| 16 September 2009
Name: Inviting to Islam
Author: Maulana Jalaluddin Umari
Publisher: Jamia Darussalam, Tamil Nadu, India.
Year Of Publication: September 2005
Price: Rs 125; Pages: 384
Reviewed by: Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander
Islam is a religion, which calls all mankind to its fold. Since time immemorial Islam has made its presence felt in the world, whereas after the inception of Last Messenger of Allah Prophet Muhammad the quest really became global. This zeal to bring one's fellowmen and compatriots within the fold of Islam was the real strength of Muslims which led to their growth from being a small cult in a solitary desert to a dominating practical religion which has about more than one billion souls as its adherents.
The present book under review derives its subject matter from this very obligation of Islam upon Muslims by the renowned scholar of Islam Maulana Jalaluddin Umari who presently holds the chair of Amir-e-Jamaat-e-Islami (JEI) India. The book is divided into several chapters and sub-chapters within chapters. The author in the preface acknowledges that "The period we are passing through is probably the period of worst decline of Islam. It is not only in area or practice but also in that of ideology", but is factual enough to describe that messenger and their message dominate through rationality as "they present such strong proofs that their intellectual superiority over their rivals is established"(P-22).
He further deliberates on the theoretical part of calling to Islam (Arabic Dawah) as well as enumerates the qualities essential for a Daee (one who calls to Islam), to carryout this Prophetic Mission where he may face innumerable obstacles, violent opposition as well as discouraging souls, but in all these circumstances he is supposed to be consistent enough as to not be swayed away or get dismayed. For this purpose he has to keep Quran as his guide and Prophet as his inspiration. Umari spells out the road map for volunteers of Islam and emphasizes conditions for Dawah to be successful, "For the preaching of Islam among Non-Muslims to be successful the reform of Muslims is a must because it is not easy to present Islam divorced from its followers"(P-69).This being the greatest realisation by the author because most of the Daees who invite others to Islam themselves claim that they are not the true representatives of Islam so they (Non-Muslims) must study Quran and Ahadith to understand Islam not witness their actions. This claim may be 10% true but it's flaw is that it considers Islam to be Utopian and impracticable in the modern age, but Muslims must adhere to Islamic teachings in every sphere of life, so that Islamic character and conduct is brought forth which was responsible for making the bloody Mongol savages to drop the sword and become peaceful citizens of the world. This very Islamic, pluralistic, humanistic character of Muslim Sufis was responsible for the spread of Islam in South-Asia; which proved more powerful than preaching.
The respected author is but silent about the conduct to be adopted by Muslims with New Reverts to Islam as in most cases the Muslims by birth keep these out of their social and cultural fold, and they feel alienated so many of them recompense back to their Traditional Faith or Ideology. Umari devotes the last chapter to the importance of an Organisation for carrying out this mammoth task. Though he is aware of the pitfalls of an organised group which usually split into numerous sub-groups due to the Ego-Clash of the members, but Umari considers it indispensable and very well signifies as to how tackle these group clashes.
Overall the book is indeed a geniune, scholarly and important addition to the Dawah literature. It is essential for every person who needs to understand methodology, subject-matter, psychological, social and intellectual merits of Dawah and how to implement them in field.