Two Pitfalls Avoided in Calling People unto Allah

Two Pitfalls Avoided

…verily, I am from amongst the Muslims (41:33)

In fact if we deeply ponder over the above lines, we would realize that the association of a  preacher  with  ordinary  Muslims  by  saying,  ‘Verily,  I  am  from  amongst  the  Muslims’ forecloses two types of pitfalls in which heedless preachers may get entrapped. 

• Firstly, they may unwittingly create a new sect within the Muslim community and thus damage the unity of the Muslim Ummah. This danger can be averted by the fact that a true and sincere preacher of Islam and his companions always keep in view that they are from amongst the Muslims in general and not a separatist or exclusive group of Muslims to be distinguished from others. 

• Secondly, the personality of the Da’wah worker may be idolized and revered to the extent that it is almost worshipped by his followers. Mostly, this predicament originates from the preacher himself when he develops the feeling that he is somehow different from the common run of people. This megalomaniac feeling of the preacher about himself necessarily influences his close associates and they start to eulogize him. And gradually his teachings become a sort of cult and he, as its leader and exponent, becomes like an idol who is worshipped and revered, thus adding to the traditional list of false gods worshipped by pagans. This evil can only be averted if the preacher always keeps in mind the truth that he is an ordinary member of the Muslim community and that in  Islam there is  no  personality cult. 

The Muslims worship no  man, however, highly placed, great and noble he may be. Islam teaches strict monotheism and this teaching is its most distinctive feature and its basic cardinal principle. As such, the greatest desire of a true preacher of Islam always is that he should breathe his last in the state of Iman and he considers this as the highest success in life.

Source: Calling People unto Allah (A Book by Dr Israr Ahmad)