LENIENCY IN DA'WAH

By

Ibn Abdillah As-sudaisiy Al-Iloori

The reality and application of a post I made recently occured in my inbox yesterday. Let's be gentle and patience with people. Ignorance is on the high rate. Let us not think everyone knows. As advised by Ali ibn Abi Taalib رضي الله عنه, we should endeavour to explain the deen in a manner that would be easy for people to understand. If anyone attacks you, don't respond with anger or insult, patience is not applied in any matter except that it beautifies it. 

A brother sent a message that sounds like an attack against one of my posts, I decided not to reply him instantly because I was angry within me. But I recalled making this post day before yesterday and I had to strive hard to practise it as preached by me. I gave the brother excuse of ignorance and I tried to clarify his misconception. He is likely to be reading this now. By Allaah, he was satisfied by my explanation and evidences I gave him. He started praying for me, and I also prayed for him. The joy of anyone who calls to Sunnah is to see people embracing it. What if i had scolded him or responded with insults? He could be be forced to have bad impression about the Sunnah and those who call to it. Then, he would be denied appropriate correction to his misconception. 

One of the characteristics of our salaf and those who truly follow them in their da'wah, is that they do not get carried away by the insults of insulters and criticism of critics. Their target is to win souls for Islaam (Sunnah). Their primary objective is to make sure more people understands the sunnah and practise it accordingly. One of the scholars, Sheikh 'Alee bin Naasir al-Faqeehee حفظه الله, was asked about people who drive people away from salafiyyah (Islam upon the way of the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم and his Companions رضي الله عنهم) with unnecessary harshness and abusive refutations. The Sheikh said and I quote:

"...We see that Allaah سبحانه و تعالى has prohibited His Messenger صلى الله عليه و سلم from evil character and He let His Messenger know that if he was evil, harsh and hardhearted they would have left from around him. So if the person is truly upon Salafiyyah, then he must be upon that which the Messenger of Allaah صلى الله عليه و سلم was upon from good characteristics, from gentleness, from leniency. ...Some people have been made to leave the manhaj as-saheeh (the correct methodology), or they have been repelled from this manhaj, from that which they find from people from harshness and so on and so forth, then this is indeed in opposition to the Book of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allaah صلى الله عليه و سلم. Meaning that, that characteristic that they find from some of the Salafis, these characteristics are in opposition to what we find in the Book and the Sunnah and likewise, what the Salaf of this ummah were upon رحمهم الله" [Translated by Albaseerah.org: Questions and Answers Session, delivered on the 7th of May, 2005]

Let me equally repeat what I mentioned from two eminent scholars very recently on the same matter.

Sheikh Rabee' Ibn Haadee Al-Madkhalee حفظه الله said:

"Do not dispute, even with the Disbelievers, except with kind-heart and beautiful character "in ways that are best and most gracious", not with insults, not with abuse, not with belittlement, not with humiliation, not with shouting and not with uproar" [وصايا لقمان الحكيم لابنه, pg 25: Translated by AbdulHakeem As-Siyari]

Al Imaam Ibn Al 'Uthaymeen رحمه الله said:

"And be gentle, for verily gentleness is not found in something except that it adorns it, and is not removed from something except that it makes it ugly. And indeed Allah (تبارك وتعالى) ordered Musa and Harun (عليهما السلام) to speak to the most tyrannic from the slaves of Allah a kind word.

May Allaah guide us aright