Da'wa and Other Religions

Indian Muslims and the Modern Resurgence of Global Islamic Activism

Matthew J. Kuiper

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781138054134
• eBook ISBN: 9781351681704
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Islamic Theology

Da'wa, a concept rooted in the scriptural and classical tradition of Islam, has been dramatically re-appropriated in modern times across the Muslim world. Championed by a variety of actors in diverse contexts, da'wa –"inviting" to Islam, or Islamic missionary activity – has become central to the vocabulary of contemporary Islamic activism.

Da'wa and Other Religions explores the modern resurgence of da'wa through the lens of inter-religious relations and within the two horizons of Islamic history and modernity. Part I provides an account of da'wa from the Qur'an to the present. It demonstrates the close relationship that has existed between da'wa and inter-religious relations throughout Islamic history and sheds light on the diversity of da'wa over time. The book also argues that Muslim communities in colonial and post-colonial India shed light on these themes with particular clarity. Part II, therefore, analyzes and juxtaposes two prominent da'wa organizations to emerge from the Indian subcontinent in the past century: the Tabl?gh? Jam?'at and the Islamic Research Foundation of Zakir Naik. By investigating the formative histories and inter-religious discourses of these movements, Part II elucidates the influential roles Indian Muslims have played in modern da'wa.

This book makes important contributions to the study of da'wa in general and to the study of the Tabl?gh? Jam?'at, one of the world's largest da'wa movements. It also provides the first major scholarly study of Zakir Naik and the Islamic Research Foundation. Further, it challenges common assumptions and enriches our understanding of modern Islam. It will have a broad appeal for students and scholars of Islamic Studies, Indian religious history and anyone interested in da'wa and inter-religious relations throughout Islamic history.

Part I
Da‘wa and other religions in scripture and history

1 Da‘wa and other religions in the scriptural sources of Islam

To speak of “modern da‘wa” is to speak at once of modernity and of the older “venture of Islam.”¹ In this chapter we turn back the clock to the very beginning of Islam in order to explore the ways da‘wa is portrayed and developed in the Qur’an, hadith and sīra (biography of the Prophet Muhammad). It is vital that we give careful attention to these sources because together they constitute a normative base upon which contemporary Muslims formulate and practice da‘wa. This is especially the case for da‘wa movements which are “scripturalist” in orientation, such as the Tablīghī Jamā‘at (TJ) and the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF). For both the TJ and the IRF, the most relevant question is not what did medieval jurists, rulers and mystics think or do with respect to da‘wa, but what does the Qur’an say and what did Muhammad and his Companions (ṣaḥāba) do?² Enhancing the salience of the earliest sources for modern da‘wa-minded Muslims is the fact that, as we will see, they portray Muhammad and the first Muslims pressing their claims in a pluralistic seventh-century religious marketplace – something modern Muslims can increasingly identify with. Inter-Religious discourses and strategies, in other words, are not original to modern da‘wa movements, but are woven into the Islamic sources as well.

This chapter has two major sections. First, it explores da‘wa and other religions in the Qur’an, and second, it explores how the sīra and hadith literatures expand upon and develop the qur’anic da‘wa. In both of these sections, my concern is not so much with “what really happened.” Since most Muslims accept these sources as historically reliable, my primary purposes are to summarize the scriptural raw material upon which contemporary da‘wa activists draw, and to highlight the centrality of inter-religious concerns therein. We will see that although Muhammad and his Companions are presented as the ideal dā‘īs in the midst of other religions, this presentation leaves later generations with certain ambiguities vis-à-vis da‘wa – ambiguities which result in large part from the fact that the Qur’an and sīra/hadith are more concerned with doing da‘wa than with theorizing da‘wa, which is to say that they are more concerned with mission than with missiology (or “da‘waology”).

Along with laying the groundwork for subsequent chapters, this chapter also aims to make an original scholarly contribution. As Walker observed years ago, “There is little, if any, literature specifically on Qur’anic concepts of da‘wa in English … Hadith literature likewise has not been studied for this theme [of da‘wa].”³ While the situation has improved in recent years, most studies that address da‘wa in the Qur’an, sīra and hadith are quite limited in their presentations.⁴ Moreover, no one, to my knowledge, has attempted a comprehensive examination of da‘wa in the sources specifically in relation to the theme of inter-religious encounter.

Da‘wa in the Qur’an: the Qur’an as inter-religious da‘wa

The Qur’an, believed by Muslims to be comprised of divine revelations sent down to and recited by the Prophet Muhammad between 610 and 632 ce, not only contains but also in a very real sense is the original da‘wa of Islam. As such, it retains, in theory at least, its paradigmatic force for all subsequent da‘was. The Arabic noun da‘wa can be translated as “call,” “invitation,” or “summons.” Related terms include the verb da‘ā (“to call,” “invite,” or “summon”) and the active participle dā‘ī (“one who calls, invites or summons”). In the Qur’an, variants of da‘ā occur over 200 times.⁵ Sometimes the word has a more or less “secular” meaning, such as calling witnesses in the case of a financial transaction (2:282), being invited to someone’s house (28:25, 33:53) or being called to battle (8:24, 48:16).⁶ Perhaps most frequently, da‘ā and its variants are used in the Qur’an for prayer (du‘ā’): calling upon God.⁷ In the beautiful language of Q 2:186, “When My servants ask you about Me, [tell them that] I am indeed nearmost. I answer the supplicant’s call (da‘wa al-dā‘i) when he calls (da‘ā) Me.”⁸

Closely connected is the idea that there can be true and false prayer. In verses on this theme, we begin to discern the inter-religious context of the Qur’an. The Qur’an divides its hearers into two classes: those who acknowledge the oneness of God and call on God alone, and those who call wrongly on other gods and helpers (26:213, 40:65–66).⁹ The connection between the acceptance of God’s oneness and the correct practice of prayer is made clear in Q 40:65: “[Allah] is the Living One, there is no god except Him (lā ilāha illā huwa). So supplicate Him (ad‘ūhu), putting exclusive faith in Him. All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds.” By contrast, Q 46:5 asks, “Who is more astray than him who invokes [another] besides Allah (yad‘ū min dūn Allah)?” Similarly, Q 13:14 contrasts true prayer (da‘wa al-ḥaqq) with the prayers of the faithless (du‘ā’ al-kāfirīn). Many similar verses challenge the Qur’an’s hearers to try, and presumably find worthless, da‘wa to other gods or helpers (2:23, 6:56, 6:71, 7:194–197, 10:38, 10:66, 16:20, 17:56, 18:14, 28:64, 34:22).

There is, moreover, a tremendous urgency to the Qur’an’s appeals on this theme; for the Qur’an, there will come a time when it will be too late to offer true da‘wa to God (14:44, 40:10–14, 40:49–50). On the Day of Judgment, those who waited too long and refused to repent will offer the only da‘wa they have left: “they will pray (da‘aw) for annihilation” in order to put an end to their sufferings in Hell (7:5, 25:13). What all of this indicates is that prayer itself is a central site of inter-religious contest and contrast in the Qur’an. Not only were “the believers” (al-mu’minūn) learning from the Qur’an’s Prophet how to make true da‘wa to God (da‘wa al-ḥaqq); they were doing so in deliberate contrast to the prayer practices (or da‘was) of others. A corollary of this is the Qur’an’s expectation that those who call on God rightly (or perform true da‘wa) will dissociate themselves from those who invoke false gods or partners and thus form a distinct religious community (3:118, 18:28, 19:48).

The upshot of what we have seen so far is that calling upon the true God correctly is a serious concern for the Qur’an. However, before one can offer true da‘wa to God, one must hear and respond to God’s own da‘wa. Here we are moving toward an understanding that is closer to our central concern: da‘wa as missionary appeal. Not unlike the concept of missio Dei in the Bible – wherein God takes the initiative in redemption – God is pictured in the Qur’an as the first and ultimate dā‘ī. That is, prior to God’s climactic da‘wa on Judgment Day (30:25), God holds out a da‘wa of repentance and guidance for humanity. According to Q 10:25, “Allah invites to the abode of peace (yad‘ū ilā dār al-salām), and He guides whomever He wishes to a straight path (ṣirāṭ mustaqīm).”

In the Qur’an, variants of da‘wa are often found together with variants of jawāb or isti’jāb (answer or response), and the point of this seems to be that God’s da‘wa demands a response.¹⁰ We have already mentioned embracing God’s oneness, calling on God rightly, and forming a community of true belief and practice, and to these we could add many other responses which the Qur’an expects of its hearers.¹¹ In the remainder of this section, however, I would like to highlight three other qur’anic entailments of God’s da‘wa that are closer to our purpose: (1) the call to resist false da‘was, (2) the call to heed the da‘wa of the prophets, (3) and the call to engage in da‘wa as a community of believers.

Resisting false da‘was

First, responding rightly to God’s da‘wa entails resisting what we might call the anti-da‘wa of Satan and of other false callers. In Q 14:22, Satan tells the condemned who express surprise at finding themselves in Hell, “I called you (da‘awtukum) and you responded to me. So do not blame me, but blame yourselves.”¹² As for other false callers, the Qur’an frequently refers to Pharaoh and his hosts, not only as those who stubbornly resisted the da‘wa of Moses, but also as false callers in their own right. In Q 28:41, God says, “We made them [Pharaoh and his hosts] leaders inviting (yad‘ūna) to the Fire.” Q 2:221 turns the focus to the “polytheists” (mushrikūn), who are also said to “invite (yad‘ūna) others to the fire.” The same verse contrasts this, however, with the statement that “Allah invites (yad‘ū) to paradise and pardon.” Underlying its warnings on this theme is the Qur’an’s pervasive assumption that da‘wa takes place in a competitive space in which multiple da‘was compete for human attention. The Qur’an is ever mindful of religious rivals who would lead the believers astray. Thus, Q 4:113 declares, “Were it not for Allah’s grace and His mercy on you, a group of them were bent on leading you astray (yuḍillūna); but they do not mislead anyone except themselves, and they cannot do you ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Note on transliteration and dates
• Introduction
• Part I Da‘wa and other religions in scripture and history
• Part II Da‘wa and other religions in modern India: two case studies
• Conclusions
• Bibliography
• Index