Importance of Preaching in Islam
From Nabi Adam عَلَیْہِ السَّلَام to the final Nabi Muhammad صَلَّی اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی
عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّم Allah عَزَّ
وَجَلَّ sends prophets to preach His message. Everyone can understand
the importance of
preaching as Allah عَزَّ
وَجَلَّ sends His beloved prophets for this purpose. All the prophets did efforts in the path of Allah and
conveyed the message of their religion to their nations. At the end Final Nabi
of Allah came to this world and after him no one can be a prophet of Allah. The
door of Nubuwa is closed forever. The responsibility to preach the religion of
Allah is upon the Ummah of Beloved Prophet Muhammad صَلَّی اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ
وَسَلَّم.
Allah Pak says in the Holy Quran about the
preaching:
وَ لْتَكُنْ مِّنْكُمْ اُمَّةٌ یَّدْعُوْنَ
اِلَى الْخَیْرِ وَ یَاْمُرُوْنَ بِالْمَعْرُوْفِ
وَ یَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِؕ-وَ اُولٰٓىٕكَ
هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُوْنَ(۱۰۴)
“And
let there be such a group among you that may call towards goodness and command
what is righteous and prevent evil. And the very same attained their goals.”
How clearly our Lord عَزَّ
وَجَلَّ ordered us to preach and
call people towards the goodness and prevent them from evil. The Beloved Rasool صَلَّی اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ
وَسَلَّم also tells us the significance of preaching and calling people
towards the good:
إِنَّ الدَّالَّ عَلَى الْخَيْرِ كَفَاعِلِهِ The one who shows the right path is like the one who
does the good. نَضَّرَ
اللَّهُ امْرَأً سَمِعَ مِنَّا حَدِيثًا فَحَفِظَهُ حَتَّى يُبَلِّغَهُ غَيْرَهُ may Allah Pak make a man prosperous who hears a hadees
from me and memorize it and conveys it to the others. “The person who has
promoted a pious deed among Muslims and after him, the deed was followed, so
the reward of those who act upon the deed will also be written in his book of
deeds (i.e., the one who promoted it) and the reward of those acting upon it
will not be reduced.”
“Undoubtedly, Allahعَزَّ وَجَلَّ and His angels send mercy to the one who teaches good things to others,
even the ants in their holes and the fishes (in water) beg for mercy for him.” The
Noble Rasool صَلَّی
اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّم has stated, ‘If Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ blesses even a single person with guidance by you,
this is better for you than having red camels.” The Beloved Rasool صَلَّی اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی
عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّم has said:
“Amongst
you the person who sees any evil, should change it with his hands. If he does
not have this power, then he should change it with the tongue. If he does not
even have this power, then he should consider it bad from his heart; and he is
the one with weak faith”
Sayyiduna Noman bin Bashir has narrated that the
Revered and Renowned Prophet صَلَّی اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّم has stated: The example of those who show laziness in
the commandment of Allah and who get involved in them is like those people who
held a draw in the ship. Some of them got place in the lower part and some in
the upper part. Thus those staying in the lower part had to go to the upper
part to get water. Counting it as bother, they took a saw and one of them began
to make a hole in the lower part of the ship. Those staying in the upper part
came to him and asked, ‘What’s the matter with you?’ He said: ‘You were
inconvenienced by me, and we cannot do without water.’ If they grab hold of his
hand, they will save him and will also remain safe, and if they abandon him,
they will make him meet his doom and will also meet their doom.
From these blessed Ahadees we come to know how
important the preaching in Islam is. The reward of preaching is great as we
just read. All other good deeds a person does he gets its benefit himself but
preaching is a virtue that not only benefits the preacher; rather its benefit
also spreads to others. Through the beautiful act of preaching Allah’s religion
with sincerity and wisdom, we can step on to the path of making our society and
our surroundings harmonious, peaceful, and fragrant with the beauty of pure Islamic teachings.
Along with all of this, we can decorate our book of deeds and enlighten our
afterlife through obeying and acting upon all the blessed sayings mentioned
above. We sometimes complain about a lack of prosperity and about our problems,
but we don’t realize that one solution is simpler than we thing. As you saw
above, when we preach the teachings of Islam, this will grant us the honor of
being recipients of the blessed Dua of prosperity and happiness from the beautiful
and delicate lips of our Beloved Prophet صَلَّی اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ
وَسَلَّم himself!
Furthermore, people all around us are sinking in the
ocean of sins. They are spending their lives in heedlessness and ignorance;
sometimes committing
major sins for years on end, without even realizing what the rulings of
Islam are. It is as if their actions and lifestyles are calling out for our
help, to guide them and bring them back to the obedience of their Creator. It
is our duty and responsibility to help these Muslim brothers of ours, and when
we do come to their aid, we will see that Allah Almighty will come to our aid,
and our difficulties will be eased. The Beloved Prophet صَلَّی اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی
عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّم said, ‘Allah helps a person, as long as that person is engaged in
helping his brother.’
