The Need for Joining and Supporting the Effort of Dawat and Tableegh

Hazrat Shaikh Moulana Muhammad Zakariyya (rahmatullahi ‘alaih) once mentioned the following:

It is the divine system of Allah Ta‘ala that when a sickness appears in any area, then Allah Ta‘ala also sends down the appropriate remedy and cure for that sickness. One hundred years ago, when the English were ruling over India, then they tried to destroy our deen and they made all-out efforts to corrupt the beliefs and actions of the Muslims. The English used their intelligence and devised various plots to fulfil their mission.

At that time, Allah Ta‘ala inspired the hearts of our Akaabir (deeni elders) with the idea of establishing deeni madrasahs to combat the fitnah of the English and their western influence. Therefore, they established deeni madrasahs, and through their efforts, many other madrasahs were also built. At that time, Daarul Uloom Deoband, Madrasah Mazaahirul Uloom in Sahaaranpur, Madrasah Shaahi Muraadabaad and other deeni madrasahs were all established in a very short period. Allah Ta‘ala had divinely assisted these Akaabir in their efforts.

The English remained unsuccessful in their mission, and their plots did not work. Through the blessing of those deeni madrasahs, many people held onto deen and remained steadfast upon deen. This was despite the fact that these Akaabir did not have a lot of money or any government supporting them.

However, in the last 100 years, the English have undoubtedly begun to turn the minds and attention of our youth away from deen, and gradually, the English culture has greatly affected and influenced a large number of the youth and Muslims in general – to such an extent that the condition of the Muslims has changed.

In order to treat and remedy the fitnah of this spiritual sickness, Allah Ta‘ala sent the work of Da’wat and Tabeegh. Now, showing appreciation for this favour of Allah Ta‘ala entails that we should turn our full attention to this effort. The reason is that when any remedy is prescribed for an illness, then if any person remains committed to following the treatment, he will be successful in treating the illness. Otherwise, he will remain at a loss in treating the sickness.

100 years ago, it was witnessed that the hearts of the Muslims in general were filled with the importance and value for deen as well as the knowledge of deen. Every home had its own small madrasah. The result of this was that when the Akaabir established the deeni madrasahs, then on merely hearing about it, people became very interested in it.

On the contrary, in today’s times, one hundred years later, the influence of the English has created a disinterest and disinclination towards our deeni madrasahs, khaanqahs and maktab madrasahs. Hence, there was a need to visit people at their homes in order to create within them the interest in deen. The reason is that previously, when people would hear that any Shaikh is present in their area, then by merely hearing his name, they would come to him of their own and benefit from him. Similar was the condition of the people in regard to the gatherings of zikr, the deeni madrasahs and the maktab madrasahs.

However, conditions have changed today, and on account of the deeni decline in the lives of the Muslims, there was a need for the Tableegh Jamaat to commence their effort of going to people and inviting them to deen. In the East, in the West and in the whole world, it can be witnessed that through the barakah of Tableegh, people are gaining an interest in deen. The deeni madrasahs and Khaanqahs will only be beneficial when people come to them and show an interest in them – and this is why we have the Tableegh Jamaat working to create deeni interest in people. Without people being interested in deen, nobody will come to the deeni madrasahs and Khaanqahs to derive deeni benefit.

(Malfoozaat Shaikhul Hadith pg. 295-296)