Advice for "I wanna be a diaee"

A bro sent me an email telling me about how he was all messed up with jahil ways and came back to deen and now wants to be a diaee. He asked for some advice, and below is what I wrote (plus one or two edits.) He said it was more precious than gold, so I thought if he thought that then some of you might think that too....if you get my drift.

Ok some advice:
This may be obvious, but sincerity is tops. Its no good if its not for Allah alone! Don't look for fame or respect or any of that, 'cause you have to learn not to care to much about people. That doesn't mean like some diaee's think that you have to say everything, there's a time and place.
Next is to read the Quran ALOT. I mean you need to KNOW it, know what it's saying, and think hard. For a while I used to read the whole Quran nearly every week. All the answers are there if you look hard enough and think.
Then you need to read the authentic hadith, Bukhari, Muslim. Riyahus Saliheen should be a companion.
Know the correct aqida, which is the aqida of the Salaf. I recommend Yasir Qadi's books as a good start.
Next know the Seerah, know it so you can sit and tell it from memory, and the stories of the Prophets. Learn to tell them. Sit with your young cousins, nieces and nephews and tell them stories so that they are sitting on the edge of their seats. If you can hold their attention its a good start.
If you want to learn to think on your feet go down to Speakers Corner regularly and speak there. If you can speak there you can speak anywhere!
Then read, read, read....philosophy, history, psychology, science, politics, the classics. Watch good documentaries and through all of this TAKE NOTES and analyze. Write your ideas down, for yourself.
One of the most useful tools I use to prepare my lectures is mind mapping. Tony Bezan is the man, check out his books on the subject.
Then listen to the great diaees and use their ideas and make them your own. Alot of my stuff is borrowed and then made to fit my style.  Bilal Phillips, Yusuph Estes, Khalid Yaseen, Dr  Zakir Naik and Ahmed Deedat, Yasir Qadi, Abdullah Hakeem Quick are some of the greats and of course there are others. Hey you can even benefit from old Tony Blair, whatever I think of him he was a great orator!
And then did I mention READ! Then read some more.
You'll need to know the great scholars of our times and access their fataws. There's plenty in English, alhamdulillah, and if you don't know ask! If you have any question first research it yourself and try hard to think what the answer might be and then ask the people of knowledge and  see if you can know what arguments they use and the evidence they bring. When people ask questions don't give your opinions since in fact your not entitled to one, just to state which scholars position you think is correct.
Always be humble in such matters, and although you may be sure you know the answer there could always be something you or someone missed.
Learn and cultivate good manners and a friendly attitude.
Also don't over do it. Gently, moderately, or else you'll be burnt out!
yours in Islam
ARG

Comments

[hema]

jazakAllah for the advice, it really is gold.
i love tony buzan's work. i can't remember how or when i discovered it but it's all i use

[Buraq]

Assalamu 'alaikum warahmatullah.

Alhamdulillah that was a complete and clear advice, I hope the brother gets the time to fit all of the suggested activities in his schedule, insha Allah.

I would recommend a da'wah course on how to give da'wah entitled "How to Give the Shahadah in 10 Minutes" delivered by brother Kamal e Makki but unfortunately the links to download do not work anymore. Alhamdulillah I managed to download it before it went down. If that wasn't the case I would have recommended this da'wah course.

Speaking of da'wah, I felt a bit offended and feel as though non-Muslims are purposely flagging your da'wah in hyde park tape videos at YouTube. Allah knows best.

May Allah continue to help the brother and yourself.

ARGcomment: What's flagging mean?

[Zimarina]

Gold?

I'd say that's platinum quality personally...ma shaa Allah!

May Allah (swt) bless the brother and keep him steadfast. Ameen. I think everyone should take this on board and BE taking it on board because we should all be living, breathing, walking, talking and rawkin' the dawah- wasn't it the enduring wisdom of the CareBears who told us 'sharing is caring'-? And with Islam, what a mighty thing to share ;)

Authors-wise, I've recently been on a Gai Eaton fest, his insights are just beautiful- very penetrating, frank and intelligent to the point of being ferocious, Tony Tiger step aside!

Also I've heard there's some guy who does regular dawah-training courses....quite conspicuous, tall, blonde-ish..Abdur Raheem? Something like that!!

Jazakallahu khayran- AND may we all reap the benefits of this beautiful month that is upon us once again- Ramadhan Mubarak all! :)

[ainee]

jazakallah akhi. many will appreciate this. may Allah reward you. I reckon there are a lot to be done. Especially "practice what you preach". In order to invite others, we have to improve ourselves as well.

[shahieda]

jazakallah. it reminds me to work harder and read A LOT. never plead ignorance!

[Buraq]

Flagging means labeling the videos as inappropriate for people under 18.
ARGcomment: Jzk! not surprising since some militant atheists are proposing that parents should be banned from teaching their kids religion!

[dr muddassir khan]

salam alaikum
its dr zakir naik , not nike

please correct

jzk

ARGcomment: ooops!

[Safi -- Dua4Me.com]

This was a very beneficial post.

May Allah reward you with great blessing for sharing this advice.

Ameen!

[Sis Shaykha]

Asalaamu Alaiakum,
Great advice, thank you.
But should we work with what we have for now? I mean, like let's say you aren't that knowledgeable, should you still give dawah to non muslims at school? Is that not an obligation on every muslim (esp here in the west)? Or should you hold your tongue until you are more knowledgeable? Also what is the best tool? Tables, pamplets, awareness events, internet? Or all of the above?
jazaakAllah Khair, you have a beautiful blog, i just came across it now (wish i had of known before!)!
Wa'alaykum Aslaam wa Rahmatullah

ARGcommnet: this advice was really for someone who wanted to give talks and lectures etc...otherwise yes! We are all obliged to give dawa to the best of our ability whenever we can.

[Dawud Israel]

1) Shaykh that was nice...I wish I had read this all at an earlier point in time because I've had to learn most of your advice through experience. The reading the Qur'an regularly (with meaning, like, all the time) has been the latest and biggest thing for me. I find myself reciting ayahs in my dreams now with subtitles. LOL.

2) I didn't know it was Tony Bezan who made the mind map...what else did he make?

3) Shaykh I blog a lot about dawah if you could comment on some of my articles it would be appreciated. I missed your dawah session in toronto this summer, but that's the last time that will happen, insha Allah!

4) Also what are your thoughts on the Sunni Pledge?

ARGcoment: I can make any promises about reading your stuff, since I hardly even get time to write.
Apologies to all in Toronto for not being able to make it there!!!
What is sunnipledge?

[Hanna]

Assalamu alaykum

Where do i start??? because i know i need to read more quran to be honesty i listern to LOTZ a leture like what you listed up above, however when i do i really dont go back to the soure my self i know i should but i really dont know where to start because i cant just jUMP in to BIG ahaidth like bukhari and muslim or the quran in a way because that explain the quran. I dont know where to look really i want to be a diaae inshallah i read what you had to say i just wanted to see what is best for me any ones you think or a good source inshallah.

allah knows best my allah accept this from you inshallah

assalamu alaykum

ARGcomment: just bring them all together and inshallah trust in Allah.

[Dawud Israel]

ARGcomment: What is sunnipledge?

The Sunni Pledge of Mutual Respect and Cooperation that numerous Sunni scholars signed? I want to know what your thoughts are regarding it.

ARGcomment: I signed it!

[Nabeel]

AsSalamu Alaikum AbdurRaheem

Taqabballahu minna wa minkum

Eidukum Mubarak

Jazakallahu Khairan for the post.

Bro, I also find Tony Buzan's mind maps very useful. The only thing is that I can only make use of them to remember and recall concepts and ideas, but not necessarily quotes and ahadith.
How do you make use of them to cite quotations in your lectures?
Also, while we're on the topic of daa'ees, guess who I met in Medina the other day?
I met our old friend Abu Omar Imran Feroze Raghubar, the graduate from the College of Shari'ah in Medina University who gave a talk with you in 1994 in South Bank University, in which he gave an account about his conversion from Hinduism to Islam.
He remembered you and conveyed his salams to you.

Barakallahu feek

ARGcomment: Mashallah! Give him my salams also if you see him again.
I don't really use the mind maps for memorizing hadith etc..I have only really found them useful for getting down ideas.
The way I used to remember hadith is visualize the Prophet saws actually saying it as if I was there. This makes it very powerful in your mind. Then I try to act on it, this reinforces it in your experience, then I always try to narrate it to others.

[Ahmad Tareq]

Brother Abdur-Rahim,

I saw you a few times on TV (Islam Channel) and, I don't know how, but I got to your blog as well. May Allah bless, protect, guide, help and forgive us.

Can you please elaborate on whether it is necessary to quote a Hadith exactly as it is quoted in the books when quoting a certain Hadith in English language?

I don't know exactly, but can imagine that it is not allowed to quote a Hadith in Arabic without using the original Arabic words as quoted in the Hadith collections.

Yet, with reference to quoting a Hadith in English, is it sufficient to quote the essence without changing the meaning or must one stick to the original translation of a certain Hadith as provided in the Hadith collections?

And Allah knows best.
ARGcomment:
it is allowed to quote the meaning of a hadith without quoting it exactly, as long as the meaning is correct and this was the understanding of most of the companions, and Allah knows best.

[Ahmad Tareq]

Brother in Islam, Abdur-Rahim,

It's me again... Just a small point on HOW to become a Scholar of Islam:

In IslamQA which I find is a very trustworthy, extensive and brilliant scholarly Fatwa center, certain books are recommended that are required in order to become a Scholar of Islam. You can check there.

Basically they have a much more systematic approach.

Anyway what do you think of a more systematic approach like making categories, for instance:

'Aqida
Quranic Studies
Fiqh
Arabic grammar
...

I too want to embark on extensive studies of Islam. I am not a revert, I was born in a Muslim family, my parents are Muslim and Alhamdullilah I have always believed in Allah. However, in my teens I was in many aspects very jahil, but Allah guided me and now I know a lot about my deen and I am a concerned, practising Muslim.

Still I think and feel that I need to learn more, much more and like the brother I too am looking for a scholarly approach.

Looking forward to a few notes from your sides, brother Abdur-Rahim.

May Allah bless you!
ARGcomment: The best thing is to do is to study with scholars.

[Ahmad Tareq]

Thanks for the information on the permissibility of quoting Hadith without the exact wording while being accurate in conveying its meaning.

Well, I do understand that it is advisable to study with scholars. The problem is that not every European country - I myself living in Germany - is not like the UK or the US where there are large numbers of Muslims, active Muslims and (prominent) Scholars of Islam who offer courses in learning about the Deen. As far I know, the UK has even an Islamic University, maybe there are even universities, not just one.

About two months or so, I was sincerely pondering on whether to commence Islamic studies within the framework of the regular university here in our town. But the professors mainly are non-Muslims and the course was more or less in the framework of what is called Orientalism, although nowadays they called it Area Studies or, as it was in my university's case, History and Culture of the Middle East and Turkology. I simply feared that they will present our Deen from the perspective of non-Muslims, with lots of bias, ill-based information and misunderstandings.

I didn't enroll and I am content I didn't. Allah knows best.

I was also pondering whether to simply quit my current life and go to Madinah. I didn't go, it was simply a huge step that I would have to take, and given my health and mental situation I didn't take it. May Allah help us all.

By the way, brother Abdur-Raheem, did you study in Madinah?

I pray to All-Mighty Allah to forgive, help and protect us.

ARGcomment: from a fatwa I recall it is not permissible to study islam per se from non-muslims, although one might do that to challenge their lies.
you did the right thing.
i never studied in Madina, or any place like that formally.
As for going to Medina or any place for knowledge then without doubt this is one of the greatest forms of jihad, and who so ever embarks on such a journey then Allah will most certainly make the path to paradise easy for that person.

[Nabeel]

Not just gold, diamonds and Gems.

Jazakallah Khair. May Allah reward you and unite us all in Jannat ul-Firdous

[Ahmad Tareq]

I see...

By the way, did you wrote that comment beginning with "Not just gold, diamonds (...)"?

It's published under my name while I didn't write it... Hmm...

Wa-salamu 'alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu.

[Ahmad Tareq]

oooops... I got it wrong. It was a comment by Nabeel brother. So not written under my name... Need to focus more attentively!

[Ahmad Tareq]

As-Salam 'alaykum.

You write:

"Next is to read the Quran A LOT. I mean you need to KNOW it, know what it's saying, and think hard. For a while I used to read the whole Quran nearly every week. All the answers are there if you look hard enough and think."

Question: Brother, Abdur-Raheem: Can the one who wants to become a daee and anyone else read the Holy Quran while resting on one's bed and having legs stretched out? Is this allowed? I have bought some books Islamic books. All contain verses (written in Arabic) of the Holy Quran. I have the habit to read a lot while lying on my bed. I didn't feel comfortable reading Islamic books which included verses of the Holy Quran. So, brother, would you please advise us on this issues on our road to become daees?

May Allah reward you!

ARGcomment: this is a very nice question. The issue here is do with respect and reverence for the Quran, outward respect being a refection of inner respect. For example, many scholars would never read the Quran except in a state of wudu, and sit facing the Qibla. We cannot generally say this is compulsory, but it is part of etiquettes.
However, in respect to its permissibility, if it is not the mushaf and for example only a translation then it is not so important. There is no harm to read it sitting, or lying, indeed the Almighty says:
Those who remember Allah, standing, sitting, and lying on their sides..(Aal `Imran 3:191)
and Allah knows best.

[Ahmad Tareq]

One issue which is still in my mind is also the issue of h e a r i n g the Holy Quran and Islamic lectures while resting in bed or resting anywhere else, meaning not sitting appropriately. What's your opinion on that?

ARGcomment: the same as previous. There is no problem with this, inshallah, as long as you giving it due attention.

[Ahmad Tareq]

I see...

So you don't see any problem with reading books that contain verses of the Holy Quran?

For example, I am currently reading Sheikh Mubarakpoori's Biography of our beloved Prophet (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) entitled "Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum" or "The Sealed Nectar". The book is written in English, but verses of the Holy Quran and Ahadith are stated in Arabic, meaning in its original form, along with a translation or interpretation of the meaning in English.

I gave up reading it while being in bed because I did not comfortable reading the verses of the Holy Quran (in Arabic) while having my legs stretched out.

Of course, hearing or reciting in your bed is something else, but reading...

ARGcomment: its up to you!

[Shyed Shahriar]

As sala mu alaicum, brothers. This story may help us to be motivated.

The Just Man:-

One of the Just Men came to the city, determined to save its inhabitants from sin and punishment. Night and day he walked the streets and markets protesting against greed and theft, falsehood and indifference. In the beginning, people listened and smiled ironically. Then they stopped listening; he no longer even amused them. They killers went on killing and the wise kept silent, as if those are not sins.
One day a child, moved by compassion for the unfortunate teacher, approached him with these words: "Poor stranger, you shout, you scream, don't you see that it is hopeless?"
"Yes, I see," answered the Just Man.
"Then why do you go on?"
"I'll tell you why. In the beginning, I thought I could change man. Today, I know it is almost impossible. If I still shout today, if I still scream, it is to prevent man from ultimately changing me."

[mohammed kamran]

as-salaam my brother, just recently visited this site and finding it very useful alhamdulillah, anyways can give your opinion about the 4 madhabs and where do they differ when in comparison with the salafs, also when ever i hear anythink about the salafs, there always being referd to wahabis, what do you say? jazakallah khair for the advice

ARGcomment: I still until this day cannot really figure out what it actually means to "follow a madhab." Different people mean by it different things. For some it seems to mean following whatever my ancestors taught. For others it seems to be sticking to a group of scholars or claimed scholars who claim to be following a specific method of deriving rulings from the Quran and Sunnah as devised by one of the four famous imams. For others the madhab is the above method, so following a madhab is only for students of knowledge.
What I understand is that everyone is obliged to follow scholars, unless they are capable of deriving rulings from the book and sunnah directly. Then following is forbidden for them.
The practice of the early generations of Muslims from the time of the companions and first three generations (they are called the salaf) was that they would go for fatwa, guidance and seeking ilm to ANY scholar. They would not restrict themselves to following say only ibn Abbas or ibn Masood, and not ibn Omar for example.
The imams of the madhabs were very clear to their students that they should not blindly follow them, but to take from where they took. ie the Quran and Sunnah.
However, practically when one begins to seek knowledge it is better simply to use one method of deriving rulings.
Wahabi is a term again that is thrown around all over the place, but mostly by grave worshippers and extreme sufis against people who don't follow their misguidance.
In fact Mohammed ibn Abdul Wahab was a reformer in the 18th century in Arabia, and the knick name Wahabi was given to them. Because his movement was very purist and resisted everything that was not in the Book and Sunnah, he came up against a lot of opposition from those practitioners of matters that were not from it.
It was this movement that inspired the first struggle of the Indians against British rule in India (called by the British the Indian Mutiny).
for and interesting documentary watch this
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/page/item/b00874jw.shtml

[http://idawah.com]

Asalaamu alaikum wr wb

Good stuff masha Allah! I got some good stuff on this site on dawah, especially on atheism.. might wna give it a look insha Allah :D