Etiquettes of Giving Da'wah [Thread}

Giving da'wah is a big part of Islam and it's very important to maintain islamic manners when doing it. It's especially important when harshness amongst muslims is becoming common, in giving naseeha. Especially on twitter, there's some very discouraging behaviour.

One thing to always have at the back of your mind is that the person you're speaking to isn't worse than Firawn, and you're not better than Musa (as). Firawn is one of the worst tyrants in history, yet Allah told Musa (and Harun) to speak to him mildly.

"Go, both of you, to Pharaoh. Indeed, he has transgressed. And speak to him with gentle speech that perhaps he may be reminded or fear [ Allah ]."

Quran (20: 43-44)

When speaking with members of our own community especially, we should be extremely gentle and be patient with them. The same rule also goes for non-muslims, we are inviting people to Islam, bad manners might just turn them away.

Some people have no idea about Islam and judge based off of their interactions with muslims, that's why we should be our best selves, so that they don't get a negative impression of Islam. This is how the salaf portrayed themselves.

With members of our own community who struggle with their faith and worship, we should be encouraging of them and have extreme patience. Some people genuinely struggle, and in their struggles we should support them instead of shunning them away.

As the prophet saws says in this hadith (a general ruling): https://twitter.com/HanafiAthari/status/1239737132920512512

Whether you're giving dawah/islamic advice to a new revert, a born muslim struggling with their faith, or a non-muslim, speak kindly to them and don't make things too difficult on them.

Narrated Anas:

Whenever the Prophet (ﷺ) spoke a sentence (said a thing), he used to repeat it thrice so that the people could understand it properly from him and whenever he asked permission to enter, (he knocked the door) thrice with greeting.

- Sahih Bukhari (95)

There are countless ahadith where the prophet saws is advising people and saying something (two or) three times to address the public. Sometimes people might not understand the first time so we might have to explain twice or thrice, we should still maintain our composure.

وَقَالَ عَلِيٌّ حَدِّثُوا النَّاسَ، بِمَا يَعْرِفُونَ، أَتُحِبُّونَ أَنْ يُكَذَّبَ، اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ

As Ali (ra) said: "Speak to the people with what they know, do you want them to deny Allah and His messenger?"

- Sahih Bukhari (127)

Always try to speak to people in terms they understand and try to make things easy for them. All of this is especially relevant to myself because I've seen myself make mistakes in giving da'wah, multiple times. It's important to speak the truth and remain calm all the time.

Shaykh Al-Albani (rahimahullah) said:

“The truth is heavy. So, do not make it heavier with your bad manners. I used to believe that the (main) problem in the Ummah is ‘aqīdah, but it became clear to me that it is ‘aqīdah and manners.”

- Silsilah Al-Huda Wan-Noor

We encounter many different people from different walks of life and not everyone might be open to accepting the truth so let's try to make it as beautiful as we can with our good display of manners and speech.

Alhamdulillah, there are a lot of brothers and sisters on here with knowledge, but even the best of us get carried away sometimes. In sha Allah, this thread will be a reminder and be useful for us. May Allah increase us all in knowledge and help us maintain good akhlaq. Ameen

The last thing to add: there are obviously instances where harshness is needed. However, the exception is not the rule.