In earlier times, the Muslim diaspora had played a peaceful role in the regions they entered—that is, they took the message of Islam to the new populations they encountered. However, in the present age, the Muslim diaspora is performing a completely opposite role. Their activities have led to the spread of intolerance, hate, violence and even suicide bombing in the countries in which they reside. Some Muslims are engaged in all of this directly while others’ involvement in this is indirect in that they do not openly condemn the heinous acts committed in the name of their religion. Although Muslims perpetrate these acts in the name of Islam, their actions are in truth only doing a disservice to Islam.
News of this “disservice to Islam” can be continually seen in the media. The latest news of this kind has come from Australia. The abovecited newsreport is very alarming for Muslims. Prior to this, everyone enjoyed complete freedom in Australia. But Australian Muslims, who had originally come as immigrants, imitated Muslims living in other countries by importing the “violent Islam” to Australia. As a result, to maintain peace the Australian administration took the decision to pass a new law which will give the police more power to curb violence.
Yesterday I happened to meet an educated Muslim. He was born in a Muslim country, but is now living in some part of the Western world. During the conversation, he asked me about Muslims in diaspora. He wanted to know the Islamic position of Muslims who were in diaspora, that is, whether their situation had any Islamic value or not. In the present world, there are more than ten million Muslims living in the western world. It is said that the tallest diaspora is that of the Muslims. These Muslims sometime call themselves muhajir. But, muhajir is a very special term in Islam. Muhajir is a rewardable status. The Prophet has prayed thus for those who are muhajir: “O God, there is no pleasure except the pleasure of the Hereafter. Forgive the muhajir and the ansar.” (Bukhari). This shows that the muhajir are very special, even the Prophet himself was a muhajir. But, who are the muhajir? Literally, those who live as immigrants are the muhajir. However, literally the word “muhajir” denotes only a geographical phenomenon. In Islam, muhajir is something more. According to the Quran, a muhajir is one who is muhajir fi sabilillah (an immigrant in the path of God). One whose hijrat (migration) is done in the path of God is a muhajir, otherwise not.
There is a very relevant Hadith in this regard. The very first Hadith of Bukhari is about hijrat. The Prophet said: “The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions. Every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So, whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for.” (Bukhari). Hijrat, in Islam, is one that is done for the sake of God. What is meant by ‘hijrat for the sake of God’? It means for the sake of the Islamic mission, or dawat ilallah. During the time of the Prophet three hijrats or migrations were undertaken by the Muslims: first was from Mecca to Habash (present-day Ethiopia), second from Mecca to Medina, and the third from Arabia to adjacent countries. All these three migrations were done for the sake of dawah.
Hijrat for Mission
According to the Islamic teaching, hijrat is ibadah (worship). Because, when a believer migrates from his land and settles somewhere else, he is going over there for the sake of his mission. The mission is part and parcel of the believer’s life. He who is a believer, is also a man of mission. A true believer has mission as part of his life. Here, mission means tabligh or dawat, that is, conveying the word of God to all mankind.
Those who are living in different countries, especially western countries, must introspect whether their migration or hijrat was for the sake of God. According to my knowledge, these people migrated only for the sake of money or for building a better future for their families. This kind of migration is not hijrat. Due to this reason, we see that in every country, those Muslims who are living in diaspora are living in ghettos. Although, they are not living in separate colonies, but they are living with separatist tendencies. Their lifestyle, gatherings and activities are all Muslim-oriented, except their workplace. This indicates that they are not living the life of a missionary. Mission necessarily requires interaction. Why are, then, the Muslims living in ghettos? Why are they living in separate environments, other than in their workplaces? This is because they have no sense of dawah. This kind of living is not hijrah-living. If they live in this manner, they cannot be treated as muhajir. These Muslims have a very good chance or opportunity to do dawah work among the people whom they are living. They have many non-Muslims around them. The easiest way to do dawah is to keep with oneself the translations of the Quran and books on Islamic literature. They can distribute these books among their neighbours or present it to their colleagues. But, Muslims of these countries have no passion for dawah. So, they are not doing dawah at all. This kind of life is very risky. It is a believer’s duty to convey the message of God to his neighbours. Muslims, who are living among western neighbours, have it as their responsibility to convey God’s message to others. If they do not do this, they are taking a big risk.
Muslims living in western countries must adopt a missionary life. They must live with the formula: ‘One man, two mission’. They must adopt this formula. One part of their mission should be to earn money and the second part should be conveying the message of God to their neighbours. You have to adopt this formula, otherwise your position is very risky, as you will be answerable before God for your negligence.
Dawah is Obligatory
Now we are living in the age of the printing press. Therefore, it is very easy to adopt this mission. This is also good for your family. In the present situation, the migration of Muslims living in the West is a very critical migration. It means that they have migrated from their countries only for the purpose of material gain. In their own Muslim homeland, they used to have various Islamic activities and institutions. But, when they leave their Muslim homeland to another country, it means that they have migrated from an Islamic land to a material land. So, they have to legitimize their action. This can be done only by engaging in dawah ilallah.
Simply performing namaz and preserving your Muslim identity is not enough. Dawah is as important as salat (prayer) is for a Muslim. Dawah is obligatory, it is not optional. So, you have to do dawah work just as you are performing salat and hajj. It is a fact that every Muslim is living in a neighbourhood. It is your duty to convey the message of God to your neighbours. If you fail to perform this task, your neighbour will ask you in the world Hereafter: ‘We were living in your neighbourhood, you were Muslims possessing the Book of God, then why did you fail to convey this message to us. Why did you fail to give us a copy of the Quran?’ These neighbours will ask you these questions in the world Hereafter. Therefore, leaving your homeland for another country is not a simple matter. Earning more money and providing better comfort to your family is not enough. Your neighbour also has some right over you. The Prophet has said: “Your neighbour also has a right over you.” (Bukhari) You have to fulfill this right. This right, which the neighbour has over you, does not consist in providing food or money. The greatest right of your neighbour over you is in your giving a copy of the Quran to him and conveying the message of God.
Every Muslim, who lives in diaspora, must introspect and rethink his or her life. Muslims are living in a very risky position. It is undertaking of a great risk to be living in a country and not conveying the message of God to the people of that country. If you do not do so, then you are living in a very critical situation. You will be held responsible for this negligence towards your neighbours. So in order to save yourself, your family and children, you will have to adopt dawah work. Because, if you do dawah work, then God will shower His blessings on you. If you want these blessings, you will have to do dawah work.
Dawah: The Greatest Giving
Dawah work is not simply an announcement. Dawah work is the greatest divine duty. If you are living in your homeland, then may be your duty is restricted to being among Muslims. But, when you are living in a non-Muslim country, it is obligatory for you to include non-Muslims in the list of your dawah mission. Otherwise you will be regarded as nothing before God.
Dawah is not simple. Dawah is living with the spirit of giving. Dawah is, in fact, the greatest giving. There is a verse in the Quran: “Whatever is beneficial for man remains behind.” (13:17). Dawah is a highly rewardable act. Dawah is not only giving, it is also receiving. You are giving something to man, and at the same time you are receiving something from God. This is the meaning of dawah being a rewardable act. It is very important and it is the greatest deed. If you want to have divine blessings for yourself, your family and children, you have to perform dawah work.
Dawah work means self-study. First of all, you have to make yourself a good dayee, next you have to do dua and then establish contact with the madu. Then, you have to provide Islamic literature to these madu. All these things are part of dawah. Those Muslims who are living in diaspora, in countries other than their homelands, have double responsibility. They must perform dawah work on their neighbours. And, in the present world this is a very easy task. The Prophet and his Companions did dawah at the time when there was religious persecution. But today we are living in the age of religious freedom. So, dawah today is very easy.
May God guide us!
