spreading Islam

[elmarna]

Asalaam Alakum!
Brothers and sisters,
If you had to approach a group of Pagans. Would you find yourself haveing a hard time doing so?
I have found myself realizeing that if you do not speak the language they can not understand you. I have learned that they only will listen if they understand. If they are not understanding or listening they are not going to support your service.
I find building bridges makes them at least consider. It does not shake my faith or have me support Paganisum. It let's Islam be heard. While it is not the approach of Salah (PBUH) it is not without me that he did try to reach them.
My husband says he would let them just call upon the world and not let them have a chance to realize Islam. I disagree.
What would you do?:banghead3

 

[Gharib]

1. are you saying that they listen to you so long as what you say is convenient to them? to me thats what it sounds like but it's better to ask you. is this what your husband disagrees with?

2. what do you mean by building bridges?

i do apologize but quite too often i reply to posts not having understood what was meant in the first place and my reply is way off course. i'd rather ask to understand you better.

 

[elmarna]

Asking questions to understand is wise. To ask them in doubt is not constructive.
When I speak of building bridges it is in mutual respect and that their is a clear understanding on both sides.
Yes - there are times when they only listen when it is convient for them. But, for the most part they "refuse" to listen if it is not how they see. At best the approach is made in "trust" and offering it to them in a way they can look at it as something they can accept and find wise.
My husband's attitude - "leave the infidels alone! It will only give you a headache and no good will come of it!".

 

[Gharib]

from what i have read and what i know, the main thing is the approach, it depends how you approach them and for what reason? for example if they do not wish to hear about islam, then you should leave them at that because if one was to continually call them to islam when they don't want to, then that just increases their hate towards it. i would do the same if someone of another faith came to me doing that.

with regards to them hearing you when what you say is convenient to them, that is permissible. islamically speaking, a scholar, a person of knowledge knows what sort of people he is dealing with so as a more learned person than the average person it is his duty to speak to them about things which they are willing to hear and willing to practice so as not to burden them. it would be incorrect for a scholar to be speaking to a muslim audience (Jamat) who pray whenever they feel like it, fast whenever they feel like it, commit adultery etc about matters such as what the punishment is for committing those sins, especially that of adultery. it will discourage the people and they will feel disgust about islam.

if you look the the history of the verses and chapters of the Qur'an, the laws of islam from Allah began to be revealed to the muslims only after they had firm belief, after their migration when they accepted that whatever Allah commands they will hear and obey.

it is the same as speaking to pagans as you say and quoting to them verses of the Qur'an that say shirk (worshiping other than Allah) is the greatest sin, it is true for a muslim but not for them. the companions of the Prophet were pretty much all pagans, Umar even relates his story in a hadith where he made an idol out of dates but when he ran out of food he ate the idol and was looking back at the situation he was in before Islam.

Allah did not reveal the verses of shirk until they were in Madinah.

as for the beliefs of your husband towards this, maybe he is just trying to say to you that no matter what you do, it is Allah who guides whom he wants and it is him who leaves misguided whom he wants. however, that doesn't mean you are prohibited from calling them to islam or conveying the message.

i hope my post is helpful insha Allah.
Allah knows best.

 

[Shia Islam]

I think that we Muslims are not doing enough to spread the word of Islam...Most of us i mean...

It's known what a great reward one can get by converting [I am trying to find another word] an individual to Islam...It's greater for him than owning the whole world!

Among those pagans one can find great humans, who would make great Muslims...

We need to be near to them...in order to show them the true face of Islam...

The media is showing them a fake and sometimes a violent face of Islam...

We need to mingle with them ...understand their problems, and show them how Islam has the answers...All THE ANSWERS...

Small number of merchants have introduced Islam to Indonesia ...
Why are we not able to introduce Islam to the whole world...

Best wishes

 

[hola!]

if by approach you mean go up to them and preach right in their faces, then no thank you, i wouldn't. i'm not the preachy type, so i'd have a hard time doing that with ANYONE, even muslims of different sects. i don't WANT to spread my beliefs in the first place at all. let everyone do their own thang and be happy for them, i say. :danana:

and yes, lack of proper communication is usually a big turn off for people. if a person can't understand you, they feel less compelled to listen to you or accept your ideas. your ideas grow less effective in this way. simply put, we're attracted to the things we understand, and want to move far, far away from the things we don't understand. its just the nature of any kind of social interaction between any kinds of people. if you fail to present your ideas in a coherent manner or in a way that your audience can easily understand, the recipient may misunderstand your original meaning and take your idea the wrong way. with all the misconceptions people have about the islamic faith today, misleading them further is the last thing we'd want.

but anywhoo, back to the main point... which was.. ... ah yes! pagans! yeah, i'd just let them be.

 

[F0uad]

I think the majority of the Ummah should first start with its own family what is a harder crowd then Pagans, Atheist, Christians even Satanist in some ways doing ''Dawah'' what is a obligation can be very hard and certainly toward other muslims.

you should watch this:

[youtube]GgT3AQdv3pg[/youtube]
Nouman Ali Khan @ icna convention 2010: Time, Love, Praise and Encouragement in Relationships - YouTube