Initiation
How should you initiate Dawah?
With greetings, easy going conversation, building a relationship and rapport, kindly, gently
What are some ways that you can initiate conversations about God's existence?
1. Tell someone how thankful you are of God
2. Talk about the majesty, mystery, beauty, etc., of the Universe and how great God must be
3. Ask someone if they believe in God
By looking at the Design and Order of the universe, we can simply conclude that it needs a Creator, which is different in nature from the universe. The reason is because the universe could not have come from nothing. You can’t get something from nothing let alone something as complex as the universe.
How do we link arguments for God's existence and oneness to the need for Revelation/Prophethood?
If we buy a mobile phone, it comes with an instruction manual. Our Creator has already provided our means for survival (air, water, etc.), so shouldn't our existential and spiritual needs also be covered?
Existential needs: What is the purpose of our existence as human beings? Why is there suffering in the world? If there is a Creator, why does this Creator let bad things happen? Why are we here and what’s it all for? Where are we going? Is there life after death?
Spiritual needs: Will He help us? If so how? Is there some way to express gratitude and thanks for the great gifts and blessings that have been bestowed upon us? How can we express that in an appropriate way?
What are ways to show that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is truly a messenger of Allah and that he was a man chosen and sent by God.
The easy way to do this is, if you have proven the Quran is true, the Prophethood of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is also true
One way to examine the claim to Prophethood is by using a process of elimination, by evaluating whether the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was a liar, or deluded.
When someone asks about Islam, why should you redirect back to the Dawah approach?
Because the point is not to give them a simple answer, but reasons and principles behind the answer as well, to best educate them about Islamic foundations.
What is the Design Argument?
Hint: Example of a Mobile Phone
If you came across a cell phone, would you think that it was created from random events and a series of carefully curated natural processes?
The complexity and perfection of the design tells us something about intelligence and the capacity of the designer (God).
Did the Universe create itself?
The universe also clearly could not have created itself. There’s nothing to suggest that anything in the universe or the whole universe collectively could have that ability to organise and create itself. Back to the mobile phone example, no rational person would conclude that the mobile phone organised itself into a fully functioning mechanism.
1. What is the Argument of Preservation?
2. What is the Argument of Irreproducibility?
1. “It is certainly We Who have revealed the Reminder [the Quran], and it is certainly We Who will preserve it” [15:9]. If you Google “University of Birmingham Quran” or “Iraqi National Museum Quran”, you’ll find that it’s the same carbon-dated copy that exists today, from 1400 years ago. Moreover, tens of millions of people around the world have memorized the entirety of the Quran.
2. “And if you all are in doubt about what I have revealed to My servant, bring a single chapter like it, and call your witnesses besides God if you are truthful. [2:23] The Quran challenged the Arabs, who were masters of poetry and linguistic skill, to produce even one chapter like it. The shortest chapter of the Quran is a mere three verses (Surah al-Kawthar). Many embraced Islam just from hearing the Quran being recited, and they were dumbfounded and unable to meet this challenge despite their linguistic skills.
How do we show that the Prophet ﷺ was not a liar?
You can show that he was known for having an amazing character, even before claiming prophethood. You can refer to the time period that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was alive in, where corruption was widespread, yet he would not engage with the evils of that society. Instead, he would look after the orphans and elderly and would he help improve the community. As a result, the people honoured him ﷺ with the title: “The Truthful and the Trustworthy”. Not only that, but even after his prophethood, he was well known for his truthfulness, even by his enemies!
How should you respond to "Why do Muslims pray?" or other questions about Islam?
“That’s a great question! In order for me to answer, I have to go over some basic principles of Islam. Is that okay?”
What are some 'Order in the Universe' Arguments that relate to space.
1. Rotation of planets and the orbit - If it was off by a minuscule, there would be no life
2. Goldilocks zone in space
Was the Creator also created?
No, because the Creator is not like the universe. In the universe, the maker of an object had a maker, and so on, but you would keep going back infinitely. Example of listing the table: Someone says that they will only help you lift the table if someone else helps them, and the next person says the same thing, and so on, but does the table ever get lifted? No.
1. What is the Universal message of the Quran?
2. What is the Falsification Test?
1. The laws and guidance given in the Quran are universal and something we can all apply, as well as being in line with what we’d expect in order to have a good life, such as:
The need for justice [16:90]
Honouring your parents [17:23]
Being good to your neighbours [4:36]
Saving lives [5:32]
Don’t be prideful [17:37]
Don’t cheat people [17:35]
Don’t steal
Don’t bribe [17:35]
Don’t commit adultery [17:32]
If you apply the laws and principles completely and consistently as per fiqh, you will see the positive affect on society over time.
2. “Do they not then consider the Quran carefully? Had it been from other than Allah, they would surely have found therein contradictions in abundance” (4:82)
What's one example that can be brought up about the Prophet, peace by upon him, that shows him to not be a liar?
An example of this is the incident of Abu Sufyan, who was a non-Muslim at the time and a staunch enemy of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and his meeting with Heraclius, the Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. Heraclius started asking him different questions about the Prophet ﷺ: “What is his family status amongst you?” “Are his followers increasing or decreasing?” And then he asks him “Have you ever accused him of telling lies before his claim (to be a Prophet)?” Abu Sufyan said “No” and Abu Sufyan said when he was narrating this incident, “By Allah! Had I not been afraid of my companions labelling me a liar, I would not have spoken the truth about the Prophet.” Heraclius says near the end of the narration, “I asked, whether he was ever accused of telling lies before he said what he said, and your reply was in the negative. So, I wondered how a person who does not tell a lie about others could ever tell a lie about Allah.” (Bukhari)
What are some ways you can initiate conversations with non-Muslims about Islam?
These redirections are meant to be used after you've began friendly conversation with someone:
1. Tell them about your weekend plans and if you're doing something religious, that's an easy segue.
2. When bringing up a conversation about beliefs, you can always say that you're a Muslim so you believe 'this or that', and then redirect the conversation as needed.
2. "It's Ramadan, so I'm fasting, do you know what that is?"
3. "I have to go pray. Do you know why I do that?"
What are some 'Order in the Universe' Arguments as they relate to the Big Bang Theory?
Big Bang is a chaotic event. Chaos does not ever lead to order, so there must be someone that ordered it.
How do we know the Creator was NOT created?
Concluding from the relationship between the Creator and the universe, where 1) the Creator is unlike the universe and 2) that everything in the universe needs to be created, but you cannot keep asking that question back forever
What is the clear and consistent message about God that also serves as a proof of Revelation?
What the Quran teaches about the Creator matches what can be understood rationally by everybody everywhere - that is to say, that there is One Creator that is unlike the creation. There are lots of verses in the Quran that talk about this, such as:
The uniqueness of God [112:1]
He created all things [39:62]
Everything depends on Him [35:15]
He alone is worthy of worship [20:14]
How do we show the Prophet, peace by upon him, was not deluded?
How is it possible that a man could come with a whole system for life, including dietary laws, marriage laws, and economical system, family life, criminal law, hygiene, ritual etiquettes — a complete system covering every aspect of life? Where did he get it from? To this day, Islam continues to massively improve and positively affect people’s lives — both on a practical and spiritual level.
What should you do if the listener doesn't agree or is in a rush?
You’ll have to stress the importance of having this conversation about the basic principles of Islam, and get them to agree. If this still doesn’t work, you can opt to give them a leaflet rather than a hurried response.
Summarize how the Design and Order Arguments are proofs for God.
All of these things have the right balance and give us the optimal conditions for life to exist. Without them, we’d probably not have life! Are we seriously saying all this fine tuning is by chance and coincidence? Again, the order in the universe indicates the intelligence of the creator!
How does the idea of an uncreated Creator show Oneness?
If the creation is needy, then the Creator should be self-sufficient. If the creation is temporary, the Creator should be eternal, and if the creation is confined by space and time, the Creator should be free of space and time. It's also not really conceivable that there could be more than one such being, because if there was more than one, each would limit the other and we would return to our same problem.
(Remember, God is unlike the creation/universe and is not conceivable from the lens of 'creation' like we are)
What are some historical and scientific accuracies in the Quran?
The accurate title used for the ruler of Egypt during the time of Yusuf and Musa: during the time of Yusuf ﷺ, the ruler of Egypt is referred to as a King, but at the time of Musa ﷺ, he is referred to as Pharaoh
Other accuracies include the name of Haman that has been discovered in historical records, and the preservation of Pharaoh’s body.
Scientific accuracies referenced: Big Bang, development of the fetus, separation of fresh and salt water, tectonic plates and mountains, atom, black hole, etc.
What was a situation in which Prophet Mohammad, peace be upon him, could have easily enhanced his power but chose not because he was not deluded or a liar?
One example of this is when his son, Ibrahim, passed away on the same day, there was a solar eclipse. Many of the locals thought that God made the eclipse happen because of the death of the Prophet’s ﷺ son. Now, if the Prophet ﷺ was deluded or a liar he would have used such an opportunity to reinforce his claim. However, he didn’t; he said: “The sun and the moon do not eclipse because of the death of someone from the people but they are (two) signs amongst the signs of God. When you see them, stand up and pray.”