RIFQ (MILDNESS) IN DA'WAH

By

Ibn Abdillah As-sudaisiy Al-Iloori

This is the time of rifq (mildness), because a lot of people are upon errors and they are ignorant about their deen. A lot of people have been brainwashed through western civilization. A lot of people are being misled by people of bid'ah. Many people are in the prisons of the sufis, shias and jalabi Alfas. So, callers owe these kind of people duty of care and compassion in their methodologies. Da'wah should be done in ways that would make it easy for people to understand and embrace. Harshness should be avoided as much as possible except in special circumstances where the rights of Allah and the deen are involved. Anyone who desires to remove a drowning person must be very careful, in order not to end up dipping the person further in the deepest part of the water. Preachers must study the level of knowledge and understanding of people they want to correct, and deal with them based on their statuses. Allah سبحانه وتعالى says:

"Invite (mankind, O Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better.}" [Surah An-Nahl, Q16:125]

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]

However, the mildness we are preaching here should not be mistaken or misunderstood for negligence and laxity. What ought to be done (worship of Allah) still need to be done the way it is to be done (doing things according to the Sunnah and the way of the salaf). To a lot of people, definition of mildness is to leave people to be doing just anything they like. They will say: "don't condemn". Whereas, it is wajib to condemn whatever Allah and His Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم have condemned. In most cases, many people fail to understand that it is not the doer of a condemnable act that is being condemned. The wrong action is what is being condemned, and the intention is to correct the situation. 

The mildness we are calling to, in da'wah, is to give people hope that no matter how worse their situation regarding their deen is, they can still find their feet before it is too late. Someone who is alive still has ample time to repent and follow the truth as revealed and preserved in the texts (Qur'an and Sunnah). After death, there is no opportunity again, a son of Adam would be raised upon what he dies upon.

This statement of Al Imaam Ibn Al 'Uthaymeen رحمه الله is quite instructive and highly beneficial:

"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.

So therefore be kind and avoid harshness. And be patient upon whatsoever befalls you from your brother if you don't achieve from him a prompt acceptance. And don't give up! Repeat! For maybe the guidance will come about after the tenth time or more.” [Question and Answer On Correct Method Of Giving Da'wah]

May Allah guide us aright