Dawah

This article is about the Muslim concept. For the Tibetan phrase, see Dawa (Tibet).

For the Iraqi political party, see Islamic Dawa Party.

Dawah (Arabic دعوة daˤwah, literally: summons or call) is an Arabic term meaning "invite" or "invitation". The term is the active participle of a verb literally meaning "to call to" or "to invite" (derived from triconsonantal root د ع و / د ع ي). It is considered to be an obligation for Muslims to invite others to Islam. Dawah is often referred to as the act of "preaching Islam".

A Muslim who practices dawah, either as a religious worker or in a volunteer community effort, is called a Da'ee or Da`i (plural: du'āt (دعاة), singular: dā'iya, Arabic: داعي or داع or داعية). A da'i is thus a person who invites people to understand Islam, and may be categorized in some cases as an Islamic equivalent of a missionary.

In the Qu'ran

In the Qur'an, Sura An-Nahl 16:125 states:

"Call unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom and fair exhortation, and reason with them in the better way. Lo! thy Lord is best aware of him who strayeth from His way, and He is Best Aware of those who go aright." (Pickthall translation)

"Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knoweth best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance." (Yusuf Ali translation)

The term dawah is also applied to the call to the dead to rise from the tomb on the Day of Judgment. (Sura 30)

In Early Islam

When used in the Quran it generally refers to God's invitation to live according to his will. Thus, when used in the first centuries of Islam, it increasingly referred to the content of that message and was sometimes used interchangeably with sharī'a (law) and dīn (way of life). It also described the duty to "actively encourage fellow Muslims in the pursuance of greater piety in all aspects of their lives," a definition which has become central to contemporary Islamic thought.

Purposes of dawah

Invitation

From an Islamic standpoint, the purpose of dawah is to "invite" people to understand the worship of Allah as expressed in the Qur'an, as well as to inform them about the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. In some cases, Dawah can also be seen as preaching to non-Muslims to convert to Islam.

Strengthen the Ummah

Another purpose of dawah is to strengthen the Muslim community, or Ummah. For Muslims, it is the encouragement to be more observant of God and to increase the level of piety. That applies whether the person is just at the edge of Islam (applying very little of it) or someone who is already practicing well, but wants to reach higher levels. For the non-Muslim, it is explaining Islam by a congruent person, through acts, discussions, and dialogue in the best manner possible.

Avoid Conflict

The Sahih Muslim Hadith [2] indicates that a Da'wa is the first of three "courses of action" to be undertaken in attempting to avoid war with polytheistic enemies.

Approaches

Dawah, from the Islamic perspective, is a general act of informing others about Islam and increasing understanding of it by carrying it, living it, and making it available to others through positive and engaging means. It is not the mere act of telling someone about Islam, although dialogue, discussion, presentations are a part of dawah. It is the steady engagement of living the message, exemplifying the behaviors and providing answers and material when necessary..

As a general principle most Muslims agree that successful dawah includes knowledge of Islam, manners, and sincerity and intention in action. Many callers to Islam, such as imams, undergo dawah training to build their foundation on various aspects of the Islamic faith.

"Whereas in liberal society religious authority is generally understood to impose undue constraints on free and open discussion and is thus unwelcome within the secular public sphere, here it provides the foundation upon which opposing viewpoints are articulated."

Criticism

By some people, Dawah is believed to be the activity of proselytizing though it "has historically encompassed a wide range of meanings" (Hirschkind 2004, p.190).

See also

• Aslim Taslam
• Hizb ut-Tahrir
• Islamic Dawa Party
• List of Da'ees
• Tablighi Jamaat

Source

• Hirschkind, Charles (2004). "Civic Virtue and Religious Reason: An Islamic Counter-Public" in Drobnick, Jim Aural Cultures. ISBN 0-920397-80-8.

External links

• Sheikh Khalid Yasin's Official Website Sheikh Khalid Yasin's Official Website
• Texas Dawah Convention Annual Dawah convention
• Shahadah.net Introduction to Islam
• Turn To Islam Website A lot of Videos and Material About Muslim Converts and Islamic Dawah.
• Islam The Modern Religion: "A Guide to dawah"
• IslamWorld.net: "Woman in Dawah" by Abdul Lateef M. Al-Hassan and Sumayyah Bint Joan, al-Jumu'ah Magazine
• Young Muslims Canada: "Al-Ghazaly – The Man of Da`wah" by Dr. Yusuf Al-Qaradawi
• LADO: Latino American Dawah Organization
• Meccacentric Da'wah Group: Producing High Quality Lectures About Islam and Muslims
• Ahmed Deedat Islamic Propagation Centre International
• God's Mosque Q&A using Quran
• Tanzeem-e-Islami Dr. Israr Ahmad
• Islamic Online University Bilal Philips
• Yusuf Islam/Cat Stevens
• Islam Tomorrow Yusuf Estes
• Gary Miller Reference Page Gary Miller
• Aswatalislam.net
• Light Upon Light Website
• StreetDawah.com
• Harun Yayha, Invitation To The Truth
• Amr Khalid
• Islamic Dawah Centre International: Free Books on Islam