Daʿwah and Invitation to Islam

Don’t Give Daʿwah Without Knowledge

Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan states that a caller must learn before giving daʿwah. If someone calls people to innovation, they are not a true caller. Daʿwah requires knowledge to answer questions correctly and avoid defeat in debates, so learning is essential first.

August 31, 2016

Questioner:

May Allah be good to you. If a caller falls into an innovation and calls the people to it, is it permissible to warn against him or is it only restricted to clarifying the mistake?

Shaykh Ṣāliḥ ibn Fawzān al-Fawzān:

What….? I didn’t understand the question.

Questioner:

If a caller falls into an innovation and calls to the people to it…

Shaykh Ṣāliḥ ibn Fawzān al-Fawzān:

If he….?

Questioner:

If a caller falls into an innovation….

Shaykh Ṣāliḥ ibn Fawzān al-Fawzān:

A caller [falling] into innovation!? How can he be considered caller and fall into innovation? So how can he give daʿwah whilst he’s falling into innovations, since he is ignorant and he doesn’t know what is an innovation and what is Sunnah!? It is mandatory that he studies first.

Fine, so if they debate with you, how will you respond to them expect with knowledge? [Allāh said];

۞ وَجَادِلْهُم بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ

“And debate with them with that which is better..” (Q 16:125)

With what will you respond to them except by [possessing] knowledge? If you are asked with about an issue, how will you give them a answer if your not a scholar? Are you going to reply with “I don’t know….?” So we say “Why are you giving daʿwah if you don’t know?”

The person subjected to calling to Allāh must be educated, well-informed on how to answer the people, and how to answer their questions, how to debate with them, and to debate a person who does not accept [the truth] and exposed to doubts, in order that he is not defeated in front of them or his opponents do not win over him. Knowledge is a must O’ brothers!”