Missionary Activities in Islam

Missionary Activities in Islam

Muhammad Aman Hobhom

Formerly Imam of the Berlin Mosque, Germany

1. WHY SHOULD MISSIONARY ACTIVITIES BE UNDERTAKEN:

According to my humble opinion, to be a true Muslim means more than simply to believe in the existence of God and in the fact that He sent down upon the Prophet Muhammad, upon whom be peace and the blessings of God, the Holy Qur‘an. it means more than to utter the words of the Kalimah, to have a vague idea about the continuation of life after death and to perform a set of rites and rituals. To be a true Muslim includes the firm conviction that the teachings of Islam, as they have been revealed to mankind by God through the Prophet Muhammad, offer a most perfect guidance to man for all the aspects of his daily life as an individual and as a part of a collective whole.

 

To be e true Muslim means to be firmly convinced of the fact that the teachings of Islam offer an all-round solution of the problems humanity is facing and that wholly and solely the strict adherence to the principles of this religion can save man from failing in his mission of life. A Muslim ought to know that every human being, if he wants to be counted among the "Muflihin", or, successful ones in life, can achieve this aim only by completely submitting unto the will of God and by fully availing of the guidance so benevoiently offered to him by the most merciful and beneficent Divine Being, in short – we Muslims who are supposed to be aware of the fact that God created everything else with a set purpose, ought to remember that man, too, just as everything existing in the universe, has to fulfill a certain mission: the attainment of "Falah". Falah has been explained as meaning “the furrowing out of latent faculties by continuously striving for progress—-a progress controlled by righteousness and illumined by Divine Guidance" so that man may reach his final goal the "attainment of the abiding life,--a life of perfection, peace and happiness".

 

Unfortunately a number of Muslims and many of the non-Muslim population of the world have not yet perceived this goal. They are ignorant of the way to achieve it. There is doubtlessly a universal craving among humanity at large for peace, comfort, happiness and success, but the conceptions and notions of the real nature of these values often suffer from being confused, and there is many a human being whose conception of the mission and aim of life is basically wrong. The history of mankind is full of examples to this effect. Many a flourishing nation and community as well as innumerable individuals had to perish simply because of ignorance or illwill. they were either not aware of or neglected and discarded the grand explanations as to the place which man occupies in the universe and the behaviour which benefits his position. These are explanations which throughout the ages were liberally given by God through His chosen prophets. They have found their perfection in the revelation of the Holy Qur'an.

 

lf we Muslims really and strongly believe that we must serve God and when it is taught to us that serving God includes the doing of good unto others, then let us know once and for all: The greatest possible good which we are capable of doing unto others, the greatest and most sublime service which we can render to humanity is to explain to our fellow human being. Whether Muslim or non-Muslim, the purpose of his creation and existence. It is to inform him of his duties and obligations, to enlighten him on his mission and goal of life and to show him the path which leads straight to the highest heights of existence. This means in other words: The most valuable and unique service which we Muslims can and must render to humanity is to convey to all who are groping in darkness, the message of Islam, the message of light, which is the message of Divine Guidance, Love and Mercy. Our love for God and Truth imposes upon us the duty to express love for His creation. And the best expression of our love for Truth is not only to be truthful ourselves, to do the right and shun the evil in respect to our own selves, but to disseminate the message of Truth, to bid the right and to forbid the wrong, as it is unmistakably made incumbent upon us by the following verse of the Holy Qur’an:

"Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong. They are the ones to attain felicity“. (III: 104).

 

This means in plain words that it is our duty as Muslims to undertake Missionary Work, to spread Islam in all the four corners of the world. I even go to the extent of saying that missionary activities are the barometer of our own convictions. The more we are imbued with the spirit of truth and of love for God and His creation, the greater will be the urge to bear witness of Him and His revelation, the more enthusiastic we will be to spread His teachings and thus help our ignorant or misled brothers and sisters. Muslim and non-Muslim alike. On the other hand, I believe that a decrease of or what is worse, a complete lack of missionary spirit is a sign that our own convictions are somehow weak or shattered, in this case we ourselves are, just as badly in need of once again being drawn to the wonderful teachings of God as those whom we consider to be infidels. The prototype of e real Muslim are those who in bye gone days as soldiers, merchants and scientists travelled through the lands and who, besides fully discharging their worldly duties, never missed the opportunity to preach the principles of their faith and belief by word and deed. They have left a mark in history as the builders of the vast empires of Islam, the frontiers of which were not drawn by the accidents of birth, such as colour and nationality, but by a living faith in God and by the common aim to serve Him. This aim united black and white, poor and rich, male and female, and it welded them all together into one universal brotherhood.

 

2. WHFRE TO UNDERTAKE MISSIONARY WORK:

It is usually believed that to undertake missionary work means no more and no less than to send out "Muballighs" to non-Muslim countries to spread Islam where so far the word of God, as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), was either totally unknown or misrepresented and misunderstood.

 

There are, no doubt a greet number of misconceptions, and distortions of the teachings of Islam current in the non-Muslim world, particularly in the West. Islam is commonly believed to be the "religion of tire and sword". "Muslims are the worshippers of Mahomet". “In Islam woman is considered to have no soul, and she will never be permitted to enter paradise." "It is the duty of every Muslim to keep a Harem and to marry as many wives as possible." The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) is very often depicted as having been a man full of uncurbed sensual lusts and desires-to mention only a few of the numerous allegations made against Islam and the person of the Messenger of God.

 

A Muslim cannot help being upset about such calumnies and wrong notions, and it is highly understandable that these misconceptions are considered to call for removal and for a proper representation of our religion. They definitely do demand categorically that Muslim missionaries should appear in the field and fight against them wherever they may be found. I call this kind of missionary work a defensive one, the importance of which I do not underestimate, the more so as this kind of work is being done already by Muslim Missionaries since a number of years with good results. But however urgent as well as appreciable the refutation of false charges levied against Islam may be, a genuine missionary spirit will not be contented with these activities only.

 

True missionary service finds its fulfillment, in selflessly delivering rid acting upon a message of which one is convinced that it is of greatest importance and beneficence to humanity at large. A missionary's task is not confined to apologetical work. His first and foremost duty is to serve God and his fellow human beings by pointing out the path leading to the goal of life to those who are ignorant thereof as well as to those who are rather negligent and unmindful of their duties towards God, their neighbours and themselves. Prompted by his own faith, knowledge and selfless love for God and His creation, a true missionary will not rest until everyone accessible to him has been acquainted with his message. Ho will preach and teach and untiring will be his practical efforts to help and support those in need. His words and deeds will serve one purpose only: The glorification of God and the spiritual progress of man.

 

If the aim and object of missionary work is to spread the word of God, to convince man of its importance for each and every individual and thus to attempt to establish it firmly among mankind for their ultimate good, these very missionary activities should not be limited to one part of the globe, namely the non-Muslim world, only.

 

My stay in Muslim countries has taught me that genuine missionary work of Islam is as essential among Muslims as it is among others. It is true that the majority of the population of the so-called Muslim countries are followers of Islam, at least as far as their pretensions go. But do they really follow Islam? Do all of them know exactly what Islam means and what it stands for? Are there not many Muslims who know little more of their religion besides the words of the Kalimah ? Some do not even memoirise these. Does not the lack of education, the confusion in matters of religion the surprisingly small number of social institutions, the tremendous difference between poor and rich, the readiness to accept the Western way of life and thinking with many of the intelligentsia, and many other features, more clearly indicate that real knowledge of Islam in the Muslim world is, or has become, rather dim?

 

Therefore I cannot help emphasizing that Home Missions of Islam are as essential as Foreign Missions. Let our attention be not diverted from our own shortcomings by the existence of misconceptions abroad and by the understandable desire to refute them. As a matter of fact many of the so-called misconceptions are no misconceptions at all but opinions formed on account of un-Islamic trends among us Muslims.

 

3. HOW TO UNDERTAKE MISSIONARY WORK:

A careful study of the Work of those Muslim foreign missions which have already been established, and of which a number unfortunately do not propagate Islam but their own narrow sectarian views, shows the following picture:

 

The activities of most of these missions consist of delivering lectures, holding classes, the publication of literature, either of apologetical or polemical nature, and the conduction of prayer services. Apart from that most of the missions maintain a vast correspondence with countless individuals, of whom some may eventually embrace Islam. Here and there" social gatherings are being arranged in the course of which one converses, sometimes more and sometimes less serious, on certain religious issues. Very often these social gatherings amount to nothing more than the passing away of time in an ‘interesting company."

 

By no means do l want to belittle this sort of missionary work, which has gone a long way in introducing Islam to non-Muslims and which has removed a number of misconceptions. I feel, however, that these activities form a part only of real missionary work, and it is wrong to believe that by undertaking these duties of a missionary are exhausted.

 

Lectures, classes,‘ publications and correspondence, social gatherings and parties are an essential part of the work of every mission. If, however, they remain the only activities of the missionary, institution of which he is in charge is nothing but a "Cultural Institute". Experience has proved that this kind of institution will attract only a certain group of people who come to satisfy their thirst for geographical, ethnological, philological or philosophical knowledge. Such a mission is nothing more than one of those innumerable institutes, societies and clubs of the Western world which have been established for the sake of so-called "Cultural entertainment.“

 

So far, most of our missions have paid little heed to the tact that actions and service and the translation of their preaching into hard and tangible facts, are just as essential a part of their work as the arrangement of lectures, the publication of literature or writing long and numerous letters full of pious phrases.

 

Let us for a moment consider the following:

 

Fortunately or not, the non-Muslim world has brought forth any number of systems, ideologies and ‘isms’. All of them promised to lead humanity – or at least that portion of humanity which subscribes to them-to salvation. Extremely attractive theories have been developed and on paper all of them are most enchanting When, however, it came to putting them into action, most of these manmade systems failed completely, while the rest showed defects which cannot be overlooked.

 

This state of affairs has made many a Westerner suspicious and skeptical to a high degree. He cannot, on account of his own experience confide in words only, however enchanting they may be and however nicely they may be put. He has become apt to judge the value of an ideology or even a religion by the behaviour of their respective representatives, exponents or followers and by the nature of those actions to which these theories give birth.

 

If therefore–to mention a few instances only-a missionary preaches brotherhood, he should practice brotherhood and he should see to it that within his community brotherhood is not a mere phrase. If he exhorts his audience to help those in need, to support the widows, orphans and disabled, he should be the first to listen patiently to the worries of those who seek his help He should not only comfort them by reciting to them a few verses from the Holy Qur‘an but he should leave no stone unturned to render active services, which may eliminate the grief or lessen the burden of those in distress. To a missionary these words should never be applied "Listen to what Mullah says, but don't do what Mullah does," For a missionary there should be no ‘office hours’. He is to be on duty for twenty-four hours every day.

 

As soon as the number of his community's members permit, he should organize relief-organizations which cater for the physical and material needs of as many grief-stricken people as possible.

 

Social service is one of the foremost duties of every Muslim in general and of every Muslim missionary in particular. If his own behaviaur and that of his community are a true reflection of the principles and theories referred to in his lectures and sermons, he can rest assured that with the help of God his mission will be a successful one. His community will grow, and with a practical example of real Muslim life before their eyes, his non-Muslim environment will as a matter of course discard the misconceptions hitherto entertained.

 

It is needless to say that as regards the observation of specific Islamic rites, such as daily prayers, fasting, etc., the missionary himself should be extremely punctual and attentive, thus to serve as a model for his community in this respect too.

 

The same which has been said about the duties and obligations of a missionary serving Islam and humanity abroad, should be applied to Muslim missionaries at work in countries with predominantly Muslim population. Actually the tasks of Home Missions are more numerous, more extensive and more complicated. It is always easier to educate an illiterate than a half educated or wrongly educated man. Similarly the reviving of true religious life among negligent or misled Muslims is by far more difficult than to create Muslim communities from out of recent converts and make them live a life in accordance with the teachings and the spirit of Islam. Home missionary activities of Islam form a very vast subject, and an important one, too it is impossible to deal with it at length within this lecture. As I do not think it proper to simply touch it without going into details. l may be permitted to leave it out completely, hoping that sometime later l may have the opportunity to discuss it more exhaustively. I deem it, however, of importance to point out once again that Home Missions are as essential as Foreign Missions. Most probably the success of all foreign missions depends to a large extent upon the result of missionary activities at home. Why this is so will be discussed further below when the difficulties a missionary abroad is facing will be examined.

 

4. WHO SHOULD UNDERTAKE MISSIONARY WORK:

Every true Muslim, who is imbibed with the spirit of Islam will wherever he may be preach and teach the religion of which his heart is full. Due to these individual missionary efforts Islam has been spread in a number of parts of the world, which Muslim armies have never entered as conquerors. Indonesia, Malaya and Central Africa may be mentioned in this connection. How forceful, how convincing and thus how successful these individual missionary efforts of laymen, of traders, sailors and others must have been is borne out by the fact that millions of non-Muslims eventually entered the fold of Islam through their private missionary initiative. It is worth while mentioning here that still this missionary spirit of particular African Muslim traders is unbroken, and, as reports show, Islam is still on its onward march in Africa due to these brothers of ours.

 

All these private and individual Missionary activities have been extremely fruitful. If compared to the results of full-fledged missions, it becomes apparent that private missionary enterprises leave regular missions far behind. And still, it is wrong to conclude from this that it will be no loss whatsoever if regular, organized missionary work is abandoned completely, resting contented with occasional individual efforts, however frequent and widespread these may be.

 

In the long run well-"planned and well-organized missions are bound to be as successful as lay missionary work. Most probably the success of regular missions will be greater than these if they are properly maintained. So far they are lagging behind because the field which they have chosen is a considerably more difficult one-most of the regular missions have been established in countries in which Christianity has a firm hold for centauries together—-and secondly because they are not as well planned, organized and supported as they ought to be.

 

The most ideal solution would be if Muslim Governments were to shoulder the responsibility of establishing and maintaining missions abroad. Unfortunately they have apparently no inclination to do so. Instead of every Muslim diplomatic mission being a cultural mission at the same time, one can witness quite frequently that Muslim diplomatic representatives feel some-what ashamed of their own religion and culture. Here and there it has become essential that outgoing Muslim diplomats have fully acquired Western style and Western manners, whereas their foremost qualification should be to be good Muslims abiding by the laws of Islam firmly rooted in their own culture so that they may serve as true representatives of their respective nations, their culture and religion, instead of lending support to Muslim Missions, embassies of Muslim countries more than once created problems for missionaries by arranging receptions at the occasion of which, for instance, alcohol was served very liberally. Just think of the number of American, British, German, and other cultural centres and reading rooms in the various cities of the Muslim world. Remember, how Christian missionary activities were supported by the British when they were still the rulers of undivided India. Consider how nation-conscious those foreigners are who visit Muslim countries how they maintain their traditions, customs and manners and how their traditions, customs and manners and how their governments actively encourage them to do so. Our Muslim Governments have yet to learn this lesson. They have yet to overcome an inferiority complex which centuries of foreign rule have made them develop. Until and unless this complex is overcome, the Muslim public should entertain no hopes as to the solution of the missionary problem on governmental level.

 

However sad it may be, the conditions prevailing at present in the Muslim world render it unavoidable that, if at all regular Muslim Missions are to be established, they have to be established and maintained by private individuals. This is a tremendous drawback the more so as very often these individuals cannot even depend on help and support from their government in minor matters, as for instance in the case of obtaining foreign exchange for remittance to their missions abroad.

 

Still, by the Grace of God there are a number of men all over the Muslim world to whom the cause of Islam is so near and dear that courageously they struggle against these and other heavy odds, There are men, who, on their own accord or in close co-operate l with others, form a body to facilitate missionary work abroad and at home. God may reward them for their noble intentions and for the sacrifices they undergo. May He bless them with success! Ameen!

 

All these efforts are highly appreciable as long as they are genuine and sincere and aim at nothing else but to propagate the pure and pristine teachings of Islam. And yet, there are ill few observations to be made.

 

The establishment and maintenance of a regular mission is a very great responsibility. Such a venture should only he started after sufficient funds have been collected or are sure to be received in due course so that the mission established may be of some duration.

 

It should be borne in mind that it haphazard establishment of a mission, insufficient support or the appointment of an unsuitable person in charge of the same, will do more harm to Islam than good. A missionary. who has to incur debts because the financial supplies from his central association have somehow become insufficient to cover the mission's expenses, will never be in the position to impress his non-Muslim environment. The same is the case when the mission is housed in inadequate quarters, barely furnished and of untidy appearance. Unless a missionary society is willing and capable of allowing their missions and missionaries to maintain a certain standard, no missions should be founded, at least not in the West. A Muslim Mission is the show-room of the Muslim World. Very often non-Muslims take it to be the show-room of Islam even. Let this show-room be well-equipped and of an attractive exterior worthy of the cause of which it is a representation. The lack of formalities among Muslims does not mean that among others, too, no importance is attached to forms and outward appearance.

 

5. MISSIONARY ACTIVITIES MUST BE WELL PREPARED AND ORGANIZED:

It is self-understood that prior to the opening of a mission and the sending out of missionaries certain arrangements have to be made to safeguard a smooth running of the mission and to ensure as great a success as is humanly possible.

 

The acceptance of Islam by those whom the missionary approaches i.e., the achievement of the goal of every missionary work, lies in the hands of God Almighty. It is unnecessary to repeat here that everything depends upon the will of God. Every good Muslim knows that in Him alone he should put his trust. But nevertheless we have "to tie our came". Unshakable confidence in the Almighty does not divorce us from the duty of preplanning and making far-sighted arrangements and dispositions.

 

Once a missionary society has collected, or ensured the income of, sufficient financial means, it is, among other considerations, confronted with the problem of selecting the proper persons, who are to serve as missionaries abroad. Only men of sterling character, of high morals, with a quickly working mind, who can easily adapt themselves to changed conditions of life and climate should be chosen. Actually the best from among us are just good enough to be appointed missionaries. A fundamental condition should be their righteousness. sincerity, honesty and willingness to work hard. Of utmost importance is that their fear of God is developed to a high degree.

 

They must be given an extensive religious training. It is advisable that they should have affair knowledge of Arabic, and it is essential that they master the language of the country of their future activities.

 

One, who has been a missionary himself for a number of years, like myself knows that in addition here to an all-round knowledge of the mentality, the history, the customs, manners and habits, the social structure, religious, home and family life of the nation to which a missionary is to be sent, is as essential as a thorough and deep knowledge of his own religion.

 

Missionary work, according to my opinion, is a science with many branches in which psychology, even law and economics have to be included.

 

I mentioned somewhere in the beginning of my article that the rendering of social services is an important factor of missionary work. This means, that in this domain, too, a missionary must receive some training. He will furthermore have to write articles for the local pres or deliver radio-talks. For this purpose he should have some knowledge of journalism. He may have to contact various authorities, he may have to attend functions, receptions and social gatherings. This necessitates that he is somewhat social and of good manners and tact. His mind has to be extremely productive and alert, for he has to be constantly" on the watch where and how to extend his missionary work, where and how to start. He should never be plump nor boring.

 

Courage is another quality which he must possess, for: is he not required more than anyone else "to bid the right and forbid the wrong?" just like Prophet Moses, on whom be peace, he must not shirk even “ to go to Pharaoh and tell him not to exceed the limits".

 

Over and above all, however, he must be possessed by an unshakable belief in God, which shines forth from him like the rays of the sun and fill with life whatsoever he speaks and does.

 

In short missionary work is not a ‘job’ like that of a cobbler, a mason, a clerk or a professor, if the primary aim of a missionary is to earn his livelihood or to travel to foreign countries for the sake of pleasure or for the sake of obtaining a foreign degree he has misunderstood the real nature of his work. Missionary work is a “mission", and a highly eminent one, too. It requires extensive studies and the waging of e great struggle against heavy odds and against one‘s own lower self. All this as to be brought home to the missionary-designate, and therefore l feel that missionary societies should not be careless about a thorough training of the staff of their missions. You simply cannot send any one who beyond a certain enthusiasm and a craving for missionary work, possesses little knowledge only of what he is to face and do abroad. Missionary colleges or training centres have to be established in which for sufficiently long period an extensive missionary knowledge is imparted to the students.

 

I am fully aware that there are many obstacles in the way of achieving all this. But obstacles are there to be overcome. The better a missionary is trained the easier can he surmount the difficulties facing him far away from his own country where, besides God, there may be no one to help him. And believe me; he will have to face difficulties of which he may not even dream. When, however his society at home is well organized, when he not only enjoys the lip-sympathies but the whole-hearted support of the full society, he can rest assured that the burden on his shoulders has become considerably lighter. And, let me ask you: Why should he not enjoy the whole-hearted support of many. Is it not that? if we Muslims really believe in God, if we are fully convinced of our religion to be the most perfect code of life, the solution of all the problems of humanity, the only panacea for all the ills from which mankind is suffering-it is the duty of all of us Muslims to spread this message of God? Not all of us can have the good fortune of going into foreign land with the message of God in our hearts and on our lips. But all of us can help those who are engaged in the noble task of disseminating the World of God, nay all of us must help the soldiers of Islam on solitary outposts. Once we Muslims have perceived this our duty and act up to it, a new chapter will be opened in the glorious history of Islam.