Guidelines for the Priorities of Da’wah
Zeinab Ashry
The following is a suggested order of Da’wah priorities to introduce Islamic concepts to a non-Muslim:
1- The foundation of Da’wah should be Allah’s Existence, Oneness, and Perfect
Attributes and Names; stress that no one is similar or equal to even His likeness.
2- Biography of Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) and evidence of his truthfulness.
3- The miraculous nature of the Qur’an and its agreement with scientific facts, and the
unanswered challenge it has been making to mankind since it was revealed from
Allah to produce a book similar to it.
4- The Hereafter: provide proofs that there must be resurrection and reckoning,
otherwise the good and wicked will be made equal.
5- The uniqueness of the generation of the Sahabah.
6- Islamic virtues and manners.
7- The positive changes Islam can bring to our world.
8- The impact of Islam on the world.
9- Islam and science.
10- Islamic arts and architectures.
Do’s and Don’t’s
1- Prioritize your objectives according to importance and people’s responses.
2- Focus on the benefits Islam offers to non- Muslims both in this world and the Next.
3- Give people what they need and when they ask for.
4- Be brief, simple, and clear.
5- Concentrate on teaching the basics, and avoid long talks as well as details and
differences of opinions.
6- Do not give issues like Hijab the highest priority of your Da’wah agenda.
7- Do not begin with talking about punishments in the grave, Day of Judgment, and torture of the Fire; delay them for a later time.
8- Avoid discussions of no interest to non- Muslims such as the detail of forms of
minor or major shirk, Fiqh issues, or politics for they are often boring.
9- Avoid any reaction that could be interpreted as exercising pressure on the person to accept Islam.
10- Avoid using names and terms unfamiliar to non-Muslims for they create confusion.
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The article is excerpted from the author’s A Guide to Giving Da’wah To Non-Muslims”, published Islam Presentation Committee (IPC), Kuwait, give the date of publication.
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