How to Call a Non-Muslim to Islam

Question:
We now move to the Syrian Arab Republic, Damascus, to read a letter signed by one of the brothers from there, who indicated his name with the initials (A. N. M). Our brother has two issues, or rather three. In the first issue, he says: If we want to call a person to the Islamic religion, how do we begin the call with him, and what are the main steps until this person responds and enters the pure Islamic religion? May Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
The first step: Explain the virtue of Islam, and that Allah sent Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) with the religion of Islam, the same religion with which He sent the past prophets and all the messengers. Make it clear to him that this is the religion of truth, and that Allah sent Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) with the truth, and that it is incumbent upon the rational person to strive for the means of safety and caution for his religion, so that when he dies, he dies upon a sound path and a straight religion; thereby he will attain Paradise and salvation from the Fire. Clarify and explain to him the Islamic religion, that it is the path of salvation, and that it is the straight path, and that all other religions, Judaism and Christianity, are all invalid, and that there is no true religion except the religion of Islam, [Al-Imran: 19] but with a good manner, with gentleness, and kind words. Encourage him in it, and strive to show him that, by the praise of Allah, it is easy, with no difficulty, no heavy burdens, and no shackles, but rather easy righteous deeds—by the praise of Allah—so that he may accept it from you, if Allah wills, and enter Islam.
As for if he is a Muslim, but he has sins; explain to him the evil of sins and their dangers, and that they are among the causes of the hardness of the heart and the death of the heart, among the causes of the anger of Allah upon you, and among the causes of remaining upon them until you die. Warn him of remaining upon them, and urge him to repent, meaning: advise him to repent and hasten to it before he dies; because his remaining upon sins is among the causes of the anger of Allah, among the causes of a bad ending, and among the causes of punishment on the Day of Resurrection, except for whom Allah has mercy. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah bless you. What are the first and second steps, if you would be so kind?

The Shaykh: He explains Islam to him if he is a disbeliever; he explains Islam to him, it is such and such.

The presenter: He says: He is not a Muslim, he wants...

The Shaykh: He explains Islam to him. Islam is: that you testify that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Make clear to him the meaning of the testimony: There is no god but Allah, and that its meaning is: that none is worshipped except Allah alone, and that no idol, no prophet, no grave, no tree, and no stone is called upon alongside Him, dedicating worship to Allah alone: his prayer, his supplication, his slaughter, his vow, his fasting, and so on.
And likewise, he testifies: that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, meaning: he testifies that Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib al-Hashimi al-Qurashi is truly the Messenger of Allah, whom Allah sent to all people, and with whom He sealed the prophets, and He sent down a complete Shari'ah. Whoever holds fast to it; for him is Paradise, and whoever neglects it and leaves it; for him is the Fire.
And he makes clear to him the remaining pillars of Islam: prayer, zakah, fasting, and Hajj, and the pillars of faith. And he advises him to hasten to these things, and to be upright in obedience to Allah and His Messenger. And if he dies upon this; for him is Paradise.

The presenter: Allah is the Helper. The third step, if you would be so kind.

The Shaykh: ..... Perfection for the second step, meaning: he strives to advise him to righteous deeds, and to be careful to preserve time from being wasted on things that have no benefit, and to be careful to fill time with the remembrance of Allah, with righteous deeds, with voluntary worship, so that these righteous deeds become a compensation for what may occur of deficiency in the obligatory duties, and among the causes of high ranks and abundance of good deeds. Their times are filled with good: prayers, remembrance, reading the Qur'an, the company of the righteous, and so on, calling to Allah, enjoining good and forbidding evil, and other forms of good.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good. Some people rush in some matters, O Shaykh. Perhaps they mention, for example, matters that may be secondary, such as adhering to the full hijab for women, and adhering to letting the beard grow from the very beginning, and the like. Do you have a word, O Shaykh, regarding this topic?

The Shaykh: These are branches. If he does them; there is no harm. And if he delays them to another time; there is no harm. The important thing is the fundamentals so that he enters Islam. As for the other branches: shaving the beard, or cutting it, and likewise the hijab, and likewise what relates to circumcision, and the like. If these are delayed so that he does not turn away from Islam, the teaching should be with the fundamentals of Islam and its great foundations. So, if he enters Islam, after that he will desire the remaining deeds of Islam and will desire them as well.

The presenter: May Allah do you good... May Allah do you good, and may He increase you in His success.