Dakwah and Da'waah

The global resurgence of Islam as a way of life is well known. Among the signs of the constant rise of Islam is the work of reformation (dakwah) that is committed with great effort within the Muslim community. Jurists, teachers, preachers and activists of the dakwah movement aim to improve the spiritual condition of the community. They remind Muslims of the need to establish prayers, confessional and practical depth in articles of faith and believe, to dress according to Islamic ethics, do good deeds, forbid evil and be patient in adversity. This work of reformation (dakwah) is an internal effort by the conscious among the community, to make Muslims return to the pure state and spirit of sacrifice as warranted by the religion. Dakwah is an effort of recovering the waning Muslim identity, rooting it to authentic sources of Quran, Sunnah, Rightly Guided Caliphs and Salafus Soleh. Yet the work of dakwah does not reject the modern world and the needs of contemporary life. Certainly dakwah workers see life as an ibadah in totality as long as it is done within the limits ordained by ALLAH swt and intended to seek the pleasure of ALLAH The Most Just and Exalted.

If dakwah refers to an effort of internal reformation, the other component known as da'waah neccessarily meant the work towards establishing Islam as a life to be shared with others in the world. It is an effort to deliberate on the idea of Tauhid whose main message is to make men acknowledge the Oneness of ALLAH swt. Da'waah aims to convey the message of Tauhid to non-Muslims through the method of dialogue, reflection, discussion, observation etc. It is work done by the earlier generations throughout the world which today see Islam stretch far and wide. Much as dakwah is a need as many among the Muslim ummah has received minimal of the true teachings of Islam, da'waah is equally urgent and should be couched within the discourse of Tauhidic presentation.

If we were to reflect on the Prophet Muhammad's life and that of his companions, their concern is not to build a civilisation that could match the greatness of Byzantine and Roman empires for that is not the da'waah that ALLAH swt has taught them through revelation (wahyu). Their life were dedicated to freeing the oppress, confronting obstinate frontal enemies, persuading subtle self-serving personalities to accept an unadulterated version of Tauhid and dealing with people in daily life with excellent character. Hence the work of da'waah of the Prophet and his companions were primarily dealing with the struggle of human arrogance and frailness. While this claim does not intend to diminish the fact that the Prophet was occupied with state and society building, the work that ALLAH swt has shown him was primarily of the few mentioned. Yet today, we hardly see Muslims doing much of these works. While we believe in ALLAH swt, do good deeds and patient in adversity, we lack the strive for spreading Tauhid, fight against oppression (al-baghy) and face up to false judges and gods (taghut).

The works of dakwah and da'waah are equally important and need our balanced attention if we bear true witness to the shahadah, articles of faith and articles of believe. Wallahu'alam bissawab.