It has been an eventful week. I learnt of 4 shahadas (testimony of faith) from 4 very different people (all female) this past week and it got me thinking of our responsibilities as muslims, are we doing enough? The brief profile of 3 of these new muslims are as follows:

a. Shahada no 1: 17 year old female, parents are totally anti-muslim so she is still praying in secret and hasn't informed them. A difficult test no doubt...

b. Shahada no 2: Probably the most unlikely person i know to take shahada. Very Pro-zionist, pro-IDF ... Has family in Israel. Still pro-Israel but Insha Allah, she learns more about the situation and gets stronger in faith.

c. Shahada No 3: young mum, still in school

Subhanallah, we have such a beautiful way of life but it seems muslims are unwilling to propagate it, to teach it. When we teach and live our deen, we get the most amazing results. Allah says in the Quran:

[Prophet], call [people] to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good teaching. Argue with them in the most courteous way, for your Lord knows best who has strayed from His way and who is rightly guided. (Surah 16:125)

Most muslims are caught in the middle of two flawed narratives one coming from those who kill innocent people for their own gains and the second from missionaries. The two parties speak with limited knowledge and say basically the same thing. The youths get confused because people with the correct narrative are silent.

There are very limited things we can do about boko haram (apart from condemn the acts) as average muslims. and we really can't blame Christians(and other groups) who undertake reprisal attacks on innocent muslims as is the case in Kaduna. We can however talk to young muslims and our neighbours in the best of ways.

DAWAH IS FARD.....

If you love someone and the person is insulted or abused as a result of ignorance or a lack of knowledge... What would you do? Would you not set things straight at least? Let the person understand the falsehood they spew...

Allah says in the Quran:

The disbelievers say, ‘The Lord of Mercy has offspring.’[/b]b How terrible is this thing you assert: [b]it almost causes the heavens to be torn apart, the earth to split asunder, the mountains to crumble to pieces, that they attribute offspring to the Lord of Mercy. It does not befit the Lord of Mercy [to have offspring]: there is no one in the heavens or earth who will not come to the Lord of Mercy as a servant. (Surah 19: 88-93)

The pagan arabs of the past and the christians of today attribute children to God.... The enormity of this statement is such that Allah describes it as 'it almost causes the heavens to be torn apart, the earth to split asunder, the mountains to crumble to pieces, that they attribute offspring to the Lord of Mercy'...

Yet we see this going on around us and we can't at least send out this invitation... What will you say to your lord when your neighbour or friend complains that he never heard about Islam from you. What excuse would you have?

Your duty is simply to invite, you are not responsible for converting anyone.. You do not have to be a scholar to give dawah, Any one with an understanding of tawhid can give dawah.. Remember to say 'i don't know' when you do not know something and make sure it is for the sake of Allah alone. You do not have to worry if they do not accept just make sure, you do your part.

Allah says in the Quran:

[Prophet], are you going to worry yourself to death because they will not believe? If We had wished, We could have sent them down a sign from heaven, at which their necks would stay bowed in utter humility. Whenever they are brought a new revelation from the Lord of Mercy, they turn away: they deny it, but the truth of what they scorned will soon hit them. (Surah 26:3-6)

The prophet said:

"None of you will truly believe until I am more beloved to him than his father, his son and all of mankind." (Bukhaari, Muslim and others).

Now do you really love the prophet, if you love him you would follow his example.... His example was dawah.... The prophet went to taif and was stoned by the children of taif to the point that he was bleeding so much.... He described that day as the worst of his life... Why? because of dawah....

We do not face those challenges yet we can't talk about tawhid...

I speak to myself first before anyone... May Allah make it easy for us.