Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

 

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalam-o-alikom,

In present times some people go for "Tableegh" (spreading & teaching Islam) and leave their old parents, wife &/or children behind them. In today's world there are many issues facing people such as financial, security and many other "fitna". They say that this is what a Muslim is born to do and it people get highest reward for it as it is "Amar bil maruf wa nahi unil munkir" and this what Companions (RA) of Prophet (SAW) did. They leave for 3 days, 10 days, 40 days, 4 months or even a year. Can you please clarify to what extent this correct or not in following 2 situations:

i) The person leaving is financially sound but yet there are security related issues in present society.

ii) The person in not even financially sound and has to earn bread & butter for his family.

iii) Parent(s) of the person are alive and living with him. There is a hadith:

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 4.248 Narrated byAbdullah bin Amr

A man came to the Prophet asking his permission to take part in Jihad. The Prophet asked him, "Are your parents alive?" He replied in the affirmative. The Prophet said to him, "Then exert yourself in their service."

In light of this Hadith, what should the person willing to go for "Tableegh" do.

Sorry for any inconvenience I may be causing you. THANKS in advance. Jazak-ALLAH !!!

 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

 

Answer:

 

The doing of tableeg dawa

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

 

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imran verse 110:

110    Ye (believers) are the best of peoples evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right forbidding what is wrong and believing in Allah.

 

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 9 Surah Taubah verse 112:

112    Those that turn (to Allah) in repentance: that serve Him and praise Him; that wander in devotion to the Cause of Allah; that bow down and prostrate themselves in prayer; that enjoin good and forbid evil; and observe the limits set by Allah; (these do rejoice).  So proclaim the glad tidings to the Believers.

 

Allah says in the Holy Quran: Chapter 16, Surah An-Nahl Ayat 125:

Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and excellent admonition and argue with people in the best manner. Your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Way and who is Rightly guided.

 

Dear and Beloved brother in Islam, there is absolutely no doubt that ‘tableeg’ or the propagation of the Truth to mankind is an obligatory duty and responsibility that the Lord Most Merciful has laid upon every person who sincerely believes in Him and the Last Day. 

 

But contrary to popular belief that ‘tableeq’ is to leave one’s work and family and go with a particular set of people to a distant land to invite people to Islam for a certain number of days, is taking an extremely narrow and restricted meaning of the command!  One can very well do ‘tableeg’ or invite others to the Truth of Islam from where one lives: to his family, his neighbors, his colleagues at work, his friends, loved ones, and the people he meets in his everyday life.  It is definitely not obligatory for ‘every’ believer to leave his home, family, and work to travel the earth and invite people to the Truth of Islam to fulfill the command of ‘tableeg’!  If some amongst the believers who have the means and the resources wish to travel the earth and invite others to the Truth of Allah, they will have their reward from their Lord Merciful.

 

If one studies the Seerah or Way of the Prophets of Allah, one would realize that in almost all the cases, the Noble Prophets of Allah invited their own community where they were born and grew up to the Truth of Islam. 

 

It also makes common-sense that one who has lived a lifetime amongst his people, and they know his dealings, his actions, his behavior, his character, etc. it would obviously be easier for the people to listen to his ‘call’ and determine whether the person is indeed genuine in his preachings or not!  But if one is a complete stranger and the people don’t know anything about him at all, and he comes from a distant place and starts inviting them to change their lives and follow what is said by Allah and His Messenger (saws), they would obviously find it difficult to digest what the person has to say!

 

Thus, in conclusion, ‘tableeg’ or the propagation of the Truth from the Quran and the Sunnah is indeed an obligatory duty on every believer who sincerely believes in Allah and the Last Day; but it is not obligatory for each and every one to leave their homes and travel to distant lands to fulfill this command.  If some amongst the believers do travel and invite others to the Truth of Islam, it would suffice for the whole community or Ummah.

 

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 9 Surah Taubah verse 112:

122    Nor should the believers all go forth together: if a contingent from every expedition remained behind, they could devote themselves to studies in religion and admonish the people when they return to them, that thus they (may learn) to guard themselves (against evil).

 

Travelling to distant lands specifically to propagate the Truth and inviting others to Islam (popularly recognized as ‘tableeg’) is what is known in Islamic Jurisprudence as ‘Fard Kifaayah’; if some amongst the believers fulfill this service, it would suffice for the whole community. 

 

Now to address your specific questions:

i) The person leaving is financially sound but yet there are security related issues in present society.
If one amongst the believers wishes to travel the earth and dedicate himself to invite others to the Truth of Islam, but fears for the security of his family….he is well within his rights to postpone his travel until his fears for the safety of his family are addressed.

 

ii) The person in not even financially sound and has to earn bread & butter for his family.

It is the obligatory duty of the person to provide for his family; and if the person is not financially or physically sound, it would not be righteousness on the part of the person to leave his family on the mercy of others and travel the earth to invite others to Islam…..but righteousness would be for the person to fulfill his obligatory duties towards his family and at the same time fulfill his obligatory duty of doing ‘dawa’ by inviting all who care to listen to good caution in the place he dwells.

 

iii) Parent(s) of the person are alive and living with him.

To serve ones parents is an absolutely obligatory duty of every believer; thus if one is blessed to live with ones parents it would be better for such a person to fulfill his obligatory duty of ‘dawa’ in the place he lives rather than leaving the service of his parents and traveling the earth to do ‘dawa’.

 

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me.  Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

 

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

 

 

Burhan