Is the correct approach in da'wah to begin with gathering and then knowledge, or to begin with knowledge and then gathering?

The questioner : ... for a period, some questions regarding the current situation

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : Our Salafi brothers wished to pose some questions to you on this topic, and perhaps you will benefit them with the precision you are known for, if Allah wills, in scientific research and your long experience in calling to Allah the Exalted and confronting many currents for more than half a century. Perhaps this will be a lesson for them, that they may take heed and benefit, if Allah wills. Some among the brothers say, "Educate then mobilize," mobilizing the people. Some say, "Mobilize then educate." Some say, "Mobilize those who have been educated." And some say, "Educate and do not mobilize." So we ask you to benefit us in this matter. May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : We always say, and forever, in every matter, small or large: And there is no doubt that these statements you have cited do not align with the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who is our model, except the statement that says, "Educate then mobilize." That is the biography of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), which began from the day Allah the Exalted revealed to him Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) began calling people in secret. And as we all know from the history of the early da'wah, Allah the Exalted selected for it individuals from the Arabs who had been granted fitrah (the innate natural disposition), intellect, and a desire to know the truth and follow it. The first to believe in the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and respond to his call was Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) among the men, and Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) among the youth or boys, and so on. The da'wah continued to spread among the Arabs, and faith increased gradually, and so on, until Allah the Exalted permitted these individuals to mobilize thereafter in known stages, after the migration to Abyssinia and the migration to the Noble City of Madinah. Therefore, it is not permissible for one who is first sincere in his claim that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is his model in all aspects of his life to follow or adopt a different method in mobilizing people except the method of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). And we know by knowledge and experience that the path the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) took in educating people and teaching them takes a long time and great effort, such that only a few individuals can be patient with it. Therefore, the prevailing characteristic of all these groups you have mentioned, with the statements you have cited, is haste in reaching the gathering of Muslims and establishing the desired Muslim states. But in reality, any group that does not follow the path of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in mobilizing on the basis of culture and knowledge of Islam will end in loss. This is what we testify to Allah and call to for more than half a century: that it is necessary to educate then mobilize. We see and observe in every era, and whenever groups move due to changes in some political circumstances, that people rush and claim mobilization on a basis of no knowledge. Recently, I looked at a bulletin, and I think it is from one of those who is enthusiastic in the present time for a claimed Salafi Islamic mobilization. He spoke a lot at the beginning of this bulletin in acceptable terms, but at the end he deviated from the line when he began to claim, "Until when will we be occupied with saying these are authentic hadiths, these are weak hadiths, this is Sunnah, and this is bid'ah (religious innovation)? We must be occupied with economics and politics and the like." So I was amazed, because we feel, and our hearts are full of regret, that this is what he is complaining about, whereas there are some individuals in the Islamic world working in the science of hadith, and there are no individuals working in what he is complaining about now, namely knowledge of politics and economics and the like. So how do they want to establish a mobilization in which there are not individuals, by the dozens if not hundreds, who are fulfilling some of the fard kifayah (collective obligation), which is impossible for a group that wants to mobilize at the expense of Islamic da'wah to stand, unless this group has dozens, if not hundreds, of specialists in all the sciences upon which the standing of the group, let alone the Muslim state, cannot be established except on the basis of knowledge of all these sciences? This speech makes us feel that these people are responding to emotions and not to reason and knowledge. Because if this group is complaining about individuals working in one aspect of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) which is a fard kifayah, and they want these or others to work in the other aspects of the sciences which are fard kifayah, and there is no one working in them, what will be the outcome of this mobilization, which is based on ignorance and not on knowledge of Islam in all its aspects? This, in reality, makes us feel that people are rushing to a matter they cannot reach except after taking the prerequisites and means that lead them to the desired goal. This is undoubtedly the outcome of one who forgets or neglects to walk in his da'wah to Islam in the footsteps of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), which was based on educating then mobilizing. This is my answer to this question.