Characteristics of Those Who Call to Allah (SWT) - Shaykh Muhammad Tim Humble

Characteristics of Those Who Call to Allah

Alhamdulillah, we praise Him, we ask His help, and we ask His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and from the evils of our deeds. Whom Allah guides, none can misguide him. And whom He misguides, none can guide him. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is the servant of Allah and His Messenger. Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and upon his family and his companions. And upon those who followed his path and those who followed his footsteps until the Day of Recompense.

As for what follows. O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak a just word. He will amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great victory.

To continue — O you who believe, fear Allah as He deserves to be feared and do not die except as Muslims. O mankind, fear your Lord who created you from a single soul, and created from it its mate, and created from them both many men and women. And fear Allah through whom you demand your mutual rights. Indeed Allah is ever watchful over you.

O you who believe, fear Allah and speak a word that is true. He will correct your actions and forgive your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has indeed achieved a great success.

And to continue — the best speech is the book of Allah. The best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad ﷺ. And the worst of things in this religion are those things which are newly introduced — they were not done neither by the Prophet ﷺ nor by his companions; they were introduced into Islam after that. And all of these newly introduced things are innovations. And all innovation is misguidance. And all misguidance is in the hellfire, as our Messenger ﷺ said.

The Mission of the Prophets: Calling to Allah

My brothers and sisters in Islam, Allah said in Surah Al-Ahzab: O Prophet, We have sent you as a witness and as a bringer of glad tidings and a warner. And as a caller to Allah — a da'i, somebody who calls to Allah by His permission — and a bright shining light.

Brothers and sisters, the job of all of the prophets was to call the people to worship Allah alone. Allah said in Surah Al-Anbiya':

We have not sent before you any messenger except that We revealed to him: there is no god that deserves to be worshipped except Me, so worship Me alone.

This was the job of all of the prophets and the messengers. And Al-Imam Al-Sa'di, rahimahullah, in his tafsir, said commenting on this ayah: Every single messenger — the core of their message and the foundation of it — was to command the people to worship Allah alone and with no partner. And to explain to the people that Allah is the true God which is deserving of worship, and that the worship of everything besides Allah is falsehood.

Da'wah Makes Us the Best Nation

Brothers and sisters, giving da'wah makes us the best ummah, the best nation. Allah said in Surah Ali 'Imran:

You are the best nation that has ever been brought out for the people. You tell the people to do good and you forbid them from doing evil and you believe in Allah.

And this is the essence of da'wah. Because is there anything more good than worshipping Allah alone and calling the people to that? And is there anything more evil than making a partner with Allah, in that which we have no knowledge? So the foundation of telling people to do good and forbidding people from doing evil — الْأَمْرُ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَالنَّهْيُ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ — the foundation of this is to call the people to the worship of Allah and to forbid them from making a partner with Allah.

And Allah commanded us to give da'wah, and He promised success for the people who give it. In Surah Ali 'Imran, Allah said:

Let there rise up among you a nation who give da'wah to good — they call the people to that which is good, they command the people to do what is right, and they forbid the people from doing what is wrong. And it is they who will be successful.

And I want you to note in this ayah that Allah commanded you: وَلْتَكُن — let there be among you a group of people who call others to the way of Allah.

And in the Sahih of Imam Al-Bukhari, that the Prophet ﷺ said:

By Allah, for Allah to guide a single person through you is better for you than the red camels — that was the best of wealth in their time. Now you imagine what is the best of wealth — the most amazing thing that you could imagine that you own. Better than that is for Allah to guide a single person through you.

And in another wording of this hadith:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2942)

Better than everything that the sun rises over and everything that the sun sets upon.

The Characteristics of the One Who Calls to Allah

After having learnt some of the virtues of calling to Allah, today we come to the topic at hand in this khutbah, insha'Allah. And that is the question: what are the characteristics of the person who calls to Allah?

Now we're not going to be able to cover all of these characteristics in the short time that we have. But there are three things that I would like to achieve out of this discussion of ours.

The first thing is that we want every single one of you to develop these characteristics inside of yourself — whether you are engaged in da'wah or whether you are not engaged in da'wah. Because these characteristics are the characteristics of the best of the children of Adam: our Messenger Muhammad ﷺ.

The second thing is that we want to inspire each and every person to be a caller to Allah. The Prophet ﷺ said:

Convey the message from me even if it's just one ayah. Even if the only knowledge you have is to convey just one single ayah to the people, then the Messenger ﷺ commanded you to convey that one. So we want to inspire everyone to see themselves as a caller to Allah — particularly since we are living in this country, in this situation that we are in, surrounded by so many non-Muslims and indeed surrounded by so many Muslims who have strayed very far away from their religion.

And finally, we want to show you what you should look for in the people who teach you. And likewise, what you should stay away from in those people who you listen to and you take your knowledge from. Because at the end of the day, these are the characteristics of the one who calls to Allah.

A General Overview: Noble Character

I want to start these characteristics with a general overview. Allah said about the Prophet ﷺ in Surah Al-Qalam:

You are on the highest standard of character. And this is the first general point we want to make about the characteristics of the one who calls to Allah — that he should have the highest standard of character in everything that he does. In the way that he approaches the worship of his Lord, he should have the highest standard of manners and character. In the way that he approaches the people, he should have the highest standard of manners and character. In the time that he is alone and nobody can see him except Allah, he should have the highest standard of character. And with his family, he should have the highest standard of character.

First Characteristic: Sincerity to Allah

The first among them and the greatest of them without a shadow of a doubt is sincerity to Allah. Allah said in the Quran:

They were only commanded to worship Allah and make the religion sincere for Him alone. And this is very hard when you give da'wah. It's hard because you have people looking at you and people listening to you, and maybe you develop a degree of being well-known. It's extremely hard for you to fight against your intention.

And I want to remind you of the statement of Al-Imam Sufyan Al-Thawri, rahimahullah, when he said:

(Statement of Sufyan Al-Thawri, as cited in classical works of Islamic ethics)

I have not wrestled with anything harder than my intention. So the intention of the person should be to please Allah. It should not be the number of followers, or the number of people who attend the classes, or the number of people who accept Islam from them, or the number of followers they have on social media. But it should be simply whether Allah is pleased with you or not.

Second Characteristic: Knowledge and Insight

The second characteristic is knowledge and insight. Allah said in an ayah which basically summarizes the whole concept of giving da'wah:

Say, this is my way. I call to Allah upon sure knowledge, upon insight — me and all those who follow me. And exalted is Allah and free is Allah from all imperfections. And I am not from those who make a partner with Him.

Let's just stop at this ayah for a moment and take a few points from it. The first is that da'wah has a methodology. Da'wah is not how you think it should be done. قُلْ هَٰذِهِ سَبِيلِي — da'wah has a sabeel, it has a way, from the Prophet ﷺ. And that way is to call to Allah — not to call to gathering the people, not to call to the numbers, not to call to any other thing — except to call the people to worship Allah alone. Upon insight.

And insight, brothers and sisters, has three main parts to it.

The first is insight about yourself. The caller to Allah should know himself and should know his limits. How many people give da'wah and they don't know themselves — they don't know what their limits are, they don't know when they should say, "Allah knows best, I don't know the answer to this." And it's enough, as some of the early generation said, it's enough as an example of foolishness that a person answers every question that he is asked. So a person should know themselves and know their limits. If you know a little bit about worshipping Allah alone, tell the people about that. But if they ask you something you don't know, don't give them an answer. Say, "Allah knows best," and, "I will bring you that answer insha'Allah from someone who knows."

The second type of insight is insight about the person you are giving da'wah to. Because when you jump in and you don't know who that person is, you may speak to them in a way that is not appropriate and a way they don't understand, and they may run away from Islam — they may flee from Islam — because you addressed them and spoke to them in a way that wasn't suitable to them. As was said by Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 127)

Speak to the people in a way they understand. Do you wish to be the reason why Allah and His Messenger are denied? So it's extremely important that we know who we are speaking to and we address each issue in a way that suits that particular person — without compromise.

And the third type of insight is that we have insight about how to give da'wah — what was the methodology, the manhaj, of the Prophet ﷺ in calling the people to Allah.

Third Characteristic: Acting Upon the Knowledge

The next characteristic is الْعَمَلُ بِهِ — to call the people through your actions. Because at the end of the day, you can have knowledge. But if your actions don't reflect the knowledge that you have, then not only will people not take from you, but Allah will not accept from you. And that is the greater calamity.

So it's extremely important that when we learn something about Islam and we want to tell people about it, we try to act upon that in ourselves. Allah said:

Who is better in speech than the one who calls to Allah, and does good deeds, and says indeed I am from the Muslims.

Fourth Characteristic: Wisdom and Good Preaching

From the characteristics of the one who calls to Allah is wisdom and good preaching. Allah said in Surah An-Nahl:

Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom. What is wisdom? Wisdom is to know when to say something, and where to say something, and how to say something. So you say the right thing in the right place at the right time. And that is a very difficult skill to develop — it's a skill that requires developing. It's not something that you necessarily have as something intrinsic within you. You ask Allah for it; it's a gift from Allah. But at the same time you have to develop it within yourself.

وَالْمَوْعِظَةِ الْحَسَنَةِ — fair preaching. At the end of the day we give a maw'idhah — we give something that stirs the hearts. This is the meaning of a maw'idhah: something which stirs the hearts, which makes the hearts flutter, which wakes people up from their slumber, from their ignorance, from being unaware of Allah. You give them a maw'idhah — something which starts up their heart again. But it's a maw'idhah that is hasanah — it's good. Like the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 69; Sahih Muslim, Book 32, Hadith 6303)

Make things easy for people and don't make things difficult. And give glad tidings to people and don't push people away. That doesn't mean you compromise. That doesn't mean that you change what you believe. But that you call people in a positive way to come to you and to come to the right belief and the right way.

وَجَادِلْهُم بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ — because da'wah is going to require some jidal, some back and forward, some argumentation, a little bit of give and take, a little bit of answering questions. Somebody's going to say something and you have to have a response. But always you have to have the moral high ground. You have to be a person who, through your manners, conveys the beauty of Islam — through the way that you act, the way that you speak, and even the way that you debate or argue with somebody.

Fifth Characteristic: Softness and Gentleness

And closely related to that are the characteristics of softness and gentleness — الرِّفْقُ وَاللِّينُ. Allah said in the Quran:

By the mercy of Allah, you were gentle with them. Again, gentle does not mean compromise. You were gentle with them. And if you were harsh and hard-hearted, they would have run from around you.

Sixth Characteristic: Fulfilling the Trust and Being Just

And finally, before we take a short break for the second part of the khutbah, we want to talk about الْأَمَانَةُ وَالْعَدْلُ — about fulfilling the trust and about being just and fair with people. Allah said in the Quran:

Indeed Allah commands you to render the trust — to fulfill the trust — to those that they are due to. And when you judge between the people, to judge with justice. And we will discuss more about this in a few moments.

Second Part of the Khutbah

All praises due to Allah alone and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no messenger — our Messenger Muhammad — and upon his family and his companions.

We're speaking about calling others to Allah and about the characteristics of a person who does so. And we spoke about giving the trusts — or rendering the trust — to those that they are due to. And at the end of the day, the knowledge that you have is a massive responsibility from Allah. Allah said: We offered the amanah of Islam — the amanah of the Shari'ah, the amanah of calling to Allah — We offered it to the heavens and the earth and the mountains and they refused to carry it, but mankind took on that responsibility, and he was full of oppression and ignorance.

It is a huge responsibility. And how many people call to the way of Allah but they don't fulfill this responsibility — so they don't tell the people what they need to know, or they conceal from the people some of the things that they need, or they try to sweeten and sugar coat their da'wah in order to please the people who employ them or the people who invite them. And all of this is a loss of justice and a loss of amanah — a loss of fulfilling that responsibility that a person has been given.

Seventh Characteristic: Taking Yourself to Account

And finally, from the characteristics that I would like to talk about is the characteristic of taking yourself to account — of personally sitting and taking yourself to account. Because when you give da'wah, you will still remain as a human being. You will still be a person who will make mistakes. You will still be a person who will fail sometimes and get things wrong sometimes and do the wrong thing sometimes. So you should not be frightened to take yourself to account and to be honest about the mistakes that you make — first of all with yourself, and then with those people that you convey this message to.

And if you want a beautiful example of this, look at the example of the Prophet ﷺ in the event which is narrated to us in Surah 'Abasa:

That when the Prophet ﷺ was giving da'wah to some of the major figures, the major tribal leaders, along came a blind man asking a question, and the Prophet ﷺ frowned at him and turned away from him — not because he did not want to speak to him, but because he was in a situation where he thought what he was doing was more deserving and more important. And Allah explained to him and to us that this was the wrong way. And look at the humility of the Messenger ﷺ — that he took that and he recited that to the people and he took himself to account and showed the people the lesson of the person who calls to Allah taking themselves to account, if they take a choice or make a choice that is not necessarily the best one in those circumstances.

Summary and Conclusion

So what I have tried to do today, as I said in the beginning of the khutbah, is to go over the characteristics of the one who calls to Allah:

Number one — because these characteristics are not limited to the caller to Allah. These characteristics should be present in every single one of us, and the more we strive to achieve them, we will be calling people to Allah even if we are not actively involved in da'wah.

Number two — we also wanted to inspire people, to make people really say: I want to be that person. I want to be somebody who is going to go out there and call the non-Muslims to Islam and call the Muslims who have strayed away from the path to the right way.

And thirdly — to see who you take knowledge from, to look at those people who you take knowledge from and to ask yourself whether those characteristics are present within them or not, and to look at what the opposite of those characteristics are and some of the things that we have to keep away from.

And that is what Allah has made easy for us today.

O servants of Allah, indeed Allah commands justice and good conduct and giving to relatives, and He forbids immorality and bad conduct and transgression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded. So remember Allah — He will remember you. And be grateful to Him for His favors — He will increase you. And the remembrance of Allah is the greatest, and Allah knows what you do.