The Universality of Dawah

Seerah as a Movement expression to human nature. That is why this faith lodges itself in the depths of the human psyche. It even finds a place in the hearts of one’s enemies. Khalid ibn Walid became a Muslim just before the conquest of Makkah, but he had been conscious for quite some time before that of the truth of the message of Islam. Later on, he told of his early conviction that Muhammad, not the Quraysh, was in the right, and that he should join forces with the Prophet of Islam. “I participated in every battle against Muhammad,” he said. “But there was not one battle from which I did not go away with the feeling that I was fighting on the wrong side.” (Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah, Vol. IV) Many people are reported to have had inclinations towards Islam long before they accepted the faith. Some even had dreams about Islam. One such person was Khalid ibn Sa’id ibn-ul Aas. He saw himself in a dream standing on the edge of an enormous pit of fire. Someone was trying to push him in. The Prophet Muhammad came and rescued him from the pit of doom. Dawah activity appears to have no relation with economics. Yet indirectly it is a great economic activity as well. When a person becomes a Muslim, all his resources are automatically put at the disposal of the Islamic cause. The first person to provide the Islamic movement with financial assistance was Khadija, the Prophet’s wife. Then Abu Bakr, who had accumulated 40,000 dirhams from his trading, put all his capital into the service of Islam. When he and the Prophet emigrated from Makkah to Madinah, he took 6000 dirhams with him—enough to finance the entire expenses of the journey. Uthman donated 10,000 dinars towards the expedition of Tabuk in 9 a.h. On one occasion alone AbdulRahman ibn Awf gave 500 horses, to be used in the service of the Islamic cause. So it was with others who accepted Islam. Just as they themselves entered the Islamic fold, so did their properties become part of the Islamic treasury. Belief in one God is the only creed which does not allow for any social distinction or racial prejudice. For this reason the masses flock to join any movement which rises on the basis of this creed.