Understanding well the nature of his calling, the Messenger of Allah acknowledged its burdens from the onset with words of conviction and readiness: “No rest,” he exclaimed, “will there be as of this day!” He knew the magnitude of the task that lay ahead. How does he convey the Truth to an unruly and stubborn people, where change is anathema to the existing structures and relationships? To call for a peaceful upheaval of life’s ways that had strayed from the ways of the Heavens. To face the injustice, fear and insecurity coming from those who would stop him in his tracks. But he (saw) knew that the universe he inhabited drew its sustenance from the Creator, the Protector (al-Mawla) and the very forelocks of which are in His Hands. So fortified with Imaan and Tawakkul he (saw) embarked on the work and the Mission with which he was charged.
The Mission
The Prophet (saw) was sent by Allah with Islam, with a mission to make it prevail as an ‘Aqeedah and a Shariah, to take mankind out of the darkness and into the Light of Islam. He (saw) was a universal Prophet, with a universal Message, a universal Call to a universal way of life and a universal Shariah. The bearer of such a message could never be restricted in vision or reach by color, language, tribe, faith, borders, time or place. No wonder that Allah (swt) addressed His Prophet thus:
‘We have not sent you O Prophet but as a Mercy to the ‘Alameen.’ [21:107]
The Messenger has been described as a mercy because the Message that he brought has come for the good of mankind as it is from the Creator. It is the Mercy which will save mankind from the worship of man and bring him to the worship of the creator of man.
Also in Sura al-Saff (The Battle Array) Allah (swt) said:
‘He it is Who has sent His Messenger (Muhammad) with guidance and the religion of truth to make it victorious over all (other) religions even though the Mushrikûn (polytheists) hate (it).’ [61:9]
Al-Shafi’I said: ‘Allah made the religion of His Messenger prevail over all other religions such that it became clear to the one who listened that it was the truth and whatever contradicted it was false.’ He also said: ‘He (saw) made the Deen prevail over Shirk, the people of the Book and the Arab mushriks. He defeated the Arab mushriks until they embraced Islam willingly or unwillingly and he fought the people of the Book and took them captives (in war) until some embraced Islam and others gave the jizya, subdued in the land and the rule (of the religion) was implemented on them. This is the meaning of the Deen prevailing over everything ‘even if the mushrikeen detest it.” (Khazin, Lubab al-Ta’wil fi Ma’ani al-Tanzil)
The Struggle in Makkah
At the start, like any da’wah carrier would today, he encountered within himself fear and inhibition at the thought of taking on such a huge task. Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said when the verse ‘warn your kinsmen’ was revealed that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘I knew that had I began doing that with my people they would react badly and so I remained silent. Then Jibreel came and said: O Muhammed, if you do not do what you have been commanded, your Lord will punish you.’ So I said: O, Ali slaughter a sheep and invite the people…’ (Reported by Ibn Ishaq and al-Bayhaqi in Dalaail an-Nubuwwah).
The Prophet knew he needed to develop his kutla and with that in mind he began to use Dar al-Arqam b. Abi Arqam as base from which to invite and develop his companions. ‘Uthman b. al-Arqam narrated: ‘I was the courageous one in Islam; my father was the seventh person to embrace Islam. His house was on mount Safa and it was the house in which the Prophet used to reside. In it he called the people and many embraced Islam there. On Monday night the Prophet made the dua: ‘O Allah strengthen Islam with the most beloved to you of the two; ‘Umar b. al-Khattab or ‘Umar b. Hisham.’ ‘Umar came the next morning and embraced Islam in dar al-Arqam. Then they went out, making takbeer and made tawaf around the Sacred House publicly. The house (dar) of al-Arqam at that time used to be called dar al-Islam (the house of Islam).’ (Reported by al-Hakim in his Mustadrak. V 2/502.)
The Prophet (saw) was building his body of shahabah with the aim of taking the da’wah to the society. Ibn Kathir reported through ‘Aisha (ra) who said: ‘When the companions of the Prophet gathered and they numbered thirty eight men, Abu Bakr urged the Prophet (saw) to go public with the call. The Prophet (saw) said: O Abu Bakr, we are yet few.’ But when the command came, ‘Proclaim that which you have been commanded’, the Prophet marched out in two rows proclaiming Islam, with Hamza (ra) at the head of one row and Umar (ra) at the other.’
Thus in Makkah the Prophet (saw) strove to convince the people of their duty to Allah (swt). But rejection and ridicule was the order of the day. The Prophet (saw) suffered but endured. During the three year boycott of Shi’b b. Abdul Muttalib, the Sahabah suffered great poverty and hunger. Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas (ra) described their condition during the boycott, he said: ‘I went out one night to relieve myself. Whilst I was urinating I heard the rustling noise coming from where I was urinating: it was a peace of dry camel skin. So I picked it up, washed it and then seared it and put some water on it. (I ate it) and found strength from it to last another three days.’
His companions around him like Bilal, Ammar and Summayyah were subjected as we know to unspeakable pain and torture; but his Imaan did not wane. And nor was he swayed by the fear and temptation that were set as traps by Quraysh when they offered him money, power and women, to entice him away from that Mission. But what a brave and unflinching response he (saw) gave, the motto of the da’wah carrier today: ‘By Allah, if they were to put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left on condition that I relinquished this matter, until Allah has made it triumphant or I perish therein I would not relinquish it.’
He experienced life’s sadness and sorrows when he lost his beloved Khadijah and then his uncle Abu Talib, but all the time he pushed on relentlessly spurred on by the desire for completion. In Taif he faced, as he told Aisha, the worst day of his life when Taif’s soil was reddened by a Prophet’s desire to convey his Message and make his Deen prevail. His only response was the words said in prayer: ‘O Allah, if you are happy with me then it does not matter.’ Despite rejection and failure, the Prophet (saw) continued visiting the tribes until Allah (swt) blessed him with the Nusra from the ‘Aws and Kazraj, the people of Yathrib.
The Madinan Phase
In Madinah, as a ruler he could have lived a comfortable life. But of course his Mission was not complete and indulgence in the pleasures of this life would take away from the pleasures of that which was to come. It is narrated that once Umar b. al-Khattab went to see the Prophet (saw). After he had been given permission to enter, Umar climbed up the ladder and entered the small room where he (saw) was staying. Umar said: “I visited Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and he was lying on a mat. I saw down and he drew up his lower garment over him. He had nothing else on, and the mat had left its marks on his sides. I looked around at what stores Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had, and saw only a handful of barley equal to one sa’ and an equal amount of mimosa leaves in the corner of the room and tanned leather bag handing nearby, and I was moved to tears. He said, ‘Ibn al Khattab, what is making you cry?’ I replied, ‘O Messenger of Allah, how can I not cry? This mat has left marks on your sides and I can only see what I have seen of your stores. Caesar and Chosroes are leading their lives of plenty, while you are the Messenger of Allah, His Chosen One, and look what you have!’ ‘Ibn al Khattab,’ he answered, ‘isn’t it enough for you that for us there is the next world, and for them there is this world?”
It was also narrated by Al-Haakim, from the Hadith of Abi Tha’labah Al-Khashni, who said: “When the Messenger of Allah (saw) would return from a battle or travel, he would first come to the mosque and pray two Rakahs, then he (saw) would go to his daughter Fatimah (ra), then he (saw) would go to his wives (ra). So after he (saw) returned, he left the mosque and was met by his daughter Fatimah (ra) at the door of his (saw) home, and she began kissing his mouth while her eyes cried, so he (saw) said to her: ‘My daughter, what makes you cry?’ She replied: ‘Oh, Messenger of Allah, it is because I see you all ruffled and exhausted, and your clothing are all worn out!’ He said: ‘Do not cry, for Allah, Azza Wa Jall, has sent your father with a matter that not one house made of Madar or Sha’ar (fur, i.e. tents), will be left on the face of the earth, except Allah will enter them into it, with honour or disgrace, until it reaches where night has reached.’ (Reported by al-Hakim with sound chain of narrators).
When the Prophet (saw) set out to make Hajj in the month of Zul Qa’dah, Quraysh dispatched an army under Khalid b. al-Walid and ‘Ikramah b. Abi Jahl to intercept the pilgrims before they reach Makkah. When the Prophet (saw) reached the village of ‘Usfan he heard about the army sent to bar him from Allah’s House. He said, “Woe to Quraysh, war has devoured them! What harm would they have suffered if they had left me and the rest of the Arabs to go our own way? If they should kill me that is what they desire, and if Allah should provide me with victory over them they would enter Islam in flocks. If they do not do that, they will fight while they have the strength, so what are the Quraysh thinking of? By Allah, I shall not cease to fight for the mission with which Allah has entrusted me until He makes it triumphant or this Salifah gets severed.‘ However, after a standoff between the Prophet (saw) and the Quraysh, the latter sent envoys to broker an agreement. The Prophet (saw) opted for the peace plan knowing full well the reason for attempting to make Hajj in the first place and accepted to turn back provided they can return the following year. Some companions felt deeply distressed by the apparent backing down of the Prophet (saw) in the Hudaybiyyah treaty as he had told them while in Madinah that he had seen a dream that he had entered Makkah and had circumnutated the House. Umar (ra) especially confronted the Prophet (saw) about this matter, and said: ‘did you not tell us that we will visit the scared House and make Tawaf?’ The prophet replied: ‘Did I say you will perform Hajj this year?‘ Umar replied: ‘No’, upon which the Prophet (saw) said: ‘you will visit the House and make Tawaf!‘ Following this, Allah (swt) in Sura al-Fath (The Conquest) assured the believers that the Deen will prevail by the conquest of Makkah:
‘Indeed Allah shall fulfill the true vision which He showed to His Messenger in very truth. Certainly, you shall enter Al-Masjid al-Haram; if Allah wills, secure, (some) having your heads shaved, and (some) having your head hair cut short, having no fear. He knew what you knew not, and He granted besides that a near victory. He it is Who has sent His Messenger (Muhammad) with guidance and the religion of truth (Islam), that He may make it (Islam) superior over all religions. And All-Sufficient is Allah as a Witness. [48:27-28]
In fact the treaty of Hudaybiyyah was a political coup for the Muslims. It bought the Prophet (saw) time and opportunity to carry the da’wa without hindrance from Quraysh, to create public opinion for Islam within the Arabian Peninsula, send envoys to the Romans and Persians, and deal with immediate enemies near Madinah. After concluding the treaty, the Prophet (saw) then turned to Khaybar and laid siege to its fortresses until the Jews who were conspiring against the state were defeated. The siege of Khaybar was very difficult for the Muslims as they endured great hunger and hardship during the days of the siege. However, upon one day of returning from Khaybar, lest the Sahabah think of settling down and slacken in carrying the Call, he addressed them saying: “O people! Verily Allah has sent me as a mercy to all mankind, so do not differ about me like the Hawaryyun differed about ‘Isa, son of Maryam.” The Sahabah asked, “And how did the Hawaryyun differ O Messenger of Allah?” He (saw) said, “He invited them to what I invited you, as for the one who was sent to a near place he accepted, while the one who was sent to a far place he disliked and slowed down.” What the Prophet (saw) was saying to them was that now the time has come to take the Message to the Kings and rulers of the lands outside of the Arabian Peninsula. He wanted to motivate the ambassadors whom he was waging to send far, trekking the hazardous journey on horseback, bearing a letter from him (saw) inviting them to Islam. So he told them that he was a mercy to mankind so this mercy had to be spread and must reach the furthest lands, and he wanted them to take this message out to mankind. Subhanallah, no sooner had the Prophet (saw) had dealt with Khaybar he was now thinking of Heraclious, Kosroa and the Moqawqis, even though Makkah had not yet been conquered at that time.
The Hudaybiyyah treaty did not last. Shortly after the battle of Mu’ta which the Muslims fought against the Roman’s where the Muslims suffered heavy casualties, Quraysh thought they could take advantage by indirectly attacking Banu Khuza’ah, a tribe under the Prophet’s protection. The attack was carried out by their ally Banu Bakr, who killed some of Banu Khuaza’ah’s men. This of course was a violation of the treaty terms and to which the Prophet (saw) responded by preparing an army to conquer Makkah.
The conquest of Makkah was a relatively bloodless invasion where the Prophet (saw) won the hearts and minds of people simply by the way he conducted it. He (saw) did things to remove the barriers in order to win the people, which looked devoid of the Mission perspective, would seem as just good morals and acts of generosity. He (saw) to make it easy for Abu Sufyan and give him respect, the Prophet (saw) said: ‘Whoever enters the house of Abu Sufyan shall be secure; whoever remains in his own house shall also be secure; and whoever enters the Mosque shall be secure.’ When seeing a man tremble at the sight of the army marching in, the Prophet (saw) told him: ‘Be at ease. Do not be afraid. I am not a king. I am only the son of a woman of the Quraysh who used to eat meat dried in the sun’ When Sa’d bin Ubadah cried out: ‘’Today is a day of slaughter. Today there is no more sanctuary. Today Allah has humbled the Quraysh.’ When the Prophet (saw) heard of this he said: ‘Today is a day of mercy and forgiveness when Allah will exalt the Quraysh and raise honour for the Ka’bah.’ Having destroyed the idols in the Ka’bah the Prophet (saw) came out and found Ali b Abi Talib holding the key to the Ka’bah saying: ‘Grant us the guardianship of the Ka’bah along with providing water for the pilgrims.’ Instead of giving the keys to Ali, the Prophet (saw) asked: ‘Where is Uthman b. Talha?’ Uthman was summoned and the Prophet said to him, ‘Here is your key, Uthman. Today is a day of piety and good faith. Keep it forever as an inheritance. Only a tyrant would take it from you.‘ This was the man, the key bearer of the Ka’bah, who refused to give the key to the Prophet before the hijra and behaved with him in an insolent manner. The Prophet (saw) told him then: ‘Uthman, the day will come when you will see this key in my hands. I would then give it to whom I would like.’ ‘Uthman had then retorted, ‘If the day comes, the Quraish would be humiliated and crushed.’ ‘No’, the Prophet (saw) had said calmly, ‘it would be honored and secured.’ (Zad al-Ma’ad, Vol. I, p. 425) Then the Prophet (saw) turned to the Quraysh and said: ‘O Quraish, what do you think of treatment that I should accord you’. They said, ‘Mercy, O Prophet of Allah. We expect nothing but good from you.’ Thereupon the Prophet said: ‘I speak to you in the same words as Joseph spoke to his brothers. This day, there is no reproof against you: Go your way, for you are free.’
Following the conquest of Makkah the tribe of Hawazin and Thaqif formed a coalition to fight the Muslims. The Prophet (saw) raised a large army and the two armies met at the valley of Hunayn. At first the Muslims were not doing well but by the mercy of Allah they eventually defeated the enemy. In distributing the booty; again the Prophet (saw) displayed much political wisdom, a point misunderstood by the Ansar initially when they received nothing of the booty themselves, but saw much of it going to the newly converted Malik b. ‘Awf who had not long ago just led the army against the Prophet (saw) at Hunayn. One Ansari expressed what the rest of them were feeling when he said: ‘By Allah, the Messenger of Allah has met his own people.’ Sa’d ibn ‘Ubadah went to the Messenger of Allah (saw) and told him what had happened. He (saw) asked, ‘Where do you stand in this matter Sa’d?‘ In reply Sa’d said, ‘I stand with my people.’ Allah’s Messenger (saw) said to him, ‘Then gather your people to this enclosure.’ When all concerned were assembled the Messenger of Allah (saw) addressed them so, ‘What is this I hear of you? Do you think ill of me in your hearts? Did I not come to you when you were erring and Allah guided you? Poor and Allah made you rich? Enemies and Allah softened your hearts?’ They answered, ‘Yes indeed, Allah and His Messenger are most kind and generous.’ He (saw) continued, ‘Why don’t you answer me O people of Ansar?’ They said, ‘How shall we answer you O Messenger of Allah? Kindness and generosity belong to Allah and His Messenger.’ He (saw) said, ‘Had you by Allah so wished you could have said – and you would have spoken the truth and have been believed – you came to us discredited and we believed you; deserted and we helped you; a fugitive and we took you in; poor and we comforted you. Are you disturbed in mind because of the good things of this life by which I win over a people that they may become Muslims while I entrust you to your Islam? Are you not satisfied that men should take away flocks and herds while you take back with you the Messenger of Allah? By him in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, but for the migration, I should be one of the Ansar myself. If all men went one way and the Ansar another, I should take the way of the Ansar, O Allah, send Your mercy on the Ansar, their sons and their sons’ sons.’ The people wept until the tears ran down their beards and they said, ‘We are satisfied with the Messenger of Allah as our lot and portion.’
From these and many other examples in the Prophet’s Seerah we can see how he (saw) did not rest having established dar al-Islam, but struggled to complete his Mission and undertook many actions to win over the people for the sake of that Mission.
Towards Completion of the Mission
After the Fath Makkah, after the year of the delegations (sanat al-wufud) in the ninth year after Hijra, when tribe after tribe came to the Prophet (saw) to give bay’ah and embrace Islam in droves, the Prophet sensed that death was approaching as his Mission was coming to a close. When he sent Mu’az to Yemen in the 10th year of the Hijrah he told him: ‘O Mu’az, You may not see me after this year. Perhaps you will even pass by this very mosque of mine and my grave.’ Mu’az wept for fear that he will have to part from the Beloved. In the same year the Prophet (saw) made his last pilgrimage and gave his farewell speech.
On the 25 Dhul Qa’dah the Prophet (saw) left Madinah and headed for Makkah to make what was to be his last Hajj. And at the Farewell Speech the Prophet (saw) sat on his camel and addressed the congregation: ‘O People, no prophet or messenger will come after me and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore, O People, and understand words which I convey to you. I am leaving you with the Book of Allah (the Quran) and my Sunnah (the life style and the behavioral mode of the Prophet); if you follow them you will never go astray. All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly.’ At the end of the sermon in front of a hundred and twenty four thousand pilgrims, the Prophet raised his hand aloft, pointed to the sky and moved it down towards the people saying: “O Allah, Bear witness that I have conveyed.”
Tears flowed from the eyes of the Companions for they knew that completion of the Prophetic Mission brought with it its own sorrows. It would not be long now before the Prophet (saw) would be taken from them but the Mission to convey must continue and they would have to shoulder its burdens.
The Prophet (saw) completed the rest of the manasik (rites) of Hajj and then headed back for Madinah. On sight of Madinah he (saw) made takbir three times and then said: ‘There is no God but Allah, alone with no partner. His is the kingdom and His is the praise. He has power over all things. We are returning, repenting, worshipping, prostrating to our Lord, and praising Him. Allah has been true to His promise and has helped His slave and defeated the enemies alone.’
He (saw) entered Madinah in broad daylight. Subhanallahi wa bihamdihi! How different this was to when he first made Hijrah having to flee Makkah in the dead of night with Abu Bakr. Now Allah had brought his Messenger back to Madinah, repentant, thankful and victorious. After the Prophet (saw) joined the sublime companion the Sahabah embraced the mission with passion and in earnest, and took it forward such that within the period of the 30 years after the death of the Prophet (saw) the light of Islam had spread from one end of the known world to the other.
How does the Da’wah Carrier pursue that Mission?
Brothers, here we are now today where that Mission rests on our shoulders. We bear the same Message that the Prophet (saw) and the Companions bore after him, shouldering the same obligation and pledging to be a faithful guardian of Islam, to uphold the Deen and strive to make it prevail in the world.
But what does this really mean for the da’wah carrier in our day? What should be his aim today and how does that aim relate to his wider Mission? And how can he contextualize that Mission to give the actions he carries out in the da’wah meaning? Also what type of mentality and attitude does this conviction in this Mission create such that it aids him when faced with problems in his da’wah? And finally, what kind of relationship does he need to establish with the One who has commissioned him with this Mission?
Brothers, if we scrutinize how Rasulullah (saw) pursued his Mission and compare that with our circumstance we can come to the following conclusions:
- The Mission is personal to him. In the face of searching reflection brothers, the one who has Imaan and Ikhlas will be reminded of that Mission, that it is his, personal, and owned, whose burdens he carries with relish and hope. He will remember that he is a conveyor and faithful guardian of Islam, a lone solitary defender of the frontier of the Deen, lest the lines be penetrated. When he thinks like this he will realize even more than before that the rigmarole of a secure and comfortable normality is not for him but that life with all its worldly preoccupations has to be beautified and blessed by the struggle to convey the Message and the uncertainties and worries that go with it. He will conclude that this is his own personal Mission – no one else’s, where he meets the Messenger in the work, in ways that only he knows how, privileged to be its part. In other words, he will take ownership of the Mission where any loss to it will be his loss and he feels it.
- What is the aim today? The Prophet (saw) pursued his mission in various stages and situations. At each stage he had an aim and that aim was linked to his mission – make Islam dominant over all ways of life. So for example, he began by building a group (kutla) in Makkah to engage in an intellectual and political struggle, to change the very fabric of the non-Islamic thoughts and emotions on which that society was based. He strove to do this in order to pave the way for the political authority which would implement Islam. Having found that Makkah was unresponsive he widened the area of da’wah and looked further a field. With that in mind he visited many tribes during the Hajj season until Allah (swt) blessed him with the nusra of the Aws and Khazraj and the first Islamic State was established in Madinah. Having established a state power – however small – and having built an Islamic society, he was now ready to spread Islam outside its borders through da’wah and jihad. In each of these stages the Prophet (saw) sought an aim in the context of his Mission. Today, in the absence of the Islamic State the meaning of Izhar ad-deen for the da’wah carrier means to carry the call to resume the Islamic way of life by establishing a rightly guided Khilafah. So he strives to make Islam dominant by working with his life and property to establish the Islamic state, just as this was the aim of the Prophet’s Mission in Makkah. This is in respect to the aim today in light of his Mission.
- Connection of partial actions to the Mission: In working to establish the Islamic State the Prophet (saw) knew that each action he did was connected to his Mission and aim. For example, the following actions are all connected to the Izhar ad-deen as he (saw) made the connection either by his words or deed:
- i. Invited his relatives and close ones to Islam.
- ii. Strengthening the aqliyyah and nafsiyyah of his companions in dar al-Arqam and imparted to them the Islamic world view
- iii. Proclaiming the message through various style and his uncompromising stance despite the opposition of Quraysh
- iv. Traveling to Taif to meet their leaders
- v. Visiting the tribes for nusra
- vi. Sending Mus’ab b. ‘Umayr to open up the da’wah in Madinah
- vii. Taking the second bay’ah from the Ansar
- viii. Making hijrah from Makkah to Madinah
- ix. Preparing the army for jihad
- x. Setting out to make Hajj
- xi. Concluding the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah
- xii. Sending ambassadors to Heraclious, Kisra and the Maqawqis to convey the universal message of Islam out to the world.
- xiii. Conquest of Makkah and battle of Hunayn and the actions he (saw) did to break down barriers to win over the people.
Today we in our da’wah undertake many actions:
- i. We give Halaqah to develop the people who will carry the da’wah forward
- ii. We develop ourselves to take leadership for Islam
- iii. We engage in da’wah with the people
- iv. We hold talks, seminars and conferences
- v. We hold marches and demonstrations
- vi. We meet important personalities who can assist the da’wah
- vii. We undertake political maneuvers and styles
- viii. We study the evil plans and designs that foreign governments have for Muslims in the West and abroad
- ix. We send delegations and open letters to governments and leaders
Brothers, these actions are not mere da’wah actions. These things are done in partial fulfillment of the Mission given to us by Allah (swt). We must give them the importance and attention that the Prophet (saw) gave to the actions he carried out. We need to approach them with the zeal and commitment the Sahabah approached these partial actions. Did he not say he is willing to die continuing the call to the society when Quraysh tried to tempt or threaten him? Did he not prepare da’wah carriers who were ready to give their life for the da’wah? Did not the Sahabah face with courage the rocks and stones hurled at them when they were marching round the Ka’bah to make the public proclamation of laa ilaaha illallah? Did his (saw) body not drip with blood at Taif? Did he not leave his home Makkah, and migrated to a foreign land to establish dar al-Islam in madinah? Did the Shahabah not also leave their family, homes and property to join him in Madinah? Did he not spend weeks and months away from his family on expeditions and come home ruffled and exhausted, and his clothing all worn out? When he came back did he rest, did he not begin to write to the rulers outside Arabia? Did not the Sahabah travel for months so that they can deliver one letter of invitation to the kings of Persia and Byzantium? So neglect of these actions for them was tantamount to neglect and abandoinemnt of his Mission. Do we think it like that today? Brothers, the more we look at our da’wah from the persective of the Mission, we cannot but be motivated to plunge in with our heart and soul, and to give our lives and property for this da’wah by carrying out the partial actions as the Prophet (saw) and his companions did.
4. The affect of the Mission on the da’wah carrier: Brothers, the one who is on a mission and he believes Allah has brought his life and property in return for Jannah, will inveitably be touched by this world view such that it changes him and he sees its effects. The following are some examples of the effects and changes that will naturally occur for such a person.
- i. It will make the da’wah carrier assess himself whether he is up to the task in terms of his Islamic Personality. He will recognize the things about himself which is keeping him back and seek to rectify them. He will not wait for others to correct him because he is spurred onto identify his shortcomings independently because of a greater objective which he would be neglecting should he not change his ways. He will find that the sincere pursuit of the Mission is a cleansing and purifying process for the nafs, as sacrifice and selfishness, taqwa and sinfulness, fear of Allah and fear of man, love of Allah and love of the dunya, etc. cannot co-exist for long in man.
- ii. It will change how he lives as his priorities change. He gains a dislike for constant socializing as that takes him away from weighty matters. He finds that he cannot commit to past friendships as before as he has a different set of commitments. He finds that he cannot continue in work that compromises his call even if it is permitted. He finds he has to organize and manage his family engagements and not let it dominate him. In other words, the da’wah becomes the centre of his life. But at the same time the da’wah carrier understands that making the centre of his life does not mean neglect of life as there is a time for this and a time for that. Preference of Iman over kufr, and love for Allah and his Messenger, does not mean neglect of our family and children. He knows that a real da’wah carrier who follows the example of the Prophet (saw) and the Sahabah must fulfill the amanaat the best he can, and that he cannot use his da’wah as an excuse for neglect of his duties.
- iii. It pushes the da’wah carrier to be proactive and creative as he always measures the effectiveness of his partial actions with the progress of his Mission. He is hungry for results and thinks deeply how to achieve them because his Mission is itself a result to be sought. When he faces problems in the da’wah they are HIS problems which he must help to solve as delay means delay to the progress of HIS mission. Therefore, he makes constructive observations (if he is able to) of problems outside his remit and he himself finds the solutions to the problems he faces which are within his remit.
- iv. Another consequence of such linkage is that it allows the da’wah carrier to put things in perspective. He does not allow peripheral or even petty things like disputes and disagreements to affect his commitment to the work. He is also willing to make greater sacrifices as the nature of man is that he will always give up things for the bigger cause if he really and truly believes in that cause and makes it his own.
- v. Helps him to deal with obstacles and temptations: How shall he deal with the obstacles in that Mission? In this journey he should always pause and compare his situation with the Seerah of the Messenger of Allah and take the lessons that will keep him steadfast. When due to his inhibitions he lags behind fearing the reaction of society, he should remember the displeasure and punishment of Allah and not care about the disfavor of the people and he will quicken his pace once again. When faced with temptations of an easy life he will know the response his Prophet (saw) has taught him, that the sun and moon can be moved but not the determination of the d’awah carrier to convey the message of his Lord. When faced with setback and hardship, when things are not progressing but getting worse, he will not blame others for his inaction but will always ask has he done his outmost; he will raise his hands in the air and say ‘O Allah, as long as you are happy with me it does not matter’, as his Prophet did in Taif. And when he has to do without, and he sees those who have plenty, he reminds himself of the bare mat on which his Prophet (saw) slept and happily accepts to exchange this world for the next. He will understand that the pleasures of life are but distractions from a goal upon which his eyes must always be set; the everlasting Paradise. And when on the march to easy victories he does not become complacent and think he can put down his things and rest, but as soon as one victory is over he prepares for the next. In this way, every step along the way he seeks to learn from the example of his Prophet (saw) and reflects on how he faced the obstacles and overcame them.
- vi. He realizes he needs Allah and that brings him naturally closer to Him: The magnitude of the task, if he is sincerely committed to that Mission, will inevitably make him turn to Allah’s help. He will know from his Aqeedah and from reality that without Allah’s Help he cannot move a limb, let alone take on such a huge undertaking. Thus, he will seek out the ways to be close to his Lord, to gain strength and sabr, as he faces the tests in his path. Therefore, reciting Qur’an is not an optional extra but a life line in the rough waves as he pushes against the tide. Tahajjud is not just a mandub, but a chance to spend a quiet part of the night in the company of Allah’s intimacy. Dua is not just rewardable but an opportunity to speak to Allah and ask him of the things he is wanting. Salah is not just wajib, but a refuge from the stresses of life’s difficulties and a way to seek His Help. There is sweetness of ‘ibaada and the ta’aat of the kind that only a da’wah carrier in the struggle can taste for these are what keep him going. They are the company in times of loneliness, store in times of want, the reserves in times of exhaustion, the solace in times of distress, and the reminder in times of neglect and forgetfulness. So what Muslim, let alone a da’wah carrier on a divine mission, can do without the waseelah and means to Him (swt)?
Working for Paradise
Brothers, so upon reflection of the task ahead let the believer excel in the test of Imaan, embrace the challenges of the work to establish the Khilafah Rashidah, and not forget the Place of Return and the delights that lay therein. Let him be reminded of the Gardens of wonder, of streams of wine, milk and honey, the pure nectar, the vineyards and the array of luscious fruits of varying natures, and all that no intellect can ever fathom and no heart can feel; an abode where worries and fears are naught; an eternally blissful haven, and heavenly retreat for those who toiled and tilled the earth with sweat and blood, so that their Lord may be pleased. So let the believers work, compete and race frantically for its delights. As He (jalla wa ‘ala) said:
‘For the like of this, then let the workers work.’ [37:61]