Presenting Islam

today - Challenges
and thought share
Mirza Yawar Baig

Preface
All praise and thanks are due to Allah the Rabb of the
universe. Peace and blessings on His Messenger our Master
Muhammad and on his family and Companions and those
who follow them in excellence until the Final Day.
This short booklet is to share some thoughts about the
challenges that face us today in the most important of all our
duties presenting Islam to the world. We see many people
doing many things, adopting tactics and strategies from sources
as diverse as Christian Evangelists, the film and TV industries,
event managers, the world of communication, internet and
information technology. You name it and someone somewhere
is doing it.
When looking at it the question which one of my teachers asked
me, comes to mind. He asked me, Where do we draw a line?
In my view the complexity and decision point has to do with
which technology to use but much more importantly it has to do
with the underlying premises which lead to the decisions. It has
to do with our own connection with Allah, love for His
Messenger, our belief that his Sunnah is actually applicable in
this world today. It has to do with the purity of our own
intention - Al Ikhlaas-un-Niyyah, the single-minded pursuit of
the pleasure of Allah alone. And finally and most
importantlyit has to do with a strong awareness that Shaytaan
the Great Corruptor will do his best to corrupt us and the
humility to accept that we are NOT immune to corruption. It
has to do with realizing the insidious corrupting influence of

money and fame and that Shaytaan will help us to create

justifications for both.
However those justifications will only ease our path to
Jahannam and not Jannah. It has to do with realizing that in the
blind focus on fund raising and finding funders, we are likely to
compromise the very values of Islam and the Shariah of
Muhammad which we claim that we seek to propagate and
instead we stand silently before those who we should be
admonishing. Our tongues are muted, our voices are silenced
because we have dollar signs in our eyes and our sight is
dazzled with the yellow glimmer of gold. All the principles of
Deen we learnt in our Jamiyaat are forgotten. All that we learnt
about the principled stances of the Salaf, we only pay lip service
to while we give Khutbas which praise the generosity of our
benefactors conveniently turning a blind eye to all the Haraam
that they indulge in. We fear them and the fact that they will
withdraw their benevolence if we speak the truth. By our
actions we show that we dont fear Allah, our and their
Creator to whom is our return. Our very presence alongside the
wealthy, sucking up to them, is a source of misguidance for the
general public and a source of nausea for those who know. Our
willingness to give Fatawa to suit their desires, to twist and turn
the Deen to indulge them, seals our own fate.
It is reported that Sufyn Al-Thawr Allh have mercy on him
said, Wealth is the disease of this Ummah, and the scholar is
the doctor of this Ummah. So if the doctor brings the disease to
himself, how will he cure the people?
Al-Dhahab, Siyar Alm Al-Nubal`, Vol. 7 p243
I have tried to share my thoughts on the various aspects which
are involved. This is not an exhaustive study. But I hope it will

stimulate thought and action to ensure that the work of

presenting Islam to the world is done in the way that Allah
showed His Anbiya so that the Baraka of that method remains
with us all the way.

M. Yawar Baig

Table of Contents
Daawa is about winning hearts, not arguments ................................ 10
The myth of talent in the work of Deen .............................................. 26
Problems with using Corporate Strategy for Islamic Da'awa ........... 49
Keep Islam Free ...................................................................................... 80
Enjoining Right and Forbidding Wrong ........................................... 106
Teaching Islam in the modern world ................................................. 116
Integrated Teaching ............................................................................. 129
Differentiating between a Scholar of Islam and a Muslim Scholar 152
Media on the internet .......................................................................... 162

Daawa is about winning

hearts, not arguments

Nahl 16: 125. Invite (mankind, O Muhammad) to the Way of your
Rabb (Islam) with wisdom and fair preaching, and argue with them in
a way that is Ahsan (Best). Truly, your Rabb knows best who has gone
astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are
guided.
Allahtaught us how to present Islam especially to People of
the Book. And advised Rasoolullahto use first Hikma
(wisdom) and then after that Mau-idhatul Hasana (best way of
explaining). Mauidha is from Waadh (speech, lecture). And
then mentioned especially the way this is to be done i.e. argue
with the best of Akhlaaq (Jaadilhum billati hiya Ahsan).
There is no speech which is more truthful than the speech of
Allahand no advice that is better than the advice of
Allahto His Nabiwhose very purpose of existence was
Daawa.
There is not a single instance in the Shariah where it is
permissible to publicly humiliate people in the name of
presenting Islam and not a single instance in the Sunnah where
10

Rasoolullahdid so. Hedidnt even publicly humiliate the

open declared enemies of Islam and himself like Abu Jahl, Abu
Lahb, Shayba, Utba and others whose enmity was known to all
and who were not people of the book.
On the contrary hegave specific advice to Muaadh ibn
Jabalwhen he was sending him to Yemen as the Qadhi and
Governor and said to him, They are a People of the Book (in
this case Christians). Present the Kalima to them. If they accept,
then invite them to Salah. If they accept, direct them to pay
Zakah. Take it from their rich and give to their poor.
See the beautiful advice about how to give Daawa, especially to
People of the Book!
1. Invite them to Islam (Tawheed) with the best of Akhlaaq,
making their Ikraam (treating them with honor) and
being good to them.
2. Then when they accept Islam, give them the biggest
treasure that Islam has to offer As-Salah which is a
direct connection to Allah. For a people used to going
to priests to confess sins and ask for blessing, to be told
that the One who forgives sins is Allahwho you can
access directly without any intermediaries and that you
are closest to Him in Sajda and that you can ask Him
whatever you want and He will listen to you and accept
your dua is the most liberating thing in the world.
3. Then headvised Muaad ibn Jabalregarding
Zakat and told him to take from the rich of those people
11

and give it to their own poor. Hedidnt tell him to

take it from them and send it to Madina as a royal
tribute.
Imagine the effect of this methodology of Daawa of the Quran
and Sunnah on the hearts of people. You dont have to imagine
it. History is witness that the whole of Yemen became Muslim
and remains so to this day, 15 centuries later.
Muaad ibn Jabalwas one of the most competent Ulama
among the Sahaba. He was a young man, an Ansari, very
handsome and one of the favorite students of Rasoolullah. He
was the man who Rasoolullahinstructed in Islam and the
methodology of Daawa and then when he had to pick the best
person to be the Governor and Qadhi in Yemen, hepicked
Muaad. Rasoolullahs actions are not random. He didnt pick
according to his own desires. Hewas guided by Allahin
his choices.
Then when hewas sending Muaadoff, he walked with
him, holding the bridle of his mount with Muaadriding and
asked him, How will you judge, O! Muaad?
Muaad ibn Jabalsaid, I will judge by the book of Allah, O!
Messenger of Allah.
And if you dont find the answer there, what will you do?
I will look for it in the Sunnah of Allahs Messenger.
And if you dont find the answer there, what will you do?
12

I will consult will the people of knowledge.

And if there is nobody to consult?
I will use my own judgment in the light of the Book of
Allahand the Sunnah of His Messenger.
Rasoolullahapproved this methodology and that has ever
since been the basis of the four principles of the Shariah:
Kitabullah, Sunnatur Rasoolullah, Ijma and Qiyas.
This Hadith is also proof that the Sunnah of Rasoolullah his
Ahadith were in a compiled and referable form during his
own lifetime and destroys the false claims of those who claim
that the Ahadith were compiled a century or more after
hepassed away. The Ahadith that Imam Bukhari and Imam
Muslim and others compiled came from Hadith compilations of
the Sahaba which were done during the lifetime and with the
approval of Rasoolullah. If the Sahaba had not compiled the
Ahadith how could Imam Bukhari have found them? But to
those of limited intelligence whose minds have been taken over
by Shaytaan, even simple questions like this dont occur and
Shaytaan leads them ever deeper into ignorance the final
destination of which is the Fire.
In this whole narrative, please notice that Rasoolullahdidnt
tell Muaad ibn Jabalwho was a Sahabi, Hafidh of Quran,
recorder of the Wahi and Hadith, witness of the circumstances
of the Revelation (Shahid alal Asbaab un Nuzool), among the
most competent of the Ulama among the Sahaba and someone
13

who had Ijaaza from Rasoolullahto give Fatwa during hiss

own lifetime to engage the Christian priests of Yemen in
debate and defame, destroy and humiliate them in public before
their own congregations.
Please reflect, this was not because Sayyiduna Muaadwas
not

capable

of

doing

so.

It

was

because

Rasoolullahunderstood human psychology a jolly sight

better than we do and was guided by Allahin all that he
said and did. Heknew that if you humiliate the leader or
representative of a people before those who follow him, that is
actually a humiliation of all of them. That antagonizes them
towards you and your preaching and creates enemies for you.
Even the neutral among them will hate the fact that someone
they looked up to and respected had been made to look like a
fool in public. No matter how correct your argument may have
been from your own perspective, the way it was presented was
so unsuitable that the logic and truth of the argument gets lost
in the pain experienced by those who are left speechless and
inarticulate.
If the aim of the argument is to drive the people away and to
antagonize them and to convert them into ambassadors of ill
will who will not leave a stone unturned to harm you and your
message, then public humiliation is indeed the most effective
way. You take away the mans honor and leave intact his
strength and resources and energize him with one of the most
potent of forces, his anger. He will now work against you using
everything in his power while you are sleeping in your bed.
And believe me, there will be many who will listen to him.
Many who were neutral to begin with and may not even have
14

liked him all that much, but when they witness his public
humiliation they become sympathetic to him and feel sorry for
him and will now start listening to him and supporting him,
which they may not have done earlier. So this public
humiliation strategy works amazingly well to strengthen your
enemy and to create more and more enemies to you and your
message. But if you use the method of Rasoolullahs Daawa
which I will reiterate here, see what happens.
1. Be good to them. Smile, be a generous host, make
friends, dont antagonize.
2. Present Tawheed. Dont argue. Dont even mention
whatever their belief is. Simply present Islam.
3. When they accept, give them a spiritual gift that has no
equal As-Salah.
4. When they start praying help their rich to feel good by
giving a miniscule amount in charity (2.5% per annum
on spare wealth compared to the tithe that Christians
used to pay i.e. 10% on income)
5. And win the hearts of the poor, who are always the
majority in any nation, by giving that money to them
which they need. They know that you and your message
is the reason they are getting it.
6. Ensure that you take nothing yourself take it from their
rich and give to their poor.
The benefits of this prophetic method are as follows:
1. Takes the wind of opposition out of their sails. Who can
be against someone who is nice, smiles, respects and
honors you, and is kind to you, and feeds you and is
15

generous? So even if you started from the position,

These Muslims are nasty, you would start questioning
yourself and others will question you having come into
contact with a living breathing Muslim.
2. Present Tawheed without argument, without being
defensive, without referring to whatever else those
people worship. Just tell them, This is the message of
your Rabb to you. Recite Quran to them. Muaad ibn
Jabalwas a Qari and he recited Quran to them and
they came to Islam and became among the most staunch
supporters of Islam.
3. This was the method of Rasoolullah, to recite Quran
whenever someone asked him about Islam. And what is
more logical if someone asks, What does your Rabb
say? than to tell them what He says? The man is not
asking

what

do

you

say.

He

is

asking

what

Allahsays. So tell him what Allahsaid. Recite

Quran. Let him hear the sound of the Word of Allah
first. By all means translate later. But first let him hear
the Kalaam which is as superior to all other speech as its
Originator is Superior to all His creation. Dont tell them
who Allahis in your words. Recite the introduction
of Allahthat Allahinformed us in His Own
Words.
4. Then give them a gift. Do you want to talk to Allah?
Do you have anything to ask that you believe
Allahcan give you? Have you committed any sins
that you need to ask forgiveness for? Then heres the
16

key. Open the treasure house of Allahwith it and

take from it whatever you want. Use it to call
Allahat any time of the day or night. Because you
need sleep. Your Rabb doesnt sleep. You need rest. Your
Rabb doesnt need rest. You get tired. Your Rabb never
tires. You have needs, children, families to worry about.
Your Rabb has no need, no anxieties, no fears. We all
need Him and He needs nothing. So ask Him and He
will give you. He is the One who said, Ask me and I will
give you. So ask him and see how your life is changed.
5. When they have tasted the sweetness of Salah, tell them
to think about others and give them a way to help them.
Tell them, Allahgave you so much. Spend of it on
yourself whatever you wish in legal ways. Then at the
end of the year, what remains, take 2.5% of it and give to
those who dont have what you have. Let them also
smile. Take pleasure in their smiles. They will love you
for it. That way you will improve your own society,
make friends and supporters and please Allah; all at
the same time. Spiritual benefit that leads to material
benefit in this life and eternal benefit in the life after
death.
I dont ask anything for myself. I am showing you a way
to make your own lives, society and future beautiful
and all that free of cost. Now who can be offended by
this? And even if someone wants to resist, others wont
support him or her. People will see the benefit in their
own lives and gradually support builds for you.
17

Negative forces are neutralized without the use of force

by the force of love.
Sun-Tzu said, Build for your enemy a bridge of solid gold for
him to retreat over. For the wise general wins without a fight.
Why do I say, Force of love? Because Daawa is the highest
expression of love for the fellow human being. Consider this. If
you feed a poor person once, you are considered a good person,
even though 24 hours later he would be hungry again. If you
clothe or give medicine to or help another person in any way,
just once, you would be considered a good person even though
none of those solutions is permanent and the problem will
certainly recur. So how about this, that you are concerned about
and are willing to spend your time, energy and money in order
to save someone from eternal damnation, eternal punishment,
eternal pain? How about that you are concerned about giving
him a permanent solution and changing his situation such that
he is freed from the Fire?
If this is not an expression of love, then what is?
We need to learn Daawa in the prophetic way because only that
way has the sanction of approval of Allah. In this prophetic
method, you honor your guest, even if your guest is not Muslim.
After all Rasoolullahhonored the lady who used to throw
rubbish on him daily. So what about someone who accepts your
invitation to come to listen to you preach Islam. Should you
honor him or demean and disgrace him? If you want to correct
him, do it privately without any witnesses other than your Rabb
from whom nothing is hidden. Build him a bridge of solid gold
to retreat over. Even if he doesnt accept Islam he will not harm
18

Islam and will always have a good word for you. That is our
way. That is the way of Rasoolullahlong before Sun-Tzu
came on the scene. Praise in public, criticism in private.
Remember, the bravest man is the one who has nothing to lose.
You cant fight against him and you cant win against him,
because he has nothing to lose while you have much to lose.
And how did he become so powerful? Because you stripped
him naked in public. He lost everything and emerged from the
fire you kindled to burn him as an avenging spirit that will not
rest until you are destroyed. What sense does this make?
What is the effect of honoring him? He already came to listen to
you speak about Islam. So he is already half in your corner. Do
you want to pull him completely in your corner or drive him
away? What will pull him in? Honor, good manners and
generosity or disgrace and humiliation? Is he your friend and
someone you love? Or is he your opponent, adversary and
enemy. Decide, because that will direct your approach and
define your results.
The reality about debates is as follows:
1. The two people in a debate who are going to argue the
two sides of the argument are called opponents and
adversaries. They are not called guest and host. Or
partners trying to find the truth.
2. A person enters a debate only with one aim to win.
Nobody goes to a debate to listen to, consider carefully
and accept the argument of the opponent. He goes there
to refute, deny and destroy the argument of the
19

opponent, play to the gallery, make his opponent look

bad before his own people, make himself look good and
to drive his opponent to the point where he is rendered
speechless.
3. Debates have only two possible endings. You win or you
lose.
4. If you win, you lost the opponent.
5. If you lost, then you lost anyway.
6. Debates increase distances whereas Daawa is supposed
to decrease distance and bring hearts together.
I decided to speak about this in so much detail because debating
about Islam has become the in-thing today. I want to show you
that this methodology may seem nice to us, but it is neither in
accordance with the Quran or the Sunnah. And on top of it, it
has the potential to alienate people instead of bringing them
closer to Islam. And may Allahforgive and protect us, we
see this happening every day. Hostility towards Islam is
increasing. People who were humiliated in debates have now
become open critics of Islam where earlier they never criticized
Islam in public no matter what they thought or spoke in private.
Organizations have issued confidential orders that Muslims
must not be hired unless they bring some critical skill. Students
and young executives are being discriminated against; all
because the followers of those religious leaders who were
humiliated in public now want to extract revenge. Let us accept
the sacrifice of our education and careers, but ask if this helps
Islam. Or if it pleases Allah? If it does neither, then why are
we going on this path?
Islam

spread

after

Sulah

Hudaybiyya

(The

Treaty

of
20

Hudaybiyya) because adversarial stances were laid to rest and

people had an opportunity to listen to the message of Islam in
an atmosphere of safety. Islam spread so fast among the Aws
and

Khazraj

of

Madina

because

the

Daayee

of

RasoolullahMusab bin Umairpreached alone, without

any spectators or supporters (he was not playing to any gallery)
and used his famous social skills and his recitation of the Quran
to convey his message. That is how most of the Akabireen of the
Ansaar accepted Islam at his hands. His meeting with Saad bin
Muaadthe famous and powerful chief of the Banu Aws was
a classic picture of the Prophetic method of Daawa and its
result.
Musab bin Umairwas taken into the area of the Banu Aws
by a cousin of Saad bin Muaad who said to Musab, If this
one man accepts Islam, the whole tribe of Banu Aws will accept
Islam. But he is a very hard man. So be very careful. Then he
took him into the garden of Saad bin Muaad and some people
gathered and Musabstarted speaking to them. Saad bin
Muaad was standing at a distance with another friend of his.
His friend said to him, That is the man who is preaching about
One God and that Muhammadis His Messenger. Looks like
he is now in your own house. Saad bin Muaad picked up his
lance and said, Not for long, and came towards Musab bin
Umair. The cousin of Saad bin Muaad who had brought
Musab bin Umairthere, said to him in an undertone, Be
careful, he is coming and he looks angry.
Saad bin Muaad arrived and said, to his cousin, Who is this
man? Why did you bring himhere? If it was not for our
relationship I would have done something other than speak at
21

this time. I am now ordering both of you off my land. So leave

or otherwise you will be responsible for the consequences.
Musab bin Umairsmiled at him and said, I will do as you
say. But will you not sit for a little while and listen to what I
have to say? I have come all this way and if you will simply sit
and listen to what I have to say, I will leave and go away after I
have spoken. What harm can that do to you?
Saad bin Muaad was taken aback. He was a famous warrior. He
came looking for a fight. But instead, here was this very
handsome and presentable man from Makkah, smiling at him
and requesting to speak. He must have thought, It is my land, I
am in control. What harm can it do to listen to him?
So he said, Alright, speak and when you have spoken, leave,
Musab bin Umairsaid, Wont you sit down? Saad bin
Muaad sat down. Now all the while his friend was watching
from a distance, without any idea of what was going on. He was
too far away to hear the words. He saw Saad bin Muaad
walking there with anger and arrogance as befits the head of a
tribe whose boundary has been encroached. Then he saw him sit
down. He wondered what was going on. When Saad bin
Muaad sat down and demanded, Alright so speak. What does
Muhammad

say?

Musab

bin

Umairsaid,

Muhammadonly says what his Rabb inspires him to say.

And this is what he says. Musab bin Umaira man who had
given up everything in the world to pay for his Islam, then
recited the Kalaam of Allah. When the Kalaam of Allahis
recited by those who have paid to earn the privilege of reciting
22

it, it enters the heart of the listener. It illuminates his whole

spirit. It answers the hunger of his soul. It connects him to his
Rabb. Saad bin Muaad heard the Kalaam of Allahand it
entered his heart. He asked, What must I do now?
Musab bin Umairsaid, Say Ash-hadualla-ilaha illallah wa
ash-haduanna Muhammadar Rasoolullah.
Saad bin Muaadaccepted Islam at the hands of Musab bin
Umairand got up and went back to his friend. His friend
said, When I saw him returning I knew this was a different man
from the one who went there a little while ago.
Saad bin Muaadthen called his whole tribe and said, I have
accepted the message of Muhammad. I am ordering you all to
also accept this message. Those who dont obey me, I will not
speak to them.
The narrator of this incident records some accepted Islam right
away. Others went away with the message but the sun didnt set
that day until the entire tribe of Banu Aws had accepted Islam.
This is the power of the Prophetic method. Imagine what would
have been the result of Musab bin Umairdebating and
arguing with Saad bin Muaadand trying to publicly prove
him wrong and humiliating him. He would have been killed
and the Banu Aws would have become the enemies of Islam
forever instead of becoming the greatest supporters of Islam and
Rasoolullah.
I ask Allahto open our hearts to the message of
23

Rasoolullahand to help us to convey it in the best possible

way which is the Sunnah of Rasoolullah. I ask Allahto
save us from the evil of ourselves and our actions and to forgive
our mistakes.

24

25

The myth of talent in the work

of Deen
In our rush to apply modern techniques to the work of Daawa
it appears to me that we sometimes tend to focus on the wrong
things. For example, when we are looking for people to recruit
we follow the same route that a normal employer would follow
to recruit employees i.e. we look for people who have talents
and qualifications that we ourselves lack. This method works in
business and industry because the employer is himself deficient
and is trying to build a team that complements his deficiencies.
In the work Allah who is free from all deficiencies a persons
talent has no meaning in itself. It is a useful thing to have
provided there is something else before that. And that
something else, the pre-requisite, is a connection with Allah.
To be able to do the work of Islam the first and foremost thing
that one needs, is to be accepted by Allah. Once this
acceptance is achieved, everything else follows. This is easy to
understand when we realize that in the work of Islam, the
employer needs nothing and can give anything He wishes to
whoever He wishes. The key is to be accepted by Him first. So
look for the connection with Allah.
Allah used the same logic in His choice of Anbiya. He didnt
always pick the most talented, educated, charismatic, wealthy or
beautiful. He picked the most sincere, passionate, perseverant
and courageous. Allah then taught him what he needed to
know and helped him with resources that he did not have and
with forces that he could not see. Allah said:
26



Al Baqara 2:282

So fear Allah; and Allah teaches you.

A very good example of this is in the story of Musa (AS) where

Allah said:

Ta-Ha 20:13. "And I have chosen you. So listen to that which is
inspired to you. 14. "Verily! I am Allah! La ilaha illa Ana (none has
the right to be worshipped but I), so worship Me, and perform As-Salat
(Iqamat-as-Salat) for My Remembrance. 15. "Verily, the Hour is
coming and My Will is to keep it hidden that every person may be
rewarded for that which he strives. 16. "Therefore, let not the one who
believes not therein (i.e. in the Day of Resurrection, Reckoning,
Paradise and Hell, etc.), but follows his own lusts, divert you
therefrom, lest you perish. 17. "And what is that in your right hand, O
Musa (Moses)?"18. He said: "This is my stick, whereon I lean, and
wherewith I beat down branches for my sheep, and wherein I find other
uses."
27

19. (Allah) said: "Cast it down, O Musa (Moses)!"20. He cast it

down, and behold! It was a snake, moving quickly. 21. Allah
said:"Grasp it, and fear not, We shall return it to its former state.
Allah taught Musa (AS) the essence of Tawheed and
Tawakkul to look to Allah alone for help and to know that
the Maqlooq can neither benefit nor harm by themselves. That
all benefit or harm happens only as a result of Allahs order
and His Will. For the Nabi to do the work of Daawa it was
essential to cut off all his connections and expectations from the
Duniya and join him with Himself. Only then would the Nabi
have the power of the connection to face the greatest force on
earth of the time, the Pharaoh of Egypt, standing alone in his
court with only his staff in his hand.
Allah describes that scene:

Ash-Shuara 26:23. Fir'aun (Pharaoh) said: "And what is the Lord of

the 'Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists)?" 24. Musa (Moses)
said: "Lord of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them,
if you seek to be convinced with certainty."25. Fir'aun (Pharaoh) said
to those around: "Do you not hear (what he says)?"26. Musa (Moses)
said: "Your Lord and the Lord of your ancient fathers!" 27. Fir'aun
28

(Pharaoh) said: "Verily, your Messenger who has been sent to you is a
madman!"28. Musa (Moses) said: "Lord of the east and the west, and
all that is between them, if you did but understand!"
Musa (AS) had learnt his lesson well. After all his teacher was
Allah himself. So though he was brought up in the palace of
the Pharaoh and should have been intimidated by his splendor
and power, he wasnt. It is clear from this conversation that
Musa (AS) is not listening to the Pharaoh but to another voice
that is speaking to him in his heart and the majesty and power
of which far out-shadows the temporal, worldly power of the
Pharaoh and his kingdom. In the end the Pharaoh calls him
mad, but Musa (AS) only speaks of the majesty of his Rabb, the
Rabb of everything and says those words which are in the heart
of every Daaee of Islam If you did but understand!
Allah did the same with Rasoolullah. He cut off all his
worldly sources of support and then supported him directly.
Allah taught him to rely only on Himself and not look to
anything in the world for support. He mentioned:

Ad-Duha 93: 6 Did He not find you (O Muhammad) an orphan and
gave you a refuge? 7. And He found you unaware (Qur'an, its laws,
and Prophethood) and guided you? 8. And He found you poor, and
made you rich (self-sufficient with self-contentment)?
Allah also taught Rasoolullah how to maintain this
29

connection; this source of strength without which the work of

Deen is impossible. He said:

Muzzammil 73: 1.

O you wrapped in garments (i.e.

Prophet Muhammad)! 2. Stand (to pray) all night, except a little. 3.

Half of it, or a little less than that, 4. Or a little more; and recite the
Qur'an (aloud) in a slow, (pleasant tone and) style. 5. Verily, We shall
send down to you a weighty Word (The Revelation.). 6. Verily, the
rising by night (for Tahajjud prayer) is very hard and most potent and
good for governing (the soul), and most suitable for (understanding)
the Word (of Allah).
And when the Sahaba tended to veer off-track and rely on
material strength, Allah immediately corrected them.

30

Tawba 9: 25. Truly Allah has given you victory on many battle fields,
and on the Day of Hunain (battle) when you rejoiced at your great
number but it availed you nothing and the earth, vast as it is, was
straitened for you, then you turned back in flight. 26. Then Allah did
send down His Sakinah (calmness, tranquility and reassurance, etc.)
on the Messenger (Muhammad), and on the believers, and sent down
forces (angels) which you saw not, and punished the disbelievers. Such
is the recompense of disbelievers. 27. Then after that Allah will accept
the repentance of whom He will. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most
Merciful.

Allah converted their victory into a rout and then when the
core group of Sahaba rallied around Rasoolullah , responding
to his call, Allah sent down the angels to help them and reconverted defeat into victory. And then Allah revealed the
Ayaat which spelled out clearly what had happened and why so
that the lesson would be learnt well. The Sahaba learnt that
lesson very well. In the battle of Moata Abu Hurayrah (RA)
who became Muslim during Khaybar was in the army. He said,
I attended the battle of Muata. When they came close we saw
what nobody can face, weapons, preparation, silk, brocade, gold
and my eyes became dazzled (bariqa basari). This showed on
his face and Thabit bin Arqam (RA) who was next to him saw it.
This was an experienced and senior Muslim handing down his
experience to his junior. He said to Abu Hurayrah (RA), It
seems you are seeing a huge force. Abu Hurayrah said, Yes,
just look at them. He smiled and said, You were not with us in
Badr. We are not given victory because of our numbers. Allah
said, You did not throw, it was Allah who threw. Victory for
Muslims comes on the basis of their piety from Allah and
31

defies all laws of strategy and tactics. That is the power of being
accepted by Allah because only then will one be guided,
protected and supported with forces not visible to the eyes.

It is clear (and certainly logically as well) that before we can

expect to do the work of Allah, we must first become accepted
by Him. We must get the job first, to be able to do the job. So we
must apply, beg, plead, show our ability, sincerity and
willingness so that Allah accepts us for that most significant
and honorable of jobs the job of the best people on earth the
Anbiya of Allah. Only when we are accepted, can we expect
to get the powers, authority, resources, forces, knowledge and
the understanding to carry out the work satisfactorily.
Allahwill give all those provided we first prove ourselves
worthy of His attention and the work of His Deen.

So when we recruit people for the work of Deen we need to look

for signs of Taqwa because that is the only guarantee of
guidance. So what are the signs of Taqwa? There are four:
1. Observable obedience to the Shariah and Sunnah
2. Akhlaaq
3. Ikhlaas
4. Sabr
5. Absence of the piety complex desire for self-importance

32

1. Observable obedience to the Shariah and Sunnah:

Someone asked Sayyidina Omar ibn Al Khattab (RA) about the
Taqwa of a person and he replied, When Rasoolullah was
alive, he used to receive Wahi about the internal state (Imaan) of
people. Today we dont receive any Wahi. So we will go by
what we can see. That is the principle for us to judge if someone
is Muttaqi or not. We need to see to what extent the person
observes the rules of the Shariah and Sunnah. If a person prays
we know that he is Muslim but if he does not pray and willfully
neglects to pray then we cant testify that he is a Muslim because
Rasoolullah said that the one neglects prayer is not a Muslim.
Not praying and denying its obligation is seen as disbelief and
places the person outside the religion of Islam. All scholars
agree on this point. They base their opinion on several Ahadith
and Ayaat, some of which are:
Jabir (RA) reports that the Prophet, (SAS)

said, "Between a

person and disbelief is discarding prayer." (Related by Ahmad,

Muslim, Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.)
Buraidah (RA) reported that the Prophet, (SAS) said, "The pact
between us and them is prayer. Whoever abandons it is a
disbeliever." (Related by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi,
anNasa'i and Ibn Majah.)

"Al-'ahd-ulladhi baynanaa wa baynahum assalaatu, fa man
tarakahaa faqad kafara"
The covenant between us and them (the kuffar) is the
prayer. So whoever leaves it has committed kufr.
33

'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'Aas (RA) reported that the Prophet,
(SAS) one day mentioned the prayer and said, "Whoever guards
and observes his prayer, they will be a light and a proof and
asavior for him on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever does not
guard and observe them, they will not be a light or a proof or a
savior for him. On the Day of Resurrection, he will be with
Qarun, Fir'aun, Haman and Ubayy ibn Khalf." (Related by
Ahmad, at-Tabarani and Ibn Hibban)
That one who does not pray will be with the leaders of the
unbelievers in the Hereafter makes it evident that such a person
is an unbeliever.
Says Ibn al-Qayyim (RA), "The one who does not pray may be
preoccupied with his wealth, kingdom, position or business. If
one is kept away from his prayers by his wealth, he will be with
Qarun. One whose kingdom keeps him away from the prayers
will be with Haman, and one whose business keeps him away
from the prayers will be with Ubayy ibn Khalf."
Says 'Abdullah ibn Shaqiq al-'Aqeely (RA), "The companions of
Muhammad, (SAS) did not consider the abandonment of any
act, with the exception of prayer, as being disbelief." (Related by
at-Tirmidhi and al-Hakim, who said it met al-Bukahri's and
Muslim's conditions.)
Says Muhammad ibn Nasr al-Mirwazi (RA), "I heard Ishaq say,
'It is authentic (that) the Prophet (SAS) (said or ruled): One who
does not pray is an unbeliever." It is from the Prophet (SAS)
himself that one who intentionally does not pray until the time
for the prayer is over is an unbeliever."
34

Says Ibn Hazm (RA), "It has come from 'Umar, 'Abdurahman
ibn 'Auf, Mu'adh ibn Jabal, Abu Hurairah and other companions
that anyone who skips one obligatory prayer until its time has
finished becomes an apostate. We find no difference of opinion
among them on this point." This was mentioned by al-Mundhiri
in at-Targheeb wa atTarheeb. Then he comments, "A group of
companions and those who came after them believed that an
intentional decision to skip one prayer until its time is
completely finished makes one an unbeliever. The people of this
opinion incude 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud,
'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas, Mu'adh ibn Jabal, Jabir ibn 'Abdullah and
Abu ad-Darda'. Among the non-companions who shared this
view were Ibn Hanbal, Ishaq ibn Rahwaih, 'Abdullah ibn alMubarak, an-Nakha'i, al-Hakim ibn 'Utaibah, Abu Ayyub asSakhtiyani, Abu Dawud at-Tayalisi, Abu Bakr ibn Abu Shaibah,
Zuhair ibn Harb, and others.
There are also Ayaat of Quran which testify to the fact that
leaving Salah is Kufr and will lead the individual to the
Jahannam. Allah said:

Muddathir 74: 42-43

What caused you to enter Hell?

They will say, We were not of those who used to pray ( Salah).

So observance of the rules of Shariah and Sunnah is a primary

consideration. In the Shariah one must look to see if the person
35

fulfills all Faraaidh, observes Halaal and Haraam and then look
for other things like the amount of Quran a person knows,
whether he does Nawaafil Ibaadah and so on.
Among both men and women, observance of the dress code is
among the Faraaidh most often neglected. The Hijab is Fardh
for the woman and one who does not do Hijab is deliberately
disobeying the order of Allah and is committing Haraam.
Then one must look to see his attitude towards the Sunnah. The
beard is the first thing to check in the Sunnah because anyone
who deliberately chooses a style that not only differs from the
style of Rasoolullah

but which he expressly prohibited is

deliberately disobeying him. All the Imams of Fiqh have

declared shaving the beard to be a major sin and the one who
does it to be a Faasiq wal Faajir.
Allah mentioned the importance of following Rasoolullah
and of obeying him in many places.

Al Ahzaab 33:21.

Indeed

in

the

Messenger

of

Allah

(Muhammad) you have a good example to follow for him who hopes in
(the Meeting with) Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah
much.
Allah made obedience to Rasoolullah a condition of Imaan
and swore an oath.

36

Nisa 44:65.

But no, by your Rabb, they can have no Faith, until

they make you (O Muhammad) judge in all disputes between them,

and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept
(them) with full submission.
Allah insists on unconditional obedience of His Messengers
orders

Nur 24:51.

The only saying of the faithful believers, when they are

called to Allah (His Words, the Qur'an) and His Messenger, to judge
between them, is that they say: "We hear and we obey." And such are
the prosperous ones (who will live forever in Paradise).

Al Ahzaab 33: 36

It is not for a believer, man or woman,

when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should
have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allah and His
Messenger, he has indeed strayed in a plain error.
For those who refuse to obey Rasoolullah, Allah threatened
to wipe out their deeds.

37

Muhammad 47:33.

O you who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the

Messenger (Muhammad) and render not vain your deeds.

Finally Allah gave blanket orders that whatever Rasoolullah
orders is to be done and whatever he prohibits is not to be done.

Hashr 59: 7

And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad)

gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it) and
fear Allah. Verily, Allah is Severe in punishment.
It must be abundantly clear to anyone with a modicum of
intelligence

and

Taqwa

that

to

deliberately

disobey

Rasoolullah is Haraam and a major sin and to continue to do

that despite being warned leads to Kufr.
Those who shave their beards must pause for a moment as they
stand before the mirror and ask themselves this question; What
on earth do I think I am doing? It is not for us here to do more
than state the case as clearly and unambiguously as possible. It
is not within the scope of this paper to list out all the forms that
disobedience takes but merely to give some illustrative
examples, which I have done. It is for those who are recruiting
to ask themselves what kind of people they want to recruit for
the work of Allah. People who love Allah and His
Messenger and love to obey them or people who love
themselves and their own desires more and have no hesitation
in disobeying Allah and His Messenger in the process. It is
illogical and insane to imagine that one who disobeys Allah
and His Messenger can actually do the work of Daawa of
38

Islam.
Naturally one who disobeys Allah and Rasoolullah cant
claim to have the acceptance of Allah for the work of His
Deen and so would have failed the most basic and first test until
he/she corrects their wrong Aqeeda and Aamaal.

2. Akhlaaq
The second most important element to look for is Akhlaaq
(Manners). In this I include the other two elements of Akhlaaq;
Muamilaat (Dealings) and Muaashirat (Society). This is the
element that others can see and which influences others towards
or away from Islam and Muslims. Very often we see Muslims
who observe the outward aspects of the Shariah and Sunnah
but whose manners, dealings and social environment leaves
much to be desired. They cheat, lie, speak ill of others, laugh at
people behind their backs, expose the weaknesses of others, and
behave in ways that lack dignity, honor and integrity. Such
people are very harmful for the organization to have because
they are an example of evil that drives people away from Islam.
Such people reinforce stereotypes and give ammunition to those
who want to attack Islam. Once again, we go by what we can
see and dont delve into or speculate on anyone intentions. We
are not aware of the hidden so we can only go by what we can
see. For anyone intending to do the work of Islam it is essential
that they deport themselves as Standard Bearers of Islam and
constantly live with the awareness that Allah is watching
them.
3. Ikhlaas
39

The third element to look for is Ikhlaas (Sincerity). Now this

may seem strange because sincerity resides in the heart and we
just said that we dont know what is in the heart. However there
are signs of sincerity that are clearly visible which one must look
for. Some of these are:
1. Contribution without seeking recognition, fame or material
return
2. Actively avoiding publicity and public office and show of
any kind
3. Actively avoiding authority over others
4. Putting others forward and recognizing their effort while
playing down ones own
5. Volunteering to do more than ones prescribed job
It is not prohibited to take leadership positions when you are
the best one for the job and when others compel you to do so.
What is prohibited is to seek them, canvass for them and to
make effort to gain such positions. Ikhlaas of ones Niyyah is the
most important element of building ones connection with
Allah. Pride (Kibr), looking down on others, seeking fame and
so on are the things that destroy Ikhlaas.
4. Sabr
Sabr is what Allah advocated for the Daaee when He said:

Asr 103: 3

Except those who believe (in Islamic Monotheism)

and do righteous good deeds, and recommend one another to the truth
(i.e. order one another to perform all kinds of good deeds (Al40

MA'RUF) which Allah has ordained, and abstain from all kinds of sins
and evil deeds (Al-Munkar) which Allah has forbidden), and
recommend one another to patience (for the suffering which one may
encounter in Allah's Cause)
Sabr is that which leads to a person building a connection with
Allah. Sabr in Islam is not the listless acceptance of status quo
but to make every effort to achieve ones goal and then to leave
the result in the hands of Allah. Sabr is not to complain in
hardship and to be thankful in plenty (Shukr). Sabr is not to
retaliate in response to bad behavior or to attacks on yourself
when you invite people to Allah. Sabr is to accept without
complaint the hardship that comes with inviting to Islam
knowing that it is the means of great goodness in the Duniya
wal Aakhira.

5. Absence of the Piety Complex desire for selfimportance

Finally we come to one of the biggest dangers that lies in
wait for the one who has turned to Allah and has decided
to dedicate his life to the service of His Deen; The Piety
Complex. This is a deception of Shaytaan which leads the
individual to consider himself to be superior to others who
are merely human and to have a high opinion of his own
piety. Signs of this are an unnecessarily serious demeanor, a
measured tread while walking so that the incumbent
appears to be a ship in full sail proceeding majestically to its
destination. A very reliable sign of this fatal illness is a
marked tendency to pronounce fatawa against all and
sundry at the drop of a prayer cap usually preceded with the
41

phrase, In my opinion; and to take offence if someone

points out that personal opinion is not Daleel in Deen.
Another sign is being overly critical of everyone and
everything and making harsh statements about others
actions or statements from a position of barely concealed
arrogance. Such people forget what Allah said to Musa
(AS) when he sent him to the Pharaoh:

Taha 20: 44. "And speak to him mildly, perhaps he may accept
admonition or fear Allah."
The instruction to Musa (AS) was for his own training and not
because of any doubt or hope about the Pharaoh. Allah knew
what the Pharaoh would do but the intention was to train Musa
(AS) to work with his own people whose guidance was the main
purpose of Musa (AS)s mission. It shows us the importance of
softness and humility in the conduct and deportment of the
Daaee as a pre-requisite of success in his mission.

Allah prescribed the method of Daawa and said:

Nahl 16:125

Invite (mankind, O Muhammad) to the Way of your

Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the
Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is
42

better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His
Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.
Allah specifically warned us against ascribing purity to
ourselves and imagining that we are superior to others. He said:

Najm 53:32

So ascribe not purity to yourselves. He knows

best him who fears Allah and who is a Muttaqi.

In Sura Al Kahaf Allah also mentions the story of Musa (AS)
and his seeking knowledge from another slave of Allah when
he was himself the Nabi of the time and a Sahibul Kitab wal
Shariah. Allah could have ordered the other person to go to
Musa (AS) to teach him but He sent Musa (AS) to the teacher.
Allah wanted to underline the importance of the teacher and
the position of the learner; that he should make the effort to
learn and take the time and trouble to go to the teacher as a
mark of his need.
This points us to another issue related with the Piety Complex
where those suffering from it feel themselves free (Musthathna)
from the need for guidance of mentors and teachers. This is a
very dangerous delusion. Anyone who feels that he needs no
guidance, no Islah (correction) and no mentorship is opening
the door to Kibr (arrogance) which leads directly to Allahs
wrath.
The safety for the individual lies in always remembering that no
matter how learned he may consider himself to be, no matter
43

how much adulation may be heaped on his head by the world,

no matter how much fame and wealth may be laid at his feet;
essentially he is a sinner, prone to mistakes and always in need
of feedback, correction and guidance. Always in need of a
Murabbi (coach/mentor); someone who will tell him what he
needs to hear, as opposed to what he likes to hear. This is the
safety net which will guard him from destruction. Anyone who
disregards critical feedback, disrespects elders/teachers/seniors
and those who have preceded him in faith, understanding and
submission to Allah, is digging his own grave and creating
the means for his own destruction. Allah reminded us that we
need to value our elders and seniors and to make dua for them:

Hashr 59:10

And those who came after them say: "Our Lord!

Forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in Faith, and put
not in our hearts any hatred against those who have believed. Our
Lord! You are indeed full of kindness, Most Merciful.
Those who are constantly focused on the faults of others and
have a tendency to run them down and to try to show
themselves up as superior in comparison must reflect on this
and other Ayaat of the Quran and on numerous incidents from
the Seerah of Rasoolullah and the lives of the Sahaba and
compare their conduct to the standard of conduct that Allah
held up for us to emulate. Self-righteousness leads to arrogance
and arrogance leads to destruction.

44

Conclusion
When we look for and recruit such people, who have these
qualities then InshaAllah we would have recruited someone
who has the acceptance of Allah for His work. For such a
person Allah then makes the work easy and opens doors for
him and provides for him from sources he couldnt imagine.
Allah said:

Talaaq 65:2 .And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him,
He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty). 3. And
He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. And
whosoever puts his trust in Allah, then He will suffice him. Verily,
Allah will accomplish his purpose.

Such people are the ones who know how to take from the
treasures of Allah. They dedicate their lives for Allah, never
disobey Him, love Him and His Messenger above all else,
follow the Sunnah of His Messenger closely and dont care
about anyone elses opinion in the matter of obeying Allah or
following the Sunnah of Rasoolullah. Allah praised this
attitude and called it a favor from Him and said that He would
be sufficient for such people.
It is clear from this Ayat that it is to be accepted by Allah for
the work of His Deen that one must strive for. All the rest will
follow. Allah will then guide such a person and protect him
from harm and ease his difficulty and make him successful in
his work. Allah made it clear that He accepts only such
45

people.

Maaida 5: 54. O you who believe! Whoever from among you turns
back from his religion (Islam), Allah will bring a people whom He will
love and they will love Him; humble towards the believers, stern
towards the disbelievers, fighting in the Way of Allah, and never afraid
of the blame of the blamers. That is the Grace of Allah which He
bestows on whom He wills. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His
creatures' needs, All-Knower.
Finally I would like to remind myself and you that in our search
for suitable people let us not forget that we need to measure
ourselves also against the same standards and ask ourselves,
How can I become accepted by Allah?
When Sayyidina Omar bin Abdul Aziz (RA) was dying, his
brother in law, the son of Malik bin Marwan came to him and
said, You have left nothing for your children. If you allow me, I
will give each of them some money (and he mentioned a large
sum) so that they can take care of themselves.
Omar bin Abdul Aziz (RA) said, I have taught them how to
take from the treasures of Allah. If they need anything they
will ask Him and He will give them. They dont need you or
anyone else.

46

That is the importance of Tarbiyya which enables us to build a

connection with Allah such that when we ask, He will give.
I ask Allah for His favor.

47

48

Problems with using

Corporate Strategy for Islamic
Da'awa
All praise and thanks are due only to Allah alone and peace
and salutations on our Master Muhammad, the last and final
messenger of Allah.

Mumtahina 60:4. 4. Indeed there has been an excellent example for
you in Ibrahim (Abraham) and those with him, when they said to their
people: "Verily, we are free from you and whatever you worship besides
Allah, we have rejected you, and there has started between us and you,
hostility and hatred for ever, until you believe in Allah Alone," except
the saying of Ibrahim (Abraham) to his father: "Verily, I will ask for
forgiveness (from Allah) for you, but I have no power to do anything
for you before Allah . Our Rabb! In You (Alone) we put our trust,
and to You (Alone) we turn in repentance, and to You (Alone) is
(our) final Return

As you are all aware I live in two incarnations simultaneously

as a corporate consultant and leadership development expert
with a global clientele, author of several books on the subject
49

and having trained more than 200,000 managers, administrators,

clergy, teachers, scientists, engineers and students worldwide
and still counting; and as a Daaee of Islam. While appreciating
and being deeply grateful for all the honour and love that is
bestowed upon my by people as a result of the Grace of my
Rabb, I dont accept all the titles that I am normally given when
I speak at Islamic gatherings as I dont consider myself worthy
of any of them.
I begin this paper with this introduction to convince you that
you must take me seriously. What I am going to say must be
seen for what it is a practitioner speaking. Not someone who
has read a few books or someone who is an academic teaching
either corporate or theological theory but as someone who has
read more than a few books, has written several books himself
and who teaches and has practiced his teachings for more than
27 years and who is consulted (for very good money ) by
global corporations, business families and entrepreneurs
worldwide. So when I say something it is not merely theory. It is
theory in practice.
It is the learning that I acquired by practicing that theory in
multiple situations and reflection on it and an understanding
emerging from it - in the light of the Quran and Sunnah, Seerah
and Islamic history all of which I have also had the privilege to
study in my other incarnation. So if I tell you about a stream, it
is there and the water is good to drink. But of course to drink or
not is your choice. Of horses and water if you see what I mean.
There are five principle differences and contradictions between
50

corporate theory and the work of Daawa of Islam which make

it a very unsuitable model to use. I dont mean using tools of
measurement and so on. I mean the whole philosophy of
Organization Development that is being used by most modern
Daawa organizations in the West. These are:
1. Seeing is believing versus Belief in the Unseen
2. Source of power is wealth versus Source of power is
Allah.
3. All those in my work are Competitors versus all those in
my work are Partners
4. Inviting towards self; versus inviting towards Allah
5. Accumulation of wealth versus Baraka
Allah said about His Anbiya:

Anam 6: 90.

They are those whom Allah had guided. So follow their

guidance. Say: "No reward I ask of you for this (the Qur'an). It is only
a reminder for the 'Alamin (worlds)."
Allah said to His Messenger about his work:

Yusuf 12: 108. Say (O Muhammad): "This is my way; I invite unto
Allah with sure knowledge, I and whosoever follows me (also must
invite others to Allah with sure knowledge). And Glorified and Exalted
be Allah (above all that they associate as partners with Him). And I am
not of the Mushrikun (polytheists)."
I want to first state some basic premises that I hold to be true.
51

1. That the best method of Daawa is the method of the Anbiya

because they were chosen, trained and guided directly by
Allah Himself and so our method cant possibly be better
than theirs, no matter which age we live in.
2. That InshaAllah the Niyyah of the people involved in these
efforts and organizations is good and they mean well and
are trying to do their best.
3. My purpose is not to criticize but to try to assist them in
their work.
4. Any Daawa organization that wants my professional advice
(Inc.1) can have it for the asking as those who know me,
know already.
Let us examine each of the principles contradictions I listed
above and see how it contradicts with the basic Quranic
principles of Daawa, the work of the Anbiya of Allah.
Seeing is believing versus Belief in the Unseen
The basis of this Deen of ours is Imaan bil Ghayb (Belief in the
Unseen). The basis of corporate theory and indeed all Western
secular thought is seeing is believing.
This is the foundation of our faith and of our difference. Let us
remember that almost all current, modern Western thought is
secular the denial of God. And so is seriously hampered and
handicapped in understanding reality, i.e. the issues of Imaan
bil Ghayb. For them, the Unseen doesnt exist, except where
they wish to acknowledge its presence as in radio waves, UV
radiation and other things which are unseen but which they
accept the presence of based on their effects on the environment.
However it is a contradiction which shows up their double
52

standards that they deny their own method when it comes to

Allah. They will not accept the presence of Allah based on
His signs. Neither will they accept that there is a life after death
or that there is an accounting for our actions before the One who
knows all that we do. Be that as it may, this is not the subject of
our discussion here but I think it is important to keep this in
mind before swallowing all Western thought or philosophy,
hook, line and sinker because we are so much in awe of it. Since
I am one of those who has not only studied in that system but
have written books about it and teach in some of their highest
institutions, my eyes, by the Grace of Allah are open to the
dangerous delusions on which their principles are based and I
am keenly aware of the fallacy of their methods and of the
misery and suffering that their single-minded pursuit of power
and wealth has unleashed on the world.
I began with the Ayah from Sura Al-Mumtahina which I believe
is an Ayah that lays down the law and draws the lines as far as
the methodology of the Anbiya is concerned. I have highlighted
the beautiful dua of Ibrahim where he stands out clearly for
Allah and against Ghairulla and then makes this beautiful
dua.
So what is Tawakkul?
Tawakkul is the most critical requirement for anyone who
intends to do the work of Daawa because this was the
foundation of the work of the Anbiya. Tawakkul begins where
all logical expectations, survey results, predictions, prognoses
and scenarios end. Tawakkul is the essence of Yaqeen, it is the
proof of Imaan and it is the result of a connection with Allah
and can come only as a result of it. It is the thing that Allah
53

requires us to demonstrate before the doors of His bounty are

opened for us.
Let me tell you a story to illustrate what I mean.
The story is of a mountain climber, who wanted to climb the
highest mountain. He began his adventure after many years of
preparation, but since he wanted the glory just for himself, he
decided to climb the mountain alone. He started to climb but it
began to get very late, and instead of taking a break and
camping, he kept climbing until it got very dark. The night felt
heavy in the heights of the mountain, and the man could not see
anything. All was black. Zero visibility, and the moon and the
stars were covered by the clouds.
As he was climbing, perhaps only a few feet away from the top
of the mountain, he suddenly slipped and fell, falling toward s
the earth at a great speed. The climber could only see black
spots as he went down, and the terrible sensation of being
sucked by gravity. He kept falling and in those moments of
terror, there came to his mind all the good and bad episodes of
his life. He thought about how close death was getting, when all
of a sudden the rope snagged and he was brought up with a
huge jerk.
So there he was, hanging from his rope in mid-air. Only the rope
was holding him, and in that moment of stillness he had no
other choice but to scream: HELP ME GOD!!
All of a sudden, a deep voice coming from the sky answered:
What do you want me to do?
Save me God!! he screamed
Do you really think I can save you?
54

Of course, he screamed. Only You can save me.

Then cut the rope, said the voice.
The next morning the rescue team found the climber, frozen to
death, his hands holding tightly to the rope; hanging just six feet
from the ground.
Tawakkul is to cut the rope.
Allah mentioned Tawakkul and made it a condition and sign
of Imaan. He said:

Maaida 5:23. and put your trust in Allah if you are believers
indeed
He also said:

Ibrahim 14:11 And in Allah (Alone) let the believers put their trust.

Talaaq 65:3.

And He will provide him from (sources) he never

could imagine. And whosoever puts his trust in Allah, then He will
suffice him. Verily, Allah will accomplish his purpose. Indeed Allah
has set a measure for all things.
Tawakkul is to take risk; to bet on Allah and to do it from a
position of absolute Yaqeen (faith) and not simply knowledge.
The most reliable criterion of Yaqeen is the ability to take risk.
To be able to cut the rope. To discard Al-Asbaab-ul-Adna
(lower means - resources, worldly means) in favour of AlAsbaab-ul-Aala (highest means - Sabr was Salah). Because those
are the Asbaab (means) that Allah told us to seek when faced
55

with difficulty.
How much more, when this difficulty is in the cause of His
Deen? He said:

Baqara 2:153. O you who believe! Seek help in patience and As-Salat
(the prayer). Truly! Allah is with As-Sabirin (the patient)
He also said:

Haj 22:35. Whose hearts are filled with fear when Allah is mentioned;
who patiently bear whatever may befall them (of calamities); and who
establish As-Salat, and who spend (in Allahs Cause) out of what We
have provided them.
Remember when I am talking about taking risk and discarding
Al-Asbaab-ul-Adna I am not saying that you have to completely
reject all worldly means forever. I mean that for our worldly
work to succeed we need the connection with Allah. It was
the order of Allah which made Musas stick, a snake and
an Ayah from Allah. Musa then didnt leave the stick
behind. He took it with him but now with a different
perspective. Having understood the lesson; that all good and
harm can only come from Allah and that any means in itself is
powerless to do anything for us, Musa picked up his stick
and used it as ordered by Allah.
However as the Kalima Tayyiba begins with Nafi (denial) of all
those who are considered worthy of worship and then goes on
to the Isbaath (affirmation) that Allah alone is worthy of
56

worship; for Tawakkul to happen one first needs to remove all

faith and reliance from anything material before one can connect
with Allah. It is like the electrician cleaning the wires and
removing all oxidation and other impurities before splicing
them onto the power cable because he understands that
otherwise the impurities will interfere with the flow of current.
So also all reliance on material things has to be cut off before we
can join with Allah. This is the Sunnah of Allah with respect
to all His Anbiya where He took away all worldly resources
before He helped them directly by His power, so that the world
would be able to see the power of Allah clearly in action.
Same rule applies to this day. So have faith.
In the famous words of Barbara Winters: When you come to the
end of the light of all that you know and are about to step off into the
darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things will
happen; there will be something firm to stand on, or you will be taught
how to fly.
May Allah give her Hidaya, what powerful words which
describe Tawakkul like nothing else. Notice please that she uses
the word, knowing and not believing. Knowing is certainty,
Yaqeen. Belief can be wrong. But what one knows with certainty
is true. Islam is to believe with certainty that which we cant see.
The picture in my mind whenever I read these words is of a
man coming to the edge of the cliff and stepping off to walk on
air to the other side, confident in the knowledge that the One
helping Him makes the rules. The One who makes the rules is
not bound by them. Tawakkul is to understand this
experientially in the deepest part of ones being so that when the
57

man comes to the edge of the abyss, he smiles to himself and

walks on, without the slightest hesitation in his stride.
The first thing to ask ourselves therefore is, What is my
connection with Allah? Where is my reliance? On Allah
alone or on the means? Reliance on Asbaab is shirk.
Remember O! People there is no stopping the one who Allah
takes forward and there is no going forward for the one who
wants to go without the help of Allah. I know we will never
say the latter publicly but our actions speak louder than words.
So lets see what we do.
A quick self-test is to see how many times the following
words/phrases are mentioned in your internal organizational
meetings: Allah, Tawakkul, Hidaya, Ikhlaas-un-Niyyah,
Ridhaa of Allah, changes in the lives of students, market
share, profit, income from conferences, number of students
attending courses, brand building, exposure to the environment
and people, mention in news, TV, press, competition and what
to do to them and all similar stuff. Sit with a pen and paper and
count. Youll know. And remember that we dont have to
convince anyone about this. Allah knows if we are being
truthful or not and our results will show up the truth soon
enough.

58

Source of power is wealth versus Source of power is Allah.

In the corporate world the focus of all effort is revenue. This
comes either through the sale of products and services or
through voluntary fund raising efforts. The more money,
consumers or customers you have, the more products and
services you sell, the more successful you are deemed to be.
When that happens you shout about it from the rooftops, your
face appears on the cover of Fortune magazine, you are the
guest in famous talk shows on TV and you are the toast of the
town. You are highly visible, you are a Brand. You are the king
of the world and the world wants to shake your hand. All of
course until the next quarterly results.
In the work of Daawa however none of these are criteria of
success. On the other hand success is determined by your
connection with Allah, the amount of effort you made and the
quality of your humility and repentance. Allah said about
this:

Muzammil 73:1-6

1. O you wrapped in garments (i.e. Prophet

Muhammad)! 2. Stand (to pray) all night, except a little. 3. Half of

it, or a little less than that, 4. Or a little more; and recite the Qur'an
(aloud) in a slow, (pleasant tone and) style. 5. Verily, We shall send
59

down to you a weighty Word. 6. Verily, the rising by night (for

Tahajjud prayer) is very hard but most potent and good for governing
(the soul), and most suitable for (understanding) the Word (of Allah).
Allah taught His Messenger the method of doing Daawa.
He asked him to first build his connection with his Rabb and to
stand in Salah in the night and recite the Quran and said that
the rising in the night for Tahajjud was essential to develop
discipline and to understand His Kalaam. One question that we
in the work of Daawa must ask ourselves is, How many of my
people (including and starting with myself) pray tahajjud
regularly and weep before Allah and beg for the success of
their work? How many are strict followers of the Shariah? How
many closely follow the Sunnah? Personal piety is a precondition of success in the work of Deen. If our people are not
regular in Tahajjud (notice I am not even mentioning the
Faraidh because to me those are a given), reading the Quran,
extreme care about Halaal and Haraam, strict compliance with
the Sunnah and spending in the cause of Allah, then we are
doomed to failure.
Let us remember that our Rabb doesnt need us. We need Him.
We are not doing Him a favour by doing Daawa. He is doing us
a favour not only by giving us the tawfeeq to do Daawa but
also by not holding us accountable for the numbers who come to
Islam because of our effort. We need to get recruited for His
work. We need to show to His satisfaction that we are deserving
of the honour of doing His work. We need to convince Him to
use us.
That is the only requirement. Once that happens, Allah will
60

teach us what to do and will support us. Until that happens, no

amount of worldly resources will help. The focus in Islam is on
the Unseen. The source of power is Allah and not material
wealth. Material is to be used, like the shoe on your foot. Not to
be placed on your head or held in your hand.
About making effort for the sake of Allah unmindful of the
number of people who respond to those efforts Allah gave us
the example of Nooh. He said:

Nooh 71:5. He said: "O my Lord! Verily, I have called my people

night and day (i.e. secretly and openly), 6. "But all my calling added
nothing but to (their) flight (from the truth). 7. "And verily! Every
time I called unto them that You might forgive them, they thrust their
fingers into their ears, covered themselves up with their garments, and
persisted (in their refusal), and magnified themselves in pride. 8.
"Then verily, I called to them openly (aloud); 9.Then verily, I
proclaimed to them in public, and I have appealed to them in private.
But the result of this was colossal failure in our modern terms.
He did this for not a few days, months or years but for 9
centuries as a result of which less than 100 people accepted
Islam. May Allah forgive us, but going by our modern
61

standards; he is not the sort of person we would like to invite to

our international conferences.
Take the case of our own Master Muhammad. In 13 years of
intensive, full time work, day and night, he managed to get less
than 100 followers. Once againokay I wont complete my
sentence. But you do get the message, I hope.

But what was the status of Nooh with Allah? Allah

quoted his example for us to follow and told us how many years
he did his Daawa and under what conditions. Let us remember
that ultimately it is not how many students came to your class
or what kind of feedback you got but whether Allah accepted
your work or not, which will count. And that we will know only
when we stand before Him.

And that is why Allah taught us what to do even when we are

visibly successful.

Nasr 110: 1-3 When comes the Help of Allah (to you, O
Muhammad against your enemies; conquest of Makkah), 2. And you
see that the people enter Allah's religion (Islam) in crowds, 3. So
glorify the Praises of your Lord, and ask for His Forgiveness. Verily,
He is the One Who accepts the repentance and forgives.
Ask forgiveness when you are winning? No shouting from the
rooftops? No prancing stallions, waving battle standards,
62

blaring trumpets, beating drums. No TV, no public accolades,

no prize distribution ceremonies. But sitting in the saddle, head
bent so low that the forehead touches the saddle? Behaviour
that is anathema to modern corporate R&R (Reward &
Recognition). No beating the chest; instead repent, ask
forgiveness, praise Allah and thank Him for His help. Ascribe
the success where it belongs to the Creator, not to the creature.

All those in my work are Competitors versus all those in my

work are Partners
Corporate strategy is founded on the principle of grabbing
market share. Grabbing implies taking something away from
others in an act of violence. Competition is defined as anyone in
our line of business and all such must be neutralised and if
possible, destroyed. So competitive strategy is focused not only
on how to win ourselves but also on how to make the
competitor lose.
In Islam and the work of Daawa everyone in the work is a
partner. Allah said:

Ya Seen 36:14. When We sent to them two Messengers, they belied

them both, so We reinforced them with a third, and they said: "Verily!
We have been sent to you as Messengers."
The Messengers didnt see each other as competitors. They were
partners reinforcing one another. Ibrahim and Lut were
both Anbiya at the same time. Ibrahim didnt say, Its great
that Lut is not successful in his work. It is good that there are no
subscribers to his Daawa. The Sahaba and Tabiyoon were
contemporaries of one another. There is not a single instance
63

where they acted as competitors in the matter of Daawa. Today

however we see very little difference in the observable
behaviour of Islamic Daawa organizations who act like Coke
and Pepsi in their attempts to grab market share or at least to
sabotage the efforts of their competition. This is completely
against and contrary to the Sunnah of the Anbiya who Allah
ordered us to follow.
I believe the reason lies in the title that is given to this modern
Daawa Commercial Daawa. I find it very strange that nobody
objects to this disgraceful title. Daawa and commercial? The
contrast doesnt hit anyone? See what Allah said about the
cardinal principle of the work of His Anbiya:

Anam 6: 90.

They are those whom Allah had guided. So follow their

guidance. Say: "No reward I ask of you for this (the Qur'an). It is
only a reminder for the 'Alamin (worlds)."

Hud 11: 51.

"O my people I ask of you no reward for it

(the Message). My reward is only from Him, Who created me. Will
you not then understand?

64

Shura 42: 23. That is (the Paradise) whereof Allah gives glad tidings
to His slaves who believe and do righteous good deeds. Say (O
Muhammad): "No reward do I ask of you for this except to be
kind to me for my kinship with you." And whoever earns a good
righteous deed, We shall give him an increase of good in respect
thereof. Verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most ready to appreciate
(deeds).

Yunus 10:72.

"But if you turn away [from accepting Allah], then no

reward have I asked of you, my reward is only from Allah, and I

have been commanded to be one of the Muslims."

Saba 34: 47.

Say (O Muhammad): "Whatever wage I might have

asked of you is yours. My wage is from Allah only. And He is

Witness over all things."

Hud 11: 29.

"And O my people! I ask of you no wealth

for it, my reward is from none but Allah. I am not going to drive
away those who have believed. Surely, they are going to meet their
Lord, but I see that you are a people that are ignorant.
The Anbiya came to be obeyed and followed in all aspects of life
and even more especially in their own work. Allah said about
this:
65



Anam 6: 90

They are those whom Allah had guided. So follow

their guidance.
So whose guidance are we following when we call our work
Commercial Daawa? Whose guidance are we following when
we take money to do the work of Daawa? I mean especially
those who take money to teach or speak at Islamic conferences.
We have become like other motivational speakers on the socalled Speakers Circuit (may Allah forgive us, we even call it
that) and charge fees to talk about the Glory of our Rabb. Isnt
this shameful to put it politely? Organizations we work for
charge others fees to allow us to speak at their functions. And all
of us, who claim to have an Islamic education, fail to see how we
are doing this work of Daawa directly against the basic
foundational principle of Daawa which Allah mentioned so
many times in different ways but with the same meaning:

"And O my people! I ask of you no wealth for it, my reward is from
none but Allah.
Money brings with it greed. And believe it or not, we are not
protected from Shaytaan and so we compete like people selling
Coke and Pepsi and use their language. Thus is the work of the
Anbiya reduced to a commercial activity to be judged by the
same standards that the sellers of bottled toilet cleaners use to
judge themselves.

66

What lessons do we learn from the Seerah about the behaviour

of Rasoolullah even with his real enemies? Who do we seek
reward from when we work for high salaries, prevent those who
cant pay our fee into our classes, will not speak unless there are
10,000 people in the audience and act like prima donnas? Is this
the way to do the work of Anbiya? Then please find me one
example of a Nabi who charged a fee to talk about the greatness
of Allah.

The corporate world judges people by the salary they make.

They reduce human talent and wisdom to a priced commodity
based not on its efficacy or value but on how popular that
person is with the general public. We do the same and forget
that with Allah popularity with the public is not a criterion at
all. Salaries dont buy dedication something that our
commercial Daawa organizations know too well. Dedication
comes from being conscious of the value and majesty of this
work and feeling blessed to be in it. A great example of modern
times in the so-called Jamat Tabligh (I say, so-called because that
is not their name for themselves), which has no paid positions at
all, globally. It does no public fund raising at all. The people of
Tabligh never ask for money. They only ask you to go out with
them in their Jamat tours to invite others towards Islam. You
cant officially donate money to the Jamat. It has no website, no
Facebook page, no Twitter, no nothing. Yet it is by far the largest
and most powerful Daawa organization in the world with
members not in thousands but millions in every country on
earth. It is not my purpose to go into the details of how this is
possible to do but only to quote an example that is before us all
to see. Maybe it has something to do with the number of them
67

who stand in Tahajjud every day and cry for the Hidaya of the
world.

So what about Fund Raising? you ask. After all fund raising
has become a major activity in itself with more and more
innovative ways being invented to delve into the reluctant
pocket. People are quick to quote from the Seerah the incident of
Rasoolullah raising money for Tabuk. Before I say something
about that let me hasten to warn those who take examples from
the Seerah to be very careful not to cherry-pick and then mould
incidents from the Seerah to support their own activity. Rather
to convert their activity to conform to the Seerah. The Seerah is
for us to follow, not to use at will to justify ourselves and our
actions. Cherry picking from the Seerah is dangerous because
Allah told us to follow it entirely, not to cherry-pick as we
wish.

Tabuk

is

not

good

example

simply

because

Rasoolullah was not raising funds to pay salaries of any

organization. Nor was he raising funds to do social work, no
matter how noble. He was raising funds for jihad, plain and
simple.

However Tabuk fund raising is a very good example to

illustrate something that I have never heard anyone talk about
the basic principle of fund raising in Islam.About fund raising of
Tabuk the incident that is narrated most often is about the
generosity of Abu Bakr Siddique (RA). What nobody mentions
is the situation of Rasoolullah himself. What was the situation
of Rasoolullahs household when he stood up to ask for funds?
Did he have wealth and sustenance stocked for his family? Or
was he in the same state as Abu Bakr Siddique (RA)? The basic
68

principle of fund raising in Islam is that the fund raiser first

invests his entire wealth in the work of Allahs Deen and only
then asks for others to contribute. After all it makes sense to take
advantage of all the good things that you remind others about
when it comes to investing for the cause of Allah, if you truly
believe what you say. My brothers and sisters, let me remind
you that Allahs Jannah is not cheap. Neither is the company
of Anbiya on the Day of Judgment. It requires investment in this
life. Which means that you will have to make a choice, scale
down your lifestyles, contribute your own funds and work
voluntarily. Allah will put Baraka in your lives and fill them
with peace and tranquillity which all the money in the world
cant buy. But you have to do it yourself.

So how to raise funds? First remind yourself that the essence of

Tawakkul is to know that the One who makes the rules is not
bound by them.Go to the fund raising and look at the people
and say, La ilaha ill-Allah there's nobody who fulfils our needs
but Allah. These people can't even take a breath on their own.
What can they do to help me? La hawla wala quwwata illa billa.
Then make dua O Allah use them if you wish or give me
directly because you don't need to use anyone. And if you give
directly

will

sing

your

praises

from

the

rooftops.

Then first make the biggest contribution yourself before you ask
anyone. Allah wants to see how much you believe in what
you plan to say about the value of giving for His sake. If you
believe in it then prove it by giving first. Then offer them the
opportunity - never ask, never beg, don't lower your prestige
because you are asking for Allahs work. Offer them the
69

opportunity for their own benefit. And leave it to Him to do

what He wills. It is His work, and He promised to help those
who help His cause. So dont lose any sleep.

Muhammad 47:7.

O you who believe! If you help (in the cause

of) Allah, He will help you, and make your foothold firm.
Believe in His promise because His promise is always true. Just
check to see if it is indeed His work that you are doing. This is
important. Not everything we call His work is actually His
work. So dont be wedded to your own bright idea. Seek for
answers in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His
Messenger because there is no better guidance. Do only what
pleases Allah, not what is most popular or has the greatest
demands. Peoples fads and likes and dislikes have no meaning
before Allah. Do what is pleasing to Allah and He will help
you. Shut down all the rest because Allah will not help you in
those activities.
Inviting towards self; versus inviting towards Allah
In the corporate world inviting towards yourself is a given.
Inviting towards yourself is the basis of differentiation. It is the
philosophy of branding. You dont ask people to clean their
teeth; you tell them to buy Colgate. You dont ask people to use
air travel; you tell them to fly Emirates.
Allah on the other hand said to His Messenger:

Yusuf 12: 108. Say (O Muhammad): "This is my way; I invite unto
70

Allah with sure knowledge, I and whosoever follows me (also must

invite others to Allah with sure knowledge). And Glorified and Exalted
be Allah (above all that they associate as partners with Him). And I am
not of the Mushrikun (polytheists)."
We on the other hand invite towards our organizations in
opposition to others doing the same work. When did you ever
hear of ABC sending people to DEFs courses because the DEF
course is at a more convenient time or the teacher is a better
teacher than the ABC teacher? When did you ever hear of ABC
and DEF collaborating about what to teach, how to teach it and
where to teach it? On the other hand we hear story after story of
ABC going into a country that DEF is already in and all the turf
wars resulting from that. So who are we inviting towards? And
is our work the same as what Allah mentioned in the Ayah
above?
The other attendant problem which is a very major matter is that
about Ikhlaas-un-Niyyah. When we invite towards ourselves
and our organization, what is our Niyyah? To please Allah?
How can that be when Allah Himself told His Messenger to
describe himself as someone who invites towards Allah. No
Nabi ever invited towards himself. They all invited towards
Allah. We on the other hand, caught up in our corporate
philosophy are hopelessly embroiled in brand building. In the
process we are dividing the Ummah.
We use key individuals and build them into brands not
concerned even about what will happen to that individual based
brand when that individual departs to meet His Rabb. We dont
even think of how strongly this contradicts what the Anbiya
71

did. We use every opportunity to gain publicity, exposure,

visibility and to put our brand out there in peoples faces for
them to see and notice and speak well of us. There is not a flood,
disaster or calamity, no widow to be supported, no orphan to be
sheltered, no hungry mouth to be fed, but that it must be done
only with the backdrop of our banner and logo. May Allah
help us all, what do we think this does to our Niyyah? What is
the Ikhlaas of our Niyyah?
I dread standing before Allah and seeing my book of deeds
clean like a freshly wiped slate because all that I did was to
build my brand and not for the pleasure of Allah.
We use our international conferences as major fund raising and
brand building exercises all geared to take away someone elses
market share. Who is that someone else? Another organization
working to spread Islam. Who is the market? Muslims. So
taking it away from him means what? Our conferences are
reminiscent of major rock music events. Strobe lights, gyrating
cameras on gantries, sounds almost bordering on music,
markets with people milling around all over (how come nobody
talks about the need to segregate in these bazaars?). 15 minute
speeches by a galaxy of stars whose only claim to fame is the
number of people who will come to watch them perform. And
believe me, it is a performance. To give the poor speakers their
due, what else can you do in 15 minutes? And the final criterion
of success of the conference is, What was the collection? Box
office. No less. If you dont believe me, sit and quietly listen to
what people say in your internal conference meetings.
Accumulation of wealth versus Baraka
72

The basic principle of finance is more is more and less is less.

The basic principle of Baraka in Islam is less is more. So we
lose sleep over the fact that we dont have enough physical,
visible resources when we should remember that we are the
people of the Ghayb about whose Rizq Allah said:

Dhariyaat 51: 22-23 And in the heaven is your provision, and that
which you are promised. 23. Then, by the Lord of the heaven and the
earth, it is the truth (i.e. what has been promised to you), just as it is
the truth that you can speak.
Allah taught this lesson of not relying on resources but
relying on Him alone for the work of Deen to the Sahaba. When
the Sahaba tended to veer off-track and rely on material
strength, Allah immediately corrected them.

Tawba 9: 25. Truly Allah has given you victory on many battle fields,
and on the Day of Hunain (battle) when you rejoiced at your great
number but it availed you nothing and the earth, vast as it is, was
straitened for you, then you turned back in flight. 26. Then Allah did
send down His Sakinah (calmness, tranquility and reassurance, etc.)
73

on the Messenger (Muhammad), and on the believers, and sent down

forces (angels) which you saw not, and punished the disbelievers. Such
is the recompense of disbelievers. 27. Then after that Allah will accept
the repentance of whom He will. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most
Merciful.
Allah converted their victory into a rout and then when the
core group of Sahaba rallied around Rasoolullah , responding
to his call, Allah sent down the angels to help them and reconverted defeat into victory. And then Allah revealed the
Ayaat which spelled out clearly what had happened and why so
that the lesson would be learnt well. The Sahaba learnt that
lesson very well.
In the battle of Moata Abu Hurayrah (RA) who became Muslim
during Khaybar was in the army. He said, I attended the battle
of Moata. When they came close we saw what nobody can face,
weapons, preparation, silk, brocade, gold and my eyes became
dazzled (bariqa basari). This showed on his face and Thabit bin
Arqam (RA) who was next to him saw it. This was an
experienced and senior Muslim handing down his experience to
his junior. He said to Abu Hurayrah (RA), It seems you are
seeing a huge force. Abu Hurayrah said, Yes, just look at
them. Thabit bin Arqam (RA) smiled and said, You were not
with us in Badr. We are not given victory because of our
numbers.
Allah said:

74

Anfal 8:17.

You killed them not, but Allah killed them. And you

(Muhammad) threw not when you did throw but Allah threw, that
He might test the believers by a fair trial from Him. Verily, Allah is
All-Hearer, All-Knower.
That is the power of being accepted by Allah because only
then will one be guided, protected and supported with forces
not visible to the eyes. Victory for Muslims comes from Allah
on the basis of their piety and defies all laws of strategy and
tactics. We are people who were sent to take from the treasures
of Allah and give to the world. This was our true brand. Our
real differentiation. We were the givers to the world and the
world loves those who give.

But then we forgot how to take from the treasures of Allah

and started chasing the world instead of giving to it. So we lost
our prominence, our nobility and our grandeur. We became like
anyone else and the world started to hate us because they saw
us as competitors for worldly goods.

Going forward
As I write this I am aware that one must also provide solutions
if possible. Many organizations are immersed in the corporate
model and have also found their niche in the market. Now
what do they do?

First of all, I suggest that you read what I have written and see
how much of it applies to you. After all you only need to correct
75

what needs to be corrected. So if you are already working

according to the way of the Anbiya then all power to you.
If not, then what must be changed, must be changed no matter
how painful, because the alternative of finding out that you
were wrong on the Day of Judgment will be far more painful.
Imagine that we discover that all our work was worthless
because we looked for worldly gain and fame and approval of
people and popularity and so it is said to us, What you wanted
was given to you. Today there is nothing for you here. May
Allah protect us from such a fate.
As for salaries and the usual argument, Abu Bakr (RA) also
took a salary, let me clarify. Abu Bakr (RA) was forced to accept
a salary and then he took the bare minimum that he needed to
support his family. Then before he died, he gave a piece of land
that he owned to the Baithul Maal in return for his salary for
two years of his Khilaafa. Sayyidina Omar ibn Al Khattab (RA)
wept and said to Ayesha (RA), Your father set a very high
standard for all those who come after him. Let those who take
his name remember the whole story and not quote only a part to
justify the corporate salaries that they take home. Anbiya took
nothing.

So I say, take what you must from the Islamic organization. But
only what is essential to your basic needs. Nothing more. Seek
the Fadhl of Allah elsewhere and InshaAllah he will give it to
you. There are many modern examples of people doing that. It
is not my purpose to list them here but those who are interested
may write to me and I will tell you about them.

76

As for being in a niche the basic principle that I am speaking

about is to examine what that niche is. If it is something that is
in keeping with the Sunnah and the work of Anbiya and you are
doing it in that way, then go ahead. If not, change. Close it
down. Stop doing it. Remember that only the work of Daawa
that is done according to the way of the Anbiya is sure to be
rewarded. By all means use technology to the fullest extent.
When I am warning you against the corporate model, I dont
mean the tools of corporate functioning. I dont mean reporting
channels, technology, tools of working more efficiently, quality
systems and so on. I mean the philosophy of corporate growth,
significance, measurement of success, competing in the market
place, the whole concept of market itself and gaining
prominence. Those must be discarded. It is not about the nuts
and bolts of managing. It is about the principles of leadership.
Believe me, there is a difference. A vast difference. The
difference between Jannah and the other place.

It is clear (and certainly logically as well) that before we can

expect to do the work of Allah, we must first become accepted
by Him. We must get the job first, to be able to do the job. So we
must apply, beg, plead, show our ability, sincerity and
willingness so that Allah accepts us for that most significant
and honourable of jobs the job of the best people on earth the
Anbiya of Allah. Only when we are accepted, can we expect
to get the powers, authority, resources, forces, knowledge and
the understanding to carry out the work satisfactorily.
Allahwill help all those who He accepts for the work of His
Deen as He helped the Anbiya. But that is provided we first
77

prove ourselves worthy of His attention and the work of His

Deen. Please remember that Allah made the rules of Daawa
and His Anbiya followed them. So success will come to only
those who follow the Anbiya.
For the rest; well it is between you and your Rabb. I ask Allah
to forgive me and you

78

79

Keep Islam Free

Allow me to begin with a clarification this is not a Fatwa. If
anyone wants a Fatwa about whether it is permissible to take
money to teach Islam especially to teach the Quran and do
Daawa then let them go to a Mufti. After all, today it is possible
to get Fatawa making anything permissible from interest based
finance to smoking, gambling, worshiping graves, asking favors
from the dead, eating non-zabiha, and temporary marriages of
convenience. So where does teaching Quran for money fall on
this list?
This is an attempt to explain my position on taking money for
Daawa and for teaching Islam especially the Quran in light
of the Quran and Sunnah. What you decide to do is your own
decision and may Allah guide you to that which pleases Him.
As I mentioned in my lecture, Pitfalls of Modern Daawa, and as
I have always said on the topic whenever given the opportunity,
to take money for Daawa was not the way of the Anbiya and so
there can be no Baraka or Ridha of Allah in it, and therefore
no Nusra. The number of people who may attend a lecture or a
conference is not a Daleel about Allahs acceptance or
pleasure just as the number of followers of any Nabi was not a
Daleel for his status with Allah. We will know whether
Allah was pleased with us and our work only when we face
Malakul Mawth and thats the biggest reason to evaluate our
current state of affairs. I have stated my Dalaail for my position
on this topic on several occasions and am repeating them here.
Why did I even decide to write this? Because of what I see
80

happening increasingly all around me the commercialization

of Islamic knowledge and teaching about which sincere people
who

are

confused

ask

questions.

Additionally,

this

commercialization helps foster and encourage destructive

competition. How so, youre wondering? Read on.
Lets start with an instance where one Daawa organization
deliberately announced the same course that another Daawa
organization had already announced for the same dates in the
same city. Naturally, this meant that both organizations would
lose potential students and money when they ran the course as
the audience would be divided. It seems that the real objective
here was a war of attrition, not teaching Islam. Ask why?
Take another case where one Daawa organization uploaded
course material for free download on the same subject that
another Daawa organization had announced a course on. Once
again, the principle seems to be, I will harm you, even if it is at
our cost. Ask why?
In another instance, a Daawa organization called another one
which was offering a course at a lower cost (they were doing it
at cost, making no profit) a Fitna because according to them,
the second organization was spoiling the market. One wellmeaning friend told me, But there is a market for paid courses,
Shaikh. I replied, There is an even bigger market for free
courses, believe me. Such organizations think nothing of
running smear campaigns against those they consider their
competitors

and

critics

no

matter

how

sincerely

that

constructive feedback may be given. Gheeba is not Haraam for

them it seems after all, its done in the context of Daawa.
81

I know of another instance where a Daawa organization

announced a course to teach Quran and then cancelled it after a
few months because it was not making enough money. What is
enough money? On this subject, some Qurra quoted (hold your
breath) a fee of 50,000 Egyptian Pounds to lead Taraweeh. Their
excuse, This is the only time we can make money. I said to
them, People will give you gifts if they like your recitation. But
no, I had to guarantee the fee if I wanted them to come. I
decided to stay with our regular Imaam, who recites to please
Allah, not for the money that he can make. Better for my
Salah, I believe.
I know of graduates of Islamic universities, who in Ittiba of
motivational speakers, charge money to speak about Islam and
glorify Allah. And they refuse to speak unless they are paid
up front. One has a functionary in his organization called a
Protocol Officer with whom you have to negotiate the price of
the Shaikh before he will agree to come. Similar officers exist
with others also though not with such grand names. I dont use
the term Ulama, because this is not the behavior of Ulama. All
these people have learnt the tricks from motivational speakers
and Christian Evangelists and have converted Islam into a
lucrative business.
The sight of Islamic speakers using stages that are better suited
for Michael Jackson has become all too familiar. Their names
visible in the backdrop in large letters, they walk up and down
the large stage holding a microphone like a pop star, making
one wonder if they have internalized the lessons they are
preaching. I wonder if the spiritual miracles of the Quran that
82

melted the hearts of battle-hardened warriors, sworn enemies of

Islam and Rasoolullah who went out with naked swords to kill
him, are lost to us forever
It was the spiritual power of the Quran that resulted in making
these magnificent leaders of men weep like little babies when
they read the Quran. Today we present the same Kalaam like a
pop show and feel neither shame nor even a little odd doing it.
If ever there was a case for the crying need for establishment of
Tarbiyya wa Tazkiyya before an aspiring Daaee is even allowed
to open his mouth in public, here it is in the form of the antics of
those who claim to teach Islam.
No need to get angry with me. I didnt invent any of this. You
know that this is happening as well. So the question is not why I
speak, but why you are silent.
None of this is the Sunnah of the Anbiya. Fatawa, I dont give.
Fatawa are not necessary. Allah made Khashiyatullah the
condition of being an Aalim. Not a university degree or number
of students or fans. So let us examine if we qualify before we
have to face the exam 6 feet under.
Allah showed us the best method for a reason He wants us
to follow the best. I am sure every Muslim worth his salt with
even a modicum of Imaan and the most rudimentary
knowledge will accept that this way, shown by Allah and
flagged as The Best, is in fact the best. So anyone doing
anything else is at best doing something which is not as good as
the best. Now why would anyone with any sense deliberately
choose a substandard way? Unless of course he didnt consider
83

the best to in fact be the best.

Allah gave us the best example for us to follow in all aspects
of our lives, the example of Rasoolullah naturally even more
so in Ibaadah and Daawa. He said:

Ahzab 33:21. Indeed in the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad) you
have a good example to follow for him who hopes in (the Meeting with)
Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much.
And what was the way of Rasoolullah? Did he take money?
Did he tell anyone to take money? Quite to the contrary he
prohibited Duaat from taking money for Daawa.
It was narrated that 'Uthman bin Abul-As said: The last
instruction that the Messenger of Allah gave to me was that I should
not appoint a Mu'adh-dhin who took payment for the Adhan." (Sahih)
Sunan Ibn Majah 714, Book 3, Hadith 9

It was narrated that 'Uthman bin Abi Al-As said: "I said: 'O
Messenger of Allah, make me the Imam of my people.' He said: 'You
are their Imam, so consider the weakest among them and choose a

84

Mu'adhdhin who does not accept any payment for his Adhan.'"
(Sahih) Sunan An-Nasai Vol. 1, Book 7, Hadith 673

.


"

"

Adhaan is the essence of Daawa and Rasoolullah specifically
prohibited taking money for it. Wake up people! Before it is too
late and you have to answer to Allah.
The Sahih hadith from Bukhari that people quote in support of
charging a fee to teach Quran and by inference all Islamic
subjects, refers to the incident when a battalion was passing by
the habitation of a tribe and a woman came out and told them
that their leader had been bitten by a scorpion and asked if
anyone had a cure. One of the Sahaba recited Sura Al-Fatiha on
the man and he was cured. The tribe gave them some sheep as a
gift. They brought the sheep to Rasoolullah who asked the
man how he knew what to recite. He replied that he had heard
about the quality of Al-Fatiha as a cure from the Prophet and
so had done it. Rasoolullah accepted this explanation and told
them to give one share to himself.
In my view, this cant be called payment as the Sahabi didnt
negotiate a price before he recited Al-Fatiha. What he received
was a gift from grateful people. Secondly, that gift was not for
teaching them the Quran. It was for doing Ruqya to alleviate
physical suffering. Yet, using this hadith as the Daleel today
85

people demand huge fees even to make one speech about the
Glory of Allah and about His Kalaam and refuse to speak
unless they are paid up front. Is that right or wrong? You
decide.
Ask those who extend the meanings of Ahadith why they dont
extend the meanings of the Ahadith I mentioned earlier to
prohibit taking money for Daawa when it is so clearly
prohibited. After all, if you can extend the meaning of the hadith
related to accepting a gift for relief from pain after reciting
Ruqya and apply it to making the teaching of Islam into a
commercial business activity, whats the problem with doing the
same exercise with the opposite?
To give the due to the Ulama who permitted taking money to
teach Quran one has to go back into history where due to the
disappearance of official patronage for Daawatul Islam poor
Qurra and Huffadh were left with no means of livelihood except
to give private tuitions. That is why Ulama in various countries,
using this hadith legalized taking money to teach Quran. It was
never their intention for their Fatwa to be used to create and run
the kind of international businesses that we see today
pandering to the likes and dislikes of audiences and denying
entry to those who cant pay but may be very interested in
learning.
Ideally, what should have been done even in those early days
was to get Muslim leaders to set up funds Baytul Maal to
support activities of Daawa. Who said that such activities must
be supported only by the State? Where the State doesnt support
Daawa it becomes the responsibility of the local community to
86

support it and provide the resources for it as necessary. The

finest example of where this happened and the excellent results
thereof is visible in South Africa where businessmen supported
the work of Jamiat ul Ulama and started Makaatib and Madaaris
and Muslim schools, all providing the necessary scholarship
without making it into a pop show or a commercial business
activity. There is no reason why other communities cant follow
this example. I am sure there are ways to improve this system
also, but I am talking about the overall principle of the
community taking responsibility for its own religious education.
Similar systems exist in other African countries as well where
local Muslim communities have taken ownership for religious
education and not allowed it to degenerate into a commercial
business.
Once again, let us go back to what Allah quoted as the best
example which is guaranteed to earn not only His pleasure but
His love and said:

Aal Imraan 3:31. Say (O Muhammad to mankind): "If you (really)
love Allah then follow me (imitate me do my ittiba), Allah will love
you and forgive your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most
Merciful."
Let us ask if this Ittiba also extends to teaching Islam and
Daawa. If it does then it is clear that Rasoolullah didnt make
teaching Islam into a business. He didnt feed his family from its
87

proceeds. He didnt take money to teach Islam and the Quran.

He didnt deny entry into his class to people who couldnt pay
the fee. And he didnt permit others to make teaching Islam into
a business either. So what kind of Ittiba is it when we do things
in contradiction to his teachings and yet we believe that Allah
will love us and give us Jannah and the company of the person
who we just disobeyed and refused to follow and imitate.
Let us remember that Ittiba is not merely restricted to the beard.
It is even more to be done in speech, actions, Akhlaaq and
criteria for decision making especially when it comes to
presenting Islam. The purpose of the life of the Messenger was
to present Islam. How can we justify going against his orders
and against his way, yet calling it Ittiba? This simply beggars
my logic.
As for finding resources to teach Islam and do Daawa, Allah
said:

Anfal 8:64. O Prophet (Muhammad)! Allah is Sufficient for you and
for the believers who (make your Ittiba) imitate you.
The real question is, Do I believe this? Do I truly believe that
Allah will provide from sources that I cant even imagine as
He promised? Remember that this promise is for those who do
the Ittiba of Rasoolullah exclusively. I believe that each of us
will have to answer that question ourselves, for one day we will
be asked that question by the One who made that promise, Did
you believe my promise?.

88

This is what I mean by the spiritual aspect of the Quran the

sinking in of the meaning into the heart which brings about a
change in belief, a strengthening of faith, conversion of Imaan
into Yaqeen based on which a man takes risk he takes a risk on
Allah. He doesnt claim to do the work of Allah and look for
payment from people. How shameful is it to work for one
master and ask payment from others? How shameful is it to say,
But I have a responsibility to my family and so I have to take
payment? Does your family have a Creator who took
responsibility for it to feed it? Did He tell you, Please help me
to feed your family? Did you think that He would allow you to
spend your time all your time, my dear so-called full-time
Daaees doing his work and allow your family to starve? Not
even a human being with a modicum of honor would do this. I
ask you, What is your belief about Allah? He is the one
who declared in clear unequivocal terms:

Anam 6:151 .kill not your children because of poverty - We provide
sustenance for you and for them
He said this and you fear poverty when you claim to do His
work? And that is Imaan?
He also said for those who may need more clarity:

89

Ta-ha 20: 132. And enjoin As-Salat on your family, and be patient in
offering them [i.e. the Salat]. We ask not of you provision; We provide
for you. And the good end (i.e. Paradise) is for the Muttaqun
But then for those who dont want to look at obvious meanings
and create explanations to justify their own actions, there is no
hope.
My Rabb is Ghayoor He is the owner of honor and gives it to
whoever He wants. He doesnt take any favors from anyone. He
needs nothing. He is the owner of everything including you and
your family, my dear champions of Aqeeda who are ready to
pronounce Kufr over small matters. Ask yourself what your
Aqeeda is about your Rabb. Can He or cant He feed you
without your help? Will He allow you to starve when you are
doing His work? You cant answer these questions until you
temper the metal of your faith in the fire of tests. You wont
know whether theres a safety net until you take the leap the
leap of faith. That is the whole meaning of Imaan bil Ghaib for
gods sake! And that is why Tarbiyya wa Tazkiyya is so critical
especially for anyone in the work of Daawa without it the
essence of the Quran will never be understood.
You will never understand the principles of flight and
aerodynamics until you sit in the cockpit of a plane, open the
throttle, release the brake and let it race down the runway until
your Instructor gives the command, and then you pull back the
joystick and the plane leaps into the air. It is when this happens
and your belly falls down around your ankles and your heart
skips several beats that the principles of flight are finally
understood. Until then you can memorize all the books of flight
but you will never fly a plane. That is why they give you a
90

license only when you have the required air-miles on your card,
not when you memorize books on flight principles. Islam, like
flying or cardiac surgery, is a practice, not a theory. And that is
why it also needs practical training, through working under a
teacher who can correct you (Islaah) and clean your heart and
enable the theory to come to life in your heart. The proof that
you are ready is not your Sanad from your Madrassa but your
behavior, the choices you make; the state of your heart and the
fears in it, which only you and your Rabb know. That is why
Allah made Khashiyatullah the only criterion of being an
Aalim.
Let me give another example for those who may still not have
understood. You dont work for IBM and ask the clients of IBM
to pay your salary. If you did, IBM would fire you instantly not
because you stole anything but because they would rightfully
consider your action to be a slur on their honor. Apply the same
simile to the work of Allah if you really believe that you are
doing it. Why is this so difficult to understand? Or is it that what
we are seeing in these Islamic businesses is not a lack of
understanding people doing something by mistake but
people who have deliberately chosen to make careers out of
selling Islam because it is tax free, easy and has no real
competition. Raw material is free and clients are easily satisfied
and swayed by sob stories during fund raisers and shell out
cash. Fall in Sujood and make Tawba for seeking reward from
others. It is not a matter of your honor we have none it is a
matter of violating the Majesty and Honor of Allah. Fear
Allah people. Fear Allah. That is why Allah described this
characteristic of not taking anything from the people as the
common quality of all His Anbiya.
91

Allah told us about the way of the Anbiya (who all taught
Islam and did Daawa):

Anam 6: 90.

They are those whom Allah had guided. So follow their

guidance. Say: "No reward I ask of you for this (the Qur'an). It is only
a reminder for the 'Alamin (worlds)."
There are many more Ayaat where Allah mentioned the
characteristic of His Anbiya that they dont sell Islam. Yet we
take money to teach Quran and justify it. It would be far more
honest if one simply said, I charge so much to teach. Take it or
leave it. No need to try to find non-existent justifications for
going against the Sunnah of Rasoolullah. Nobody can claim
that it is the Sunnah of Rasoolullah or any of the Anbiya or of
the Sahaba or those who followed them in Ihsaan among the
later scholars, including the four Imaams, to take money to
teach; deny entry to those who cant pay the fee; compete with
other contemporary teachers and try to steal their students or
disrupt their classes or attempt to discredit them. None of them
considered Muslims who are eager to learn a market, the share
of which they had to garner and compete for with other
scholars, methods be damned. Yet we do all of the above. For
the one who seeks clarity there is no confusion and for the one
who seeks confusion there is no clarity.

The question still remains, how must one do social work (to use
a broad expression) and Daawa of Islam, if one is not to take
money meaning, How should those involved in Daawa and
92

teaching Islam survive?

Here are my thoughts about that:

1. Focus on Tarbiyya wa Tazkiyya to develop Taalluq

MaAllah before anything else. Degrees from Islamic
universities are sadly not a guarantee of either. So Tarbiyya
wa Tazkiyya must be established for everyone. Everyone
who is serious about Daawa must have a Murabbi a
mentor who can diagnose his spiritual illness and suggest
the cure. This was the way of our Salaf whose names we like
to take and with whom we like to associate ourselves. Every
single one among them had a Murabbi, a Musleh (someone
who does Islaah correction). Maulana Syed Abul Hasan Ali
Nadwi used to say, The one who considers himself free
from the need for Islaah is in the lap of Shaytaan.

Aal Imraan 3:164. Indeed Allah conferred a great favor on the
believers when He sent among them a Messenger (Muhammad)
from among themselves, reciting unto them His Ayaat (the
Qur'an), and purifying them (Tazkiyya), and instructing them
(in) the Book (Taaleem) and Al-Hikmah [the Sunnah of the
Prophet], while before that they had been in manifest error.

93

The only place where Taaleem comes before Tazkiyya is in

the dictionary. Allah prescribed Tazkiyya as a prerequisite
for Taaleem and made His Nabi responsible for both in
this sequence. Allah called His Nabi Muhammad His
Neyma on the people because he was their Murabbi and
Musleh. Not because he was starting a new business with
the Sahaba as his market. There is no specific curriculum for
Islaah and it can and does take time depending on the
spiritual illness the individual is suffering from. But without
it, the work of Daawa cant be done. It is as simple as that.
So let us ask ourselves, Who is my Murabbi and Musleh?
2. People in Daawa must learn to see the effect of their dua
and must learn how to get their duas accepted by Allah.
Once again that takes time, dedication and effort. For this,
Tahajjud is essential. Anyone who doesnt pray Tahajjud
with as much dedication as Fardh is unfit for the work of
Daawa. Once again this was the Sunnah of the Anbiya.
Sayyidatina Ayesha (RA) narrated that Allah delayed the
revelation of the last Ayah of Sura Muzzammil for a year
and the Sahaba prayed Tahajjud like a Fardh Salah for one
year. Only then was the last Ayah revealed when Allah
was satisfied that the message had been understood. I can
bet you that not one of that original band ever left Tahajjud
deliberately or considered it to be unimportant even when it
was not Fardh. They had tasted its sweetness and power and
were hooked.
3. Personal piety, following the Sunnah and having a big heart
to bring the Ummah together. These qualities are absolutely
essential. Zuhd, personal piety, and Nawaafil are what get
94

you close to Allah. How much Dhikr do you do? How

many Nawaafil do you pray? How much do you fast? How
much do you spend in charity? How much Quran do you
read? When was the last time that you wept in your Salah?
When was the last time that the Ayah of the Quran induced
shivering with fear in your body? When was the last time
that your heart softened to the recitation of the Quran?
When was the last time when during recitation, you stopped
and asked yourself, What is the effect of this Ayah on my
heart as I am reciting it? What should it be? Is it there? Or is
my heart a rock and harder than a rock? Did we ever ask
ourselves these questions? How can there be any Baraka
with people who neglect these things?
4. Tawba frequent and sincere especially from Kibr, which
seems to be the major cancer afflicting those in Daawa.
Shaytaan knows what to use against whom. And Kibr is his
favorite weapon against Daawa workers. Allah promised
to destroy those who have even an atoms weight of Kibr.
Frequent and sincere Tawba is essential remembering that
it is Allah and not anyone else who will decide how
sincere we were when making Tawba.
5. Consciously avoiding publicity which is both good for our
Ikhlaas as well as a good strategy in todays world to avoid
the ill effects of the reverse compensating loop (see Systems
Theory Peter Senge). What publicity comes despite your
avoiding is protected by Allah, in-sha Allah. This will
seem crazy to some as our whole marketing strategy for
Daawa

organizations

is

based

on

self-proclamation,

publicity and making claims of product superiority as if we

95

were selling Coke and Pepsi. We forget that there is not a

single instance of any of the scholars of the Salaf who either
proclaimed his own or his teachings superiority over
anyone else. Not a single one of them advertised his wares;
though believe me people knew about advertising back then
as well. Not a single one invited students to come to him.
They taught whoever came. They didnt ask them to come.
6. Absolute rigidity and no compromise with respect to the
Shariah and no bending of rules to suit this or that smart
corporate method or audience fad. Daawa must distinguish
itself by its distinctness based on the Sunnah. Not seek to
look and feel the same as a campaign to sell iPhones because
people like it or are used to it. What people like was not the
focus of the Anbiya. If that were the case, Ibrahim
wouldnt have done what he did and Allah wouldnt have
been ordering the fire to become cool and a source of safety
for him. Compromise is the English name of Shaytaan.
7. People working in the field of Daawa must learn to see real
reward in what they hope from Allah. I am not talking
about the lip service - We are doing this for the sake of
Allah (but ssshhh! We wont do it unless you pay us in
dollars). I am talking about real belief that what Allah will
give them is better than what they can get in the Dunya
and so like Hasan Al Basri, Abu Hanifa, Ahmad ibn Hanbal
(May Allahs Mercy be on them all), and many others of
the Salafus Saliheen who we are so fond of quoting they
should learn to be happy with minimal comfort and invest
their time and talent for the work of Islam joyfully.
96

8. People running Madaaris (with purely Islamic curriculum)

must create an endowment fund or some other earning asset
the returns of which can be used to pay salaries of teachers
and revenue expenses of the Madrassa. Fee can be accepted
from students purely on a voluntary basis, taking whatever
a student can afford to pay and teaching all others free of
cost.

Local

communities

must

support

such

efforts

wholeheartedly and insist on transparency of accounts.

Where the curriculum consists of non-Islamic subjects or
skills, then a fee can be charged. Almost all the Madaaris in
India are run on this basis where teachers earn a subsistence
wage, sleep on the floor, eat what the children eat and go
from place to place to collect money to feed and teach the
children. The children pay nothing at all. This is a huge
service that the Indian Ulama are rendering to the nation for
which they are neither thanked, nor recognized, nor
appreciated and very sadly even maligned and denigrated
by ignorant and arrogant Muslims with more money than
brains. We need to change our own attitude towards Ulama
and Madaaris and get involved in their upkeep and support
them with funds, talents and skills and not simply criticize
them or throw money at them from a distance.
9. Daawa organizations must learn to collaborate with each
other rather than compete. That will happen only when we
stop treating Daawa and Islamic teaching as a business and
do it only for the pleasure of Allah and benefit of people.
Remove the reason for competition money and
competition will automatically disappear. Daawa workers
must cooperate and share knowledge and resources.
Remember that the knowledge is not yours. It belongs to
97

Allah and He gave it to us free. His Nabi taught it free.

So how can we corner it and treat it as if we invented it? The
Anbiya collaborated with each other whenever they were
contemporaries. We have several examples that Allah
mentioned in the Quran. The Sahaba collaborated with each
other to the extent of giving up their rights to their brothers.
How did we fall into this evil trap of fighting and cutting
down each other? Cutting down another Muslim is treason.
And the punishment of treason is the anger of Allah. Let
us beware and make Tawba.
10. Seeking simplicity in life is essential. If they peg themselves
to corporate salaries and compete with them, they can never
be satisfied with what they make in Daawa and the focus
will shift from the Ridha of Allah to their pay packets.
Thats the reason why people who advocate the case for the
well paid Duat have retention problems because their well
paid Duat are seeking to be better paid and leave when
they see better prospects elsewhere. Since payment from
Allah is not in anyones list, remaining to do work in a
place where it is needed is not a criterion for decision
making. For the Daae of Islam to compare himself to a
corporate salary scale would be like Musa comparing
himself to Qaroon. Very inappropriate. So be satisfied with a
little. That is another reason for Duat to have a career in a
worldly field from which they earn. Then they will make
enough money and still have time and interest to do Daawa
for the pleasure of Allah alone. Simplicity and humility
was the hallmark of all great scholars be it Shuyookh
Nasiruddin Albani, Bin Baaz, Uthaymeen, Abul Hasan
Nadwi, Ashraf Ali Thanvi, Syed Sulaiman Nadwi, Hussain
98

Ahmed Madani, Qasim Nanotvi, Shibli Nomani, Ilyas

Kandhlawi or those even earlier than them Shah Waliullah
Dehlawi and his illustrious sons, Syed Ahmed Shaheed and
his group of scholars. We can even go further back in history
to the advisor to the Moghul Emperor Akbar Syed Ahmed
Sirhindi (Mujadid Alf-thani), who single handedly opposed
Akbars Deen-e-Ilahi and his claim to prophethood and
established the principle of Khatam-un-Nubuwwat in India.
Opposing an absolute ruler of the magnitude of Akbar was
no joke except for the one who said Allahu Akbar and lived
it. May Allah shower His Mercy on all these scholars. The
point I want to make is that despite their incredible
contribution to Islam and the world, not a single one of them
sought publicity or popularity, nor bent to it or pandered to
an audiences likes and dislikes; not a single one of them
charged a fee to teach Islam or made a business out of Islam
and not a single one of them treated another contemporary
Aalim or his work as competition to him and his own work.
We on the other hand have no hesitation in quoting them
and in the same breath doing the opposite of what they did.
There is a word in Arabic for this state of being. I am sure we
are all aware of it.
11. To quote some examples of our illustrious Ulama; Ml.
Qasim Nanotvi (Founder of Darul Uloom Deoband) used to
take a salary of Rs. 1.50 per month. He would send Rs. 0.50
to his mother in Aligarh. A few years later his mother passed
away, so he sent a letter to the Treasurer of Deoband asking
him to reduce his salary by Rs. 0.50 as he said he had no
need for that amount any more. All his life he lived on a
salary of Rs. 1.00 without any raise at all. Even if we say that
99

Re. 1 then was equal to Rs. 1000 today, you can see how
meager that salary was. His raises were with Allah and we
ask for him the highest reward with his Rabb. Please note
that Maulana Qasim Nanotwi didnt turn Islam into a
business. He took a subsistence salary from Deoband which
taught students free of cost. Taking a modest salary from an
institution is not the same as charging a lucrative entry fee to
a course on Quran or Islam. Taking a salary from an
institution would be similar to taking payment from the
Government or Baytul Maal to perform this public service of
teaching Islam. Making it into a business and a source of
income for oneself is what must not be done at all.
Qari Siddique Bandhwi used to clean the toilets of his
Madrassa before Tahajjud so that the children would find
them clean when they woke up for Fajr.
Maulana Syed Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi lived in self-imposed
simplicity bordering on poverty despite being highly
respected globally and an advisor to the Prime Ministers of
India and to the Kings of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Sharjah and
on the Boards of Jamia Islamiya Madina Munawwarah,
Rabita and many others. When he was awarded the King
Faisal Award in 1980, HM Malik Faisal bin Abdul Aziz sent
his personal aircraft to pick him up from Lucknow for which
the Government of India had to extend the runway. When
he was given the award, which included a cash prize of
$200,000, he immediately donated the entire amount to
charity.
These stories are by no means unique. I can narrate story
after story like this with respect to every one of those who
we are honored to call our teachers and elders. They
100

believed that the less you have the less you have to give
account for. We will be questioned about what we leave
behind and rewarded for what we send ahead. Of course we
all talk about this. But it is necessary to practice it and
demonstrate this faith in our own lives.
12. Daawa organizations must separate their work in two parts
Daawa & Teaching Islam and Social Work. Daawa &
Teaching Islam must remain pure purely voluntary, free
from any taint of money (and believe me, it is a taint). Duat
dont have to give all their time but if they have the
dedication and connection with Allah, they will give
enough. The finest example of that in todays world that
proves that it is a workable model is the Tablighi Jamat. It
is by far the largest organization in the work of Islaah wa
Tabligh in the world bigger by far than all other
organizations put together. And it runs purely on a
voluntary basis.
13. The Social Work wing can pay workers who are specialized
for that work for example, nurses, drivers of vehicles,
cooks, construction people, and so on, if they are not
available on a voluntary basis. Even here it is possible to find
people who will be willing to work purely for the pleasure
of Allah and one must look for them. Their dedication and
quality of work is always superior. Those who believe that
well paid Daawa workers are necessary dont understand
either Daawa or organizations.

101

14. Daawa organizations can set up endowment funds or invest

in earning assets the returns from which can be used to pay
those who need money. But the key thing there must be the
fulfillment of needs not desires. Local communities and
business

people

must

support

this

and

demand

transparency and accountability. Allah promised Jannah

for the one who teaches His Kalaam. Rasoolullah called the
one who teaches and the one who learns, The best of you.
So let us not reduce the dignity of that work by making it
into a business like selling oil and soap.
15. The top management of the Daawa organization must not
take any salary at all. That is why I began with the need for
Tarbiyya so that people wont try to start arguments about
what is minimum or try to give the Daleel of Abu Bakr
taking one sheep every alternate day as a salary. They
conveniently omit to mention that he had a large family and
a larger heart so that sheep was totally eaten. Also that
before he died he returned the entire amount of his salary to
the Baytul Maal to the extent that his successor, Sayyidina
Omar Ibn Al Khattab wept and said to Ayesha (RA), Your
father has made it very difficult for those who follow him.
And remember, the sheep was food not money. And there
is a big difference between the two.
16. It is essential for all top management (and indeed everyone
in the field of Daawa) to have alternate sources of income.
There is no earthy reason why anyone should do the work of
Daawa full time. The Anbiya didnt do it. Neither did the
Sahaba. They all had independent sources of income and did
102

Daawa as a calling, not as a career. And in that there is a

very big difference. When you make Daawa a career, you
bring it down to the level of selling Coke and Pepsi. When it
is a calling, then you free the mind from all tensions of an
organizational life and let the person work purely for the
pleasure of Allah. Such people always work more and
produce more quality than any fulltime career person. In
any case, real Daawa is to live our whole life as a
demonstration of the Islamic way become Standard
Bearers of Islam not merely make Daawa into a talking or
pamphlet distributing activity. Thats the real meaning of
full time Daawa.
Of course there will be those who are not suited for working
in this way. So what? There are always those who are more
suited to something else and they should do that work. Let
us remember that teaching is not Fardh. Learning is. So let
us not teach unless we learn how to teach. So if you have
someone who doesnt believe in doing Daawa according to
the Sunnah, go look for another person. Actually, you dont
have to look at all. Just create the right environment a
group that is connected to Allah and works only for His
pleasure and the right people will come to you. Allah will
send them.
In todays world it is ever easier to have a part-time career to
support yourself and this helps in two ways. Keeps you
honest and self-respecting and keeps you connected with the
outside world. But this will work only if you have the
Tarbiyya to be content with what Allah gives you and
103

focus on maximizing return in the Aakhira. Then like

Sayyidina Ali bin Abi Talib you will work for only half the
day (and refuse more work) so that you can be with
Rasoolullah and do the work of Deen.
17. There must be complete transparency with all funds that are
collected. What you did with them must be visible especially
to those who donated for that project. Overheads must be
kept to a bare minimum and every penny collected must go
to the people in whose name it was collected. This is a sacred
trust for which those who collect funds will answer to
Allah. So beware of using even one penny more than
necessary for anything else. And remember that giving
creative interpretations to show that your gym bill, iPad,
iPod, Smart phone, SUV and Gucci handbag are all part of
the project expense will not work with Allah.
This is not in the nature of a total exhaustive list but some
pointers which I hope will be useful. Please also see my lecture
Pitfalls of Modern Daawa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1OsHFkbht0
The corporate business model which is used by most modern
Daawa organizations which are run by people who have little
business education and no corporate experience is a bad model,
highly unsuitable for Islamic work and far, far away from the
Divinely Inspired model of the Anbiya which Allah ordered
us to follow. I believe most sincerely that it is only when we
follow the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger
and not Christian Evangelicals or Coke and Pepsi marketing

104

experts that Allahs help will come.

I leave you with a story I heard about a group of architects that
went to Yemen to research the old adobe architecture and
wondered what the secret of the mortar was that held these
structures together for so long. A local mason said to them..."No,
no it is not the mortar. It was the wealth. This was made using
pure wealth so there is Baraka and it still stands"
I wonder if those who have made Islam into a business believe
in Baraka any more.
I believe that in order to give to the people, one must learn to
take from Allah first. Until that is done, you cant give to
people.

I repeat Islam is not a business. Keep Islam Free.

105

Enjoining Right and

Forbidding Wrong
There seems to be a common mistaken impression that it is not
necessary to raise your voice against the evil that we see around
us. Especially where it relates to Muslims doing wrong and
claiming that their actions are between themselves and Allah
and so are not anyone elses concern. This argument is all the
more vicious when it is made by prominent public figures who
have icon status in the public space. There are many wellmeaning but ignorant Muslims to whom this argument seems
logical and they get offended when someone raises his or her
voice against the actions or words of their favorite icon. It is in
this context that I want to make four statements and then quote
below from the Quran and hadith in support of my stand.
1. It is not only essential to enjoin good and forbid evil but it is
the very essence of Islam and being a Muslim. One does not
have to be perfect in his own deeds to raise his voice against
evil. For example one must enjoin the need for performing
regular salah even if one does not do so himself.
2. It is essential to raise your voice in public for things that are
done in public and in private for things that are done in
private. Otherwise especially in the case of the former (i.e.
matters in the public domain) any correction done in private
does not benefit those who have been led astray by the
initial public statement of evil.
106

3. If one does not attempt to stop something that is prohibited

by Islam, then one will be questioned about it on the Day of
Judgment.
4. If people dont try to stop evil or to raise a voice against it,
then they will all be punished for it when the punishment
comes, even though they may not have participated in it
themselves.
Allah has described the believers as denouncing evil and as
enjoining what is good. He said:

Tawba 9:71. The believers, men and women, are Auliya' (helpers,
supporters, friends, protectors) of one another, they enjoin (on the
people) Al-Ma'ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders
one to do), and forbid (people) from Al-Munkar (i.e. polytheism and
disbelief of all kinds, and all that Islam has forbidden); they perform
As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat) and give the Zakat, and obey Allah and His
Messenger. Allah will have His Mercy on them. Surely Allah is AllMighty, All-Wise.

Aal Imraan 3:104. Let there arise out of you a group of people
inviting to all that is good (Islam), enjoining Al-Ma'ruf (i.e. Islamic
Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do) and forbidding Al107

Munkar (polytheism and disbelief and all that Islam has forbidden).
And it is they who are the successful.

Aal Imraan 3:110. You [Muslims] are the best of peoples ever raised
up for mankind; you enjoin Al-Ma'ruf (all that Islam ordains) and
forbid Al-Munkar (all that Islam forbids), and you believe in Allah.
There are many Ayaat which speak of enjoining what is good
and forbidding what is evil; that is because of the importance of
this issue and the great need that exists for it.
Abu Sa"id al-Khudri (RA), reported that the Messenger said:
"Whoever amongst you sees anything objectionable, let him change it
with his hand, if he is not able, then with his tongue, and if he is not
even able to do so, then with his heart, and the latter is a sign of the
weakness of his Imaan." Saheeh Muslim
This Hadith was also transmitted in another form on the
authority of Abdullah bin Masud (RA) who narrated that the
Messenger said:
"Never before me had a Prophet been sent by Allah to his nation
who had not among his people disciples and companions who followed
his ways and obeyed his command. Then there came after them their
successors who said whatever they did not practice, and practiced
whatever they were not commanded to do. He who strove against them
with his hand was a believer; he who strove against them with his
tongue was a believer; and he who strove against them with his heart
108

was a believer; and beyond that there is no faith, not even as minute as
a mustard seed." Saheeh Muslim
Further evidence that the one who does not enjoin what is good
is not following true guidance is the fact that Allah swears
that such a person is lost, as He says

Asr 103:1 By Al-'Asr (the time). 2. Verily! Man is in loss, 3. Except
those who believe (in Islam) and do righteous good deeds, and
recommend one another to the truth (Al-Ma'ruf) which Allah has
ordained, and abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds (AlMunkar) which Allah has forbidden), and recommend one another to
patience (when faced with difficulties)
The truth of the matter is that it is obligatory to enjoin what is good
and forbid what is evil, and once he has done his duty, the one who
enjoins good cannot be harmed by the misguidance of those who have
gone astray. This is indicated by several Ayaat such as:

Anfaal 8:25

And fear the Fitnah (affliction and trial, etc.) which

affects not in particular (only) those of you who do wrong (but it may
afflict all the good and the bad people), and know that Allah is Severe
109

in punishment.
Some ahadith which indicate that if people do not enjoin what is
good and forbid what is evil, then Allah will include them in
His punishment.
It was narrated that Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq (RA) said: O people, you
recite this Ayah:

Maaida 5:105 O you who believe! Take care of your own selves, [do
righteous deeds and love Allah much]. If you follow the right guidance
and enjoin what is right (all that Islam orders one to do) and forbid
what is wrong (all that Islam has forbidden) no hurt can come to you
from those who are in error. The return of you all is to Allah, then He
will inform you about (all) that which you used to do.
But I heard the Messenger of Allah say, If the people see an evildoer
and do not take him by the hand [to put a stop to his evil], soon
Allah will punish all of them. Narrated by Abu Dawood, 4338; alTirmidhi, 2168; and al-Nasaai. Sunan Abu Dawood Book 37, Number
4330:
There is no contradiction between the Ayah and the Hadith
because the Ayah specifically mentions Amr bil Maarof wa
Nahi anil Munkar and that is what is meant by taking a wrong
doer by his hand. When people dont do that and believe that

110

personal piety will suffice, then they will also be punished when
the wrongdoers are punished, as mentioned in the Hadith.
Narrated Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (RA): Rasoolullah said: The best
fighting (jihad) in the path of Allah is (to speak) a word of
justice to an oppressive ruler. Sunan Abu Dawood Book 37,
Number 4324:
Khalid's version has: We heard Rasoolullah say: When the
people see a wrongdoer and do not prevent him, Allah will
soon punish them all. Amr ibn Hushaym's version has: I heard
Rasoolullah say: If acts of disobedience are done among any
people and the people do not change them though they are able
to do so, Allah will soon punish them all.

Sunan Abu

Dawood Book 37, Number 4322:

Narrated Abdullah ibn Mas'ud: Rasoolullah said: The first

defect that permeated Banu Israil was that a man (of them) met
another man and said: O so-and-so, fear Allah and abandon
what you are doing, for it is not lawful for you. He then met him
the next day and that did not prevent him from eating with him,
drinking with him and sitting with him. When they did so.
Allah mingled their hearts with each other. He then recited
the Ayah:

111

Maaida 5: 78

Those among the Children of Israel who disbelieved

were cursed by the tongue of Dawud (David) and 'Iesa (Jesus), son of
Maryam (Mary). That was because they disobeyed (Allah and the
Messengers) and were ever transgressing beyond bounds. 79. They
used not to forbid one another from the Munkar (evil-doing, sins)
which they committed. Vile indeed was what they used to do.

He then said: By no means, I swear by Allah you must enjoin

what is good and prohibit what is evil, prevent the wrongdoer,
bend him into conformity with what is right, and restrict him to
what is right.
Abu Said Al Khudri (RA) reported, I heard Rasoolullah
saying, Allah will surely question a slave on the Day of
Resurrection until He says, What prevented you from
forbidding wrong when you saw it? (Ibn Majah and Ibn
Hibban)
Narrated Anas (RA) that Rasoolullah said, "Help your brother,
whether he is an oppressor or he is an oppressed one." People
asked, "Ya Rasoolullah ! It is all right to help him if he is
oppressed, but how should we help him if he is an oppressor?"
Rasoolullah said, "By preventing him from oppressing others."
(Bukhari)
We understand this principle in other parts of our lives that the
actions of one affect the collective, so we will never say, Let soand-so pollute the environment. Why should I say anything?
Nor do we say, What does it matter if someone is selling drugs
in the community? After all I am not using them. We raise the
112

red flag, we make a noise and we call the cops. Why then dont
we apply the same standard when it comes to sin and the
disobedience of Allah? The actions of people are the cause of
all forms of hardship which everyone suffers. Allah said:

Rum 30:41. Evil (sins and disobedience of Allah, etc.) has appeared on
land and sea because of what the hands of men have earned (by
oppression and evil deeds, etc.), that Allah may make them taste a part
of that which they have done, in order that they may return (by
repenting to Allah, and begging His Pardon). 42. Say (O
Muhammad): "Travel in the land and see what was the end of those
before (you)! Most of them were Mushrikun
And He said:

Shuara 42:30. And whatever of misfortune befalls you, it is because of
what your hands have earned. And He pardons much.
Just as water and air pollution and drugs and crime affect
everyone and must be stopped, so should all forms of sin and
disobedience because they draw upon us the punishment of
Allah.
I ask Allah to give us the tawfeeq to continue to do what is
right and to enjoin good fearlessly in the face of any and all

113

opposition and to continue to forbid evil in the face of all

opposition until the time comes when we are taken up to meet
the One for Whom we did this. And I pray that on that day, we
will see the true benefit of what we did and that on that day we
will be given the shade of the Throne for there will be no shade
except His.

114

115

Teaching Islam in the modern

world
The purpose of this paper is to be a thought-share about the
rather complex issue of teaching Islam in the modern world.
Comments are welcome because only when we can talk openly
about issues that we can enhance our understanding of them
and create solutions.
Pros & Cons
One of the major benefits of technology is that Islamic
knowledge has become freely and easily available to anyone
who has access to a computer. Gone are the days to listen to an
explanation of a hadith from Bukhari Shareef one had to study
for 3-4 years in a Darul Uloom before he would be allowed into
a Dars of Bukhari. Gone are the days when one had to send in a
written request for a legal opinion or ruling in a matter (Istifta),
usually in Urdu or Arabic and then wait for an answer at the
pleasure of the Darul Ifta. Today all you need is Shaikh Google
and you have all the books of Hadith, Fiqh and numerous
translations and Tafaseer of the Quran at your mousetip. This is
the good news.
The bad news is well, let me explain it with an example it is
like someone who reads all about flying a plane on Google and
then gets into the cockpit of a plane for a solo flight. The
outcome can be predicted without too much difficulty.
The acquisition of complete Islamic knowledge is a 4- step
116

process about which Allah said:

Aal Imraan 3: 164. Indeed Allah conferred a great favor on the

believers when He sent among them a Messenger (Muhammad ) from
among themselves, reciting unto them His Ayaat (Qur'an), and
purifying them (Tazkiyya), and instructing them (in) the Book
(Taaleem)) and Al-Hikmah [Sunnah] (Tarbiyya) while before that
they had been in manifest error.
In

this

beautiful

Ayah,

Allah

described

the

entire

methodology of teaching Islamic sciences. It is essential to

follow this methodology because it is the way shown by Allah
and because nothing else can be superior to the way that
Allah has shown.
Often, when this Ayah is explained, it is said that these were
four duties of Rasoolullah as if they are independent of each
other. They are not. These are not four independent duties but
the 4- step methodology to perform the single duty of the
Messenger to communicate the message of Islam; to teach
Islam. That is the reason it is essential for us, in todays world, to
understand this and to keep this in mind when we talk about
teaching Islam.
So what is this four-step process?
1. Communicate
2. Prepare
3. Explain
117

4. Demonstrate
The problems with teaching and learning Islam started when we
fractured this process and people started to do one at the
expense of the others. The results of this are sadly visible all
over the world. We created people who have book knowledge
but without any Tazkiyya or Tarbiyya. The knowledge sits in
their chests like undigested food does no good to them, even
though they have it. Their behavior is characterized by all that is
the anti-thesis of Islamic knowledge arrogance, impatience,
quick anger, a marked inability to look at themselves or to take
any adverse feedback and an exaggerated sense of selfimportance and holiness but a marked absence of humility
(Tawadhuh) and personal piety (Zuhud).
Thus today we have reciters who recite beautifully something
which they dont understand. We have people who claim to
work on Tazkiyya exclusively but who are very weak on
knowledge. We have people who are like walking libraries of
books of knowledge but with the love of Duniya and fear of
death in their hearts; visible from their decisions and actions.
We have people who explain the Kalaam of Allah very
eloquently but in whose life you cant see any reflection of their
explanations and we have a serious shortage, almost to the point
of the exception, of those who actually demonstrate the message
of Rasoolullah in their lives. At most we have some people
who focus on one or other aspect of the external and visible
aspects of the Sunnah but not illuminated with the inner light of
knowledge which was the character of the Sahaba the
generation which was the beneficiary of this complete 4-step

118

process of teaching. I believe that there is a very critical need to

bring back this teaching methodology if we are to regain our
positions as thought-leaders to the world.
Having said this, I believe that given the circumstances of
modern society and lifestyle it is necessary to have short courses
in which people can learn what is essential for them to know in
order to practice Islam, while ensuring that they dont leave
believing that they have now become experts in what they
learnt. The challenge is to decide which comes first; method or
result? Should you be thinking about what you want to achieve
first and then decide which method suits that best? Or should
you say, We want to do weekend courses, because they are
popular (sell well). So let us see what to teach?
I believe that both these ways of thinking can work, provided
we end up with measuring results. What that means in effect is
that the final criterion to decide what to teach will be the result
we wish to see at the end of the course. Subjects must be
decided based upon what the results will be at the end of the
course. Only subjects which can be taught in the duration at
hand must be taught. Not others which need more time.
For a weekend course for example, aspects of the Seerah, lessons
from the lives of Sahaba, lessons from history, Aqeeda and
Tafseer of some Suras of the Quran can be taught. Focus must
be on practical application of what is learnt not on merely
retaining some technical terms and names and dates. Schooltype exams make no sense at all. What must be done is to have a
debrief of what was learnt the lessons from the course.
119

Support groups must be formed with whom the participant can

remain in touch. The teacher must be accessible, even if
remotely on the net. There must be a means to clarify doubts,
answer questions and help with on-going learning.
What must not be attempted are Hadith and Fiqh. Nobody can
teach Hadith and Fiqh in a weekend or even in a week and all
that happens is to give people a false sense of having gained
knowledge, while all that they would have gained at the most,
is some technical terminology and some rules with no idea of
how to apply them or even the need or opportunity to apply
them. I am merely mentioning briefly some topics here. This is
not an exhaustive list.
To link this with what happens commonly in the name of
modern teaching of Islam, there are two further dynamics that
have come to be added to the melee.
1. Blind adoption of Corporate Training methodology by
people who have no hands-on experience of it in the
corporate world
2. Commercial considerations of running organizations which
are based on profit being generated from the courses in
order to run themselves.
This has led to the coining of the two most oxymoronic phrases
in my view: Commercial Daawa and Well-paid Daaee.
These phrases are so totally alien to and against the whole
principle of Prophetic Daawa that to even have to explain them
to Muslims should be an insult to their intelligence and Islamic

120

knowledge. But strangely we hear them being used by those

who teach Islamic studies in our modern, internet/commercial
Daawa organizations. That should be an indicator of how far
we are from the Sunnah.
Allah said about His Anbiya:

Anam 6: 90.

They are those whom Allah had guided. So follow

their guidance. Say: "No reward I ask of you for this (Qur'an). It
is only a reminder for the 'Alamin (worlds)."

Hud 11: 51. "O my people I ask of you no reward for it (the
Message). My reward is only from Him, Who created me. Will you not
then understand?

Ash-Shuaara 42: 23. That is (the Paradise) whereof Allah gives glad
tidings to His slaves who believe (in the Oneness of Allah Islamic
Monotheism) and do righteous good deeds. Say (O Muhammad): "No
reward do I ask of you for this except to be kind to me for my kinship
with you." And whoever earns a good righteous deed, We shall give
him an increase of good in respect thereof. Verily, Allah is OftForgiving, Most Ready to appreciate (the deeds of those who are
obedient to Him).
The hallmark, the brand of the Anbiya of Allah was that they

121

didnt take any remuneration from the people. The hallmark of

modern internet/commercial Daawa organizations is making
profit and competing in the market. There is little appreciation
of the corruption that happens to the effort of Daawa when it is
contaminated with the profit motive. Allah ordered us to
follow His Anbiya and said that He was the one who had
guided them. I dont understand how it is that modern Daawa
organizations seem to have lost sight of this order of Allah.
Allah stated the above Ayaat about the work of the Anbiya
and repeatedly mentioned the fact that they told their people,
No reward do I ask of you. Those in commercial Daawa who
have a vested interest in making profit [because their own living
depends on it], today try to explain this away with various
Taweelaat. I prefer to believe the Word of my Rabb and to be
guided by it.
I make this point because there is a very simple, but seminal,
foundational law:
You get what you measure.
If you measure profit, you will make profit. If you measure
Hidaya, you will get and be instrumental in spreading Hidaya.
So you ask, How can we run the organization, if we have no
income?
The best living modern day example is the Jamat Tabligh
which is not only run without taking any fees from those who
attend their programs but without any advertising, computers,
Facebook, Twitter, high profile conferences and so on; all of
122

which have become the signature of internet/corporate Daawa

organizations. Jamat Tabligh is a living example for those who
wish to learn. I am speaking about the methodology not what
is taught, for those who may get distracted because of their
objections to the Tabligh book and so on. If the book was
changed the method would still be the same and be equally
effective. There is no Islamic organization in the world, or for
that matter any other religious organization which is even in the
same ballpark with respect to the spread and penetration of the
Tabligh movement.
So how do they do it? By separating income from their work.
They work purely through volunteers who regularly devote
part of their time (on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis)
and pay for themselves to travel locally and globally to convey
their message. All volunteers are self-funded, highly motivated
(gives the lie to those who think that money buys motivation),
have a high sense of achievement from their work, become part
of an insider elite (does wonders for their sense of belonging)
and the Daawa is not a source of income for them. The
individual Jamat is a small group which is highly mobile, selfsufficient, self-funded, cooperatively led and operates strictly
according to a global method. The group members elect their
leader and are obedient to him. He is encouraged to take their
advice in all matters and does that without fail. They have a
strategy which is simple, easy to learn, easy to do and which
doesnt require great knowledge.
They have specialists (Ulama) who have more in-depth
knowledge that may be needed. Their goal is simple get
123

people to come to the masjid and pray and go out for Tabligh.
They actively shun publicity, have no ranks (though they have a
hierarchy, it is subtle and more visible in action than in
grandiose titles), are strict about Faraaidh and following the
Sunnah in all matters, try to practice as much of the Akhlaaq
from the Seerah as possible and about following their own
methodology. They dont deviate from their method and are
strict to the point of being dogmatic about it. That is why they
succeed. You can join any Jamat in any part of the world and
you see the same process.
Anyone who has been in a Jamat in any part of the world feels
instantly at home in the Jamat anywhere else in the world. There
is a camaraderie and brotherhood which is hard to find
elsewhere. In the Jamat there are no levels and a sheep herder
will sit and eat with a king without either of them even
considering it worthy of mention. They stay in masaajid during
their tours, talk only about Allah, His Messenger and the
Aakhira, are very particular about personal piety and observing
Nawaafil, especially Tahajjud and about simply being nice to
one another. In all these matters they mirror the Sunnah of
Rasoolullah and follow the method of Daawa of the Anbiya.

Their method of travel, living, eating, going out to invite people

to the masjid enforces simplicity, even austerity and represents
some measure of personal hardship for the sake of Allah and
removes the aura of self-esteem. Instead the esteem of Allah
and His Messenger is instilled in the mind and heart. This is a
very powerful tool for both Tazkiyatun Nafs and Tarbiyya of
124

Akhlaaq and most importantly to break the back of selfaggrandizement and arrogance. Their teachings focus on the
Seerah and the lives of the Sahaba and Salaf-us-Saliheen and on
trying to apply their ways in our lives. They focus almost
exclusively on worship, sacrifice for Islam and leaving home
and business for the sake of Allah, which were among the
most prominent of the actions of those first generations. Like all
human beings, there are obviously areas of improvement in the
Jamat Tabligh but I am not talking about that here because it is
not they but modern internet/commercial Daawa organizations
that are the focus of this paper.
I believe that there are huge lessons to be learnt from them but
for which modern internet/commercial Daawa organizations
which are mostly run by young Salafi Shuyookh need to
develop some humility first. You cant learn from those whose
few faults overshadow in your mind, their many virtues. And
you cant learn unless you are humble. Anyone who feels free
from the need for Islah is unfit for the work of Daawa; no
matter how learned he may believe himself to be. It was not
lack of knowledge but lack of humility that was the downfall of
Iblis.
Tazkiyya wa Tarbiyya is critical for the success of Daawa and
all Daawa organizations must have a program for their
members which must include every single one of them. Those
who are involved in Daawa must focus on this first before they
can think of teaching anyone. Aspects of Tazkiyya wa Tarbiyya
must be built into the courses but first they must be visible in
the lives and ways of those who run those courses. The spiritual
125

development of those who work in Daawa organizations must

be the topmost priority of the Management. For this to happen
successfully there must be a guide (Murabbi) who can diagnose
what needs to be done and help individuals to do it.
Qualities of the Murabbbi

Taqwa wa Sunnah

Knowledge of Usool, visible in his own practice

Global awareness & knowledge of human psychology

A clear strategy and solutions focus

Must exhibit essential qualities of Tarbiyya in his own

Akhlaaq

Personal equation with the students

Willing to tell you what you need to hear; not only what you
want to hear

Must not take any remuneration and must be willing to

invest time and effort

It is not for nothing that the mother of Imam Malik (R) said to
him, Take from the Akhlaaq of Rabeea before you take from
his knowledge. It is our lack of Akhlaaq which is our downfall,
not our lack of knowledge. We are like walking libraries with
books stacked in our heads but without any of the knowledge
of those books visible in our Akhlaaq. I remind myself about the
example that Allah gave of those who merely carry books on
their backs. We need to focus on Tarbiyya because when

126

Tarbiyya was separated from Taaleem, the Noor of Ilm was

taken away. Islam was taught by practical demonstration and
that is the only way to teach it. It is good to remember that the
success of Madina was built on the Tarbiyya of Makkah. That is
where the strength to change the world was built.

127

128

Integrated Teaching
Teaching and learning the Quran is an activity about which
Rasoolullah said: (approximate meaning) Narrated by Othman
ibn Affan (RA): The best among you is the one who teaches and/or
learns the Quran. (and / or are used in two different narrations
and so I have used both in the quote above)
The first thing to understand and remember is that the Quran
came for one purpose only and that is to be understood clearly
so that it would help the Muslim to do two things:
1. Connect with Allah and instill His Power and Glory in
the heart.
2. Make him/her obedient to its injunctions and live their
life by it.
Everything we do, memorizing, Tajweed, recitation, studying,
analysis, Tafseer are all means of achieving the real purpose
which is to understand the Quran. Naturally because it is
impossible to either feel the majesty of the Kalaam of Allah or
to obey its injunctions and live by them unless we understand
what we are reading, everything we do while teaching the
Quran must be measured against this standard and must
answer one simple question: Do we/they understand it?
That is not only the first step, it is the opening gateway without
which one cant enter the world of Hidaya, of right guidance.
How can we logically claim to be guided by something that we
129

dont understand?
Strangely today we seem to teach the Quran, concentrating on
all of the supplementary matters while ignoring the real
purpose of instilling the power and glory of Allah in the heart.
Ask yourself, When was the last time I asked my student as he
was reciting some Ayah of the Quran in the Tahfeez class,
What does that do to you in your heart? Or, What do you feel
in your heart as you recite that Ayah? Ask yourself, When was
the last time I asked myself this question?
I say this is a strange thing that we dont ask these questions as
we teach or as we ourselves read and recite the Quran because
the Quran itself clearly describes physiological changes that
happen as a result of listening to the recitation. Listening means
to listen with understanding, not simply listening to the tune of
the voice of the reciter, even though it is a fact that simply
listening to the tune of the reciters voice also has an effect on
the heart. That is the power of the Kalaam of Allah but it is
essential for Muslims to do more than simply listening to the
tune without which they would not be doing justice to the right
of the Quran to be understood.
So when teaching and learning the Quran it is essential to
monitor the change in our hearts and to be very concerned and
worried if positive changes as described by Allah are not
happening. Hardness of the heart is a fatal cardiac disease.
Allah says:

130

Zumar 39: 22. Is he whose breast Allh has opened to Islm, so that he
is in light from His Rabb (equal to the one who is non-Muslim)? So,
woe to those whose hearts are hardened against remembrance of Allh!
They are in plain error! 23. Allh has sent down the best statement, a
Book (this Qur'n), its parts resembling each other in goodness and
truth, oft-repeated. The skins of those who fear their Lord shiver from it
(when they recite it or hear it). Then their skin and their heart soften to
the remembrance of Allh. That is the guidance of Allh. He Guides
there-with whom He pleases and whomever Allh sends astray, for him
there is no guide.

Anfaal 8: 2. The believers are only those who, when Allh is
mentioned, feel a fear in their hearts and when His Ayaat (Qur'n) are
recited unto them, they (Ayaat & Signs) increase their Faith; and they
put their trust in their Rabb (Alone)
I want to begin with these questions because I dont want the
teaching of the Quran to become even more mechanical and
soulless than it already is in the name of using technology. I am

131

going to try to show in this paper how one can use technology
to help the student to connect with Allah in such a way that
the purpose of the revelation is achieved.
We need to remember that the Quran is in Arabic. Only the
Arabic is the Word of Allah. Everything else is the word of
man. So it is absolutely essential to understand it in Arabic.
Many Ayaat of the Quran are impactful only if you understand
the use of Arabic grammar in the construction of the sentence. If
you dont understand grammar and the subtlety of the use of
certain words then the impact is lost even though you may be
reading an accurate translation of the words. No language can
ever replace the Arabic because only the Arabic is the Word of
Allah. How tragic that generally speaking, in the Indian subcontinent and among our people living elsewhere today, we are
not even interested in understanding the Word of Allah in its
original form. We are content with reading translations. And
then to make matters worse we claim expertise in the Quran
when we cant even understand it in its original form. What can
be more misguided than that?

132

The Right Approach

One reason why many get confused with the Quran is because
of their approach to it. They approach it to read it, analyze it and
criticize it. All these are not prohibited things. One is most
welcome to read, analyze and attempt to criticize the Quran.
The Quran actually throws this out as a challenge. But before
doing all those things, one must first hear the Word. One must
listen to the sound of the speech of Allah. One must
understand the Word as it was sent, in the language that it was
sent in. This is how those who first encountered the Quran
approached it. They listened to it being recited and it entered
their hearts, long before their minds engaged with it. This is
clearly illustrated from several incidents of the Seerah about
sworn enemies of Islam who when they heard Rasoolullah
recite the Quran they became totally changed and enmity for
Islam left them and Islam entered their hearts.
To quote only one, theres the incident when Allah introduced
Islam to Omar (RA). He narrated this incident himself. He said
that he used to like his drinks and had his drinking partners.
One night very late, he wanted to have a drink but couldnt find
any of his partners nor was any drinking place open. Since he
had nothing to do he decided to make Tawf. When he went to
the Kaaba at that very late hour, he saw Rasoolullah standing
in front of the Kaaba praying. He decided to scare Rasoolullah
and disrupt his Salah and with that intention, went behind the
Kaaba and slid under the Kiswa (cloth cover) of the Kaaba and
came around until he was right in front of Rasoolullah.
Rasoolullah was reciting Al Haaqqa. Omar (RA) listened to the

133

recitation and thought to himself, These must be the words of a

poet. At that moment Rasoolullah recited:

Al Haaqqa 69:41.

It is not the word of a poet, little is that you

believe!
He was shocked and thought to himself, These must be the
words of a Kaahin (sorcerer, fortune-teller). At that moment
Rasoolullah recited:

Al Haaqqa 69:42.

Nor is it the word of a soothsayer (or a

fortune-teller), little is that you remember!

Omar (RA) says, I was shocked and simply stood there unable
to move. At that moment Islam entered my heart.
It took some more time for him to formally enter Islam but it
was listening to the Quran which was the first step. Listening to
something that he understood the meaning of. Not simply
listening to a tune, no matter how pleasant.
Our method of teaching, of simply focusing on the sound
without understanding its meaning is something that is peculiar
to the Indian sub-continent and is a great disservice and
injustice to the Quran. It is a strange thing that if someone
mouthed the sounds of the English or Telugu or any other
language simply by having learnt to recognize the shape of the
letters and then read aloud for you a passage of a Telugu or

134

English newspaper but didnt understand what he had read

because he did not know the language; you would never call his
action, reading. Recognizing the shape of letters and making
appropriate sounds is not reading; whatever else we may like
to call it. Recognizing the word, understanding its meaning and
forming an opinion is called reading.
So what should we call what we and the students, under our
guidance do with the Quran? It certainly cant be called
reading by the standard we ourselves use for every other book
or newspaper in the world. Tragic it is that we however apply
such an insane standard to the Quran. We need to fear the day
about which Allah warned us when His Messenger would
complain to Him about his Ummah and what they had done to
the Quran. Allah said:

Furqan 25:30. And the Messenger (Muhammad ) will say: "O my

Lord! Verily, my people deserted this Qur'an.
The Quran was not compiled as one book until after the death
of Muhammad when the revelation had been completed. But
those who had the honor of being the first people to listen to the
Word of Allah directly in the voice of the one to whom it was
revealed heard Rasoolullah reciting the Ayaat that he received.
They heard him when he received the Ayaat. They heard him
recite in Salah and they heard him recite the Ayaat to them
when he was inviting them to Allah because it was his
Sunnah to invite using the Kalaam of Allah. Truly what better
way to give Daawa than the method of the Messenger? Today
we almost exclusively quote translations of Ayaat. How much
135

better to let the listeners hear the Word of Allah first so that
the Glory and Majesty of the Kalaam in the original can enter
their hearts. Then by all means explain its meaning but first let
the original do its work for we can never better the original, no
matter how good our translations. The original is the speech of
Allah. The translation is the speech of man.
Quran and Science
There is no conflict in the Quran between theology and science
because Islamic theology supports and confirms scientific
discovery. The scientist who can recognize the signs of the
Creator becomes ever more firmly grounded in his faith with
every discovery. Allah specifically mentioned this link and
emphasized the need to teach with this perspective in terms of
the sequence of learning when He said:

Aal Imraan 3:190. Verily! In the creation of the heavens and the
earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs
for people of understanding. 191. Those who remember Allah (always,
and in prayers) standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and
think deeply about the creation of the heavens and the earth, (saying):
"Our Rabb! You have not created (all) this without purpose, glory to
You! (Exalted are You above all that they associate with You as
partners). Give us salvation from the torment of the Fire.

136

The Quran invites the scientist, the seeker of knowledge and the
one in search of truth to look around him and to research the
universe and assures him that Allah will show him His signs
until he is convinced that the Quran is Divine. Allah then
describes the qualities of people of understanding (Al Ulul
Albaab).

The first sign of the person of understanding is that he

recognizes his Creator and does not worship a created thing,
idea, concept, object or mythology. He accepts and recognizes
that this universe was not the result of an accident. That it has a
living, intelligent and aware Creator. Then when he researches
the universe he begins to see the signs of the Creator and
invariably his heart opens to the message of the Quran and he
says, Our Rabb! You have not created (all) this without purpose,
glory to You! (Exalted be You above all that they associate with You as
partners). Give us salvation from the torment of the Fire.

It is very interesting to note that Allah used the preposition

Wa (and) instead of Au (or) to connect the first part of the
Ayat about recognizing the Creator with the second part about
researching the creation. Grammatically either preposition could
have been used but the specific use of Wa (and) shows that in
order to reach a stage of Yaqeen both are required.
When teaching the Quran (and indeed when teaching science
and other branches of knowledge) it is essential to follow this
sequential method to ensure that we achieve the purpose of all
learning i.e. to get closer to Allah. Islam recognizes that all
137

knowledge is from Allah and that the purpose of knowledge

is to produce the awe and majesty of Allah (Khashyatullah)
in the heart. When we talk about Islam and Islamic Studies we
must never forget its purpose. Islamic Studies is the result of the
knowledge of the Revelation. Its purpose is to connect the
student with the One who sent that Revelation and to produce
its effect in the individual.
Allah describes this in the famous Ayat:

Al Hashr 59:21. Had We sent down this Qur'an on a mountain, you
would surely have seen it humbling itself and rending asunder by the
fear of Allah. Such are the parables which We put forward to mankind
that they may reflect.
Knowledge of Islam must produce an effect. And that effect is
the Khashiya of Allah. If the knowledge of Islam (Quran) had
been given to a mountain, it would have humbled itself and
crumbled to dust with the Khashiya of Allah. If the mountain
remained standing it would indicate that the Quran was simply
sitting on it and had not been understood and internalized.

Allah called this fear of Allah a sign of knowledge. It is the

essence, the result and the purpose of all knowledge.
Knowledge that takes you away from Allah is misguidance.
He said:
138



Fatir 35:28

It is only those who have knowledge among His slaves

that fear Allah.

Bringing the Quran alive through technology

The Quran is a living document. It is the Word of Allah, His
speech, His attribute. They say, A picture is worth a thousand
words, so one of the first and easiest ways to bring the Quran
alive is to use technology to show the actual scenes, situations
and matters that Allah mentions. Today material is available
easily and for the most part free of cost on the internet and this
can be incorporated into the lesson so that students can see the
wonders of creation that Allah is speaking about. For example
when Allah mentions the cosmos then visuals of stars,
constellations, planetary movement and events can be shown. It
is much more impactful to see the difference in size between the
earth and Antares for example than simply to say that it has a
radius 800 times that of the Sun.

Similarly videos and pictures of animals and bird migration and

all the complexity connected with it; birth and caring of the
young; identification of animals by unique stripe, finger print,
whisker, retina and other patterns; all go to show the enormous
variety and subtlety of the power of the Creator. It also shows
the care, love, concern that went into creation and that therefore
the creation is not an accident and the Creator is the only one
worthy of worship. There is a wonderful series of BBC films

139

called Planet Earth which leave you speechless at the sheer

beauty and magnitude of Allahs power.

Another thing which can be done using Netmeeting, Skype and

other technologies is to interact real-time with other classrooms
in other countries and listen to lectures and interact with
Shuyookh and teachers across the globe. Similarly easy to use
recording and playback software can be used to teach Tajweed
and help students to memorize the Quran and to develop good
recitation styles. While learning Tajweed it is very helpful to
listen to yourself and identify your mistakes especially the
Makhaarij of letters. Students can listen to good reciters from all
over the world and use those recitations as benchmarks to
develop their own styles.

Teach through Projects

Projects are a wonderful way to teach because they also
encourage participation from the child in learning. How this is
done is as follows: You choose a topic, say the Oceans. Students
then form into groups and research oceans and see what in the
Quran, Hadith, Fiqh and Islamic history relates to oceans.
For example Allah speaks about the two seas, one salt and the
other sweet and the wall (Barzakh) between them that prevents
them from intermingling.

140

Furqan 25: 53. And it is He Who has let free the two seas (kinds of
water), one palatable and sweet, and the other salt and bitter, and He
has set a barrier and a complete partition between them.

Students will read the research of Jacques Cousteau where he

discovered the reciprocal dam created by sweet water springs
shooting out from the bottom of the ocean at an angle of 45
near the Straits of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean and
Atlantic meet. They will find the place on Google Earth and see
videos and pictures of the reciprocal dam. They will then
research the different types of marine life in the salty oceans and
in the sweet water between them and see that when Allah
said that there is a wall between them that cant be crossed, that
is actually true. Students will similarly read the Fiqh of sea
water, marine animals, Halaal and Haraam sea foods. They will
read Ahadith to do with ocean travel.

Students will study maps of the oceans and study all the ports
that the early Muslims sailed to, their politics, economics,
history and society. They will see how maritime nations built
empires by means of their control of the seas. They will study
how it was trade routes across the oceans which were the means
of the greatest spread of Islam in the world. They will learn how
it was the conduct of the Sahaba and those who came after
them; ordinary traders and seamen; which inclined the hearts of
people towards Islam.

141

They will map the

maritime

trade

routes and appreciate

how they were a
means of discovery
and later of global
domination.

They

will study the Arab

Dhow with the lateen
sail which was the
main vessel of travel.
They
models

will
of

build
Dhows

and sail them and appreciate what it must have been to go on

the open ocean in such a vessel. They will study the physics of
displacement of water that enables ships weighing thousands of
tons to float because floatation like flying has to do with
geometry and not speed, power or weight. They will draw
lessons from this that the apparent is not always correct nor is it
important. Students will learn navigation using stars at night
and the sun during the day. They will learn to use the
navigation instruments that Arab traders invented and which
later became the mainstay of Western navies.

They will learn about the different societies, religions and

cultures that the Muslim sea captains encountered and how they
presented Islam to them. They will learn about the different
customs, practices and beliefs that gradually crept into Islam as

142

a result of contact with foreign societies gradually clouding the

clarity of Tawheed.

They will learn how to find the Qibla to pray when you are on
the ocean at night. They will learn how to catch fish while
sailing and how to cook it. They will eat what they cook while
sailing on the ocean or camped in the moonlight on a beach.
They will learn and learn and learn. And they will have lots of
fun doing it.

They

will

learn

lessons

of

life,

history,

geography,

oceanography, biology, physics, chemistry, astronomy, Tafseer,

Fiqh, Hadith and will connect with Allah, all while working
on their project of oceans.

The same when they study

mountains, deserts, rain, crops, animals and anything else. Thus

Islam will come alive in their class.

Make them think and ask questions

It is very important for students to think and ask questions. Our
current methodology of memorization and rote learning is a
mind-killing exercise. When students work on projects they will
ask questions. The more they ask the better it is. Teach them the
skills of critical analysis and decision making. Teach them to go
back to the sources, not merely to the sayings of our own
teachers, no matter how great. Help them to connect with
Rasoolullah and his Sahaba for they are the best of examples
and they are the only Daleel in Deen.

143

While learning about Fiqh and Hadith and other subjects, ask
them what they would have done in a similar situation if they
had been in the position of the Sahaba and the Salaf. Let them
appreciate the challenges that Rasoolullah faced and let them
think about what they would have done in such a situation.
Bring the Messenger of Allah alive for them so that they can
truly

begin

appreciate

to

what

remarkable person he
was.
Use maps
The Quran mentions
stories
kings

of

prophets,

and

countries.

Use maps to give life to

these

stories

in

the

class; to make them

real. For example we
have the Ayaat about
Ibrahim (AS) and his
travels from Babylon to
Palestine to Makkah and back and forth. Let the students see
and appreciate the distances and realize that he did all this on
foot often alone or with his little family of two or three people.
What can we say about the courage and commitment of the
Khaleel of Allah which made him leave the safety of his home
and country and make Hijra for the sake of Allah. Bring alive
for them the story of the settlement of the valley of Makkah and
144

the Saee of Hajar (AS) and the sacrifice of Ismael (AS) which
Allah loved so much that not only did He tell us the whole
story in His Book but He made them the Arkaan of Hajj.
Tell them the story of Musa (AS) and his people. Let students
see ancient Egypt, the Upper and Lower kingdoms, the
civilization which built the pyramids in all its majesty and glory.
Let them experience what the power of such people must have
been. Let them see how habitation in Egypt was dependent on
the Nile. Let them trace the course of the Nile from its origin in
the

highlands

of

Rwanda

until

it

empties

into

the

Mediterranean.
Only then will they be able to appreciate what it must have felt
like for Musa (AS) to stand alone in the majestic court of Ramses
IV and tell him that he was merely a man and not god as he
claimed and that it was Allah who was his Rabb and the Rabb
of the heavens and the earth and everything between them. Let
them first appreciate the power and wealth of a kingdom which
could build the pyramids so that they can appreciate the
courage of the Nabi of Allah who was not awed by it. What
better way to understand the meaning of Tawakkul or reliance
on Allah alone? What better way to remove the fear of the
world from the heart and replace it with the awe and majesty of
Allah. Only then will they appreciate the Ayaat where Allah
reports this conversation between Ramses and Musa (AS) which
is a classic lesson in the methodology of giving Daawa.
Allah describes the scene thus:

145

Ash-Shuara 26: 23. Fir'aun (Pharaoh) said: "And what is the Lord of
the 'Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists)?" 24. Musa (Moses)
said: "Lord of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them,
if you seek to be convinced with certainty." 25. Fir'aun (Pharaoh) said
to those around: "Do you not hear (what he says)?" 26. Musa (Moses)
said: "Your Rabb and the Rabb of your ancient fathers!" 27. Fir'aun
(Pharaoh) said: "Verily, your Messenger who has been sent to you is a
madman!" 28. Musa (Moses) said: "Rabb of the east and the west, and
all that is between them, if you did but understand!"
So as they are studying the Egyptian civilization and the story of
Musa (AS) they are doing Tafseer of the Quran and working on
strengthening their Imaan and studying Usool of Aqeeda and
how to connect with Allah and ask for His help. They are
learning the Usool of Daawa and its importance in their lives.
Do the same with all the prophets. Bring them alive in time and
space. Technology makes this easy to do.

Use Role Plays and Case Studies

Similarly teach them the Seerah and the history of Islam through
maps. Let them read the history of the Arabs and visualize what
the army of Abraha of the elephant must have looked like to
the Arabs of Makkah. An elephant is common knowledge for us
146

today. But what would be the reaction of people who had never
seen anything so big or strange looking, especially when it was
Let them trace the Hijra of Rasoolullah from Makkah to
Madina. Not simply say, He made Hijra, but the experience of
what it means to walk 450 km through the desert in the heat of
summer. What did Rasoolullah see as he walked? What
topography of land and so on. Let them role play that journey
and experience the tension, the fear and the danger. Let them
feel what it means to sit in a small cave with the enemy
hovering overhead. Show them the map of Badr and analyze the
placement of the camps and why the camp of the Muslims was
at an advantage. Tell them the story of the Sahabi who
suggested a different camping place and ask, What is the lesson
we learn about having the courage to give your opinion if you
believe it to be good for the people? Draw attention also to the
quality of the leader who would accept the advice of a
subordinate even when he was receiving Wahi from Allah
and didnt really need anyones advice. Ask them to discuss the
advantage of such a style of leadership and build on that.

Show them the northern and southern trade routes of the

Quraysh which Allah mentioned in the Quran. Then let them
see what happened to those places today. How Shaam was
divided into four countries and the Muslim empire was broken
up into pieces. Let them reflect on the reasons and learn lessons
in leadership, commitment, conflict resolution and strategic
thinking. It is a very big mistake to treat children as if they are
mentally deficient.

147

They arent. Children are capable of understanding far more

than most adults will give them credit for. So challenge their
intelligence and you will be surprised at what you can discover.

Do the same with all the major ghazawaat. Put all the Ayaat of
Sura Aal Imraan, Anfaal, Tawba, Ahzaab, Fath, Muhammad
and others into perspective with respect to the ghazawaat in
which they were revealed. Let them experience the defeat of
Uhud on account of disobedience and drive home the lesson of
obedience to the Messenger. Similarly about Khandaq,
Hudaibiya, Fatha Makkah, Hunain, Moata, Tabuk. Put the
Quran in perspective of its Asbaab-un-Nuzool through lessons
of history that are supported by multimedia, maps and videos.
Take them on excursions to those locations virtually through
Google Earth satellite imagery.

Talk about parallel history

While you teach them all this talk to them about history parallel
with what was happening in the Arabia of Muhammad. What
was happening in India for example when Rasoolullah
migrated from Makkah to Madina in 622 CE?

605647

During his reign of over 40 years, King Harsha of

Kanauj, on the River Ganges, brings most of northern India under his
control. He is the last Indian king to rule a more than purely regional
state until the 13th century.

148

622627

Using the Byzantine fleet to bypass the Persian army

occupying Asia Minor, the Byzantine emperor Heraclius sets out on a

brilliant campaign against the Persians, penetrating as far as
Hamadan. The warlike Persian king Chosroes II has retired from active
campaigning and his generals are much less successful against the
Byzantines.
Similarly with other periods of Muslim history to understand
the global dynamics that Muslim rulers faced. Let them see that
the Sahaba made an active choice to live by the standards of
Islam. They also had other choices available to them because
like ourselves they lived in a connected environment. The speed
of communication was different but they were well aware of
global events and about what other cultures had to offer. Yet
they preferred Islam over everything else. So their Islam was an
intelligent and deliberate choice and not by default. What then
is the lesson we need to take about being Muslims today by
chance or by choice?

We teach Islamic history as if the rest of the world did not exist.
This must change and technology gives us an opportunity to
make this change fairly easily and at the same time make it a
source of fun and learning.

In Conclusion
It is not my purpose to go into great detail on each of these
matters, but rather to show how technology can be used to make
learning fun, exciting and very beneficial. One of the benefits of
technological
149

development

is

that

technology

becomes

progressively cheaper and more accessible. I believe we must

take advantage of this and embrace it. Not be afraid of it and
only accept it when it is thrust down our throats as happened
with basic things like using the microphone, for example. Being
afraid of technology and being computer illiterate is equal to
being illiterate in todays world. If we learn to use technology
creatively and with expertise we can hugely enhance our
influence and reach audiences across time and space free of cost.
Without it, no matter how superb our learning, how deep our
wisdom and how profound our speech, it will remain relegated
to the small circle around us and its potential to bring about
meaningful change, will be all but lost.

150

151

Differentiating between a
Scholar of Islam and a Muslim
Scholar
Often today we are faced with Scholars of Islam from the West,
who are not Muslim, doing original research into Islam and
Islamic theology, history and the Quran itself. Then they
publish their conclusions and are applauded for their approach.
We on the other hand seem to be caught up in our traditional
methods of teaching and learning which are primarily focused
on preservation of knowledge and not necessarily in its
understanding, interpretation, application or contextualization
for the modern world. We treat all that comes under the banner
of

Islamic

knowledge,

be

it

history,

biography,

legal

interpretation or even the sayings of our Salaf in the same way

as we treat the Quran as being above any critical analysis.
This is a big mistake that prevents us from making Islam
applicable to the modern mind and world. There are things in
our theology that are sacred and not open to criticism or change.
But there are other things which are not sacred and must be
critically analyzed and lessons derived from them which are
applicable to the times in which they are being studied.
For example, to understand some of the statements of Imam
Ghazali with respect to the Khilaafa and how the absence of a

152

Khalifa and a Muslim government affects each individual one

needs to study his comments in the context of the times he made
the comment in and then the lessons from that must be derived
and application methods suggested. Simply memorizing Ihya
Uloom ud Deen would be a meaningless exercise. The same
example can be applied to the books of other scholars. It is
necessary to critically analyze them and learn from them, not
merely repeat what they said and call it learning or knowledge.
If mere preserving is the purpose then today technology can do
if far more reliably and permanently than any human mind. I
believe that the purpose of studying Islamic knowledge
however is not merely passive preservation but understanding,
wisdom, application and propagation.
It is true therefore that our current methodology of teaching
needs major overhaul and needs to be focused much more on
application and for this Western models of research and critical
analysis have much to offer. Original research, argument,
counter argument, what-if reasoning, logic (we used to teach
this Mantiq but that too has become divorced from reality
today), acceptance of difference of opinion and so on. We must
learn from them and use their methods where they will help us.
However I must differentiate between Islamic knowledge and
other branches of knowledge. Learning about Islam is different
from learning Islam. Anyone can learn about Islam. But only a
Muslim can learn Islam. So before the knowledge of Islam can
do any good, the person must become Muslim i.e. submit
himself to Allah. When we talk about Islam and Islamic
Studies (what a euphemistic term it is) we must never forget its

153

purpose. Islamic Studies is the result of the knowledge of the

Revelation. Its purpose is to connect the student with the One
who sent that Revelation and to produce the effect of that
connection in the individual. Allah describes this thus:

Al Hashr 59:21. Had We sent down this Qur'an on a mountain, you
would surely have seen it humbling itself and rending asunder by the
fear of Allah. Such are the parables which We put forward to mankind
that they may reflect.
Knowledge of Islam must produce an effect. And that effect is
the Khashiya (awe of the Majesty) of Allah. Allah quoted an
example and said in effect that if the knowledge of Islam
(Quran) had been given to a mountain, it would have humbled
itself and crumbled to dust with the Khashiya of Allah. If the
mountain remained standing it would indicate that the Quran
was simply sitting on it and had not been understood and
internalized. Allah called this fear of Allah a sign of
knowledge. It is the essence, the result and the purpose of all
knowledge. Enthusiastic students of knowledge of Islam must
ask themselves if the knowledge they are acquiring is producing
this effect. And if not they need to be critically concerned and
take steps to correct the way they are learning.
Allah also said:

154

Fatir 35:28 It is only those who have knowledge among His slaves that
fear Allah.
Wael Hallaq of McGill who is a Christian Scholar of Islam,
writes extensively on Islamic law. Sometimes we are asked, Do
you say that Wael Hallaq has nothing to contribute because he is
Christian?

I ask you what a man who cant differentiate

between Allah and his creature can have to contribute to us

about Islamic law. I ask you what someone who considers Jesus
to be God or the son of God; someone who does not have the
sense to distinguish the Divine from the mortal, who does not
have the discrimination to ask himself these questions, can have
to contribute to us? I ask you what the use of all his knowledge
of Islam will be to him if he dies on his present Aqeeda? How
will all the Quran and Ahadith that he knows help him if he
dies believing that Jesus is the son of God?
What does he do when he reads:

Al Kahf 18: 4. And to warn those (Jews, Christians, and pagans) who
say, "Allah has begotten a son (or offspring or children)." 5. No
knowledge have they of such a thing, nor had their fathers. Mighty is
the word that comes out of their mouths . They utter nothing but a lie.
I agree that the students who learn by rote and are unwilling to
critically analyze the writings of this or that classical scholar are
a bit narrow-minded and this approach is not helpful. However
let us not lose sight of the fact that even with their narrow
mindedness they will stand before Allah on the Day of
155

Judgment and be sent to Jannah (InshaAllah) whereas our

friend Wael Hallaq, if he dies as a Christian despite his
broadmindedness and willingness to criticize anyone will be
sent into the Hellfire.
So in my view there is a very big difference between someone
who knows about Islam and someone who knows Islam. I call
the first one a Scholar of Islam and the second one a Muslim
Scholar. One would presumably know all the Arkaan, Sunan
and Mustahabaat of Salah but would worship Jesus or be an
atheist or a Progressive, while the second one establishes Salah.
One knows about it. The other knows it, understands it, is
affected by it, invokes it and leverages it in his life. It helps him,
supports him, empowers him and brings him closer to Allah.
With the other one, knowing about Salah is like knowing how
many people make up a cricket team dead information; at best
of some interest but without any effect or power. Knowing
about is different from Knowing. Knowing about Wisaal is not
the same as Wasl, is it? Knowing about Gulab Jamoon is not the
same as eating a Gulab Jamoon, is it? What is the good of
looking at Mona Lisa through a microscope? You will be able to
see every brush stroke but never the smile. What is the Mona
Lisa if not the smile?
Taal-Allahul Amthaal how can knowing about Allah be the
same as knowing Allah. That is why when Rasoolullah (SAS)
was asked about Al-Ihsaan he did not say, Having a PhD in
Islamic Studies. He said:

156

That you worship Allah as if you are seeing Him, for though you
don't see Him, He, verily, sees you.
The biggest problem with the Western approach to Islam is that
they study Islam like they study any other religion. They study
the Quran as they study any other book. And there lies the
problem.
Islam is unique. The Quran cant be read like any other book
because its author is not like any other author. The Quran came
to be listened to, read, understood and obeyed. It did not come
to be read, critiqued and put aside. Those who do that, how can
we call them scholars of the Quran; when they have not even
understood the most basic of principle of the Revelation that it
is meant to shake the foundations of your being and open your
eyes to your Rabb. If all their reading and critical analysis
doesnt open their eyes to the majesty of their Rabb how good is
that analysis?
That is what I mean by the difference between a Scholar of
Islam and a Muslim Scholar. Without the Taalluq Maa Allah
there is no Islam, no matter how much data you have
accumulated in your mind your heart is vacant and barren and
dark without the Noor of the love of Allah. A man dead and a
man asleep look the same. Except that one is alive and the other
isnt. Big difference, no?
As Sayyidina Omar ibn al Khattab (R) is reported to have said:

157

,

,
( )

, , ,
,
:

" :






,
"Wrote Omar Bin Al Khattab may Allah be pleased with him, to Abu
Musa al-Ash'ari, may Allah have mercy on him: "The FIQH is not a
heavy narrative and broad SPEECH and NARRATION, but FIQH IS
the fear of ALLAH Azza wa Jalla.
Indeed we can and should benefit from the research
methodology of these people but must never allow ourselves to
become

overawed

by them

and

their

scholarship.

As

Rasoolullah (S) said in one case Allah sometimes uses the

faasiqh to do His work.
That doesn't change the nature of the faasiqh or his ending. This
relates to the incident of the man who fought very well on the
side of the Muslims in Uhud but who in the evening committed
suicide. This is good, indeed very important, for the student of
Islam to remember because sometimes we get so engrossed in
our study and argument and counter argument that our hearts
harden and become immune to the effect of the Quran. We get
so lost in the Usool that we get disconnected with the Asl. We
get so caught up in authentication of Ahadith that we lose the
power of the realization that this was the Messenger of
Allah speaking about what was revealed to him from Allah
something that will never happen again.

158

I am a great believer in the fact that the essential difference

between Islamic knowledge and any other knowledge is this
Istehzaar of the Ilm an experiential understanding of the
knowledge that has been learnt.
The closest example of this that I can give is that when a student
of aeronautical engineering reads about flight and that it is the
flow of air over the aerofoil section of the wing which produces
lift, it is nothing more than theory; perhaps interesting in an
intellectual sort of way but not much else.
Then he trains to be a pilot and on his first ever flight, as his
little plane lifts off the ground, the feeling in the pit of his
stomach etches the principles of flight into his mind with a
welding torch. Same theory, big difference in application.
That is why Allah mentioned the standing in the night as the
best time to understand the Quran. He said:

Muzzammil 73:6. Verily, the rising by night (for Tahajjud prayer) is

very hard and most potent and good for governing (the soul), and most
suitable for (understanding) the Word (of Allah).

The one who studies the Quran like any other book and has
never tasted the pleasure of standing before His Rabb and
reciting His Kalaam to Him can never understand the Quran in
the way in which it was meant to be understood, no matter how
much analysis he may do. All this leads us to the essential
matter of Tarbiyya the preparation of the person to receive

159

that knowledge. This preparation is both internal (Tazkiyya)

and external (Akhlaaq) without which the person will not be
able to truly understand and use the knowledge that he receives.
Today this aspect of preparation (Tarbiyya) seems to be all but
forgotten. And the results are obvious.
I fully accept the points about analyzing our history and
learning lessons from it. Our current cherry picking method of
teaching it does not help at all. We skirt around all the prickly
issues which is where all the learning really is and so we are
condemned to repeat the experiences over and over. We must
certainly change much in the way we teach and learn and
research. No doubt about that. So we take what is useful but we
dont mistake it for scholarship in the way it is meant when we
speak of Muslim scholars.

160

161

Media on the internet

Video - Pitfalls of Modern Daawa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1OsHFkbht0
Audio Prophetic method of Da'awa - Winning hearts, not arguments
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1QcbjHHdzA

162

Mirza Yawar Baig

Founder of YAWAR BAIG & ASSOCIATES and
Chairman of Standard Bearers Trust, International
Speaker,

Author,

Life

Coach,

Corporate

Consultant, engaged in setting up the Standard

Bearers Academy, aimed at creating Global
Leaders on the basis of the leadership principles of
the Prophet of Islam. Yawar specializes in Family
Business consulting and his book, The Business of
Family Business shows business families how to
stay
grow, together,
yet

by

drawing

on

his

extensive

consulting experience with both family businesses and multi-national

corporations. Yawar is a life coach and mentor for prominent family
businesses in India, South Africa & Sri Lanka. In 27 years of training and
consulting Yawar has taught more than 200,000 managers, administrators,
teachers, technologists and clergy on 3 continents. He combines Eastern values
with Western systems to transcend cultural boundaries. Yawar speaks five
languages. He writes blogs, articles and books focusing on applying learning
to create models of excellence in local communities.

Yawar speaks

internationally on Islam, especially about the need for Muslims to become

Standard Bearers of Islam.

Books Include
The Business of Family Business
Hiring Winners
Journey of Faith
An Entrepreneurs Diary
Leadership Lessons from the Life
of Rasoolullah
Understanding Islam
Islam for Beginners
Leadership is a Personal Choice

163

Clients Include
GE, Microsoft, Motorola, AMKA,
Unilever, Siemens, Accenture, JP
Morgan, Olam, Reuters, J&J,
Verizon, Mars, Expolanka,

164