Not Giving Da’wah to Save Non-Muslims?
“Let’s not give da’wah so that non-Muslims can become like the Ahlul Fatrah and become saved.”
Unfortunately, this absurd reasoning resonates with a few. Some things to bear in mind are:
- Allah does not command Muslims to save people from hell but to give da’wah. If we were commanded to do the former and then it was demonstrated that not giving dawah was a better way of attaining that objective, then perhaps we can entertain the idea for discussion. But since dawah in and of itself is our objective, there can be no room for discarding da’wah altogether as that involves eliminating an integral part of the deen.
- It is sheer stupidity and arrogance for Muslims to collectively risk enduring hell temporarily (by disobeying Allah’s command to give da’wah) in the hopes of saving others from it permanently. The Qur’an states that on the Day of Judgment we would not even be concerned about our own family members. Hell is not some joke we can “handle temporarily.” There is a belittlement of hell when talk of it is like this. If we truly fathomed hell, then we would know that it is not something we would wish to endure for even a minute for anybody, including our parents and children.
- We forget the harms that could come from not giving da’wah. Giving da’wah does not only result in conversion to the faith but also in reducing hostility toward it. There are many misconceptions about Islam, and to stop giving da’wah is impractical and harmful. Not doing so would only enable the further proliferation and cementing of these misconceptions in people’s minds, which could also lead to further antagonism against the faith and ummah at large.
- We forget the benefits that could come from giving da’wah. Giving da’wah could help forge beneficial alliances and ease the affairs of Muslims as they enhance the reputation of the faith they adopt.
- Most importantly, it is not so straightforward that not giving da’wah to non-Muslims results in them attaining the ruling of Ahlul Fatrah. In the 21st century, becoming exposed to the message of Islam is so much easier with the internet, globalization, and intermingling with Muslims. Muslims merely displaying Islam publicly and non-Muslims merely learning about Islam through other means other than da’wah by Muslims still results in these non-Muslims receiving the message of Islam.
- Moreover, as I explained in my online lecture “Deconstructing Religious Pluralism,” there are different views of Ahlul Fatrah out there held by scholars. Many scholars believe that having sound intellect alone makes non-Muslims culpable. Many other Muslims (and this is a view that I adopt) believe that the Ahlul Fatrah and those who take their ruling will be tested in the afterlife and that they could even fail that test even if they did not receive the message in the dunya. Thus, we are not even 100% certain that we have the correct understanding of Ahlul Fatrah when the scholars themselves differed over it. Do we really wish to risk temporary hell by not giving da’wah, especially when we are not even certain about achieving the hoped-for benefits?
More can be elaborated on and said, but sure enough, it is clear that those who espouse such reasoning are grossly misled and mistaken. This proposal should be shut down hard, especially given how dangerous its ramifications (both dunyawi and in the afterlife) could be.