Dawah Thinking

culture of peace, and not that of hatred and rivalry. Such a campaign is necessary not only in Kashmir but also in other Muslim areas. We can start this kind of campaign with conviction, for such a campaign is destined for success. For those who engage in such a mission are destined to achieve one of two objectives; either they succeed in making people accept their message, so that they are willing to make practical changes in their lives, or they manage to convey their message to people and receive a great reward from God for this work. This is what has been called in the Quran one of the two best things, that is, either success in dawah work in the ideological sense or success in bringing about a revolution in the lives of the people in the practical sense. Madu, not ‘others’ -- not ‘they’ People generally divide human beings into ‘we and they’, but this is not the way of Islam. The way of Islam is to look at non-Muslim human beings as madu. When we divide people into ‘we and they’, “we” become objects of love, while “they” become objects of hatred. This is the real problem of presentday Muslims. They have forgotten the reality that ideologically they are dayees and all other human beings are their madu. No one is “they”; all human beings must become “we”, i.e. their own. Muslims regard other nations as their rivals, whereas if they regarded other nations as madu, they would feel that all human beings are their own. Once the Prophet, seeing the funeral of a Jew, observed: “Jews are also human beings like us.” (Sahih al- Bukhari, Hadith No.1312). If Muslims adopted this Sunnah of the Prophet, they would look upon all as their own. The Kashmiris would find the Hindus to be their own, the Arabs would find the Israelis to be their own, the Muslims residing in Western countries would find the Christians to be their own. Regarding others as their own means becoming their wellwishers. A businessman sees everyone as his customer. Due to such thinking, friendly behavior comes naturally to every businessman. Similarly, if Muslims regarded themselves as dayees and others as madu, a feeling of well-wishing would be engendered in them. A friendly culture would be fostered among them for all human beings, as a result of which their worldly Dawah Thinking