Giving Dawah on Non-Muslim forums??
 

Should Muslims be giving dawah on non-Muslim forums in religious section of the forums?

Especially when there is a dislike of Islam and Muslims and insulting of the Prophet[saws]?

What is the correct Islamic view on this?

JazakAllah kyran

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Imaan of an ordinary man doesn't remain at the same level. Sometimes it rises to a high state and sometimes reduces.
Many days ago I fell on the trap of Shaytaan and my level of Imaan was also low. I signed up to a social networking site where people can make friends, send emails, learn other languages by conversation etc.

I was very shocked to see a plenty of muslim sisters there. Most of them are using their own photo (posing attractively) with a scarf which indicates their "religious mind". Many have written long lists of music and movies on their profile. And many sisters are interested to recieve mails from non muslim countries.

I've repented sincerely to Allaah http://discussworldissues.com/forums...lies/taala.gif for joining that site. But I wish if some sisters of this forum would sign up there and would give Dawah to those sisters, that would be more beneficial.

I tried but it doesn't work.

First they will make claims about Islam which are utterly false.
Second they will not listen to any quote of Hadith, verse from Quran or anything you have to say to back yourself up.
Third, you will either get ridiculed by the forum members or asked to refrain from religious discussion at a certain point.
Fourth, there will be people claiming religion in itself and God himself does not exist entirely, let alone Islam.
Fifth, when you think you've had enough, they'll make blasphemous claims about the beloved Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h).

Dawah is best kept in person I believe. I've had nothing but bad experience trying to give dawah through an online medium.

Trying to give dawah online can really destroy your level of imaan and it came to the point where I almost started questioning myself. That is why I refrain from doing this online now. Since people are online and anonymous, they are more likely to make blasphemous and dirty claims. Face to face dawah is much more effective and people get to actually witness your character and humbleness as a muslim.

And I forgot to mention that even if your dawah attempt is successful, the person on the other side is still less likely to stay with Islam and strive to learn more about it. It's much easier having a support network, and the benefit of in-person dawah is that, you can guide the person to the nearest Mosque so they can learn first hand what is it like being a Muslim. You can even get their contact details and stay in touch with them and answer any questions they may have with regards to Islam. As a result, people are more likely to follow Islam and remain steadfast on the deen. It's also far easier to explain concepts to them and proclaim to them the Shahadah in person than through an online medium. There are also dangers to going on non-muslim forums, even if it is for good intentions like dawah, there is a lot of filth and haram stuff on non-muslims forums which you should most certainly avoid.

May Allah allow you to give dawah effectively to others and bring people to Islam.

Alhamdulilah Allah has made my faith firm but I find some of these kaffirs extremely rude and disrespectful.

I don't deal with facebook.

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To the OP: Let's try to strengthen our own imaan first and learn the deen ourselves before we go trying to openly make dawah in public (whether online or off). The best form of dawah is when one fully practices (or at least tries their best to practice) the deen and to submerge their life into the Sunnah of the Prophet http://discussworldissues.com/forums...ilies/pbuh.gif, including having the best ikhlaaq (manners) with others. This kind of stuff makes an impact and sticks in people's heads, whether they admit it right then and there or not.

For example, the brother who was mentioned in this post... if you notice, he wasn't actively making dawah to this sister who was a co-worker of his. He was 'just' practicing the deen himself, he looked like a Muslim (beard etc), and he acted like a Muslim and wouldn't directly look at this sister, which intrigued her and she went researching online about why. At first she was upset thinking he thinks there is something wrong with her etc, but when she found out the reasons and what not, the rest is history. Allah http://discussworldissues.com/forums...lies/taala.gif made it all a source of hidayat for her and she accepted Islam. Allahu'Akbar.

Same concept applies to all brothers and sisters who look and act like Muslims in public, such as the way they dress, the way the sisters cover up with hijab/njiqaab etc, the way the brothers have beards, the way any Muslim wears Sunnah clothes, etc, and the way they act with every single person they come across during their daily routines, with kindness & compassion, with the best ikhlaaq, without compromising their deen... Insha'Allah that is all a form of dawah which we can be rewarded for by the Grace and Mercy of Allah http://discussworldissues.com/forums...lies/taala.gif; and Insha'Allah any of that can intrigue a non-Muslim into learning more about Islam and also give our fellow Muslim brothers and sisters the much-needed push/nudge towards giving up their non-Islamic lifestyle and finally starting to worship our Creator and practicing His deen.

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You have repented but have you deleted the account at the site in question? Also, you don't have to disclose the details of your sin, as that is disliked in our religion. If Allah http://discussworldissues.com/forums...lies/taala.gif kept your sin from becoming public, then you don't need to go do it yourself. I would delete that part of your post if I was you.

But I wish if some sisters of this forum would sign up there and would give Dawah to those sisters, that would be more beneficial. Though I understand your intentions are noble, that's a very bad idea. In Islam, the ends don't justify the means. For example, I cannot go inside a bar or a club and mingle with the people, maybe even end up having a few drinks myself, because I think I'm there to "make dawah". Same thing applies whether I go inside a strip club, a casino, a movie theater where filthy movies are being shown, etc, with the intention of 'making dawah'... it doesn't matter. The logic is faulty. Even if someone ends up accepting Islam with my so-called dawah at the bar, I highly doubt this would help save me from the fire... if anything, one would probably get closer to the fire by doing this. Allah knows best and may He protect us all, Ameen. What you're proposing is the same concept.

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Its a waste of time.

In Surah Saffat Allah (SWT) asks some people, "Why don't you do what you say?"

There are two interpretations here.

(1) Do what ever you preach or preach only what you practice.
(2) If you say and promise something then do it.

Question which interpretation is correct?

Ans : Second one.

Three significant ways to increase your faith, iman and belief are: (1) Dawah, (2) Recitation of Noble Qur'an and (3) Supplications.

Allah (SWT) says that keep reminding the people - verily believers benefit by these reminders.

Two things can be concluded from this last point. One, if you have the benefit of believers ( or would be believers too ) you will keep reminding them.
Secondly, there is no surety of non-believers benefiting from these reminders of the hereafter.
The trouble is that till you indulge in the business of reminding you shall never know who shall believe and who shall not.

http://discussworldissues.com/forums...lies/jazak.gif shaykh for reminding us of our duties as servants of Allah rather than servants of our egos.

Yes, I deleted my account on that site. I had no other way except exposing that sin. And I've also mentioned about Taubah which has neutralized the whole matter I guess.

I also know that one shouldn't go to a bad place for Dawah purpose. But I suggested that site because that has a private settings option. It enables one to keep him/her away from unnecessary matters. Any sister can choose to interact with female members only.

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I don't know what the ulama have said on this issue, but I would personally refrain from talking about the religion at non-Islamic forums for a few reasons:

1. People are less restrained when there is anonymity so the non-Muslims would freely hurl insults at Allah http://discussworldissues.com/forums...lies/taala.gif, Rasoolullah http://discussworldissues.com/forums...ilies/pbuh.gif, Islam in general, Muslims at large, and directly at you.
2. On forums where the majority is not Muslim, there is usually a gang mentality, especially if the forum has a majority belonging to a particular religion (e.g. Catholics). Just the fact that someone is not a member of the religion adopted by the forum majority irks them and they try to coordinate attacks and offensive posts directed at you and aspects of Islam.
3. The best way to do da'wah online is not by posting on non-Muslim forums because people see proselytizing online in a negative light. Responding for the defense of Islam is a different matter, though.

If they dislike proselytizing then it is their problem. There is no reason for us to accept and adopt their values. In fact that is the crux of the problem and that is where the strike must be made. We should come out of our own slumber and we should zolt them out of their slumber. And I do mean without aggression and militancy.

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The point of da'wah is to invite people and proselytizing on non-Muslim forums would either fall on deaf ears or fall to insults. Good akhlaaq and aadaab cannot be seen in posts so people tend to assume the worst, whereas they can be in person. That is why a good da'ee isn't necessarily the one with the most knowledge.

Also, it may be their problem, but those are also their forums and we are on their turf.

Whatever facility we may enjoy on their turf can always fruitfully be utilized. My personal experience is that trolling on Muslims fora has stopped. all thanks are due to Allah (SWT) for that. This has resulted in a sort of lull on our fora. Thus any body having any spare time at his disposal can use it for Dawah. If you are polite enough you should get a chance to say what you want. At the most they might ban you after some time but frankly I do not envisage that possibility. They do make their own decisions and they shall do that in case of choosing Islam. And it is their right. The thing that is at stake is our duty - we are not doing that. We only have to learn to wiggle out of certain sensitive situations otherwise the rest of the sailing should be smooth - if you can manage to ignore the initial insults.

And Allah (SWT) knows the best.

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I'd say better facilities would be ones where there is truly no bias amongst the moderating ranks, which is why Youtube is used as a very effective da'wah tool. Even Facebook and other social media websites are good tools for da'wah because there is no overarching moderation that promotes a particular view (FB's hypocrisy on the entire cartoon scandal notwithstanding). On the other hand, going to the religious forums of other religions or going to any forum where the majority adhere to a particular group or thought (and at many non-religious forums, these tend to be Atheist since it is the "in" thing these days), there is a notable bias even amongst the moderation, regardless of how restrained we are - this is because the indigenous forum population tends to go on the offensive and because they're hiding behind the veil of anonymity, they can do and say whatever they want under the guise of free speech without any action being taken against them by the moderators because saying such things is perfectly acceptable under their rules.

I've actually done this on a forum devoted to alternate spirituality. I did get into some debates/arguments with a couple of people, but I was also able to convince one of the major figures on said forums (Veritas Society) to write a relatively balanced article on Tassawuf, which I commented on and linked to some articles by various sheikhs on the same subject. Since then, I've inevitably ended up being contacted by various Muslims on that site, who had either been lurking there or had recently found the site (probably having run across the fore-mentioned article (hopefully http://discussworldissues.com/forums.../icon_wink.gif). Anywho, it can be done...just gotta be careful how you go about it. I'd already been an active member of said forums and thus was already know around there by quite a few people.

Tempest Desh

Timely feedback TD. http://discussworldissues.com/forums...lies/jazak.gif
How do you do?
Kindly make supplications for this sinner.

Other than Tempest Desh, have others here had any good personal experiences?

I was curious, because the experiences that I have seen and known of have all been mostly negative it seems.

BTW, this is off-topic of the general thread theme, but on the topic of dawah..... a few months ago, when I was leaving the library, I passed a guy wearing a t-shirt that said something like, "Islam: Aren't you curious?"

^ PouringRain, nice to see you back. Hope you're doing well.

Absolute genius!!! where can I find one of those I wonder.