Introduction

Da’wah Is First And Foremost A Manner Of Living

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The silent Da’wah that is incumbent on all adult Muslims males and females.

It is our every day conduct and behavior with our families neighbors colleagues at work on our way to work at the store in the parking lot on the roads when we drive etc.

The silent Da’wah (invitation to Allah) that is incumbent on all adult Muslims young and old is how we dress and walk how we celebrate and how we mourn how we eat and how we fast how we work how we play, every visible and invisible actions we accomplish in our daily life is Da’wah (invitation to Allah).

The Prophet Mohammed (ﷺ) before Islam was an embodiment of all good manners and good character. Allah had set him apart and prepared him to deliver the Message of Islam.

لَقَدْ جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ مِنْ أَنْفُسِكُمْ عَزِيزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَنِتُّمْ حَرِيصٌ عَلَيْكُمْ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَءُوفٌ رَحِيمٌ

[9:128] Saheeh International :” There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you and to the believers is kind and merciful.”

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ

[21:107] Saheeh International: ”And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad (ﷺ) ], except as a mercy to the worlds.”

لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ وَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا

[33:21] Mubarakpuri: ”Indeed in the Messenger of Allah you have a good example to follow for him who hopes in Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah much.”

The Sahabas and Tabein expended the frontiers of Islam not on the land but in the hearts of all the people that they met.

Because they were so close to the example of the Prophet in belief and action.And today it is the same if we want to see the beauty and glory of Islam we have to emulate the example of the Prophet Mohammed and the Sahabas (companions of the Prophet) .

Da’wah (Invitation To Allah) As An Expression Of Gratitude To Allah

We can say safely that faith is the expression of gratitude and rituals and good manners are the means by which we express our gratitude. In the story of Adam and Eve after they were sent down to earth and Allah forgave their errors Adam was looking for a way to give thanks to Allah to have forgiven him and his wife Awa(Eve) and having seen the Angels glorifying and worshipping Allah in the Beit Al Mamun (house of worship) in Heaven by inspiration from Allah he built a small edifice to replicate the way the angels were glorifying Allah in Heaven. And him and his wife Hawa(Eve) started circumambulating the Ka’bah in imitation of what they saw the angels do in Paradise.

Gratitude has an act of worship from the heart that is expressed by our actions.

An example of this is clarified in the following verse from the Quran in Surah Al Qamar:

كَذَّبَتْ قَوْمُ لُوطٍ بِالنُّذُرِ(33) إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ حَاصِبًا إِلَّا آلَ لُوطٍ نَجَّيْنَاهُمْ بِسَحَرٍ(34) نِعْمَةً مِنْ عِنْدِنَا كَذَلِكَ نَجْزِي مَنْ شَكَرَ (35)

The people of Lot denied the warning. (33) Indeed, We sent upon them a storm of stones, except the family of Lot – We saved them before dawn (34) As favor from us. Thus do We reward he who is grateful. (35)

Rejections or negligence regarding all the blessings that Allah has blessed us with is a form of disbelief. The all of Surah ArRahman is a clear warning of that fact.

According to Muslim traditions, Adam built the original Ka’ba as a copy of and directly below Allah’s throne in heaven. This structure was destroyed during the great Flood, leaving behind nothing but the foundation. The current structure was rebuilt by Abraham (Ibrahim) and his son Ishmael (Ismail).

إِنَّ أَوَّلَ بَيْتٍ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِي بِبَكَّةَ مُبَارَكًا وَهُدًى لِلْعَالَمِينَ

“Verily, the first House (of worship) appointed for mankind was that at Bakkah (Makkah), full of blessing, and a guidance for Al-Alameen (the mankind and jinns)” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:96].

Learning Gratitude

Gratitude – a simple word with a dynamic power in its meaning and application. We often forget to cultivate and practice gratitude, overlooking how life-changing it can be. An attitude of gratitude has the ability to make a harsh reality seem tolerable, giving light to a gloomy disposition and dispelling negative attitudes, thoughts, and feelings with wondrous speed.

Research done by the University of California, Berkeley, has revealed that gratitude leads to a stronger immune system, healthier blood pressure, greater joy, optimism, and sense of overall well-being, acting with more generosity and compassion, and feeling less lonely and isolated.

Participants in the study simply recorded five things they were grateful for each day. This small exercise proved to have enormous benefits. Imagine what a permanent attitude of gratitude can accomplish!

According to Islam, our ultimate gratitude is to Allah, our Creator and Sustainer who grants us existence and furnishes us with cognitive and emotional faculties, as well as the potential to understand and appreciate their value and benefit.

وَاللَّهُ أَخْرَجَكُمْ مِنْ بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ شَيْئًا وَجَعَلَ لَكُمُ السَّمْعَ وَالْأَبْصَارَ وَالْأَفْئِدَةَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ

“It is He who brought you forth from the wombs of your mothers when you knew nothing, and He gave you hearing and sight and intelligence and affection so that you may give thanks [to Allah]” [Quran, 16:78]

Allah, our Maker, has given us abundant opportunities, to live and thrive on this earth. From the greatest creative enterprise to the most basic regularity of our beating hearts — all is owed to Him first and foremost. If we forget the elemental requirement of thankfulness, then we are only doing a disservice to ourselves. If we do not feel gratitude to the Creator, how can we be thankful to anyone else? How can we appreciate the good things in our own selves and in our daily experience? (Did you know that one of the attributes of Allah is Ash-Shakur, the “Appreciative One”?)

Not only did Allah give us our very lives, He has provided a beautiful world for us to abide in, with countless resources for our use. Allah says in the Quran:

اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَأَنْزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَخْرَجَ بِهِ مِنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ رِزْقًا لَكُمْ وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمُ الْفُلْكَ لِتَجْرِيَ فِي الْبَحْرِ بِأَمْرِهِ وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمُ الْأَنْهَارَ (32) وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمُ الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ دَائِبَيْنِ وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ (33) وَآتَاكُمْ مِنْ كُلِّ مَا سَأَلْتُمُوهُ وَإِنْ تَعُدُّوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَا إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَظَلُومٌ كَفَّارٌ (34)

It is Allah who created the heavens and earth, who has sent down water from the sky and with it brought forth produce to nourish you; He has made ships useful to you, sailing the sea by His command, and the rivers too; He has made the sun and the moon useful to you, steady on their paths; He has made the night and day useful to you and given you some of everything you asked Him for. If you tried to count Allah’s favours you could never calculate them: man is truly unjust and ungrateful. [Quran, 14:32-34]

All that we have accomplished and all that we possess are due to Allah’s bountiful provision. We must recognize the powerful concept mentioned in the verse: that we would never be able to even count the blessings Allah has given us. After realizing that Allah’s blessings are fundamental to our existence and endless in their scope, who are we to be heedless and unthankful? That is nothing less than delusion of self-sufficiency.

Fruits Of Gratitude

Thanking Allah for our blessings seem obvious, but what about thanking Him even in the midst of hardship? In the Quran, Allah reminds us:

وَعَسَى أَنْ تُحِبُّوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

“You may dislike something although it is good for you, or like something although it is bad for you: Allah knows and you do not.” [Qur’an 2: 216]

Although a hardship seems far from “something which is good” when we are enduring it, the feeling of gratitude during the difficulty has the power to transform the burden, lighten the load, and provide a perspective that looks beyond the moment’s distress. The test will, thus, be easier to bear, and the negative effects of the difficult situation will be offset by our determination to stay balanced and remain open to valuable lessons and opportunities to augment our Allah-consciousness.

Yet another fruit of gratitude is the promise of additional blessings.

وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ لَئِنْ شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ وَلَئِنْ كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِي لَشَدِيدٌ

“And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe’ ” [Quran, 14:7]

Being grateful to Allah will bring additional favors, while being ungrateful calls for Allah’s punishment. We will be asked about each and every gift that we have been given, as to whether or not we thanked Allah sufficiently. Will we be prepared with the right answer?

One of the most important quality in a Da’ee (an inviter to Islam) is gratitude

  • Let the remembrance of Allah guide you throughout the day.
  • Write a list at the end of each day of five things to be grateful for; keep a gratitude journal.
  • Practice thanking others for the simple things they do for you; write a thank you letter to someone who has impacted your life in a positive way.
  • Remember the people who are less fortunate than you, step into their shoes, empathize with their plight, and do something, even if small, to alleviate someone else’s difficulty.
  • When tough times set in, focus on the positives. Things could be much worse.
  • Remind yourself often to adopt the attitude of gratitude and smile!

Da’wah (invitation to Allah) is the most rewarded of all good deeds because it is firstly the work of the Prophets and once a person is lead to Islam on the account of our efforts we will get rewards for all the good deeds they did and if they have a descendance in Islam the rewards keep adding. Da’wah (invitation to Allah) is the most vibrant form of expression of gratitude for all the blessings Allah has blessed us with.

In conclusion to this chapter we see that faith and gratitude are embedded together and one is not possible without the other. From the most basic element of gratitude is to share from the blessings we have received. And is there a better blessing we have received than to be guided to follow the teachings of Islam. Therefore inviting, reminding, informing, our fellow human beings, Muslims and non muslims on how to achieve the goal for which we were created and find peace and contentment in this life and to be admitted in Paradise in the next life should be spontaneous.And if we cannot find that spontaneity in us well many verses in the Quran and numerous hadiths remind us of the importance of Da’wah (invitation to Allah).

Reminders From Quran And Hadith

Here are verses from the Quran mentioning the word Da’wah (invitation to Allah) or an expression of Da’wah (invitation to Allah)

وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ

“If some servants of mine asked you about Me, I am indeed close and I respond to the call of a suppliant if he calls upon Me. So let them respond to My (invitation), so that they believe in Me and may be on the right side.” [Al-Baqarah 2:186]

وَلَعَبْدٌ مُؤْمِنٌ خَيْرٌ مِنْ مُشْرِكٍ وَلَوْ أَعْجَبَكُمْ أُولَئِكَ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى النَّارِ وَاللَّهُ يَدْعُو إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ وَالْمَغْفِرَةِ بِإِذْنِهِ وَيُبَيِّنُ آيَاتِهِ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَذَكَّرُونَ

“And a believing slave is better than a polytheist, even though he might please you. Those invite [you] to the Fire, but Allah invites to Paradise and to forgiveness, by His permission. And He makes clear His verses to the people that perhaps they may remember. ” [Al-Baqarah 2:221]

وَلْتَكُنْ مِنْكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ

“And let there be [arising] from you a nation inviting to [all that is] good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and those will be the successful” [Aal `Imran 3:104]

وَاللَّهُ يَدْعُو إِلَى دَارِ السَّلَامِ وَيَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ

“And God invites to the abode of peace and guides those whom He pleases to the straight path.” [Yunus 10:25]

قُلْ هَذِهِ سَبِيلِي أَدْعُو إِلَى اللَّهِ عَلَى بَصِيرَةٍ أَنَا وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَنِي وَسُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ

Say: “This is my way; I invite to Allah with insight, I and those who follow me. And exalted is Allah; and I am not of those who associate others with Him.” [Yusuf 12:108]

قُلْ إِنَّمَا أُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَعْبُدَ اللَّهَ وَلَا أُشْرِكَ بِهِ إِلَيْهِ أَدْعُو وَإِلَيْهِ مَآبِ

Say: I was commanded to worship God, and not to associate anyone with Him. I invite and my return is to Him. [Ar-Ra`d 13:36]

وَأَنْذِرِ النَّاسَ يَوْمَ يَأْتِيهِمُ الْعَذَابُ فَيَقُولُ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا رَبَّنَا أَخِّرْنَا إِلَى أَجَلٍ قَرِيبٍ نُجِبْ دَعْوَتَكَ وَنَتَّبِعِ الرُّسُلَ أَوَلَمْ تَكُونُوا أَقْسَمْتُمْ مِنْ قَبْلُ مَا لَكُمْ مِنْ زَوَالٍ

And, [O Muhammad (ﷺ) ], warn the people of a Day when the punishment will come to them and those who did wrong will say, “Our Lord, delay us for a short term; we will answer Your call and follow the messengers.” [But it will be said], “Had you not sworn, before, that for you there would be no cessation? [Ibrahim 14:44]

ادْعُ إِلَى سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَالْمَوْعِظَةِ الْحَسَنَةِ وَجَادِلْهُمْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنْ ضَلَّ عَنْ سَبِيلِهِ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ

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.. [An-Nahl 16:125]

وَإِنَّكَ لَتَدْعُوهُمْ إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ

Indeed you invite them to a straight path. [Al-Mu’minun 23:73]

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا يُنَادَوْنَ لَمَقْتُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ مِنْ مَقْتِكُمْ أَنْفُسَكُمْ إِذْ تُدْعَوْنَ إِلَى الْإِيمَانِ فَتَكْفُرُونَ

Indeed, those who disbelieve will be addressed, “The hatred of Allah for you was [even] greater than your hatred of yourselves [this Day in Hell] when you were invited to faith, but you refused.” [Ghafir 40:10]

وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ قَوْلًا مِمَّنْ دَعَا إِلَى اللَّهِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا وَقَالَ إِنَّنِي مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ

And who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah and does righteousness and says, “Indeed, I am of the Muslims.” [Fussilat 41:33]

تَدْعُو مَنْ أَدْبَرَ وَتَوَلَّى

It invites he who turned his back [on truth] and went away [from obedience]. [Al-Ma`arij 70:17]

قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّي دَعَوْتُ قَوْمِي لَيْلًا وَنَهَارًا (5) فَلَمْ يَزِدْهُمْ دُعَائِي إِلَّا فِرَارًا(6)

He said, “My Lord, indeed I invited my people [to truth] night and day.(5) But my invitation increased them not except in flight.(6) [Nuh 71:5, 6]

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