Understanding-tasawwuf-66

اَلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَىٰ خَاتَمِ النَّبِيِّينَ، أَمَّا بَعْدُ فَأَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ، بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ۔ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: ادْعُ إِلَىٰ سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَالْمَوْعِظَةِ الْحَسَنَةِ ۖ وَجَادِلْهُم بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ۔ صَدَقَ اللَّهُ الْعَظِيمُ۔

Dear brothers and sisters, as you are aware that in this lecture we try to develop to understanding of Tasawwuf in the light of Quran and Shariah by reading from book written by our Sheikh Hazrat Syed Shabbir Ahmed Kakakhel Sahib. Urdu version is available by the name of Fahm e Tasawwuf at tazkia dot org. Last lecture we started the topic of Tabligh, Dawah, and preaching in Islam, preaching of Islam. Also we can use the term the propagation of Deen. We covered some basic details of it and today Inshallah we will try to learn the etiquettes and the necessary conditions of Tabligh and and the methodology of Dawah and we will also try to discuss what is the method of acquiring the right method of Dawah and preaching. Hazrat based on his extensive experience has advised a few etiquettes and necessary conditions of Tabligh from his own experience as well as the learning from the other Mashaikh and the other scholars of this subject and these are summarized in eight basic points.

Number one. The rulings and the details of the matter being conveyed should be properly known and understood. So the person who is preaching or propagating some aspect of Deen, he should have command over that subject otherwise he will leave some loopholes, he will not address the subject in entirety, and may not be able to even connect with the listeners properly if he doesn't have the command over his subject. He will not be able to architect his point of view and he will not be able to connect his thoughts properly because he himself has some shortcomings in his own understanding of that subject matter, so he may not be able to convey the proper message. This is the etiquette and the necessary condition number one.

Number two. Advice should not be given for the satisfaction of one's own ego or Nafs or the self, rather its sole purpose should be to seek the pleasure of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. So this is the basic requirement of every good deed we do that the intent should be pleasing Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and intent should not be pleasing your own self or someone else. So this should be switched off when we are propagating something good related to Deen. In fact, every aspect of life and every act we do all the day, the intent should be to please Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and ignore everything else.

Number three. The manner of giving advice should be compassionate and caring. This is very important because through compassion and caring attitude one connects with the audience and anyone else. Without this you cannot connect with anybody. You may deliver a lecture, you may deliver a presentation, you may deliver a very scholarly content, but without connecting this will not reach the hearts and the minds of the people. And connecting is done through by being compassionate and being caring.

Number four. While engaging in Dawah or Tabligh, one should regard the act of conveying the message itself as objective. One should not keep one's focus on the results because achieving result is beyond one's control and striving for what is beyond one's control brings no benefit. So this is where the Dawah or the lectures in religion depart from the presentations and lectures being delivered for worldly objectives, worldly business or monetary motives, or maybe political motives of any kind. So this is where religion is different than the rest of the things we do. The purpose as explained earlier is to please Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala as far as Dawah is concerned. So one shouldn't be worried about the result that how many people listened to me, how many people were present, how many people came after my lecture and they hugged me or they were very impressed, one shouldn't think about those things. One should only think about the message and the the one whose message this is, and that is Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, because the Deen is all about Allah's requirements and commands.

During the sermon or admonition a particular individual should not be singled out, rather the address should be directed to everyone, so sometime people try to convey a particular message or try to settle some score or try to do something which they otherwise cannot do, and they take benefit of that gathering and the person is sitting in the gathering and they start making up content that specifically targets that person. This start, this content might be positive also and this might be negative also. Positive in the sense that person starts thinking that Mr. X is sitting in the in front of me along with several other people and he is very influential, and if he comes to me and connects to me that might be benefit for me, so that is the positive side, and the negative side I don't like a person and he is among the people who is listening, who are listening me, and I try to humiliate that person, that's the negative side. Either way it's against the etiquettes of Dawah. So the lecture is for all the audience, not for a single person. So single person should not be singled out in that lecture or or the gathering.

The preacher should avoid accepting gifts, honorariums, and similar benefits so that his efforts remain sincere and free from personal interests. This brings blessing into work. Any kind of gifts, honorarium, etc., they may pollute the intent, and the intent should be very, very pure as I explained earlier, and that is pleasing Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, any thought of even small benefit that ruins the intent and that takes Barakat away, and that is strictly not the right way of doing Dawah or Tableegh.

A person's reform should not be attempted publicly before a gathering. Such a public criticism may create resentment towards the preacher, causing the person to become stubborn and deteriorate further. So if you have to advise something to somebody it shouldn't be done publicly. This will be a disgrace and humiliation for that person in front of everyone, so this should be avoided, and if you want to correct someone on something do it in a private sitting, in a private setting, so that person doesn't feel any resentment or any negativity about the preacher and and and of course the overall system of preaching.

Number eight, severity and harshness are not appropriate methods for a preacher. Rather greater the compassion and gentleness, the greater the benefit. If, um, if opposition is still encountered, he should remain patient and forbearing. If he lacks the strength to deal with such opposition, then instead of addressing specific individuals directly. You should suffice with general admonition.

So this is something if you feel, if you face an audience that is difficult and opposing audience, so how to handle this? So again it should be handled with compassion and gentleness, and looking at the greater benefit of entire gathering, not a few people who are creating trouble. So, um, they should be... the people who are creating trouble, they should be given answers compassionately even if they are creating trouble, and try to address their concern in logical and scholarly way. And if it is still not possible, still one should remain patient and forbearing. And if you cannot, uh, handle the questions or the negativity of those people, just do a general admonition instead of sticking to that very subject that is creating the problem.

So these are eight etiquettes and necessary conditions which the preacher, uh, the person who is doing دعوت and تبلیغ, he should know.

As far as method is concerned, the آیت مبارکہ I recited in the start of the lecture, it says: invite people to the way of your Lord with wisdom (number one), with good and gracious exhortation, and debate with them in best manner. So these are the three pillars of دعوت and the preaching in Islam that have been prescribed in this آیت مبارکہ.

The phrase, "سَبِيلِ الرَّبِّ", the way of your Lord, الله سبحانه وتعالى, refers to the path that leads to Almighty الله سبحانه وتعالى, which according to حدیث is Islam alone. So therefore, رسول الله صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم was commanded to invite people towards it, that is Islam. For this purpose, three basic methods and pillars were, uh, mentioned.

Number one: invitation with wisdom. So invitation with the wisdom means, uh, one should be, uh, aware of the situation and aware of the circumstances, and aware of the people he or she is addressing to. And according to the situation, according to the circumstances, according to the profile of the listener, he or she should understand what is the best possible method to engage with these people. So proper preparation, proper study, and proper development of the content, the method, everything is necessary, otherwise it will not be a دعوت with wisdom.

Second is the invitation through exhor- exhortation. So اَلْمَوْعِظَةُ الْحَسَنَةُ. So, use the content which is, uh, appropriate. Uh, say for example, uh, with, when engaging, engaging with علماء, you will have to come with very strong, uh, logic and, uh, very strong content to convince an عالم. Uh, and if you are, uh, engaging with children, the method might be entirely different, it could be, uh, through stories or, uh, through, uh, things, similar things that children enjoy. So you can use them to, uh, do the دعوت. So you have to, uh, understand what kind of content is appropriate under what circumstances and to what audience.

And then the debate in the best manner is the meaning that if, uh, number one, one should avoid debating. Number two, if it is necessary and unavoidable, then do it in the best manner, with grace, with compassion, and with the gracious attitude. And one should be very, very humble and one should be, uh, very, very, uh, decent while engaging in the debate if we are debating the religion of Islam.

There are two aspects to the conversation: one is establishing evidence for one's own claim, and other is refuting and invalidating the arguments of the other party. So if we are debating or engaging in a conversation, either I will be putting forward my own argument or I will be negating someone else's argument, so these are the two situations. The former is called invitation with wisdom, while the latter is called مُجَادَلَة or the debate, where the person is debating or negating the other's logic and arguments.

Now there is one form of conveying message merely as a matter of procedure. Just as royal announcer conveys the decree of the king to the people, he has no concern with who obeys it and who doesn't. Then there is the way a father advises his son, in this case there is an extreme affection and concern, he speaks in such a manner that his son may accept the advice by some means or another. For this purpose he is willing to endure whatever hardship may be necessary, and he does not leave the matter until explained properly. This is because the father cannot bear to see his son deprived of goodness. This is the true meaning of Mauiza Hasana, the preacher should speak in such a way that hearts of the listeners soften and they become ready to act upon the advice, in this approach the preacher does not. Merely fulfill a formal obligation, rather he sincerely seeks the guidance and the reform of the audience.

This was the method of Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam as mentioned in the blessed verse above, the Messenger Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was divinely instructed to employ Al Mawaiza Al Hasana, he fulfills this command through his entire life in most complete manner, may Allah Almighty grant us the ability. To follow this approach throughout our lives and He may bless every preacher with a long life in well being, sound understanding, and sincere intention, Aameen.

How to acquire this very noble virtue and very noble trait and very important trait when we are engaged in Dawah of Deen, the method of acquiring this quality is to reflect upon the virtues of Tabligh and warnings concerning its neglect and supplicate to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. For, for it, so studying the subject of Dawah. What are the virtues of Dawah and what are the warnings related to this subject, one should be reading those and learning those, and this helps to develop the necessary etiquettes of Dawah. Attending the gatherings of those whom Allah Almighty has blessed with this virtue is among the best means of acquiring it, so be in the company of the people who know this art and slowly and gradually you will learn how they convince others, how they connect to others, and how they practice the requirements of Quran and Sunnah while. Preaching while doing Dawah, and this is something that is one can learn and in fact one has to learn because it's a responsibility of entire Ummah to narrate Deen to everyone around us, so one should learn it and try to be expert in this area also; may Allah grant us the right way of Dawah and may Allah grant us the right Niyah and intent of Dawah and that is pleasing Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, and may Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala be pleased with us, Wa Ma Alaina Illa Al Balagh.