House calls to do Da‘wah (Islamic propagation)

8-3-2012 | IslamWeb

Question:

People working in the field of Da‘wah in our country form groups and visit people in their homes. Is this considered an act of the Sunnah or a religious innovation?
They ask for permission before entering any house; if they find men there, they enter to remind them about Allaah The Almighty, otherwise they do not. Please include evidence in the answer.

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Answer:

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.

There is no harm in visiting people in their homes to remind them about the importance of obeying Allaah The Almighty, provided that no Islamic rule is violated. Home visits should be regulated, though.

Doing this kind of task is one of the greatest acts of worship, and it shows the strong determination and piety of the people who do it. These are qualities that indicate true faith. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam , said that no one becomes a true believer until he likes for his brother what he likes for himself.  [Al-Bukhari & Muslim]

The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would visit tribes and invite them to worship Allaah The Almighty and ask them to support him so that he would be able to fulfill his mission. 

Abu Is'haaq mentioned that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, consistently  adopted this method, therefore, he would visit the tribes that came to Makkah at the time of pilgrimage. He used to invite them to believe in Allaah The Almighty and to accept the guidance and mercy with which he was sent.  The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, also did this with every important visitor to Makkah. 

Allaah Knows best.