Dawat al-Amilat al-Manziliyat ila Allah Taala
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Dawat al-Amilat al-Manziliyat ila Allah Taala (Calling Female Domestic Workers to God Almighty) is an Islamic da'wah study by Abeer al-Shalhoob that examines the religious outreach, rights, duties, and methods of calling female domestic workers to Islam .
Background and Objectives
The work was originally prepared as a master's thesis by Abeer bint Khalid al-Shalhoob, a lecturer in the Department of Da'wah and Hisbah at Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, and features an introductory preface by Abd al-Aziz ibn Muhammad al-Sadhan .
The study defines female domestic workers operationally as women hired to serve a family within the household for a specified wage and duration . The author states several objectives for the work, including:
- Clarifying the importance of calling domestic workers to God through the Quran and the Prophetic Sunnah .
- Identifying their rights and duties in Islam .
- Outlining optimal methods and means of Islamic outreach to them based on a field study of housewives, Muslim domestic workers, and da'wah practitioners in Riyadh .
- Highlighting charitable organizations and foreign community outreach offices that facilitate domestic da'wah .
- Identifying obstacles to calling domestic workers and exploring ways to overcome them .
Structure and Contents
The book is structured into a theoretical section and an applied field section :
- Introductory Chapter (الفصل التمهيدي): Discusses the significance of calling domestic workers to God and details their rights and obligations in Islamic law .
- Chapter 1 (الفصل الأول): Focuses on core da'wah topics across three areas: creed (aqidah), acts of worship (ibadat), and ethics and manners (akhlaq wa adab) .
- Chapter 2 (الفصل الثاني): Outlines the various means (wasa'il) and pedagogical methods (asalib) employed in reaching domestic workers .
- Chapter 3 (الفصل الثالث): Categorizes the obstacles facing da'wah to domestic workers—distinguishing between those linked to the housewife and those relating to professional or volunteer da'wah workers—and presents practical remedies to address them .
- Chapter 4 (الفصل الرابع): Analyzes and discusses the empirical findings of the field study .
Field Study and Findings
The empirical component evaluated questionnaires and data from Muslim domestic workers, housewives, and personnel at community outreach offices in Riyadh . The findings revealed that:
- 80.8% of the surveyed domestic workers were between the ages of 21 and 40, and the majority had low formal education levels (38.8% intermediate education, 23.9% primary, and 23.1% secondary) .
- While 93.7% of surveyed housewives and most da'wah personnel viewed setting a good personal example (al-qudwah al-salihah) as the most effective method, domestic workers prioritized gentleness and kindness (al-rifq wa al-lin) .
- 65.1% of the surveyed workers affirmed that a housewife's lack of adherence to Islamic practices negatively influenced their receptivity to guidance .
- Most outreach centers focused their primary efforts on non-Muslims or new converts, leaving comparatively limited programs directed specifically toward workers who were already Muslim .
- Language barriers were cited by 78% of housewives as a leading obstacle, while da'wah practitioners highlighted the reluctance or negligence of sponsors to bring workers to guidance centers as a primary hindrance .
Recommendations
The book concludes with recommendations for enhancing outreach to domestic workers . These include distributing translated booklets outlining their rights and work ethics at recruitment offices and airports, preparing simplified translations of the meanings of the Quran tailored to their educational levels, raising awareness among sponsors through media and Friday sermons, and conducting future research on male domestic servants .
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