Calling to Islam - the duty of every Muslim

While all the messengers appointed by Allaah were charged by Him with
the responsibility to disseminate the revealed guidance with which
they were entrusted, their respective nations too, were called upon to
share in the fulfilment of Allaah's orders. Allaah reminds us in the
Holy Quran with (what means): "And [mention, O Muhammad], when Allaah
took a covenant from those who were given the Scripture, [saying]:
'You must make it clear [i.e., explain it] to the people and not
conceal it.'…" [Quran: 3:187]
The position of the Muslim Ummah (nation), in this respect, is clear
in the Quran, where Allaah states (what means): "You are the best
nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right
and forbid what is wrong…" [Quran: 3:110]
Thus, Allaah Almighty has honoured this Muslim Ummah by appointing it
to share in the noble cause of its Prophet by inviting people to
follow the straight path. The Quran further stresses (what means):
"The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They
enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong…" [Quran: 9:71] while:
"The hypocrite men and hypocrite women are of one another. They enjoin
what is wrong and forbid what is right…" [Quran: 9:71]
Hence, the truth emerges clearly that to enjoin what is right and
forbid what is wrong constitutes a fundamental difference between a
believer and a hypocrite, who pretends to be a believer when he is
quite the reverse. Consequently, all members of the Muslim Ummah, men
and women alike, are individually responsible to furtherthe cause of
Islam with the zeal, determination and sense of sacrifice of the
Prophet and his companions .
That the Companions did their utmost, individually and collectively,
to convey the light of Islam to all people, even outside the Arabian
Peninsula, is demonstrated by the lengthy anddangerous journeys they
took, reaching the Atlantic Ocean in thewest and the Great Wall of
China in the East. Countless distinguished companions breathed their
last in faraway and foreign lands preaching Islam, for which their
sacrifices knew no bounds.
At this point some commonplace misconceptions ought to be cleared. To
call all peoples of the world to Allaah is the duty of every
responsible and conscientious Muslim. Since thereis no priesthood in
Islam or sacerdotal class among Muslims, the duty of the call to
Allaah cannot be transferred to an ill-conceived and imaginary
groupcalled the 'men of religion.' In Islam everyone is a man of
religion and every man will be accountable to Allaah as to whether he
fulfilled his obligations sincerely and to the best of his abilities
or not. The following verse of the Quran should be very enlightening
in this respect; Allaah says (what means): "Say: 'This is my way; I
invite to Allaah with insight, I andthose who follow me. And exalted
is Allaah; and I am not of those who associate others with Him.'"
[Quran: 12:108]
Thus, anyone who rightly claims to be a follower of the Prophet cannot
evade his duty to call people to Allaah.
The following prophetic traditions amply elucidate this point: "Let
those who witness inform those who are absent." [Al-Bukhaari] The word
'witness' here is taken to mean anyone who possesses some Islamic
knowledge. The Prophet is also reported to have said: "Preach on my
behalf, even with just one verse (i.e. verse of the Quran)."
Therefore, one need not be a profound scholar or a great juristto call
others to Islam. No doubt a person well-versed in Islamic sciences
would be able to speak more authoritatively and would be in a position
to explain matters of religion to the minutest details. However, a
highlevel of scholarship is not a prerequisite to call others to
Islam. Everyone's effort has a definite gap to fill. A Muslim scholar
will address his counterpart with a refined style and scholarly
content, while a Muslim layman will have to reason with his equals in
practical terms, each having a role complementary to the others.
Every individual of the Muslim Ummah is obliged to be actively engaged
in whatever way he can to guide people to the right path and support,
morally as well as materially, those who labour to discharge this
responsibility. A common misconception that found appeal even among
earlier Muslim generations and which still lingers on to this day
stems from failure to comprehend the meaning of the following
Quranicverse in the proper context (which means): "O you who have
believed! Upon you is [responsibility for] yourselves. Those who have
gone astray will not harm you when you have been guided..." [Quran:
5:105]
In all honesty and fairness, the above verse does not connote, byany
stretch of imagination, that aso-called pious or saintly person may
absolve himself of the responsibility to call mankind to truth simply
by thinking that evil would not knock at his door, on account of his
being pure and peaceful. Regardless of how pious one may appear to be,
he can never equal the Prophet or excel his companions in their moral
perfection, sincerity of worship and religious devotion.
None of the Prophet's companions ever dreamt of resigning from the
noble task of inviting the nations of the east and the west to eternal
bliss and salvation offered by Allaah through Islam. It was precisely
tocorrect this wrong notion about the aforementioned verse that Abu
Bakr issued the following warning: "O people! Indeed you read this
exalted verse and put it in a place other than its own. Whereas I
heard the Apostle of Allaah saying:"Indeed, if people see a cruel
person and they do not restrain him, Allaah may punish all of them.""
The Ansaar (inhabitants of Madeenah who welcomed the Muslim
immigrants) had gone through great material sacrifices in support of
the Islamic cause. When Allaah granted victory to the Muslims after
their long struggles against the polytheists and they conquered
Makkah, some of the Ansaar felt satisfied. Now that Allaah had
bestowed His favour upon the believers and had crowned their noble
efforts with a glorious and decisive victory over their opponents,
theythought it justified for themselves to return to their much
neglected trades and palm groves. Thereupon, Allaah the Most High,
revealed the followingverse (which means): "…And do not throw
[yourselves] with your [own] hands into destruction…" [Quran 2:195]
Which clearly meant that a believer would be exposed to thegravest
danger if he were to abandon the struggle in the way of Allaah and
confine himself to routine Islamic duties such as Salaat (prayer),
Sawm (fasting), Zakaat (alms-giving), and the like.Abu Ayyoob
Al-Ansaari was among the distinguished Companions. According to some
sources, he was one hundred andten (110) years old when he
participated in the first Muslim siege of Constantinople
(Istanbul)where he died a martyr. Considering his old age, his younger
friends would sometimes recommend him to rest for a while, to which he
would reply: "Are you telling me to throw myself into destruction?"
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