What is the first thing a da'iyah (caller to Islam) should start with now if he wants to call people?

The Shaykh : Sit down, sit down.

The questioner : By Allah, I have a question, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : May Allah guide you, may Allah guide you. Why are you being stingy? If your wind blows, seize it.

The questioner : As a da'iyah (caller to Islam), I want to call people now. What are the priorities in the current era? What are the priorities for a da'iyah (caller to Islam) to call people to?

The Shaykh : You call people to tawhid (the oneness of Allah), you call people to understanding tawhid (the oneness of Allah), meaning to learn the saying of Allah the Exalted: What do you think? ...Perhaps due to the importance of this word, or perhaps due to its lack of importance, our Lord said to His Prophet: "Know"? Because of its importance, is that not so? And if this address is directed to the master of scholars, how is it not directed to us and those like us, all the more so? And what do you think, do the Muslims today fulfill in themselves this address directed by Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)? I say, unfortunately: No. But Allah the Exalted said: .
So do you say: Yes? Or do you say with me: No?

The questioner : I am with you, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : So with what do you start?

The questioner : With "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no god but Allah).

The Shaykh : "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no god but Allah). And among the implications of this word is that you call people to follow the Book and the Sunnah, because they are the only source of the happiness of the Ummah (the Muslim community). If they are ignorant of the Book and the Sunnah, they will be humbled. If they know them and act upon them, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) will honor them and support them against their enemy. And you see today that those called da'iyah (callers to Islam) have diverted all their efforts from "Know that there is no god but Allah." This is a very serious form of ignorance of Islam, because they imagine, as if they were from the common people, that everyone, my brother, knows that "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no god but Allah). Yes, and I testify that everyone knows and says "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no god but Allah). But they do not understand its meaning. And then a very serious result appears, which is: that these people, who are supposed to be guides for the Muslims, have been content to equate them in reality with the disbelievers who save themselves from being killed by the Muslim ruler by saying: "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no god but Allah). Because the Messenger (peace be upon him) said: , they did not understand it and did not grasp its meaning, So today, the Islamic da'iyah (callers to Islam), except for a few of them, have been content for their Ummah (the Muslim community) with what Islam accepts for other nations of disbelievers, which is only to say "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no god but Allah). Why? To protect their blood and wealth. But does this statement enter them into Paradise? Does it save them from the Fire? He said: No. So we have been content for our Ummah (the Muslim community) that they be misguided, saying: "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no god but Allah). And unfortunately, they say with their tongues what is not in their hearts; because the greatness of this word has not settled in their hearts, as evidenced by the life they live, whether it relates to 'aqidah (creed), in which they commit acts of shirk (associating partners with Allah) and idolatry, and worship of other than Allah (Mighty and Majestic), which they call by a name other than its true name, calling it tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means), calling it shafa'ah (intercession), while it is not by this means at all, but is shirk (associating partners with Allah) itself. Or it relates to distancing themselves from dealing with the Islam they know, so they commit the prohibitions that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has forbidden. So their faith in "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no god but Allah) is truly in doubt. Even for those whom we assume have understood it, not only said it, but they have not made it the methodology of their life. Therefore, the principle is that the Muslim da'iyah (caller to Islam) should start with what all the Prophets and Messengers started with: to worship Allah and avoid the taghut (false deities). And when the da'iyah (caller to Islam) wants to explain and clarify the worship of Allah, he will collide with a bitter reality, unfortunately, from the Shaykhs themselves, let alone those below them, because they have not yet understood the testimony that "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no god but Allah).