Abiding by Sharee‘ah in Da‘wah without Deviation
Abiding by the teachings of Islam without deviation or substitution is one of the fundamentals that a female caller must consider when making Da‘wah because all the goodness lies in the Sharee‘ah of Allah The Almighty and His way. Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullaah Ad-Duwaysh said,
The deeds of human beings will never be absolute evidence, no matter how high their positions, status and degrees of righteousness and piety are. They must be compared with the guidance of the Prophet, . It was narrated, when talking about patience, that an old man once stood dancing over his son’s grave when he died to show his content with the Decree of Allah The Almighty, as he claimed. However, the guidance of the Prophet, , is better than what this man did. The Prophet, , shed tears and his heart was grieved but he did not utter any word except what was pleasing to his Lord. Also, the verbal and practical guidance of the Prophet, , in sleeping and praying at night is better than what was narrated about those who would perform the Fajr prayer with the same ablution of the ‘Ishaa' for many years. His guidance in reciting the Quran is also better than what was narrated about those who used to recite the entire Quran in one night. However, we do seek an excuse for those who used to do this depending on their own Ijtihaad from the righteous predecessors.
Methods and Suggestions for Da‘wah
We previously stated the fundamentals of Da‘wah. As for the problems that the callers face in their path, Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullaah Ad-Duwaysh, a former member of staff at Al-Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University, says that they are represented by the limited methods and the absence of creativity. This pattern clearly appears in woman-to-woman propagation, and even in the activities that men introduce to women. When a male caller speaks in front of women, he often deals with limited topics that he cannot exceed, and the same thing happens with the female caller. Both male and female callers are in desperate need of a shift and development in their Da‘wah address. We should not restrict ourselves to limited methods and one language. Some of the appropriate methods that a female caller can adopt are:
- Attempting to influence her friends at school, neighbors and relatives with good words and good morals.
- Establishing joint programs between a group of friends, such as holding lessons where books that deal with the basics of Islam like learning the Islamic creed and the rulings of prayers are read.
- Preparing educational quizzes and conducting them among students, relatives and neighbors in their houses.
- Writing pieces of advice and instructional messages that address both the negligent girls, to advise and guide them, and the righteous girls, to urge them to continue fulfilling their duties.
- Interaction and participation with websites and distinctive broadcast programs pertaining to women. One could write to them and try to update them and spread their addresses among young women. These are mere suggestions and certainly do not include everything that could be done.
Shaykh Muhammad Ad-Duwaysh assures that it is necessary to use the narrative element in giving Da‘wah, for this is one of the methods of the Quran. Thus, the Prophet, , was careful to use this because of its great effect and impact on people. He books of Sunnah have preserved for us a series of stories and news that the Prophet, , related about past nations. Stories from of the Quran and Sunnah are not exclusively stories and news of the righteous; rather, they include stories of immoral people and those who turned away from the right path, so that we may learn a lesson from what afflicted them. However, this element should be used reasonably. That is to say, it should not be the only method used at the expense of other elements. Moreover, it is necessary to narrate only authentic stories.
Important Matters for the Female Caller to Islam
We shall conclude our topic by mentioning some points that female callers should consider in order to have a real effect in the field of Da‘wah, and then mention some of the qualities of the successful female caller. First, the female caller must increase her faith by trying to get closer to Allah The Almighty through fasting, night prayer, recitation of the Quran, charity and other acts of worship. This will help her call others to Allah The Almighty and hope for His reward. The second thing is that it is necessary for her to read some educational books along with books of religious knowledge. This would help her firmly and clearly make Da‘wah with wisdom and strength in presenting and drawing evidence. The third thing is that she should not neglect her children and be focused on teaching them and bringing them up, for one day they will be role models for people. She should not let her work in the field of Da‘wah be a reason for her disregarding her home and children. The fourth thing is that she should offer and give her help to whomever she is able to help, and try to stand by her relatives in their times of crises. She should support them because this endears her to them and, consequently, makes her advice to them all the more effective.
Qualities of the Successful Female Caller
It should be noted that the successful female caller has certain qualities and merits, and the Muslim woman should know these qualities and adopt them and abide by them. She is the woman who acknowledges the Favor of Allah The Almighty on her in terms of guidance and success. Hence, she is always modest and humble, yet she maintains her dignity and honor. Recognizing the blessings of Allah upon her, she never despises any woman who is disobedient or does not adhere to Hijab or the like. Instead, she hopes for her guidance and success and thinks of her own negligence and the necessity of reforming herself. She always repeats the following supplication, "Allahumma muqallib al-quloob thabbit qalbi ‘ala deenik. (O Allah! Controller of the hearts! Make my heart steadfast on Your religion)." A successful female caller is the one who can maintain a balance between her home, husband, children and her work in the field of Da‘wah. She knows that giving Da‘wah does not contradict or clash with any of her duties. It is a matter of organizing, managing, and utilizing opportunities and time in doing useful things.
The successful female caller also follows up those whom Allah The Almighty guides at her hand, motivating them to make Da‘wah and encouraging them to progress in that way. She checks their conditions so that they will not gradually give up their work and go astray. Moreover, the successful female caller is not content with simply admonishing and reminding people, but she also tries her best to make her condition, reality and actions spring from the Sharee‘ah of Allah The Almighty. She is a caller in her speech, silence, attendance and absence. Her actions comply with her words.
The successful female caller is the one who tries to come up with new Sharee‘ah-approved methods and wise ways for calling others and thinks of ways to reach them, as well as her creativity in projects of goodness that are of benefit to people and that direct them to the right path. The successful female caller is the one who devotes her capabilities to serving this religion, whether it be through giving lessons, lectures, quizzes or writing to newspapers and magazines or others activities that coincide with the noble Sharee‘ah. The successful female caller often practices self-reckoning and recognizes her shortcomings. She criticizes her methodology in Da‘wah constructively to know her points of weakness and deficiency so as to correct them, and her points of strength and benefit so as to increase and develop them. In all these stages, she hopes for the Reward of Allah The Almighty and pays no attention to people's praise. She seeks the Reward of Allah alone. The successful female caller believes that moderation is optimum in all her matters and affairs, in her clothing, house, food and everything else in her life. There is neither extravagance nor niggardliness in her life. She wears clothes that suit her status as a caller. She adheres to Hijab without exaggeration and at the same time is not shabby or careless.
This is only a brief glimpse at some matters pertaining to the Muslim woman who calls to Allah The Almighty. Will our women realize the value of this and pay it the attention it deserves?