To propagate means to preach and to spread. Propagation of Islam means conveying the message of Islam to others. Some of its synonyms are: Tableegh (to convey Islām), Da'wah (call to Islam), Inzar Wa Tabsheer (to warn against bad consequences and announce glad tidings), Shahadatul Haq (to bear witness to the truth), Amr Bilmaroof Wan Nahyi Anil Munkar (to order good deeds and prevent from evil).
Is propagation of Islam obligatory?
Islam is the religion liked by Allah. No other religion besides Islam is acceptable to Him. It is, therefore, expected from every human being that he or she must follow Islam. It is the duty of the followers of Islam to convey the message of Islam to those who are ignorant of the teachings of Islam.
Therefore, on the occasion of Hajjatul Wada (the last pilgrimage), Prophet (ﷺ) said,
"Convey on my behalf even if it is one verse."
[Bukhari]
This duty assumes greater significance because Allah sent His messengers and Prophets to every community and nation to perform this duty. However, Muhammad (ﷺ) is the last Prophet. No messenger will follow him. Therefore, this responsibility is now transferred to his Ummah which means that the Muslim Ummah has to discharge this duty till the Day of Judgement.
The Muslim Ummah has been called Khairu Ummah in Qur'an, and the reason given for this is also similar.
"You are the best nation produced (as an example) for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah."
[Aal Imran: 110]
It is said at another place,
And who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah and does righteousness and says, "Indeed, I am of the Muslims."
[Fussilat: 33]
Propagation is Love for mankind
If we really care for others, it is our duty that we tell them about what we consider good and have adopted it for ourselves. We must invite others to accept it so that they are also rewarded both in this world and in the Hereafter.
Prophet (ﷺ) has said, "It is enjoined upon the people to teach religion to their neighbors, instruct them, call upon them to do good deeds and prevent them from evil. Similarly, it is also the duty of the people to learn about the religion from their neighbors, to accept their advice and imbibe understanding of the religion. Otherwise, I will soon punish them in this world." On hearing this, the people of the Ash'ar tribe asked, "O Prophet (ﷺ)! Are we supposed to inculcate understanding of the religion among others?" Prophet (ﷺ) replied, "Yes. It is your responsibility." These people then said, "O Prophet (ﷺ)! Give us one year to do the job." Prophet (ﷺ) agreed to the time sought during which they would teach religion to their neighbors and create understanding among them.
They used not to prevent one another from wrongdoing that they did. How wretched was that which they were doing.
[Al Ma'idah: 79]
Prophet (ﷺ) once said, "O Ali! If one person submits to the truth because of your efforts, it is better than having precious camels in your possession." [Bukhari, Muslim] The duty of propagation of Islam also becomes Sadaqa Jariya (continuing charity) for the person doing it. Prophet (ﷺ) said, "One who calls towards the path of guidance shall have the reward equal to those who accept the guidance, without reducing anything from the reward of those who follow the guidance. [Muslim]
It must be noted here that one must do this duty to the extent they can do. Prophet (ﷺ) has said, "One who sees an evil must stop it with his hands. If he does not have the power to do so, he must stop it by speaking against it, and if he is not capable of even doing that, he should consider it bad in his heart and this is the lowest degree of Iman." [Muslim]
Consequences of Ignoring Duty to spread Islam
Nobody can escape from ruin and destruction if the duty of spreading the message of Islam is not discharged. Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The case of those who guard the limits set by Allah and those who violate them could be likened to those who divided the two sections of the boat among themselves through lottery system. One got the upper part while the other got the lower part. Whenever the people in the lower part wanted to draw water, they had to pass through those in the upper part. They thought that their frequent visit was causing trouble to the people in the upper part and, therefore, it would be better if they made a hole in the lower part and draw water through it, so that people in the upper part could be saved from inconvenience. If those in the upper part do not prevent them from doing so and carrying out their dangerous and foolish designs, water could start seeping through the hole leading to drowning of the ship and as a result they all would die. But, if people in the upper part hold their hand and prevent them from making the hole, they would not only savevthemselves but also save all others." [Bukhari]
In this saying of Prophet (ﷺ), it is explained that those who indulge in Kufr, Shirk and sins are in fact pulling this world towards destruction just like those who were planning to make hole in the bottom of the boat and arranging to get it drowned. Now, if the devout people do not make efforts to prevent the people from indulging in evil and do not call them to the right path, it will bring about destruction in this world, and as a result thereof, not only the evil doers will suffer, but also those devout people will be affected who remained mute observers when evil was spreading and they did not make any efforts to stop it even though they themselves might not have committed those sins.
Therefore, the safest course for the righteous is that they must prevent other people from doing evil acts. In this way, they will not only save evil doers from destruction but in the process will also guarantee their own safety. Prophet (ﷺ) has explained this in another saying, "You must call people towards good and stop them from doing evil deeds; and hold the hands of the tyrant and make him surrender to the truth. If you fail to do so, your hearts will become similar to them and then Allah will keep away His mercy and guidance just as Isra'eel was denied it." [Abu Dawood]
Principles of preaching Islam
"Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best."
[An-Nahl: 125]
One draws these basic guidelines from this verse:
1. Da'wah (calling to path of the Lord) has to be undertaken with wisdom which means that one must take into account suitability of time and place as also the subject (addressee). The capacity and status of individuals and groups must be considered. And those immutable values, which are common, should form the basis of mutual understanding and which could pave the way for closeness and acceptance of Da'wah.
2. Advice and exhortation has to be in a gentle way which means that the addressee must feel the sincerity, warmth and affection. The message should not only be intellectually appealing, it must also bring solace to the soul. One must speak to the addressee politely. At the time of sending Moosa to Pharaoh, Allah told him,
"Go, both of you, to Pharaoh. Indeed, he has transgressed. And speak to him with gentle speech that perhaps he may be reminded or fear (Allah)."
[Taha: 43-44]
3. Dialogues and debates should be held in a decent way. Criticism has to be constructive in simple yet appealing style; it should not arouse stubborn feelings, hatred, prejudice and false pride in the addressee. In fact dialogue should make him sit up and think and it should create in him a desire to seek the truth. That is why we have been asked not to address an infidel as Kafir. We are not allowed to scold their idols. According to the Qur'an:
"And do not insult those they invoke other than Allah, lest they insult Allah in enmity without knowledge."
[Al An'am: 108]
4. One must adopt the method of Taiseer and Tabsheer which means that religion ought to be presented to the people as nothing but simple and easy way of life and they ought to be informed about good consequences of the good they do. While sending Ma'äz bin Jabal and Abu Moosa Ash'ari R to Yemen Prophet (ﷺ) advised them, "Present the religion of your Lord as a simple way of life and not as something difficult; let the people hear good news from you; do not hatred among them." [Bukhari]
5. Gradualism ought to be considered. It means the message must be presented step by step i.e. basic teachings such as Tawheed and Risalah will come first followed by rituals and commandments. While sending Ma'āz Ibn Jabal R to Yemen, Prophet (ﷺ) had said, "When you meet the Jews and the Christians, convey the message of Unity of Almighty to them first i.e. there is no one worth worshiping except Allah and Muhammad (ﷺ) is His Messenger. When they accept it, tell them about obligatory Salah five times a day. When they agree to it, tell them that Allah has made Sadaqah obligatory for them which would be collected from the rich and distributed among the poor." [Bukhari]
Gradualism, however, does not mean that certain aspects of religion shall be put forth and certain aspects shall be put on hold fearing opposition. The message has to be presented as it is. The Qur'an says,
"O Messenger, announce that which has been revealed to you from your Lord, and if you do not, then you have not conveyed His message. And Allah will protect you from the people."
[Al-Ma'idah: 67]
6. One must possess certain qualities and abilities for a pa Similarly, certain qualities and abilities are required for spreading the message of Islam:
- One has to be sincere in his belief. Messengers of Allah sincerely be sincerely believed in what they preached.
- One must live by what one preaches. Mere words written or spoken can not accomplish what one's personal character can. While preaching to others, one must not forget one's own self. Prophet (ﷺ) has said, "On the Day of Judgment, a person shall be thrown into the hell. His intestines will be thrown out due to heat. Then the said person shall keep roaming about like a plodding donkey carrying the intestine. On seeing this, other inhabitants of hell will enquire of him about his plight: Were you not the one who preached virtue to us and warned us against evil? What has brought you to this pass despite your good deeds? The man will reply: I used to warn you against the evils but I myself indulged in them." [Bukhari, Muslim]
- It is necessary that one does not give up patience and perseverance.
- One must never lose hope. Your task is only to convey the message to the people and not to make them agree. And Allah-willing, you will be surely rewarded just for propagating with or without result.
Propagation of Islam by sword?
It is commonly alleged that Islam was spread with the might of sword. It is a vicious slander. Principal causes of the spread of Islam include the glorious teachings of the Qur'an and its impact, noble character of Muslims and their sincere preaching. There is not a single verse in the Qur'an by which the Muslims are enjoined to force an infidel to convert to Islam.
One does not come across a single incident during the life of Prophet (ﷺ) where an infidel was forced into submission. Prophet (ﷺ) was assigned the responsibility of conveying the message and not forcing the people into submission. It is explained in Qur'an at several places,
"Our Messenger’s duty is only to deliver (the message) clearly."
[Al-Ma'idah: 92]
"So remind, (O Muḥammad); you are only a reminder. You are not over them a controller."
[Al-Ghashiyah: 21-22]
Allah clearly proclaims in Qur'an:
And say, "The truth is from your Lord, so whoever wills - let him believe; and whoever wills - let him disbelieve."
[Al-Kahf: 29]
Islam does not believe in compulsion. Iman (true belief) is the foremost thing in Islam. It implies that believing means conviction. No power on earth can put true faith in some one's heart by using force. In fact Islam teaches its followers,
"And if any one of the polytheists seeks your protection, then grant him protection so that he may hear the words of Allah (i.e., the Qur’ān). Then deliver him to his place of safety. That is because they are a people who do not know."
[At-Tawbah: 6]
"Osama Ibn Zaid R was Prophet's (ﷺ) favourite servant. He was sent on an expedition as the head of an armed group. During the peak of the fighting, an infidel came within his striking range. When Osama R was about to attack him, he proclaimed لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ ٱللَّٰهِ (There is no one worshippable except Allah). One Ansari who had almost attacked him, restrained himself. But Osama R felt that it was a pretext to save himself and finished him with a spear. When Prophet (ﷺ) learned about this, he was very much displeased with Osama R who said in defense: O Prophet (ﷺ) of Allah he had recited Kalima, due to fear of sword. Prophet (ﷺ) asked: Did you cut open his heart to see? And then he repeatedly said: O Osama! What would be your reply for his لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ ٱللَّٰهِ on the Day of Judgment? Osama R says: I was so deeply ashamed so much that I sincerely wished that I had better embraced Islam today." [Muslim]
According to the teachings of Islam, use of force should be avoided and mission should be carried out with attempt at convincing. Even in the Ghazwah field it is advised first to convey the message of peace and try for conciliation.
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Allah and his messenger knows best