Today I would like to say a few words about the teachings of Islam. Yesterday I was listening to a talk by a popular Muslim speaker. During his speech he used an analogy of the passport and visa. He said that there is also a passport and a visa for Islam. According to him, “la ilaha lillah” is the passport of Islam and “muhammdur rasulullah” is its visa. Then, he said that every Muslim already has the passport. Because, when he is born, the kalima is recited in his ear. So, already he has obtained the passport of Islam. Now, the only thing he needs, according to this speaker, is the visa of Islam, that is, by following the Prophet Muhammad. This kind of presentation of Islam is like a joke. It has no impact upon the listener. It is a kind of entertainment, it is not dawah.

If you consider the modern situation in Muslim countries, you will find that every day in the media there is some hot news from these countries. Every day they are killing in the name of Islam and jihad. So, if you analyze, you will find that there are the two basic forms of Islam prevalent today. There may be dozens of sects among Muslims, may be, there are seventy-three sects, but, if you categorize these sects, you can sum them up into two: first category is based on the culture of rituals and the second category is based on the culture of violence. Some Muslims are engaged in violence in the name of Islam, which they think is the greatest ibadah, or form of worship. While, the other group of Muslims has based its concept of Islam on fazail. For this group, Islam is a set of rituals and these rituals are very afzal, and on performing these you will enter Paradise. But, both these groups are living in fool’s paradise. What they have defined as Islam is not Islam. I have studied Islam from its original sources, that is, the Quran, Hadith, and Seerah. I can say with conviction that there are two basic aspects of Islam: first, marefat and second, dawat.

Marefat: The Seed of Islam

Marefat is the ideology of Islam. It is like the seed. All other aspects of Islam are only manifestations of marefat. What is marefat? When you develop the spirit of enquiry, you will try to know the truth with the capital T, the purpose of life, the scheme of the Creator, pre-death and post-death periods and so on. These are basic questions of an individual, and when you try to find answers to these questions, that is marefat. Marefat literally means realization or discovery. This word can be found in Chapter al-Maidah of the Quran: “When they listen to what has been sent down to the Messenger, you see their eyes overflowing with tears, because of the Truth they recognize.” (5:83). In this verse, you can see that marefat is the beginning of Islam. When you discover Islam, when you realize God Almighty, it is then that you attain marefat. This is the beginning. Marefat does not mean simply uttering of some words. On the contrary, marefat is like brainstorming. When you discover the truth of Islam, it is like being shook by an earthquake. You then try to understand everything in the light of divine guidance. This realization or discovery makes your personality a new personality. This marefat is not simply a mysterious ruhaniyat. It is a storm. Marefat changes your way of thinking, your way of speaking, your method of dealing, and all the aspects of your life. Thus, you become a new man. That is a believer, or arif. This kind of realization is bound to find expression in the external world. Marefat, initially, is an internal phenomenon. But, this internal phenomenon is so powerful that is it bound to find expression in the external world. When it translates into the outer aspects of your life, your whole life becomes a new life. So, marefat is not simply a personal realization. It changes your whole personality. It changes all your actions.

Dawah: A Bilateral Process

Dawah is also an expression of marefat. When you discover the importance of deen (religion), and you realize that the salvation of man depends on divine guidance, then naturally you try to spread this message to all mankind. It becomes impossible for you to be contended with yourself, you would like to share your discovery with other people, for example, with your neighbors. Now we are living in the age of technology, so the whole world is your electronic neighbor. It is God’s concern that every human being should know the creation plan and the way to find success in this world and hereafter. So, you decide not only to follow the divine guidance, but also to spread it to all mankind. Again, it is not a simple decision. It involves many other things. For example, if you are living in the western world, you will find that there are a number of things that you dislike, which are against the religion of Islam. Due to this, all the Muslims are negative toward West. They say that the West is an enemy of Islam. But if you have attained marefat, you will not allow yourself to accept this kind of hateful psychology. You discover that dawah and hate cannot go together. If you are a dayee, you cannot afford to hate the madu. You discover that every businessman knows that he cannot afford hatred for his customer. So, there is a term called customer-friendly behavior among the business community. Every businessman adopts this behavior towards his customer. You will, therefore, feel that I must also adopt the madu-friendly behavior. But this behavior is not easy, because every time there are unpleasant situations and sad experiences. Thus, you decide that you will adopt the madu-friendly behavior in spite of all those atrocities, whether they are right or wrong. So, you feel: ‘If I want to achieve that kind of reward which will be given to the dayee for dawah work, I will have to change my mind and make myself hate-free.’ You will have to adopt the madu-friendly behavior, otherwise you will fail to do dawah and fail to get the reward destined for those people who have done dawah in this world. This is the dawah culture.  

Marefat and dawah are the two basic parts of Islam. All other things that are part of Islam, like ibada, dua, zikr, character-building, good behavior etc., are the offshoots of these two parts.  I can even say that everything is the offshoot of marefat. Even dawah is the offshoot of marefat. Marefat is like the seed. The seed produces the whole tree, it is the beginning of the whole tree. The whole tree is just like the unfolding of the seed. That’s why the Quran says: “Do you not see how God compares a good word to a good tree? Its root is firm and its branches are in the sky.” (14:24). Kalima is like the seed. When one discovers the kalima and adopts it with its true spirit, the kalima becomes for him like a seed and his faith starts growing till it becomes a whole tree. In Islam, marefat is like a seed. All those things that we know as part of Islam, including dawah, are manifestations of marefat.

Every believer must know this fact, that is, he must strengthen his belief. He must acquire conviction about his marefat or belief. Only this kind of strengthening of the marefat will find expression in the external world. Marefat is the beginning or the first principle of Islam. It is the basic teaching of Islam. Dawah is only an external expression of marefat.

Dawah As a Means of Personality Development

When you involve yourself in dawah, you have experiences every day. When you interact or discuss with the madu, you feel that there are so many questions. The madu gives you a new item for thinking. If you are sincere, if you want to convince your madu and address the mind of madu, you will prepare yourself for the purpose of addressing his questions. In this sense, dawah is a bilateral process, it is not unilateral announcement. It is mutual learning: it is giving, and at the same time it is taking. Dayee gives something to the madu and the madu also gives something to the dayee. If dayee is a sincere and prepared mind, dawah becomes a way of intellectual development and personality development. Dawah is not only for the madu, it is also meant for the dayee. It is a double-sided work. According to my experience, I can say that the greatest boost for intellectual development is dawah. I have had so many experiences in my life. When I met someone to convey the message of Islam, he raised certain questions, and those questions made me rethink. At that time, when the questions were raised, I was unable to reply to them. I found myself helpless. Then, I returned with a new decision to prepare myself. I then studied books, I enquired about the question and studied the Quran again and again. So, my dawah work became a study-work also. According to my experience, dawah is a great source of self-training. If you are sincere, then dawah is a great source of intellectual development. Because, the madu was born in a different environment from yours, his way of thinking is different. When you speak to him, he will ask various different kinds of questions. If you are sincere, you will study further and think again. Thus, you will discover some new things. Some of my books were written after such experiences. Dawah is not simply announcement, but a great task.

There are two levels of dawah. The easiest method of dawah can be adopted today. We are living in the age of the printing press. There are many translations of the Quran in printed form and various books on Islam. You have to keep them with you and when you meet people, you can present it to them as a spiritual gift. This is the easiest way of doing dawah. But, there is another level of dawah, that is, the level in which you involve yourself in dawah: you discuss and interact with people. During this, new questions emerge and new areas of knowledge come up. If you are sincere, it will boost your spirit of learning. Every day you can develop your mind through this way.

Those who are living in the West must abandon all kind of hate, because without freeing yourself of hate, you cannot do dawah. You have to be a well-wisher for others. You have to do dua and listen to their point of view with patience. All this requires compassion. So, you must be hate-free towards your madu. If you have no time, you should adopt the method of distribution. If you have time, you can involve yourself in interaction and discussion and thus also develop your personality.