The various approaches that can be taken to call people to Allah are indispensable for Islamic work. As any rational person is aware, a goal cannot be reached without there first being a way to reach it. The Prophet (peace be upon him) used the various means that were available to him in his day. He declared the truth from the summit of Mount Safâ. He presented his message in the markets and the meeting places of the tribes and the places where the rites of pilgrimage were carried out. In this way, his message got maximum possible exposure to the various Arab tribes.
An Islamic worker needs to know precisely what he is calling towards. Equally, he needs to know precisely the means he is going to use to carry out this task. A message cannot be conveyed without a means of conveyance. Therefore, anyone person who wishes to call someone else to an idea needs the following:
1. A purpose.
2. A means to achieve that purpose.
The purpose of Islamic work is to call people to Allah, either to believe in Him or to obey Him. The Islamic worker is required to adhere to the dictates of Islamic Law in undertaking this task. He needs, therefore, to be cognizant of the fact that matters of Islamic Law can be broken down into two broad categories:
(1) Acts of worship. These are the means by which our welfare in the Hereafter is achieved. These ways are dictated to us by the sacred texts in their essentials and in all their details. Allah says: “Or do they have partners who established for them in their religion what Allah has not permitted?” [Sûrah al-Shûrâ: 21]
(2) Transactions and customs. These are the means by which human welfare is achieved in this world. They include all interpersonal relationships, contracts, commercial activities, and the like. The basic ruling that should be assumed for such matters is that of permissibility unless there is specific evidence to the contrary. The proof for this is that Allah says: “Say (O Muhammad): Have you considered the provision that Allah has sent down to you and that you have declared of it what is unlawful and lawful? Say (O Muhammad): Has Allah permitted you to do so or are you fabricating a lie against Allah?” [Sûrah Yûnus: 59]
On the basis of these principles, anyone who wishes to assert that something is an act of worship is required to produce evidence from the Qur’ân and Sunnah to show that it is. It is not necessary, however, for him to produce evidence demonstrating that a certain worldly transaction or activity is sanctioned. By contrast, he must produce evidence only if he claims that an activity is unlawful.
Ibn Taymiyah illustrates this principle with the following examples:
If someone were to enquire with an Islamic scholar as to whether it is permissible for a person to traverse the distance between two mountains, the scholar would have to answer that it is. However, if the questioner were to specify that this activity is to be performed as an act of worship, just like when one performs the circuits between Safâ and Marwah, the scholar would have to answer: “If it is undertaken for this reason, then it is unlawful and sinful and its perpetrator must be called upon to repent…”
Likewise, if the scholar were asked about a man going about bareheaded, and about wearing a waistcloth and an unsown cloak, he would have to say that it is permissible for a person to do so. However, if the questioner were to specify that this mode of dressing was being assumed as part of a sacred state, like that assumed during the Hajj, then the scholar would have to answer: “If it is undertaken for this reason, then it is unlawful and sinful…” [Majmû` al-Fatâwâ (11/632)]
The purpose of Islamic work is to call people to guidance and to what is best for them. Therefore, based on the principle outlined above, every practical means to bring about this goal falls into the realm of what is permissible as long as it does not violate an express prohibition of Islamic Law.
Ways and means within the sphere of Islamic work are what an Islamic worker takes recourse to in order to facilitate calling other people to Allah. These means are of utmost importance…. The enemies of Islam – those who are bent on corrupting the Muslims and on keeping non-Muslims from embracing Islam – work to either bring people into the fold of what they themselves are calling towards or to keep them in the un-Islamic state that they are already on. If we observe their efforts, we find that they employ numerous and varied means to achieve their purposes.
Let us look at one example. Christian missionaries operating in the Muslim world have an interesting way of familiarizing people’s minds to their message. They do so through giving names to people and places. Often, European names are encouraged for Muslim boys and girls. Place names and street names found in the Muslim world are often the same as those found in non-Muslim countries. Foreign names have become especially common now for Muslim girls. This makes such names familiar and pleasant to the Muslims, blurring the distinction between Muslims and non-Muslims and making the Muslim mind more conducive to accepting their ideas. Naming is something that falls within in the realm of norms and customs and we have already said that these matters are “public domain” so to speak. However, we must understand that for them the ends justify the means; and in Islamic Law, ways and means take the same ruling as the goals and objectives for which they are undertaken.
[The distinction between these two concepts is as follows: The idea that the ends justify the means amounts to permitting recourse to actions that are immoral and wrong if doing so brings about the desired results. This idea is rejected by Islamic teachings. By contrast, the idea that ‘ways and means take the same ruling as the goals and objectives for which they are undertaken’ implies that the means must be lawful and morally acceptable in and of themselves. Then, if the goals for which they are employed are also noble and good, the lawful means to achieve those goals remain noble and good as well. However, if the goals themselves are unlawful, then the means employed to achieve them become equally sinful.]
An Islamic worker needs to know precisely what he is calling towards. Equally, he needs to know precisely the means he is going to use to carry out this task. A message cannot be conveyed without a means of conveyance. Therefore, anyone person who wishes to call someone else to an idea needs the following:
1. A purpose.
2. A means to achieve that purpose.
The purpose of Islamic work is to call people to Allah, either to believe in Him or to obey Him. The Islamic worker is required to adhere to the dictates of Islamic Law in undertaking this task. He needs, therefore, to be cognizant of the fact that matters of Islamic Law can be broken down into two broad categories:
(1) Acts of worship. These are the means by which our welfare in the Hereafter is achieved. These ways are dictated to us by the sacred texts in their essentials and in all their details. Allah says: “Or do they have partners who established for them in their religion what Allah has not permitted?” [Sûrah al-Shûrâ: 21]
(2) Transactions and customs. These are the means by which human welfare is achieved in this world. They include all interpersonal relationships, contracts, commercial activities, and the like. The basic ruling that should be assumed for such matters is that of permissibility unless there is specific evidence to the contrary. The proof for this is that Allah says: “Say (O Muhammad): Have you considered the provision that Allah has sent down to you and that you have declared of it what is unlawful and lawful? Say (O Muhammad): Has Allah permitted you to do so or are you fabricating a lie against Allah?” [Sûrah Yûnus: 59]
On the basis of these principles, anyone who wishes to assert that something is an act of worship is required to produce evidence from the Qur’ân and Sunnah to show that it is. It is not necessary, however, for him to produce evidence demonstrating that a certain worldly transaction or activity is sanctioned. By contrast, he must produce evidence only if he claims that an activity is unlawful.
Ibn Taymiyah illustrates this principle with the following examples:
If someone were to enquire with an Islamic scholar as to whether it is permissible for a person to traverse the distance between two mountains, the scholar would have to answer that it is. However, if the questioner were to specify that this activity is to be performed as an act of worship, just like when one performs the circuits between Safâ and Marwah, the scholar would have to answer: “If it is undertaken for this reason, then it is unlawful and sinful and its perpetrator must be called upon to repent…”
Likewise, if the scholar were asked about a man going about bareheaded, and about wearing a waistcloth and an unsown cloak, he would have to say that it is permissible for a person to do so. However, if the questioner were to specify that this mode of dressing was being assumed as part of a sacred state, like that assumed during the Hajj, then the scholar would have to answer: “If it is undertaken for this reason, then it is unlawful and sinful…” [Majmû` al-Fatâwâ (11/632)]
The purpose of Islamic work is to call people to guidance and to what is best for them. Therefore, based on the principle outlined above, every practical means to bring about this goal falls into the realm of what is permissible as long as it does not violate an express prohibition of Islamic Law.
Ways and means within the sphere of Islamic work are what an Islamic worker takes recourse to in order to facilitate calling other people to Allah. These means are of utmost importance…. The enemies of Islam – those who are bent on corrupting the Muslims and on keeping non-Muslims from embracing Islam – work to either bring people into the fold of what they themselves are calling towards or to keep them in the un-Islamic state that they are already on. If we observe their efforts, we find that they employ numerous and varied means to achieve their purposes.
Let us look at one example. Christian missionaries operating in the Muslim world have an interesting way of familiarizing people’s minds to their message. They do so through giving names to people and places. Often, European names are encouraged for Muslim boys and girls. Place names and street names found in the Muslim world are often the same as those found in non-Muslim countries. Foreign names have become especially common now for Muslim girls. This makes such names familiar and pleasant to the Muslims, blurring the distinction between Muslims and non-Muslims and making the Muslim mind more conducive to accepting their ideas. Naming is something that falls within in the realm of norms and customs and we have already said that these matters are “public domain” so to speak. However, we must understand that for them the ends justify the means; and in Islamic Law, ways and means take the same ruling as the goals and objectives for which they are undertaken.
[The distinction between these two concepts is as follows: The idea that the ends justify the means amounts to permitting recourse to actions that are immoral and wrong if doing so brings about the desired results. This idea is rejected by Islamic teachings. By contrast, the idea that ‘ways and means take the same ruling as the goals and objectives for which they are undertaken’ implies that the means must be lawful and morally acceptable in and of themselves. Then, if the goals for which they are employed are also noble and good, the lawful means to achieve those goals remain noble and good as well. However, if the goals themselves are unlawful, then the means employed to achieve them become equally sinful.]