Aug 5, 2008

Ibn al-Qayyim: How to Give Da'wah to Those Who Love the Dunya

Assalamualaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu,

Many a time, we find it difficult to give Da'wah to those who love the Dunya. The following are useful 'tips' by Ibn al Qayyim:

"...The smart one does not command people to abandon the dunya, because this is impossible for them. Rather, he has them abandon sins while they are established in their dunya. This is because abandoning the dunya is an optional virtue while abandoning sins is an obligation. So, how can he command them with something optional while they have not even fulfilled what is obligatory?

If it is difficult for them to abandon sins, he should then strive to get them to love Allah by reminding them of His signs, blessings, Kindness, perfection, and Loftiness. This is because the hearts are naturally designed to love Him, and if they become attached to loving Him, it then becomes extremely easy to abandon sins and to detach oneself from them.

Yahya bin Mu'adh said: "The intelligent one seeking the dunya is better than the ignorant one abandoning it."

The smart one calls the people to Allah from their dunya, and this makes it easier for them to respond to him. The zahid calls them to Allah by way of abandoning the dunya, and this makes it hard for them to respond, since it is very hard to pull someone away from the breast that he has developed his mind while suckling on..."


Wassalamu'alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very nice reminder ;)

sometimes I can't help but feel that religious people abandone their dutties to the less religious..
jazzaki allah khair

Anonymous said...

JazakAllahu Khayran for the reminder.

You know, one of the biggest reasons why I started IslamicGear is to give dawah not only to non-Muslims, but also to the Muslims.

Many places where I go, I see the youth have lost touch with the reality - the deen.

It is nice quite to see you update this blog to help remind the Muslims of our main focus and purpose of life. First and foremost, it is a reminder to me.

May Allah reward you and keep you firm upon the Haq. Ameen