Principle of Preaching in the Era of the Holy Prophet (PBUH)

Summoning men unto God that the holy Prophet (PBUH) was its founder under the instruction of the Almighty comprised all principles of the religion in a very sample and comprehensive way. So, the term Islamic Dawah (Islamic Summoning) was used for Islam referring to it in a comprehensive form.

It is very interesting to know that Dawah at the early era of Islam was being conducted through a mechanism in which education and practice were effectively going on side by side. By the way preaching Islam at the time of his Excellency was functioning as a school where the companions received education and also as monastery where they to practiced their learning. It was the most prominent feature of the Islamic Dawah.

In twentieth century Molana Muhammad Ilyas _ the founder of Jamaat Dawat & Tabligh, experimented the above pattern of summoning in the Mywaat region of India which proved greatly successful in that area and the entire world. During his vast and deep studies he could find out the fundamental principles of the early era of summoning and included them in his Dawah movement. Some of those principles are:

1-    Summoning men unto God
2-    Education and learning
3-    Worship and invocation of God
4-    Embracing Islamic ethics

One of the important features of summoning at the era of the holy Prophet (PBUH) was minimalism as a generally accepted principle. The great companions of his Excellency remained committed to this principle too. But after the era of companions the situation was gradually changed. The Islamic Dawah was torn apart and got confined in monasteries and seminaries separately. Consequently, the principles of unity and simplicity became obsolete. As matter of fact, simplicity was a program by which the companions and their successive attendants could apply complete set of Islamic values and principles in their lives; that is why, in terms of devotion and cultivation of religion they got to a level that the holy Prophet (PBUH) declared them as the best class of  Muslims.

By: Muhammad Anwar Bozorgzadeh