Presenting Islam today by Mirza Yawar Baig

1. Presenting Islam Today
What’s same and what is different?

2. These, I hold to be true
1. That the best method of Da’awa is that of the Anbiya
2. The Anbiya didn’t take money for Da’awa
3. The purpose of Da’awa is to present Islam to people in
the best possible way; not to force them
4. Live the message because people listen with their eyes
5. Ikhlaas (sincerity) is critical to acceptance with Allah‫ﷻ‬
Da’awa is a calling, not a profession

3. ِّ‫وف‬ُ‫ر‬ْ‫ع‬َ‫م‬ْ‫ل‬ِّ‫ِب‬ َ‫ن‬‫و‬ُ‫ر‬ُ‫م‬َْ‫َي‬َ‫و‬ ِّْ‫ْي‬َْ‫اْل‬ َ‫َل‬ِّ‫إ‬ َ‫ن‬‫و‬ُ‫ع‬ْ‫د‬َ‫ي‬ ٌ‫ة‬َّ‫ُم‬‫أ‬ ْ‫م‬ُ‫ك‬‫ن‬ِّ‫م‬ ‫ن‬ُ‫ك‬َ‫ت‬ْ‫ل‬َ‫و‬
َ‫ك‬ِّ‫ـئ‬َ‫ل‬ْ‫ُو‬‫أ‬َ‫و‬ ِّ‫ر‬َ‫ك‬‫ن‬ُ‫م‬ْ‫ل‬‫ا‬ ِّ‫ن‬َ‫ع‬ َ‫ن‬ْ‫و‬َ‫ه‬ْ‫ـ‬‫ن‬َ‫ـ‬‫ي‬َ‫و‬َ‫ن‬‫و‬ُُُِِّْْ‫م‬ْ‫ل‬‫ا‬ ُ‫م‬ُُ
A’al Imraan 3: 104. Let there arise out of you a group
of people inviting to all that is good (Islam),
enjoining Al-Ma’ruf and forbidding Al-Munkar. And it
is they who are the successful.

4. ْ‫ت‬َ‫ج‬ِّ‫ر‬ْ‫خ‬ُ‫أ‬ ٍ‫ة‬َّ‫م‬ُ‫أ‬ َ‫ر‬ْ‫ـ‬‫ي‬َ‫خ‬ ْ‫م‬ُ‫نت‬ُ‫ك‬َ‫ن‬‫و‬ُ‫ر‬ُ‫م‬َْ‫َت‬ ِّ‫َّاس‬‫ن‬ِِّ‫ل‬
ِّ‫ن‬َ‫ع‬ َ‫ن‬ْ‫و‬َ‫ه‬ْ‫ـ‬‫ن‬َ‫ـ‬‫ت‬َ‫و‬ ِّ‫وف‬ُ‫ر‬ْ‫ع‬َ‫م‬ْ‫ل‬ِّ‫ِب‬َ‫ن‬‫و‬ُ‫ن‬ِّ‫م‬ْ‫ؤ‬ُ‫ـ‬‫ت‬َ‫و‬ ِّ‫ر‬َ‫ك‬‫ن‬ُ‫م‬ْ‫ل‬‫ا‬ِّ‫لل‬ِّ‫ِب‬
A’al Imraan 3: 110. You are the best of peoples ever
raised up for mankind; you enjoin Al-Ma'ruf (good)
and forbid Al-Munkar (evil), and you believe in Allah.

6. What is the state of your own...
1. Ta’alluq Ma’Allah: Ibaadah, Ikhlaas, Sadaqaat
2. Tazkiyya: Fasting, charity, Qur’an, Dhikr
3. Tarbiyya: Akhlaaq, humility, consideration
4. Ta’aleem: Knowledge, understanding, experience
5. Akhlaaq: Relationships with others
Under the supervision of a Murabbi

7. Qualities of the Murabbbi
1. Taqwa wa Sunnah
2. Akhlaaq, visible in his own life
3. Global awareness & knowledge of human psychology
4. Relationships with others, including non-Muslims
5. Tells you what you need to hear; not only what you want to hear
6. Must not take any remuneration and must be willing to invest
time and effort
If he takes money he is your employee, not your Murabbi

8. Ask yourself…
1. What happens to you when you recite Qur’an?
2. What happens to you when you reflect about the
greatness and glory of Allah‫?ﷻ‬
3. What happens to you when you are faced with an
order of Allah‫ﷻ‬ or a Sunnah of Rasoolullah‫ﷺ‬ and
something that goes contrary to it?
What should happen in all these cases?

9. َ‫ذ‬ِّ‫إ‬ َ‫ين‬ِّ‫ذ‬َّ‫ل‬‫ا‬ َ‫ن‬‫و‬ُ‫ن‬ِّ‫م‬ْ‫ؤ‬ُ‫م‬ْ‫ل‬‫ا‬ ‫ا‬ََّ‫َّن‬ِّ‫إ‬ْ‫ت‬َِ ِّ‫ج‬َ‫و‬ ُ‫الل‬ َ‫ر‬ِّ‫ك‬ُ‫ذ‬ ‫ا‬
ََِ‫ع‬ ْ‫ت‬َ‫ي‬ُِِّ‫ت‬ ‫ا‬َ‫ذ‬ِّ‫إ‬َ‫و‬ ْ‫م‬ُ‫ه‬ُ‫ـ‬‫ب‬‫و‬ُُِ‫ـ‬‫ق‬ُ‫ه‬ْ‫ـ‬‫ت‬َ‫اد‬َ‫ز‬ ُ‫ه‬ُ‫ت‬َ‫آَي‬ ْ‫م‬ِّ‫ه‬ْ‫ي‬‫ا‬‫اًن‬َ‫مي‬ِّ‫إ‬ ْ‫م‬
َ‫ن‬‫و‬َُِّ‫ك‬َ‫و‬َ‫ـ‬‫ت‬َ‫ـ‬‫ي‬ ْ‫م‬ِِّّ‫ّب‬َ‫ر‬ ‫ى‬ََِ‫ع‬َ‫و‬
Anfal 8:2 The Mu’minoon are only those who, when Allah is
mentioned, feel a fear in their hearts and when His Ayaat
(Qur'an) are recited unto them, they increase their Faith; and
they put their trust in their Rabb (Alone);

10. Qur’anic Da’awa method
ِّ‫ن‬ِّ‫ؤم‬ُ‫م‬ْ‫ل‬‫ا‬ ‫ى‬ََِ‫ع‬ ُ‫الل‬ َّ‫ن‬َ‫م‬ ْ‫د‬َ‫ق‬َ‫ل‬ِّ‫يه‬ِّ‫ف‬ َ‫ث‬َ‫ع‬َ‫ـ‬‫ب‬ ْ‫ذ‬ِّ‫إ‬ َ‫ني‬ْ‫م‬
ُِْ‫ـ‬‫ت‬َ‫ـ‬‫ي‬ ْ‫م‬ِّ‫ه‬ِّ‫س‬ُْ‫َن‬‫أ‬ ْ‫ن‬ِّ‫م‬ ‫ا‬‫ال‬‫و‬ُ‫س‬َ‫ر‬َ‫و‬ ِّ‫ه‬ِّ‫ت‬َ‫آَي‬ ْ‫م‬ِّ‫ه‬ْ‫ي‬ََِ‫ع‬ ‫و‬ْ‫م‬ِّ‫يه‬ِّ‫ك‬َ‫ز‬ُ‫ـ‬‫ي‬
ِّْ‫ال‬َ‫و‬ َ‫اب‬َ‫ت‬ِّ‫ك‬ْ‫ل‬‫ا‬ ُ‫م‬ُ‫ه‬ُ‫م‬َِِّ‫ع‬ُ‫ـ‬‫ي‬َ‫و‬َ‫ـ‬‫ق‬ ‫ن‬ِّ‫م‬ ْ‫ا‬‫و‬ُ‫ن‬‫ا‬َ‫ك‬‫ن‬ِّ‫إ‬َ‫و‬ َ‫ة‬َ‫م‬ْ‫ك‬ُ‫ل‬ْ‫ب‬
ٍ‫ني‬ِّ‫ب‬ُّ‫م‬ ٍ‫الل‬َ‫ض‬ ‫ي‬َِّْ‫ل‬

11. A’al 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 and purifying them and
instructing them (in) the Book (the Qur'an) and Al-
Hikmah [Sunnah of Rasoolullah‫,]ﷺ‬ while before that
they had been in manifest error.

12. Teacher & Student
1. Inform (recite Ayaat)
2. Prepare (purify)
3. Explain (instruct)
4. Demonstrate (show)
1. Listen (with Adab)
2. Accept (Tazkiyya)
3. Learn (Tarbiyya)
4. Live by it (Akhlaaq)
Rasoolullah‫’ﷺ‬s method

13. Akhlaaq
1. Helpfulness & Compassion, putting others first
2. Humility, willingness to learn, self-discipline
3. Speak the language of togetherness
4. Service orientation – family, neighbours, society
Because you can only sell to friends

14. What must we do?
1. Tahajjud: Learn to take from Allah‫ﷻ‬
2. Follow the Sunnah of Rasoolullah‫ﷺ‬
3. Earn & eat Halaal
4. Focus on Nawaafil: Ibaadah, Sadaqa, Tawba
Discard minimalist thinking about Islam

15. Problems with Corporate model
1. Seeing is believing
2. Source of power is wealth
3. All those in my work are
Competitors
4. Inviting towards self
5. Accumulation of wealth
1. Belief in the Unseen
2. Source of power is Allah‫ﷻ‬
3. All those in my work are
Partners
4. Inviting towards Allah‫ﷻ‬
5. Baraka
The two are opposites of each other

16. Ask Allah‫ﷻ‬ alone
1. Rasoolullah‫ﷺ‬ stated in a hadith narrated in Sahih
Bukhari, “Whoever abstains from asking others for
financial help, Allah‫ﷻ‬ will save him from asking
others. Whoever seeks to be self-sufficient, Allah‫ﷻ‬
will make him self-sufficient.”
Because He‫ﷻ‬ is the only one who likes
those who ask

17. Sent to give, not to take
1. Once Rasoolullah‫ﷺ‬ was advising the Sahabah about the
importance of giving in charity. Someone asked, “What if
someone has no money to give in charity?” Rasoolullah‫’ﷺ‬s
response was remarkable. He didn’t say, “Then you quality to
receive charity.” He didn’t say, “Then do good deeds since you
don’t have the money.” He didn’t even say, “Tell others to give
in charity and you’ll get some of their reward.”
2. Instead, he said, “He should work with his hands and benefit
himself and then give in charity from what he has earned.”

18. Do’s & Don’ts
1. Collaborate and share
resources
2. Work for the pleasure of
Allah‫ﷻ‬ alone
3. Speak the language of
togetherness
4. Present in the best way
1. Compete and withhold
resources
2. Take money to present
Islam or glorify Allah‫ﷻ‬
3. Criticize, condemn or
denigrate others
4. Argue, convince, force
Pray for guidance in the night

19. Common mistakes
1. Anglicizing Qur’anic language
2. Using Ayah translations only, instead of Arabic
3. Being apologetic or aggressively argumentative
4. Remaining aloof, condemning, maligning
5. No focus on building relationships with others
Let curiosity happen – it opens doors

20. Quotes of the Salaf
1. Allah‫ﷻ‬ said, “Speak gently”, to Firawn who said, ‘I am
God’. How should we speak to the one who said,
‘Rabbi Allah‫’?ﷻ‬
2. Believe the best about your brother. If he has alcohol
dripping from his beard, I will believe that it was
poured on him and if he stands on a mountain and
says, ‘Ana Rabbukumul A’ala’, I will say, ‘He is reciting
the Ayah.’

21. Finally…
1. Hide faults of others so that Allah‫ﷻ‬ may hide your own
2. Give generously so that Allah‫ﷻ‬ may not withhold from
you
3. Make dua for others so that angels may make dua for
you
4. Allah‫ﷻ‬ sent you to bring people into Islam not send
them out of it
Remember that you are not receiving Wahi