Kalimat Mudiya fi al-Dawa ila Allah
- Author died
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- Maṭba‘at al-Salām
Kalimat Mudiya fi al-Dawa ila Allah (Illuminating Words on Calling to Allah) is a contemporary book on Islamic missionary work (da'wa) and outreach methodology by the Egyptian author Muhammad Ali Muhammad Imam, first published in 2005 CE.
Overview and Publication
The work was prepared by Muhammad Ali Muhammad Imam, a native of Mit Ghamr in Egypt's Dakahlia Governorate, and was reviewed by Sheikh Ali Sa'd Abu al-Khayr. Its first revised and expanded edition was cataloged by the Egyptian National Library and Archives (Dar al-Kutub wa-l-Watha'iq al-Qawmiyya) and published in 2005 CE in a single volume of 566 pages (18 × 21 cm).
Content and Methodology
The book explores the principles, spiritual ethics, and practical methods of calling people to Islam. In his review, Ali Sa'd Abu al-Khayr characterizes the subject of the book as an often neglected field of knowledge drawn from the narratives of all the prophets, emphasizing that direct personal engagement following the Prophetic model remains the ideal method of outreach.
Imam outlines several foundational themes for Islamic outreach:
- Practical Monotheism (al-Tawhid al-Amali): The author asserts that da'wa is an experiential realization of monotheism that requires practical sacrifice, time, and endurance of social hardship rather than mere academic study or verbal discourse. He cautions against becoming excessively absorbed in lawful worldly pursuits—such as occupation, business, and family affairs—to the neglect of missionary obligations.
- Reviving Prophetic Outreach Practices: The text advocates reviving collective missionary delegations (bu'uth da'wiyya) operating from mosques, as well as direct, paired home visitations to both practicing and non-practicing individuals.
- Adherence to the Model of the Companions: The book calls for returning to the early foundational environment of Islam represented by Dar al-Arqam in Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, taking the Companions (al-Sahaba) as the sole practical exemplars in personal sacrifice, asceticism, and patience in outreach.
- Parallel Tracks of Learning and Outreach: Imam emphasizes that theoretical study—such as Quranic commentary, prophetic biographies, and hadith collections—must run parallel to active participation in practical missionary delegations, noting that neither individual advice nor classroom teaching replaces organized collective outreach.
Related Publications
The author originally included within this book the text of an address on Islamic outreach delivered by the Indian scholar Abu al-Hasan al-Nadwi at a gathering of the Tabligh movement. Imam later extracted that section at the suggestion of readers and published it as an independent booklet titled Min Rawa'i Abi al-Hasan al-Nadwi fi al-Dawa ila Allah (Gems of Abu al-Hasan al-Nadwi on Calling to Allah).
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