Wa ma’a alayna illa al-balaghul mubeenu.” I am nothing except to clearly convey whatever has been sent to me. Right? And then Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala comforted Rasulullah ﷺ with regard to this issue of Hidayah. Because when you convey the message of *La ilaha illallah* to people so they can benefit from it, they will of course listen to you because you told them about it. However, they must implement it in their lives. Sometimes people do not do this. Rasulullah ﷺ used to get very upset, saddened, and aggrieved. The biggest case of this was with his own uncle, Abu Talib, who did not accept Islam.
So Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala comforted Rasulullah ﷺ and said, “Wa ma’a alayna illa al-balaghul mubeenu.” It’s not on us anything more than to convey clearly. And then Allah said, “La tahdee man ahbabta.” You cannot give Hidayah to the one you love. “Wa lakin Allah yahdi man yashao.” But Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala can give Hidayah to whoever He likes. So this Ayah came after Abu Talib passed away and Rasulullah ﷺ was upset. So Allah said, “Don’t worry; giving Hidayah is in My control. This has not been given to you.” Now you might say, well, why doesn’t Allah give Hidayah? The answer is that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala gives Hidayah in relation to the sincerity in the heart of the individual. We don’t know if they are sincere or not, but Allah knows. Therefore, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala said, “You cannot give Hidayah to whoever you want, but Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala can give Hidayah to whoever He likes.”
I remind myself and you: before we can convince anybody or even convey, the important thing is to understand that we need to learn Islam. Because quite obviously, you cannot convince or convey unless you have knowledge. This is a big problem with many people today. They think that learning Islam is sufficient by just watching some YouTube videos or messages, thinking they are ready to become Muballighs. That is not true. Islam needs to be learned properly. Like any religion, discipline, or body of knowledge, there is a systematic way of learning. You go to a teacher, you go to a school, and you study until, InshaAllah, you become ready to be a Muballigh—someone who conveys the Deen to others.
Now you might ask, well, how much knowledge do I need before I can start speaking about it? How much knowledge should I have? The basic fundamental knowledge that we need to have—and this is not only to convey to anybody, but for us as Muslims—is to learn the fundamentals. The issue of Aqeedah of Tawheed. The position of Rasulullah ﷺ as the messenger of Allah and the last and final messenger. The basic issues of Haram and Halal as they apply to us in our daily lives. How to pray, for example; this is another one of the most important things we should know. So these are the basic fundamental things. Please understand there is no mythology in Islam. Right? So what must you learn? Number one: learn Aqeedah, which are the articles of faith. Ibadah, which are the five pillars. Practices, which include Tahara (physical and ritual purity). Halal and Haram. And whatever part of Islam we need to know that applies to our lives. This is the basic fundamental requirement of anyone who wants to learn Islam.
And once we know this, it’s not just a matter of mugging it up and regurgitating it. We have to practice this and bring it into our lives. Then, InshaAllah, we become ready to meet Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala and ready also to become Muballigh, ready to convey to others. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala to help us and guide us. We make the Dua of Musa, Arabic
… I make the same Dua for myself and you, Arabic
.