بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Nafsiya Reflections: Presence of a Dawah Carrier
Welcome to another episode of Nafsiya Reflections - The Presence of a Dawah Carrier
Have you ever been around someone who lights up a room when they walk in? Someone you like being around or someone who inspires you; who you like being around? One who makes an entire room feel welcoming and warm, and on the other side of the spectrum. Have you ever talked to someone who didn’t have such a great vibe or made you feel uncomfortable? Someone who you felt you could never be honest with or felt like they wouldn’t understand if you were to be honest.
SubhanAllah! I can bet all of us have felt one way or another about someone at one time or another. Someone who seems like they never smile, who may tell jokes at the expense of others, who like to be heard but does not want to listen, or they may listen, but not empathetically, not truly listening to what you have to say, rather hearing only to reply. Bottom line is they are not much fun to be around!
See as Muslims and dawah carriers to be particular, we have to hold ourselves to a different standard not a higher one, but a different one. We must pay attention to our words and actions, a little more. We must be aware of others feelings and others desires. Now let me be very clear, this does not mean we sugar coat, no. Definitely not! We want others to feel comfortable to open up to us, to tell us what goes through their minds, in their lives, problems they may be facing, so that we may help them as we at times need help.
I sometimes notice, “practicing” Muslims, talking about Islam in a certain way. They would reflect Islam in a certain light. Let me use an example here, men sometimes talk about marrying four wives. How it’s halal. We as practicing Muslims know that it is Halal. Nothing wrong with that, right? The problem at times is that when these Muslim men talk about it, all they want to do is get women jealous. They aren’t trying to show these women, the beauty of Islam, but rather boasting about how Allah gave them something that HE (swt) didn’t give women, Astaghfirullah al Aztheem. There is nothing they can do about it. The point of that conversation is not to try to ease the hearts of these women into accepting and being defenders of Islam, as many women are, but rather to stir emotions, to light a fire. But to provoke these women.
I am not saying any of these words are Haram. It is every man’s right to marry as many as four women. That is his God-given right, Subhan Allah. I am only pointing out that these meaningless conversations, make others feel uncomfortable and open doors for satan’s whispers. Instead of being an enlightened conversation about the beauty and justice of Islam, it is twisted into something else.
Now for my sisters... We may have heard “practicing” Muslim women talk about how men should be at home. How “you should be like this...” or “you should be like him”, astaghfirAllah. “Be like the Rasool Allah (saw) or the Sahabah (ra)” or saying things like “men like that don’t exist anymore”. Comparing them too how they should be. Not in a productive way, but in a way where they are being scolding, bashed. Made to feel unworthy. Belittling.
At other times, we become strongly motivated to get our point across, not hearing what others are saying. We aren’t trying to understand them, rather we are only trying to prove them wrong by pushing our opinion. How can you help someone understand something, when you aren’t even listening to their perspective? We are human. We are might get frustrated, we are going to say something that shouldn’t have been said. It's going to happen!
We must keep in mind, that we as Muslims and as Dawah carriers in precise, are the ones carrying Islam to others, manifesting Islam, reflecting Islam in the best light possible. We should be a source of comfort to people so they can open up to, to smile. to be considerate, and to be firm yet understanding.
Our objective is not to take things personally, not to lose control of our emotions, but carry Islam to the world, in the best way possible.
Allah (swt) says,
(وَلَوْ كُنتَ فَظًّا غَلِيظَ الْقَلْبِ لَانفَضُّوا مِنْ حَوْلِكَ ۖ)
And if you had been rude [in speech] and harsh in heart, they would have disbanded from about you. [Al e- Imran: 159]
And the prophet saw said,
حَدَّثَنِي إِسْحَاقُ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الصَّمَدِ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ ـ هُوَ ابْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ دِينَارٍ ـ عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ أَبِي صَالِحٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى إِذَا أَحَبَّ عَبْدًا نَادَى جِبْرِيلَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَحَبَّ فُلاَنًا فَأَحِبَّهُ فَيُحِبُّهُ جِبْرِيلُ، ثُمَّ يُنَادِي جِبْرِيلُ فِي السَّمَاءِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَحَبَّ فُلاَنًا فَأَحِبُّوهُ، فَيُحِبُّهُ أَهْلُ السَّمَاءِ وَيُوضَعُ لَهُ الْقَبُولُ فِي أَهْلِ الأَرْضِ "
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "If Allah loves a person, He calls Gabriel, saying, 'Allah loves so and so, O Gabriel love him' So Gabriel would love him and then would make an announcement in the Heavens: 'Allah has loved so and-so therefore you should love him also.' So all the dwellers of the Heavens would love him, and then he is granted the pleasure of the people on the earth." (See Hadith No. 66, Vol. 8)
So in the end let us always ask ourselves, how the presence of a Dawah carrier should be. How would the beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw) behave?
May Allah help us perfect our Deen!
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