IN THE PATH OF ALLAH

      بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
  In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

  Dawaah (Invitation towards Allah)

  Dawaah has to be one of the aims of every Muslim. Tablig means
 'to deliver'. Whether a person be in his own  house, shop, factory,
 office or farm ; whether he is the employee or the employer ; whether
 he is alone or in a jamaat ; whether he is in the bazaar or in the masjid;
 whether he is a pious Aalim or just an ordinary Muslim, it is his duty to
 fulfil the wishes of our Nabi صلى الله عليه وسلم and carry out the work of Dawaah.

  This work of Dawaah can be carried out through :
   1)   Direct propagation
   2)   The way one leads one's own life, which is also Dawaah.
          For Eg :   Dealing honestly with others ;
                          Respecting one's elders & loving youngsters ;
                          Helping the poor, orphans, needy etc ; and  
                         Generally living life in the footsteps of Our Nabi
                          صلى الله عليه وسلم.

 It has to be remembered that Dawaah has to be to 

 oneself first before it is to others. 

 To go in the path of Allah is one of the pillars of Islam and is a great form 
 of Ibadah (Worship). The verses of the Qur'an make this abundantly clear.

والعَصْرِ اِنَ الْاِنْسَانَ لَفِى خُسرٍ اِلَا اَلذِيْنَ امَنُوْا وَعَمِلُوا     
      الصَالِحاتِ وَ تَوَاصَوْا بِالحَقِّ وَتَوَا صَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ 

 And let Time be witness ; verily man is in a great loss except,
 of course, those who believe and do righteous deeds and who 
 enjoin truth and enjoin patience. 
 
 كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ اُمَّةٍ اُخْرِجَتْ لِلنّاسِ تَأمُرُوْنَ بِالمَعُرُوْلقفِ وَتَنْهَونَ 
 عَنِ المُنكَرِ وَتُوءْمِنُوءنَ بِاللهِ 

O you (followers of Muhammad صلى الله  عليه وسلم) ; you are the 
noblest of people, in that you have been brought out for (the 
benefit of) mankind. You enjoin the good and forbid the evil,
and you believe in Allah

Our Nabi  صلى الله عليه وسلم said '' I, Muhammad swear by Him who 

has control over my soul ; you must enjoin the good and forbid the

evil and force (not physically) the ignorant wrongdoer into the path 

of rectitude; else Allah will confound your hearts and you will be

cursed as were the people gone by.

Aisha (رضى الله عنها) says ''Nabi صلى الله عليه وسلم came to me and I

could read from his noble countenance that something extraordinary

had happened. He did not utter a single word but, made wudhu, went

straight to the masjid. I, too, stood by the wall of the masjid to hear

what he had to say. The Nabi of Allah  صلى الله عليه وسلم ascended the

pulpit and, after the usual holy exordium  said : '' O people, Allah has

ordained you to enjoin the good and forbid the evil, lest a time should 

come when you call and He may not respond, you ask for a favour and

He may not grant it, and you call for help and He may refuse.'' 
   

Our Nabi صلى الله عليه وسلم never once gave up Dawaah and therefore we

should not either, as we are told by Allah in the following verse of the
Holy Qur'an that we should follow our Nabi  صلى الله عليه وسلم :

 
لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِىْ رَسُولِ اللهِ اُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ     
Indeed the Rasoolullah  (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is the perfect
example for you to follow.  

Needless to say, going in the path of Allah is not only one of the 

fundamental pillars of Islam but an absolute necessity.

Once a person has decided to go in the path of Allah, one should

know the reason for going and also be aware of the etiquettes

(correct means and methods) of proceeding in the path of Allah.

 In the path of Allah by Ibrahim Hassam Okhai