Calling people to God is calling them to believe in Him, submit to Him, worship Him the best one can, and obey Him in all that He has commanded and all that He has forbidden. It also means enjoining the good and forbidding the evil. To carry on this comprehensive call (da’wah) is an obligation on the ummah, a collective duty such that if a group of people perform it others will be exonerated from the responsibility. Everyone in the ummah must participate in this mission to the extent he can if others are not carrying it out. For the men that take up this mission it is necessary to have thorough understanding and deep insight in what they enjoin and what they forbid, and to bear patiently the sufferings they may have to encounter.
The call to God is a call to believe in Him and in what His messengers have communicated, believe in what they have said, and to do what they have commanded, which involves testifying to the unity of God and the prophethood of Muhammad, establishing salah, paying zakah, fasting during Ramadan, and making pilgrimage to the House of God. It is a call to faith in God, His angels, His books, His messengers, in resurrection after death, and in the fact that everything good or bad is ordained by God. It is also a call to people to serve God as if they see Him. These are the three stages of the call: islam, iman, and ihsan. All of them are part of the religion (of Islam) as the Prophet said at the end of the famous hadith which records Gabriel’s questions about these things and his answers to them: “That was Gabriel, who came to you to teach you your religion (din).”‘
Din is an infinitive which is sometimes ascribed to the subject, and sometimes to the object. It is said, “A dana B,” that is, A submitted to B and obeyed him. It is also said, “X dana Y,” that is, X subdued Y. Hence al- `abd yadinu Allah means that man submits to God and obeys His commands. Here din is ascribed to man as its subject, on the grounds that he is the servant (of God) and under His command. But when it is ascribed to Allah it is because He is God and the Lord Who is to be obeyed. The Quran says, “Fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and din is exclusively for Allah” (2:193).
Hence the call to God is a call to follow His religion (din), which is to worship Him and serve Him without associating anyone with Him. This is the message of all the messengers God has sent and all the books He has revealed. He has said, “He has established for you the same religion which He enjoined on Noah, which We have sent by inspiration to you, and which We enjoined on Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, namely that you should establish the religion and make no divisions therein” (42:13)… He has also said, We assuredly sent among every people a messenger (with the command, `Serve God and eschew evil.’ Of them there were some whom God guided, and some on whom error became inevitably (established)” (16:36).
In the Sahih collections we have a hadith which Abu Hurayrah has reported, in which the Prophet said, “We prophets have a single religion. To be sure, prophets are sons of a common father by different mothers. Certainly the one who is closest to the son of Mary is I. There is no prophet between him and me.”752 Religion (of all the prophets) is therefore one; only their codes of law (shard ‘i ) and their ways (manahij) have been different. from each other. God has said, “To each among you We have prescribed a Law (shari ‘ah) and an open Way (minhdj)” (5:5 1). Thus the prophets are one in the matters of religion, in the basic principles of faith and practice: faith in God, His messengers, and the Last Day, and practices such as those which have been mentioned in the surahs Al-An`am (VI), Al-A`raf (VII) and Banu Isra’il (XVII). In Surat Al-An`am, for example, he says:
Say: Come, I will rehearse what God has (really) prohibited you: join not anything as equal with me; be good to your parents; kill not your children on a plea of want – We provide sustenance for you and for them; come not nigh to shameful deeds, whether open or secret; take not life, which God has made sacred, except by way of justice and law. Thus does He command you that you may learn wisdom. And come not nigh to the orphan’s property, except to improve it until he attains the age of full strength; give measure and weight with full justice. No burden do We place on any soul but that which it can bear. Whenever you speak, speak justly even if a near relative is concerned; and fulfill the covenant of God. Thus does He command you that you may remember. Verily this is My way leading straight. Follow it; follow not (other) paths; they will scatter you about from His (great) path. Thus does He command you that you may be righteous (6:151-3).
In Surat Banu Isra’il, God has said:
Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and that you be kind to your parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honor, and out of kindness lower to them your wing of humility and say, `My Lord! Bestow on them Your mercy even as they cherished me in childhood.’ Your Lord knows best what is in your hearts. If you do deeds of righteousness, verily He is Most Forgiving to those who turn to Him again and again (in true penitence). And render to the kindred their due rights, as (also) to those in want, and to the wayfarer. But squander not (your wealth) in the manner of a spendthrift. Verily spendthrifts are brothers of evil ones; and the Evil One is to his Lord ungrateful. And even if you have to turn away from them in pursuit of the mercy from your Lord which you expect, speak to them a word of easy kindness. Make not your hand tied (like a niggard) to your neck, neither stretch it forth to its utmost reach so that you become blameworthy and destitute. Verily your Lord does provide sustenance in abundance for whom He pleases, as He provides in a just measure. For He does know and regard all His servants. Kill not your children for fear of want. We shall provide sustenance for them as well as for you. Verily the killing of them is a great sin. Nor come nigh to adultery; for it is a shameful (deed) and an evil opening the road (to other evils). Nor take life which God has made sacred except for just cause. And if anyone is slain wrongfully We have given his heir authority (to demand qisas or to forgive); but let him not exceed bounds in the matter of taking life, for he is helped (by the Law). Come not nigh to the orphan’s property except to improve it, until he attains the age of full strength; and fulfill (every) engagement, for (every) engagement will be inquired into. Give full measure when you measure, and weigh with a balance that is straight. That is the most fitting and the most advantageous in the final determination. And pursue not that of which you have no knowledge, for every act of hearing or of seeing or of (feeling in) the heart will be asked about. Nor walk on the earth with insolence, for you cannot rend the earth asunder, nor reach the mountains in height. Of all such things the evil is hateful in the sight of your Lord. These are among the (precepts of) wisdom which your Lord has revealed to you. Take not with God another object of worship, lest you should be thrown into Hell, blameworthy and rejected (17:3-39).
In Surat Al-A`raf He has said “Say: My Lord has commanded justice; and that you set your whole selves (to Him) at every time and place of prayer, and call upon Him, making your devotion as in His sight” (7:29); and, “Say: The things that my Lord has indeed forbidden are shameful deeds, whether open or secret, sins and trespasses against truth or reason, assigning of partners to God, for which He has given no authority, and saving things about God of which you have no knowledge” (7:33).
These things are part of the perennial religion, common to all the codes (shard ‘i ) which God has sent down to man. They have been stated in the Makkan surahs of the Quran which discuss basic principles every prophet has taught. They have been addressed to those who do not believe in any prophethood at all.
The Madinan surahs, on the other hand, address those who believe in one prophet or another, who have been given a book, but who only believe in one part of it and reject the other. Or they address the Believers who believe in all the books of God and in all His messengers. That is why He has given in these surahs the instructions which complete religious instructions about the qiblah, hajj, fasting, i `tikaf, jihad, marriage, divorce, and transactions which are based on justice such as trade and commerce, or on compassion like charity, or which are based on injustice such as usury and interest, and so on…
Hence the call to God involves also the call to all the commands He has issued enjoining or forbidding anything. It is a call to do all that is good and to eschew all that is evil. This was the call which the Prophet gave to the people; he commanded whatever God had commanded and forbade whatever He had forbidden. He enjoined everything good and prohibited everything evil. God has said, “My mercy extends to all things, and I will ordain it for those who do right and practice regular charity, and those who believe in Our signs – those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in their own (scriptures), in the Torah and the Gospel – for he commands them what is just and forbids them what is evil; he allows them as lawful what is good (and pure) and forbids them from what is bad (and impure); he releases them from their heavy burden and from the yokes that are upon them.” (7:15)
The call to God should be in His name and according to His will; never should anyone say anything which is not authorized by Him. He has introduced the mission of the Prophet in these words: “Truly We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of glad tidings, and a warner, and as one who invites to God’s (grace) by His leave, and as a lamp spreading light” (33:45-6). Condemning the pagans He has said, “What! Have they partners (in godhead) who have established for them some religion without the permission of God?” (42:21); or, “Say: See you what things God has sent down to you for sustenance? Yet you hold forbidden something thereof and (something) lawful. Say: Has God indeed permitted you, or do you invent (things) to attribute to God?” (10:59).
The point I am making here is further supported by the fact that God has sometimes asked the Prophet to call men to God Himself and sometimes to His way, for example, “Invite (all) to the way of the Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching” (16:125). He knows that when a. preacher calls someone to something he calls to the thing itself, or to the way that leads to it. That is why God has described the preaching sometimes as a call to Himself and sometimes as a call to His way. However, in either case He is the one who is to be worshiped (al-ma `bud) the goal and the end of preaching.
`Ibadah is the name for perfect love and absolute submission with humility. Thus, if you submit to someone humbly but hate him, you do not worship him; on the other hand, if you love him but do not submit to him in humility, you do not worship him. God deserves perfect love; in fact, He is the only One Who is to be loved for Himself, and everything else is to be loved for His sake. He alone commands profoundest reverence and absolute submission, and nothing else is to be revered or submitted to except for His sake. If you associate anyone else with Him in one respect or another, you neither love Him truly nor adore Him truly.
Association means that your love is incomplete. God has said, “Yet there are men who take (for worship) others besides God, as equal (with God). They love them as they should love God. But those of faith are overflowing in their love for God” (2:165). In other words, they love God more than others love the deities they associate with God. Arrogance is opposed to humble submission to God; in fact, it is a great impediment to His love. Love at its perfection is submission and obedience; when you love someone you submit to him completely…
The person who calls people to God must call them to all of the things that are loved by God and His Messenger, whether obligatory or commendable, whether visible to the eyes or hidden in the heart. Similarly, things that are disliked by God and His Messenger, whether open or hidden, he must call people to eschew. The call to God will never be complete without calling people to do the things that He loves and eschew the things that He hates, whether they are beliefs or actions, or whether they are visible to the eyes or not. It applies to all that the Prophet has taught about the names and attributes of God, about resurrection and the life hereafter, or what he has said about created things such as the Throne, the Footstool, the angels, the prophets, the people who believed in them and those who opposed them. It also applies to what he has said about sincerely devoting oneself to God, loving Him and His Messenger more than anything else, trusting Him, hoping for His mercy, fearing His chastisement, carrying out His commands patiently, and other similar things, or what he has said about speaking truth, keeping trusts, fulfilling promises, kindness to kin, good behavior to neighbors, jihad in His way with the heart, tongue and hand.
The call to God is a duty on all those who believe in the Prophet and constitute his community. They should call people to God as the Prophet called them to God. They should enjoin upon them what he has enjoined, forbid them what he has forbidden, and expound to them the truths he has stated. Calling people (da `wah) to God implies enjoining (amr) upon them His commands, which amounts to charging them with doing all that is good and eschewing all that is bad. God has described this mission of the ummah at many places, for example, “You are the best of the peoples that have been evolved for mankind, you enjoin what is right, forbid what is wrong, and believe in God” ((3:110); and, “The Believers, men and women, are protectors one of another; they enjoin what is just, and forbid what is evil” (9:91).
This duty is a duty on the ummah as a whole, one which the `ulama’ call collective duty (fard al-kifayah), which is deemed fulfilled if some from among the ummah perform it. To be sure, the whole ummah is responsible for the task, but if a group accomplishes it others will not be called to account for it. God has said, “Let there arise out of you a band of people to invite to all that is good, enjoin what is right, and forbid what is wrong. They are the ones to attain felicity” (3:104). The ummah as a whole stands in place of the Prophet so far as da `wah is concerned. That is why the consensus of the ummah is an evidence sure and certain of truth. The ummah does not unite on anything wrong; and in case it differs on some issue it has to refer it to God and the Messenger. Every member of the ummah is required to carry on da `wah the best he can if others do not engage in it. If someone else performs the task, his responsibility is finished; he will not have to answer for not doing it himself. But if no one else does it, and he has the power and ability to do it, he must do it. This is also the reason why a part of da `wah is incumbent on one person, and another on another person, and to the extent one or the other performs his task the ummah is exonerated from its responsibility. Some may preach the faith which is necessary, others may call to actions of the body which are obligatory, and a third group may teach virtues of the heart. Hence different groups will be responsible for different parts of the mission and will be engaged in them.
It is now clear that da `wah means enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong. The da i preaches, persuades and demands of people what he calls them to. In other words, he enjoins (amr), for to enjoin something is to call people to it, to invite them to it, and ask them to do it. Calling to God, therefore, is calling to His Way which He has at times specifically mentioned, and His way is nothing other than believing in whatever He has revealed, and obeying Him in whatever He has commanded.
We have said that both things are incumbent on every individual Muslim as a collective duty, not as a personal duty like the five daily prayers, but as jihad. The performance of a duty, whether it is da `wah or anything else, depends upon certain conditions. A hadith says, “Whoever enjoins the right and forbids the wrong must have good knowledge and a clear understanding of what he enjoins and what he forbids; he must also be polite in expounding the things which he enjoins and which he forbids, and above all he has to be forbearing in enjoining and in forbidding.”753 You must understand the thing very well before you call to it, so that you can convince people with regard to what you enjoin or what you forbid. You should also know that politeness and leniency in this matter is the way to success. You have to be prepared to bear with patience the reactions of people that may be unpleasant. God has said, “Enjoin what is just and forbid what is unjust and bear with patience whatever betide you.” (31:17). To His Prophet He has issued this advice: “Await in patience the command of your Lord, for verily you are in Our eyes” (52:39); “The Messengers before you were (also) rejected, but they bore with patience and constancy their rejection and their wrongs until Our aid reached them” (6:34)… On many occasions He has also mentioned patience and piety together. For example, “If you are constant and do right that is certainly a great thing” (3:120). Joseph also combined the two in the words he said to his brethren: “Behold! He that is righteous and patient, never will God suffer the reward to be lost of those who do right” (12:90). This is because piety entails obedience to God, of which enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong is a part, and patience entails patience in troubles and calamities, of which patiently bearing the painful reactions of the people one preaches to and the troubles they cause is one.
However, the person who enjoins and forbids should defend himself against the harm that may befall him as he would defend himself against any attack. If, for example, anyone tries to beat him or take his property and he has the power to stop him, he may do so; but if he is harmed and turns to God in that situation, he exercises patience and forbearance. The perfect example in this regard is the Prophet himself. `A’ishah (raa) has this observation about him: “The Prophet,” she said, “did not beat anyone with his hand, whether a servant, a woman, an animal, or anything else, except when he was engaged in jihad for the cause of God. Nor did he take revenge on anybody for the harm he caused him. Only when someone indulged in things which God had forbidden would he get furious and would not rest until he had avenged him for the sake of God.”754 This shows that the Prophet never avenged any harm caused to his person, but he did so when God’s injunctions were violated, and no one could stop him from doing that.
Author: Ibn Taymiyyah
Islamic Topic: The purpose of government
Source: Book: [Fatawd 15:157-69] / Also mentioned in “Ibn Taymiyyah Expounds on Islam”