We request an explanation of this phrase along with its attribution to its speaker: “The end of this Ummah will not be rectified except by what rectified its beginning.” And are the means of Da'wah (calling to Islam) restricted to what is established by the Shari'ah?

The questioner : May the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you.

The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and Allah's mercy and blessings.

The questioner : I bear witness to Allah regarding my love for you, and I hope from your excellence that you will explain this phrase along with its attribution to its speaker: “The end of this Ummah will not be rectified except by what rectified its beginning”. And do the methods and styles of calling to Allah the Exalted fall under this? Or is it that this Ummah will be rectified by other methods that they did not use? May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : I say: May Allah love the One in whom He has made us love, and may He make me and you among His loved ones and the awliya (close friends of Allah).
This phrase is well-known from Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him), and he spoke the truth (may Allah have mercy on him) in what he said. There is no doubt that the end of this Ummah will not be rectified except by what rectified its beginning. The verse we referred to earlier indicates this: “Follow them with excellence.” What does this exclude? It excludes those who do not follow them, and those who follow them without excellence. So if this Ummah wants to be rectified, to dominate the world, and to have honor, establishment, victory, and elevation, there is only one thing required of it: holding fast to what the Salaf (the earliest generations) were upon in belief, speech, and action—both in doing and leaving off, as well as in manners and morals, whether as subjects or rulers. If they do this, the Ummah will be rectified; otherwise, its rectification will be disrupted to the extent that their performance of this is disrupted.
As for the means of Da'wah (calling to Islam), it is known that the purpose of Da'wah is to establish the religion and to straighten the Ummah. The best by which people are called is the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), as Allah the Exalted said: And He said: So whoever does not take a lesson from the Qur'an has something in his heart, and whoever does not take a lesson from the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) has something in his heart. However, there are other means of Da'wah, such as some of the poems that soften the hearts, like the Mimiyyah of Ibn al-Qayyim, and the Nuniyyah of Ibn al-Qayyim in some places, and other poems that soften the hearts. These serve as an aid for a person in softening his heart, but it is never permissible for a person to make them the sole admonisher of his heart, such that he does not take a lesson except from them, or to make them his constant habit, because this necessitates negligence of the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Yes.