Some Matters That Assist the Caller to Allah in His Da'wah

At the beginning of this episode, Your Eminence, we return to a message from one of our female listeners, and also to a message from one of our male listeners from Jeddah. We have previously presented some of the contents of these letters, especially the letter from the brother (A. A. A) from Jeddah. The authors of these two letters are concerned with the matter of calling people to Allah, and you graciously explained some aspects of this in the episode preceding this one. I would like you to graciously present, in this episode, what the caller to Allah should do regarding his culture. From where should he derive his culture so that his da'wah is effective and answered, by the permission of Allah?
Answer: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow his guidance.
As for what follows: Calling people to Allah is among the most important matters and the most obligatory of obligations, and people are in the greatest need of it. Every society is in the greatest need of it, whether it is a Muslim society or a disbelieving society. The Muslim society needs to be alerted to the errors and wrongs that may occur, so that it may rectify what has gone wrong, stand firm in obedience to Allah and His Messenger, and cease from what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden. The disbeliever is called to Allah, and it is made clear to him that Allah created him to worship Him, and that it is obligatory upon him to enter into Islam and adhere to what the Prophet of Guidance, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), brought. However, the one who calls to Allah must observe certain matters that are necessary for his call to be successful and to have a good outcome. The greatest and most important of these is knowledge. He must possess knowledge, and knowledge is only taken from the great Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His trustworthy Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), as Allah said: [Yusuf:108]. The scholars said: Its meaning is "with knowledge." For the knowledgeable person, in relation to what is known, is like the seeing person, in relation to what is seen. He knows how to command, how to forbid, and how to call to Allah. Just as the seeing person sees what is in front of him so that he avoids what harms him, such as pits and thorns and the like.
The conclusion is that the one who calls to Allah must care for knowledge, and his culture must be an Islamic culture extracted and derived from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). He should seek assistance from the books of the known scholars who are recognized for their uprightness, knowledge, virtue, and good creed, so that he is clear-sighted in what he calls to and clear-sighted in what he forbids. This is the obligation of all callers. Then there is another matter: he must be careful in his call, not be hasty, and be gentle in his call. He must be careful in his call so that he places things in their proper places. If the one being called is someone who understands knowledge and can respond without the need for admonition or debate, then make the truth clear to him and guide him to it with the scriptural proofs, good words, gentleness, and a good manner. If he accepts that, the matter is concluded and the desired result is achieved. If he is someone with harshness, turning away, heedlessness, and indifference, advise him and admonish him in the best manner, and remind him of Allah, so that perhaps he may respond and submit to the truth. If he has doubts and argues, be gentle with him and argue with him in the best manner, so that you remove his doubt, clarify the truth that was unclear to him, and ensure no doubt remains for him to cling to in abandoning the truth or persisting in falsehood. All these meanings are included in the saying of the Exalted: [An-Nahl:125]. And what is required of him is sincerity for Allah, and that he beware of showing off. In his call, he should seek the Face of Allah and the Hereafter, not the showing off to people, nor their praise, nor the intention of their praise of him, nor the intention of any worldly display. For the believer only seeks the Face of Allah and the Hereafter. For this reason, the Exalted said: [Yusuf:108]. The Exalted said: [Fussilat:33]. And there is another matter, which is also to choose the appropriate words and be gentle in speech, and not to be harsh except when there is a necessity for it, as the Exalted said: [An-Nahl:125], and He said: [Al-'Ankabut:46]. And they are disbelievers; Jews and Christians [Al-'Ankabut:46]. So it is necessary to care for arguing in the best manner when needed, and for gentleness, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So the believer in his call should be gentle and have a good manner, so that he is responded to, and so that he is not met with rejection or with a manner that does not suit the one who calls to Allah . For some people, when there is harshness, may be met with cursing, insulting, and bad speech that adds to the trouble. But when the one who calls to Allah is gentle, wise, and has a good manner, he will not fail, if Allah wills, to have his call accepted, or at least to be met with good treatment and good words from the one being called, from which it is hoped that he will be affected by the call. And Allah is the Helper. Yes.