Witnessing the fruits of dawah

by Chris Brown

“And hold fast, all of you together by the Rope which Allah (stretches out to you), and do not be divided among yourselves (being Muslims); And remember with thanks Allah’s favor on you; For you were enemies and He joined your hearts together in love, so that by His Grace you became brethren; And you were once on the brink to the Pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make His Signs clear to you: That you may be guided.” (3:103)

Da’awat-ul-Islam (Calling people to Islam) changes society one person at a time.

Many times we find ourselves frustrated at the “apparent” results of our personal dawah efforts, the dawah efforts of the masjid, and the dawah efforts of national organizations. However, we should not lose hope, fall into despair or stop our support of dawa efforts made around the country.

Dawah should be seen as a dual investment, long term and short term. Despite what we may see or believe thousands of people are accepting Islam every year. One by one people are coming to the truth because we are taking the time to give dawah.

A perfect example is the above picture.  Each of them is Muslim because someone took the time to tell them about Islam with words and actions.

Before Islam these brothers were lost in the wilderness of dunya. Some of them maybe would be enemies to each other. Others of them would never hang together because they share so little in common.

Now they are united under the banner of “laa ilaha illallah. Muhammadar rasul Allah.” Not only are they Muslims but they are all active members of their different communities’, married to Muslimahs and productive citizens of society.

Kenyatta is a certified HVAC technician. Qasim is a Graphic Design major at Daley College and the manager of Furqaan Dawah Center located on 7950 S. Kingston Ave. in Chicago, IL. Dawud is a jack of all trades and working for a Fortune 500 company. Habibullah is a recent graduate of Devry University  with a degree in Electrical Engineering and works for a small biomedical company. Abdullah works at a manufacturing plant and has plans to begin a major real estate endeavor. Abdulshakur has just graduated from Governors State University with his degree in Communications and is currently the Manager of Communications at Furqaan Academy.  And Jibreel , while only entering the 8^th grade, has had the opportunity to study Arabic in Egypt and is thankful his parents accepted Islam so he doesn’t have to deal with smoking and drinking at home.

These brothers are not exceptions to the rule. On the contrary, they are the rule when Islam enters the heart of an individual.

Giving up on dawah is equal to giving up on people. Supporting dawah and giving dawah to others is following the path of the prophets (peace be upon all of them) and helping change society for the better.

All of us can take part in changing the lives others. It doesn’t matter if we know them or not. Nor does it matter if we are aware of the positive change taking place. Allah (SWT) is not unaware of who benefits from your dawah even though you may have no clue.

Remember the Prophet (S) said: “By Allah! If a single person embraces Islam at your hands (through you) that will be better for you then the red camels.”