I just wanted to have your opinion about something. Am a moderator of a forum on an internet based radio station? Well recently we've had someone coming to the forum and posting everything about Islam. The person is actually posting things for Da'wa purposes well we've deleted some of his/her posts from the forum. To my knowledge when doing Da'wa someone should do it in a good place not coming on a forum whose main discussions are about music and making Da'wa. I sent the person an email and said that he should refrain from doing Da'wa in such a place as its not the way to do it. Well would you please clarify me on this situation and tell me if really someone could go either in a night club or place where music is involved and do Da'wa.

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.

Inviting to Allaah, enjoining good and forbidding evil is one of the religious obligations which the heirs to the Prophets, may Allaah exalt their mention, did, namely the scholars propagators of Islam and the students of knowledge. This is also one of the actions which prevent Allaah's punishment from befalling the Muslim nation. The Prophet said: "I swear by Him in Whose Hands my soul is (Allaah)! You should enjoin good and forbid evil otherwise Allaah would send a punishment on you, and then you would supplicate Him and He will not respond to you." [At-Tirmithi]

Inviting people to Allaah is not restricted to the lectures which are given in the mosque or in Islamic websites only, rather a person who invites to Allaah should extend his call to further than that, to all corners of the world according to his ability. For instance, if one refers to the biography of the Prophets, may Allaah exalt their mention, he would find out that they did their utmost in inviting to Allaah, until they had left no excuse for their people before Allaah. For example, the Prophet would invite a group of people to Allaah, and then he would go to other people in the market and their meeting places and would do the same, he sometimes would go to some tribes in some seasons, until he did his utmost in order to make the people worship their Lord as He likes and He is pleased with, and rid the people from worshipping other than Allaah. The Prophet did not only invite people face to face, rather he sent Messengers to the whole world to call them to Islam, and he received delegations, and he strove in the cause of Allaah until he made the word of Allaah the highest, and spread the religion of Islam to the whole word until he died. Also, the Prophet Nooh (Noah) used different means for inviting his people to Allaah and did his best in this regard. Allaah Says about him (what means): {He said, “My Lord, indeed I invited my people [to truth] night and day. But my invitation increased them not except in flight [i.e. aversion]. And indeed, every time I invited them that You may forgive them, they put their fingers in their ears, covered themselves with their garments, persisted, and were arrogant with [great] arrogance. Then I invited them publicly. Then I announced to them and [also] confided to them secretly.}[Quran 71:5-9]. It is known that the meetings of non-Muslims and their clubs are not free from prohibitions and evil, as the Prophet Loot said (what means): {Indeed, you approach men and obstruct the road and commit in your meetings [every] evil.}[Quran 29:29]. Although the non-Muslims did evils in their meetings, the Prophets, may Allaah exalt their mention, confronted the non-Muslims in their meetings in order to enjoin them to do good and forbid them from doing evil.

Therefore, what the brother did by inviting to Allaah in the meeting of the non-Muslims is an act for which he should be thanked, and you should not have prevented him from doing so, because you are not permitted to prevent anyone from inviting to Allaah on the pretext that it is not a suitable place for Da'wah (inviting people to Allaah); on the contrary you should have supported him and helped him, at least you should not have prevented him.

Finally, it should be noted that music is forbidden; this is explained in details in Fataawa 81545 and 81239.

Allaah Knows best.