Calling to Allah (may He be Exalted): the great honor

In the name of Allah, praise be to Allah, and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, and all his Companions.

Calling to Allah (may He be Exalted) is one of the most honorable actions and adds honor to everyone calls to Allah, the King, and His Religion. The call to Allah is the guide of the confused and a lamp to all creatures. Allah (may He be Exalted) says: "And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allâh (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands firm (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allâh's (Islâmic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."" [Surat Fussilat: 33].

By the call, people's standards of living become prosperous. By the call, a guilty resorts to repentance, and a disobedient resorts to obedience. By the call, things become better; and with the call, a Muslim becomes in the pleasure and satisfaction of Allah (may He be Exalted).

The call demands a Muslim to follow the commands of Allah (Glorified be He) and to follow the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace be upon him). So, a Muslim should call with wisdom and good preaching, and should adopt the qualities of the best of creation (peace be upon him) to achieve the goal which he desires and to seize the gains which he seeks. Allah (may He be Exalted) says: "Invite (mankind, O Muhammad peace be upon him) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islâm) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Revelation and the Qur'ân) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Knower of those who are guided." [Surat An-Nahl: 125].

The call requires persistence, patience, and tireless efforts to obtain honorable requests and high objectives.

The call is the duty of every Muslim according to his own capacity and capability. The preference given to the nation is because enjoining good and forbidding evil and for having faith in Allah (may He be Exalted). Allah (may He be Exalted) says: "You [true believers in Islâmic Monotheism, and real followers of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him and his Sunnah] are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind; you enjoin Al-Ma'rûf (i.e. Islâmic Monotheism and all that Islâm has ordained) and forbid Al-Munkar (polytheism, disbelief and all that Islâm has forbidden), and you believe in Allâh. And had the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) believed, it would have been better for them; among them are some who have faith, but most of them are Al-Fâsiqûn (disobedient to Allâh and rebellious against Allâh's Command)." [Surat Al `Imran: 110].

Our Messenger (peace be upon him) exhorted us to enjoin good and forbid evil, and explained to us that they are from the resources of charities. Abu Dhar Al Ghifary Allah (may He be Exalted) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Your smile before your brother is a charity for you, and your enjoining piety and forbidding evil is a charity. Your guiding one who is lost on the land is a charity for you. Your removing from the thoroughfare a stone, a thorn or a bone is for you a charity. And, your filling with your bucket the bucket of your brother is a charity for you." [Al Albany graded it as authentic]. Abu Umamah Al Bahily Allah (may He be Exalted) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "The superiority of the learned over the devout worshipper like my superiority over the most inferior amongst you (in good deeds)." Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Verily, Allah and his angels and the people of the heavens and the earth even the ant in its hole, and the fish (in water) supplicate in favor of those who teach people knowledge." [Reported by At-Tirmidhy, and Al Albany graded it as authentic]. The Hadith explains the great honor of knowledge and teaching people goodness which is the highest status to which a person yearns to reach in order to draw nearer to his Great Creator.

A Muslim awaits every chance to race others for goodness and righteous deeds, so he should not be blocked by Satan and his heart should not recognize weakness or busyness with worldly matters. The mission of calling Allah is guaranteed for all and with the easiest ways. So, the family members can easily be taught some prophetic Sunan and some Adhkar. Likewise, your colleagues whom you can guide to the gates of goodness and you can guide them to learn a juristic piece of information everyday, such as: The obligatory acts of Salah, the supererogatory acts of Salah, and the benefits of charities. Participate with them in a continuous charity and tell them about the virtue of beginning people with salam, the virtue of mentioning Allah (may He be Exalted), and about the necessity of performing Salah in congregation, about Paradise and its bliss and Hell and its torment. Communicate with the neighbors and everyone you can call to be a witness for you on the Day of Resurrection. A Muslim should not stop calling to Allah due to the ridicule of the ignorant, and not to allow Satanic insinuations to frustrate him or to make him stop calling to Allah under the pretext of "we all are sinners." A sinner should not stop calling to Allah due to sins but he should be motivated by sins to be in the queues of the repentant and reformers, and Allah (may He be Exalted) loves the repentant. Moreover, Allah (may He be Exalted) promised those who forbid evils with salvation, Allah (Glory be to Him) says: "So when they forgot the reminding that had been given to them, We rescued those who forbade evil, but We seized those who did wrong with a severe torment because they used to rebel against Allah's Command (disobey Allâh)." [Surat Al A`raf: 165].

Allah (Glory be to Him) says: Generosity: "And your Lord would never destroy the towns wrongfully, while their people were right-doers." [Surat Hud: 117].

So, we should be among the group of the repentant by the virtue of Allah, and we should invoke Allah (may He be Exalted) to make us from the reformers. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of mankind, and peace be upon our master Muhammad, upon his family, and all his companions.