1. CHAPTER: 12
RKUD 3030 METHODS OF DA’WAH
Basic Requirements & Methods of
Da’wah in Multi-Racial and Multi-
Religious Society
1

2. At a glance
 Introduction
 Concept of multi-racial and multi-religious society
 Basic Requirements & Methods of Da’wah and Da‘ie
 General Directives
 Relationship between society and da’wah
 Conclusion
2

3. Introduction
3
 The creation of human beings with different races, tribes,
tradition, culture, and nationalities is the sign of Allah swt.
(al-Qur’an, al-Rum 30: 19-22)
 The Qur’anic concept of ta‘aruf also means to know and
depend one to each other by exchanging mutual benefits.
Complimentary life through interdependency may take
place individually and collectively. The Qur’an addresses
the whole of mankind with regard to the status in the sight
of their Creator. “Verily, the most honorable of you with
Allâh is that (believer) who has At-Taqwa”. (al-Hujraat
49:13)

4. Cont…
4
 Mankind is regarded as a social being that cannot live in
seclusion. They could only progress whenever they
mutually depend on others.
 Allah swt regards mankind as His slaves and Khalifah on
the earth. They shoulder the task of taking care their fellow
human being to achieve progress and success based on the
norms and regulations laid down in the Shari‘ah.
 Hence, the concept of tawhid should not be disintegrated
from worldly affairs, which will lead into secularism to
separate religion from social behavior. (Sohirin Solihin, 2008:
248-251)

5. Concept of multi-racial and multi-
religious Society
5
 Multi-racial Society: Made up of, involving, or acting on behalf of
various races, or having ancestors of several or various races. In
sociology, the word “multi-racial” is an adjective of multiracialism
(noun) which comprising people of many races. (The American
Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language)
 Multi-religious Society: belonging to or following more than one
religion; (of a country, society, etc) having followers of more than
one religion.

6. Cont…
6
 Many countries boast multi-ethnic and diverse populations,
countries such as the United States, Australia and Malaysia
being relatively good examples of multi-racial and multi-
religious society.

7. Multi-racial & religious Society in
Islam
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 Islam promotes decency, decent dress, sobriety, social harmony and honor.
 Islam inspired neighborliness, sympathetic understanding and sentiments
which promote values, ideals, unity and co-operation, that should extend
beyond the Muslim brotherhood to those who are brothers in humanity,
especially those who share territorial boundaries with Muslims. (Muhammad
Abdul Rauf, n.d. pp. 56-57)
 A plural, multi-religious society relationships between Muslims and non-
Muslims must be governed by moral and ethical considerations. (Anwar
Ibrahim, 1996: 123)

8. Cont…
8
 Justice is one of the enshrined pillars of Islam. Therefore, justice
and equality is the key attribute of a multi-racial and religious
society. It must also be enforced without discrimination and
prejudice.
 When justice and equality is upheld, a multiracial society can stir
on from being trapped in a predicament of social problems and
move on to peace, progress and social harmony.

9. Cont…
9
 However, Public exposure of female bodies, places of open
gambling houses should not be encouraged to spread in a
country whose state religion is Islam.
 These practices could have a damaging effect, and are not
in the best interests of any of the racial or religious groups
in the country. (Muhammad Abdul Rauf, n.d. pp. 56-57)

10. Basic requirements and methods of
Da’wah
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 Here we will briefly discuss basic requirements and
methods of Da’wah, especially how to interact with other
people of different races and religions, in the context of
multi-religious and multi-cultural society.
 One of the attributes of an excellent Muslim community, is
to be comprehensive, to interact and socialize with others of
different races and religions.

 Sheikh Faisal Mawlawi, in his book Al-Mafahim Al-Asasiah
li Ad-Da’wah Al-Islamiah, has outlined three ways on how
to express Da'wah and to interact with non-Muslims.

11. Cont…
11
 1) The first is to do ta’aruf.
 Ta’aruf means to get to know others better. Get to know
other cultures and religions better. Allah swt says : “O
mankind! We have created you from a male and a female,
and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know
one another. Verily, the most honorable of you with Allâh
is that (believer) who has At-Taqwa. Verily, Allâh is All
Knowing, All Aware.” [Al-Hujurat: 13]

12. Cont…
12
 When we get to know other religions better, it is not to glorify or
honor such religions and sets of beliefs that associate partners to
Allah. The main purpose is getting to know other religions better,
and is to give us an understanding on why the followers of such
and such religion do such and such a thing.
 Studying and getting to know other religions, will assists us in
explaining about Islam to others of different faiths, to act Da'wah
to them, to share the similarities between Islam and their
religion, and in a way helps to foster a more harmonious and
graceful society.

13. Cont…
13
 Many great ulama/scholars of the past such as Ibn Hazam and
Al-Biruni seek to understand other religions before explaining
Islam to the followers of those religions. They learnt their
cultures, their native languages. And even spent some of their
time living with them. Al-Biruni for example, lived in India for
more than 10 years, just to understand their cultures and faith.
Only then he could produce a book on India (kitaab al Hind), its
people, their cultures and beliefs.

14. Cont…
14
 2) The second approach is to interact with others
 Allah s.w.t commands us to always do good to others, regardless of race
and religion. Allah says: “Allâh does not forbid you to deal justly and
kindly with those who fought not against you on account of religion and
did not drive you out of your homes. Verily, Allâh loves those who deal
with justice.” [Al-Mumtahanah:8]
 We must accept the fact that the followers of other religions need to
practice their religious beliefs and rituals. As much as we do not want to
be disturbed when we practice Islam, they also do not want to be
disturbed practicing their religions.

15. Cont…
15
 3) The third approach is to help each other
 Islam encourages this, and Allah swt says: “Help you one
another in good deeds and AtTaqwa (virtue,
righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in
sin and transgression.” [Al-Maidah: 2]
 Muslims should help others in all those things that are
good and beneficial

16. Cont…
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 There is no law or command in Islam that forbids Muslims from
helping others for the sake of humanity, regardless of race and
religion. Muslims are only forbidden to help others in acts of sins
and other religious worships.
 Thus, in a multi-racial and religious society, the various races,
whether Muslims and non-Muslims should have more interfaith,
inter religious and intercultural dialogues so that the maximum
degree of understanding, tolerance, harmony, happiness and
peace could be minted in the society. (Mohd. Yusof Hussain, 2009: 261)

17. Cont…
17
 Finally, Da'wah nowadays more easier compared to the time of
Prophet (SAW) in which the messenger of Allah has to use
different kind of approach to comprehend the Arabs to accept
Islam based on their level of understanding. We may offer
Da'wah to non-Muslims in contemporary multi-racial and multi-
religious societies applying various methods as mentioned
earlier.
 Da’wah should be target not only to the masses but also the
elites,, professionals, bureaucrats, the private sectors, youth, and
workers. To have a better understanding of each other, we may
also put forward joint effort among Da'wah organizations to
convince the different groups of faith through printed, electronic
media and internet.

18. Basic Requirements of Da‘ie
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 In order to be an effective Da'wah in multi-religious society,
the Da‘ie himself must fulfill some basic requirements in all
the time and place.
 1) A Da‘ie must possess a good akhlaq which is in
accordance to the Qur’an and Sunnah of the Prophet (saw).
The Da‘ie should have an ideal personality such as
balanced, matured and faultless manner.
 2) A Da’ie must possess a good understanding of Islamic
teaching.

19. Cont…
19
 3) A Da‘ie must have correct motivation (niyyah) and
sincerity (Ikhlas) in doing Da’wah to the others.
 4) A Da‘ie get ready to struggle and sacrifice his time,
belonging, even everything for in the way of Da’wah ila-
Allah.

20. Cont…
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 In addition, a Da‘ie should have the following skills:
1) Knowledge of the land and people of that particular place and
time.
2) Knowledge of the contemporary world and social movements.
3) Mastery of many languages, at least one or two foreign language,
i.e. English and Arabic. The means of expression or the language
is the vehicle of communication.
4) Friendly user of modern technology and equipments.

21. General Directives of Da’wah
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 In order to preaching Da’wah in a multi-racial and multi-
religious society, it must be related to some educational
tools to portray the beauty of Islam to others.
 Generally, there are many ways to spread Da'wah through
education, for example, the mosque, school, library, public
and work place, dialogue being considered most important
tools of Da’wah for all.

 Mosque and its facilities, and activities:
 Library, Halaqa, Tahfiz
 and Social welfare oriented activities.
 Distributing Islamic literature, Books,CD and DVD.
 Translation and circulating of Friday Khutba

22. Cont…
22
 School: is considered primary institution of a nation building.
It can substitute an effective Da'wah for all if the following
program and actions are undertaken:
 Morning Assembly
 Bulletin Boards
 Drama Activities
 Study tour and camp
 Lecture and Usrah
 Work Place
 Da’wah Literature
 Dialogue

23. Relationship between Society and Da'wah
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 The Arabic word Da'wah which means “call” or “invitation”
carries out the following meanings:
 1. It is used to refer to the call made by Allah swt to mankind
through His prophets
 2. call made by man to his creator Allah swt through his
supplication
 3. call made by man to his fellow-human being to come
unconditionally to the Deen al Fitrah – Islam. These
meanings are found in the many Qur'anic verses.

24. Cont…
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 Moreover, Da’wah means the call to Allah swt. Allah says:
“Say (O Muhammad); this is my way. I call on Allah with
sure knowledge, I and whoever follows me. Glory to Allah!
And I never associate gods with Allah.” (Yusuf, 12:108)
 So what is meant by call to Allah? Definitely it is the call to
His Deen, and that is Islam.
 Indeed the religion of Allah is Islam which Prophet
Muhammad (saw) brought from his Lord. Hence, Islam is
the object of Da’wah. (Mohd. Yusuf H., 2009)

25. 25
 There are some principles towards the relationship between society and Islamic
Da’wah which reflect in the teaching of Qur’an, specially in Surah al-Nahl (16),
verse no. 90:
 “Verily, Allâh commands Al-Adl (i.e. justice and worshipping none but Allâh Alone -
Islâmic Monotheism) and Al-Ihsân [i.e. to be patient in performing your duties to Allâh,
totally for Allâh's sake and in accordance with the Sunnah (legal ways) of the Prophet
SAW in a perfect manner], and giving (help) to kith and kin (i.e. all that Allâh has
ordered you to give them e.g., wealth, visiting, looking after them, or any other kind of
help): and forbids Al-Fahshâ' (i.e all evil deeds, e.g. illegal sexual acts, disobedience of
parents, polytheism, to tell lies, to give false witness, to kill a life without right), and Al-
Munkar (i.e. all that is prohibited by Islâmic law), and Al-Baghy (i.e. all kinds of
oppression), He instructs you, that you may receive admonition.”

26. Cont…
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 The above mentioned Qur’anic verse, recognizes few important aspects
and principles of social justice for all human being in a multi-religious
society as followed:
 1. Al-Adl i.e. justice
 Al-Ihsân (i.e. to be best in performing your duties to Allâh)
 Giving help to kith and kin (i.e. all that Allâh has ordered you to give
them e.g., wealth, visiting, looking after them, or any other kind of
help)
 Forbids Al-Fahshâ' (i.e. all evil deeds)
 Al-Munkar (i.e. all that is prohibited by Islâmic law)
 Al-Baghy (i.e. all kinds of oppression)

27. Conclusion
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 The difference of color, race and tribes is the sign of
Allah’s creation which also recognizes the concept of
multi-racial and religious society.
 The principles of social justice like Al-Adl i.e.
justice, Al-Ihsân, Giving help to kith and kin,
Forbids Al-Fahshâ’, Al-Munkar, Al-Baghy (i.e. all
kinds of oppression) are the balanced and
meaningful features for all human being in a multi-
religious society as followed: