mthago knowledge gallery

Although many Muslims say that we have to do the work of dakwah, but many Muslims still do not know what is the meaning of the word dakwah? And what is the hukum of doing the work of dakwah? Dakwah means to proclaim or to invite those who have not recited the Great Kalimah to recite the Great Kalimah. The Great Kalimah is the Kalimah, I bear witness that there is no God except Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. In the Quran, it is mention, the word to call people to Allah, which means to call people to recite the Great Kalimah. Dakwah means to invite the non-Muslims to recite the Great Kalimah and by virtue of reciting the Great Kalimah, a non-Muslim is said to have entered Islam but the Kalimah has not entered his or her heart. Since the Great Kalimah has not entered into his or her heart, the person is not yet a Muslim but is said to have entered Islam(muallaf) or is call as a person who has embrace Islam. In Malay, he or she is said as orang Islam but certainly he or she is not orang beriman which is Mukmin or Muslim. Actually many Muslims are only a person who has embrace Islam or orang Islam and not a Muslim or true believer. In order for a person to become a Muslim, he or she must recite the Great Kalimah and then he or she must fulfil the right of the Great Kalimah by conveying or inviting others who have not recited the Great Kalimah to recite the Great Kalimah and the intention must only to please Allah until Allah is pleased with him or her. When Allah is pleased with him or her, Allah will instill the Great Kalimah into his or her heart. When the Great Kalimah has entered into a person’s heart, that person is known as a Muslim. Allah says in the Quran with the approximate meaning, whose words is better than those who call people to Allah and he does good actions(amals)and he says he is a Muslims. However many Muslims does not know how to differentiate the different between orang Islam and Muslims. Muslims are those who do the work of inviting others (non-Muslims) to recite the Great Kalimah and they themselves do good actions.Therefore for a person to have good action or amal solih, he or she must have a good iman and a person with good iman and good amal is known as a Muslim. (more…)

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It sounds unbelievable that Muslims until now are still not very clear what the first order of Allah is. When a person embrace Islam what will be the first order of Allah that he or she should do. Many Muslims think that the first order of Allah is to do the five times daily solat and so whenever a person becomes a Muslim the first order that the person is asked to do is to perform five times daily solat. Is it true that the first order of Allah is to perform five times daily solat or the first order of Allah is to convey the Great Kalimah that is I bear witness there is no God except Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah to those who has not accepted the Great Kalimah.

The first verse in Surah Iqra was the first verse revealed to the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w while the Prophet was meditating in the cave. The verse has the approximate meaning….Read…In the name of your Lord that has created man…that has created men from a clump of blood. Many Muslims think that this verse means Allah has ordered the Muslims to learn how to read. Many Muslims believe that the first order of Allah is to read and they interpret to read as an order to seek knowledge. Is this interpretation is in accordance to Sunnah or an interpretation that comes from our own minds. We cannot interpret any verse of the Quran using our own minds but we must interpret the verse of the Quran using Sunnah. Sunnah means what the Prophet did after receiving the verse. Did the Prophet s.a.w after receiving the verse go on to learn how to read or to seek knowledge? The Prophets did not go to seek knowledge or to learn how to write and read after receiving the verse but instead the Prophet s.a.w went straight home in a state of fear and at home, the Prophet s.a.w laid down and asked his beloved wife Siti Khatijah to cover his body with a blanket. The prophet s.a.w was in a state of fear, as the incident that has just happened to him was the first he has ever experienced in his life. His beloved wife comforted him by saying that Almighty Allah will not do any harm or injustice to him, as he, the Prophet has always been a nice and good person. While he was lying at home with the blanket covering him then came the verse…the meaning approximately like this …Oh you who clad in blanket… wake up … remind the people that you Lord is Great.

The first verse revealed to the Prophet is not to order the Prophet s.a.w to go and seek knowledge or to learn how to read and write. Allah has made the Prophet s.a.w unable to read and write until the day he passed away. Allah did this so that the entire humanity knows that the Holy Quran is not the writing of Muhammad but it is the words of Allah. Prophets s.a.w had never learned how to write and read but it does not mean that Prophet Muhammad s.a.w is ignorant. Prophet Muhammad s.a.w is highly knowledgeable and he learned directly from Allah the owner of all knowledge .The first verse is to introduce Allah as the Creator of man and to introduce Muhammad as the Prophet of Allah. It is not the verse to order the Muslim to seek knowledge, as many of us tend to believe. The second verse revealed to the Prophet is the verse to order the Prophet s.a.w and his followers to remind the people about the greatness of Allah. The second verse is the verse of order and the first order of Allah to the Muslims is to do the work of dakwah or to call the people to the greatness of Allah.

The Prophet Muhammad s.a.w said in the meaning conveys to others what you know, even though you know only one verse. When a person embraces Islam, the first verse that he or she knows is the Great Kalimah and the first duty that he or she must do is to convey the Great Kalimah to others who has not recited the Kalimah. This order is obligatory to all Muslims men and women. When Abu Bakar may Allah be pleased with him embrace Islam the first thing that he did after embracing Islam was to deliver the Great Kalimah to others. The act of conveying the Great Kalimah to others is call the work of dakwah or tabligh and it is the first order of Allah. When we are conveying the Great Kalimah to others who has not recited the Kalimah then they bear witness to our recital of the Kalimah. When they also recite the Kalimah then we bear witness to the recital of the Kalimah. When we do this we are doing the actions of the first pillar of Islam. The first pillar of Islam is to bear witness that there is no God except Allah and to bear witness that Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah.

Muslims have understood that the first pillar of Islam is only to recite the Great Kalimah only once in a lifetime. Muslims understood that once a person have recited the Great Kalimah and the recital has been witness by another Muslims  then that person has already done the first pillar of Islam and he or she does not have to do it anymore until he or she dies. After reciting the Great Kalimah then the newly embraced Muslim brother or sister will be told to perform the second pillar of Islam that is to do five times daily solat every day. The second pillar of Islam is to perform five times solat everyday but the first pillar of Islam is to recite the Great Kalimah only once in a lifetimes. It seems that Muslims have to do the second pillar more than the first pillar of Islam. It does not sound logical that the first most important pillar of Islam has to be done only once in a lifetimes while the second pillar of Islam has to be done five times daily until death. It is surprising that Muslims are not questioning this seemingly illogical point in the most important principles in Islam. The five pillars of Islam are the most important basic principles in Islam. No one can become good Muslims without performing all the five pillars of Islam and the most important pillar among the five pillars is the first pillar.

The first pillar of Islam is not only to recite the Great Kalimah in the presence of a witness only once in lifetimes but after reciting the Kalimah he or she has to fulfill the right of the Great Kalimah. What is the right of the Kalimah? The right of the Kalimah is to convey the Great Kalimah to the non-Muslims and they bear witness to our recital of the Kalimah, and when the non-Muslims also recite the Great Kalimah, we bear witness to their recital of the Kalimah. This is the first order of Allah, this is the first pillar of Islam, and it is the work of Prophet or the work of dakwah. In other words, the work of Prophet or the work of dakwah is the first order of Allah to the person who has embraced Islam and this is in line to what Prophet Muhammad s.a.w has asked Abu Bakar may Allah be pleased with him to do after he had embraced Islam. What Prophet did was what Allah wants us to do. Since the work of Prophet is the first pillar of Islam, all Muslim must do the work of Prophet for at least forty-five minutes every day and they should only stop from doing the work of Prophet the day when they die.

When Muslims do the work of Prophets then their iman will become strong. When their iman is strong, the Muslims can obey all the orders of Allah in the ways shown by Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. The Muslims will have the behavior like Prophet Muhammad s.a.w and they will become the examples upon which the entire humanity will like to follow. When the Muslims do not do the work of Prophet, as it is now then the Muslims will have weak iman and they are not able to obey all the commandments of Allah in the ways shown by our Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. The Muslims will not have the behavior like Prophet Muhammad s.a.w and they will be look down by the entire humanity as peoples who are disgraced and humiliated. The only reason why the Muslims are in this condition is that they do not fulfill the right of the Great Kalimah when Allah the Most Merciful and Compassionate has blessed them with this Great Kalimah.

Dr.Nasoha Saabin
February 2010
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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Prophet Muhammad s.a.w said that iman would get tarnish, as iron will get rust. At other times, Prophet Muhammad s.a.w said renews your iman. The companions may Allah be pleased with them asked Prophet Muhammad s.a.w how should we renewed our iman. Prophet Muhammad s.a.w said in the meaning, talk about the Kalimah there is no God except Allah abundantly. We renewed our iman when we talk abundantly about the meaning of the Kalimah there is no God except Allah. Prophet Muhammad s.a.w asked us to talk about the meaning of the Kalimah abundantly. In order to renewed their iman the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w will talk about the Kalimah among themselves. The Companions of the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w were always anxious about their iman. Whenever they feel their iman has becomes weaker they will sit in a circle and reminding each other about the meaning of the Kalimah. The Companions of the Prophets knew the values of iman and they are always anxious about their iman. They knew when their iman has increased and they knew when their iman has decreased. During those times, the Muslims believe very strongly that nothing is more valuable than iman. They are willing to die for iman but they are not willing to lose their iman.

There is a difference between the work to increase iman and the work to renewed iman. In order to increase iman we have to do the work of conveying the Great Kalimah to the non-Muslim until they are willing to recite the Great Kalimah and we becomes the witness to their recital of the Kalimah CLICK . When we do the work of conveying the Great Kalimah to the non-Muslims, we are actually doing the work of enjoining good and forbidding the evil. When we do this, our iman will increase. In the meaning of the ayat of the Holy Quran, ‘You are the best nation that has been sent to the entire mankind, you enjoin the good and you forbid the evils and you have iman in Allah.’ Prophet Muhammad s.a.w said when you saw any evil you must stop it with power. When you cannot do it with power then you have to stop it with words. When you cannot stop the evils with words, then you have to stop the evils with your heart and the Prophet said this is the lowest of iman. To stop the evils with our heart means we have to be worried about the evils and we should make doa so that the person who has committed the evils will stop from doing the evils, and by doing this the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w said, we will get the lowest iman. From Quran and Hadis it shows that the work of enjoining good and forbidding the evils have relationship with iman. The greatest evils committed by men is they do not to admit that there is no God except Allah and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah and the greatest good done by men is to admit and to recite I bear witness there is no God except Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah. When we do the work of conveying the Great Kalimah to the non-Muslims and we ask them to recite the Kalimah we are actually doing the work of enjoining the good and forbidding the evil and we do this our iman will increased.

Reminding a muslim

Whenever we committed any sins, our iman will becomes tarnish and to renew our iman Prophet Muhammad s.a.w asked us to remind each other abundantly about the meaning of the Great Kalimah. When we met Muslims, we must remind each other’s about the meaning of the Great Kalimah and the orders of Allah. We must invite him or her to obey the commandments of Allah particularly the first and the second order of Allah that is to do the work of dakwah and to perform the five times daily solat with congregation in the mosque. Allah will revive all other orders of Allah once the first and the second orders are established.

Solat with congregation in the mosque

When we met a Muslim, we must tell him or her that you want to do the work of reminding each other’s about Allah and the orders of Allah. A man reminds a man and a woman reminds a woman. When he or she is ready to give time then we can start talking to her or him on these points. These points are only guidelines so that our talks are not deviated from our aim and according to the situation; we can either shorten or lengthen our talk .We start with reminding him or her about Allah and the orders of Allah.

Reminding a muslim in day time

Reminding a muslim in evening time

We can talk something like this… Only to obey Allah and to please Allah I would like to remind you and myself that there is no God except Allah, there is no one that can give benefit or harm except Allah, there is no one that can give what we want except Allah. None can give honor or disgrace except Allah and none can give success or failures except Allah. I also would like to remind you and myself that when we obey Allah we will be successful and when we disobey Allah we will be unsuccessful and I would like to invite you and myself to obey Allah. The first order of Allah is to convey the Great Kalimah I bear witness that there is no God except Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah to the non-Muslims and to invite them to recite the Kalimah. Since after Prophet Muhammad s.a.w there will be no more prophets, Allah has given the work, which used to be obligatory only to the prophets is also obligatory to the whole Umat Muhammad s.a.w.

When we do the work of conveying the Kalimah to the non-Muslims Allah will make our iman strong. When our iman is strong our amals will also becomes strong. When we do the work of conveying the Great Kalimah to the non-Muslims, we are fulfilling the right of the Kalimah and when we are fulfilling the right of the Kalimah, we will have the benefits of the Kalimah. There are two benefits of the Kalimah, the first benefit is we will not have any sadness and the second benefit; we will not have any calamities. This order is the easiest and the simplest of all the orders of Allah. In order to do the work of conveying the Kalimah we only need to know the Kalimah and Allah has ordered us only to convey and not to make them Muslims. The work to make them Muslims is the work of Allah. The second order of Allah is to perform five times daily solat with congregation in the mosque and we would like to invite you and ourselves to do the work of dakwah and to perform solat with congregation in our mosque .In order to do these orders of Allah you only needs to give times. All of us have times unless we die. The times we needs to give to these amals of Masjid in a day including dakwah, performing solat with congregation in the mosque and to learn about these orders of Allah is only 2 hours and 30 minutes. Are you ready to give two hours and thirty minutes daily to do the work of dakwah, pray five times solat with congregation and learn the orders of Allah in the mosque? ”

Make doa for muslim in day time

In case we have no opportunities to remind the Muslim brothers then we have to make doa for him or her.

Make doa for muslim in evening time

The doa is something like this. ‘Only to obey Allah and to please Allah I would like to remind you, and mysef that there is no God except Allah, there is no one that can give benefit or harm except Allah, there is no one that can give what we want except Allah. None can give honor or disgrace except Allah and none can give success or failures except Allah. I also would like to remind you and myself that when we obey Allah, we will be successful and when we disobey Allah, we will be unsuccessful. Oh, Allah delivers these great words to the occupants of this house and instills these great words into our heart. Oh Allah accept us and our families, accept the occupant of this house and all the Muslims to do the work of dakwah  and to perform five times obligatory solat, the males perform solat with congregation in the mosques and the females to perform solat in their houses on time’.

Dr.Nasoha Saabin
February 2010
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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