The Da’wah

Daʿwah (Arabic: دعوة, Arabic: [ˈdæʕwæh], "invitation", also spelt dâvah, daawa, dawah, daawah or dakwah) is the act of inviting or calling people to embrace Islam. The plural is daʿwāt (عْوات) or daʿawāt (دَعَوات). For certain groups within Islam like the Salafis and Jamaat-e-Islami, daʿwah is also considered as a political activity. For these groups, the aim of daʿwah outreach is also to engineer a reversal of what they perceive as the decline of Islam in the modern era, through the systematic propagation of Islamist ideology and ultimately enable the establishment of an Islamic state.

Early Islam

The term daʿwah has other senses in theQur'an. In sura (chapter) 30:25, for example, it denotes the call to the dead to rise on the Day of Judgment. When used in the Qur'an, it generally refers to Allah's invitation to live according to his will. Thus, when used in the first centuries of Islam, it usually referred to that message and was sometimes used interchangeably with ,sharī‘a and dīn.
Daʿwah is also described as the duty to "actively encourage fellow Muslims in the pursuance of greater piety in all aspects of their lives", a definition which has become central to contemporary Islamic thought.

During Prophet Muhammad's (ﷺ) era

During the Expedition of Al Raji in 625, Muhammad sent some men as missionaries to various different tribes. Some men came to Muhammad and requested that Muhammad send instructors to teach them Islam, but the men were bribed by the two tribes of Khuzaymah, who wante d revenge for the assassination of Khalid bin Sufyan (Chief of the Banu Lahyan tribe) by Muhammad's followers. A number of missionaries were killed in this expedition, either eight or, according to another account, ten.
Then during the Expedition of Bir Maona in July 625 Muhammad sent some missionaries at the request of some men from the Banu Amir tribe, but the Muslims were again killed in revenge for the assassination of Khalid bin Sufyan by Muhammad's followers. 70 Muslims were killed during this expedition.
During the Expedition of Khalid ibn al-Walid (Banu Jadhimah) in January 630, Muhammad sent Khalid ibn Walid to invite the Banu Jadhimah tribe to Islam. This is mentioned in the Sunni Hadith Sahih al-Bukhari, 5:59:628.
Mus'ab ibn 'Umair was the first Muslim envoy in September 621. He was sent to Yathrib (now Medina) to teach the people the doctrines of Islam and give them guidance.

Etymology

Daʿwah [ˈdæʕwæh] literally means "issuing a summons" or "making an invitation". Grammatically, the word represents a gerund of a verb with the triconsonantal root d-ʕ-w (د-ع-و) meaning variously "to summon" or "to invite". A Muslim who practices daʿwah, either as a religious worker or in a volunteer community effort, is called a dāʿī (داعي, plural duʿāh دعاة [dʊˈʕæː]). A dāʿī, is a person who invites people to understand and accept Islam through dialogue and other techniques, may be regarded as a missionary inviting people to the faith, prayer and manner of Islamic life.[5]

Purpose

In Islamic theology, the purpose of daʿwah is to invite people, Muslims and non-Muslims, to understand the worship of God as expressed in the Qur'an and the sunnah of Muhammad_(ﷺ) and to inform them about Muhammad. Daʿwah as the "Call towards God" is the means by which Muhammad_(ﷺ) began spreading the message of the Qur'an to mankind. After Muhammad, his followers and the Ummah (Muslim community) assumed responsibility for it. They convey the message of the Qur'an by providing information on why and how the Qur'an preaches monotheism. Muhammad saw Islam as the true religion and mission of all earlier prophets. He believed that their call had been limited to their own people but that his was universal. His mission as the final prophet was to repeat to the whole world this call and invitation (daʿwah) to Islam. Muhammad wrote to various non-Muslim rulers, inviting them to convert.

Scriptural basis

The importance of daʿwah has been emphasised many times in the Quran: Who is better in speech than one who calls to Allah, does righteous deeds and says indeed I am among the Muslims. — Quran, Sura 41 (HAA-meem-as-sajdah), ayah 33 You are the best nation raised up for humankind. You enjoin righteousness, forbid corruption and you believe in Allah. — Quran, Sura 3 (Al-Imran), ayah 110 Let there arise among you a group inviting to all that is good, enjoining righteousness and forbidding evil. Those are the successful ones. — Quran, Sura 3 (Al-Imran), ayah 104 Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good preaching. — Quran, Sura 16 (An-Nahl), ayah 125

In the Hadith ("sayings") of Muhammad_(ﷺ), daʿwah is mentioned to emphasise importance and virtues: "Whoever directs someone to do good will gain the same reward as the one who does good." "Whoever calls to guidance will receive the same reward as the one who follows him without any decrease in the reward of his follower." "For Allah to guide someone by your hand is better for you than having red camels." (In ancient Arabia, camels – especially of a reddish hue – were considered particularly valuable property.) "Convey from me, even if it be only a single verse." Muhammad_(ﷺ) sent Muadh ibn Jabal to Yemen and told him “You will be going to Christians and Jews, so the first thing you should invite them to is the assertion of the oneness of Allah, Most High. If they realize that, then inform them that Allah has made five daily prayers obligatory on them. If they pray them, then inform them that Allah has made the payment of charity from their wealth obligatory on their rich to be given to their poor. If they accept that, then take it from them and avoid the best part of people's property.”

Methods

Gentleness

With regard to Muhammad's mild nature in preaching Islam, the Quran says: And by the mercy of Allah you dealt with them gently. If you were harsh and hardhearted, they would have fled from around you. (Quran 3:159). The Quran says about Moses and Aaron who preached to Pharaoh, the claimant of God: So speak to him, both of you, mildly in order that he may reflect or fear God. (Quran 20:44). Muhammad was reported by his wife, Aisha to have said “Whenever gentleness is in a thing, it beautifies it, and whenever it is withdrawn from something, it defaces.”[30] Muhammad was quoted by Jareer as saying,“One deprived of gentleness is deprived of all good.

Influence in politics

Muslims made it a part of their political theory (through relating daʿwah to jihad) and life (using the concept of daʿwah in their political agendas). Taken in general, the intertwining of daʿwah and politics, then, has been a feature throughout the Muslim history, though practical implications of this have been different in different ages.

Wisdom

"Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has strayed from His way, and He is most knowing of who is [rightly] guided ...". (Quran 16:125).
A classical example of diversion in daʿwah can be seen in the case of Yusuf in prison when two prisoners asked him to interpret their dreams. One of them said: “I saw myself pressing wine.” The other said: “I saw myself carrying bread on my head and birds were eating from it.” They asked: “Inform us of the interpretation of these things. Indeed, we believe you are one of the righteous.” He replied: “Whenever food came to you as your provision, I informed you about it before it came. That is from what my Lord has taught me.... As for one of you, he will pour wine for his lord to drink, and as for the other, he will be crucified and birds will eat from his head. This is the case judged concerning which you both inquire.” (Quran 12:35–41)

Speaking a common language

“I did not send any messenger except that he spoke the language of his people to explain to them.” (Quran 14:4)

Location

Doing daʿwah in the right location. For example, Mount Safa in the time of Muhammad was used for announcements. So Muhammad went there to make his point. He chose that particular location because he knew the people who he was inviting to Islam. He knew their nature and characteristics, so he chose Mount Safa. He climbed up to its summit and addressed his people saying: “O people of Quraysh, if I were to tell you there was an army behind this hill would you listen to me?”