Manhaj al-Dawa fi Daw al-Waqi al-Muasir
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- Editions
- Jā’izat Nāyif ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Sa‘ūd al-‘Ālamiyyah lil-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah wa-al-Dirāsāt al-Islāmiyyah al-Mu‘āṣirah
Manhaj al-Dawa fi Daw al-Waqi al-Muasir (The Methodology of Da'wah in Light of Contemporary Reality) is a contemporary study on Islamic propagation by Adnan al-Arur, first published in 1426 AH (2005 CE) . The book won the Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Prize for the Prophetic Sunnah and Contemporary Islamic Studies .
Purpose and Background
The work was composed as an entry for the Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Prize competition to address contemporary challenges facing Islamic propagation, including methodological confusion, hasty emotionalism, and practical shortcomings observed among Muslim youth and preachers . Al-Arur states that the book aims to re-examine the core conditions, principles, and pedagogical methods of da'wah, serving both as an analytical study and as a practical manual to improve the performance and guidance of Islamic callers .
Structure and Content
The book is structured into an introduction, three main parts (abwab), and a conclusion:
- Part One: Observations on the Needs of Muslims and Their Da'wah Reality (Nazarat fi Hajat al-Muslimin wa-Waqi'ihim al-Da'wi) functions as a foundational overview divided into two chapters . The first chapter discusses the essential needs of the community, including establishing sound foundations before relying on emotion, the jurisprudence of priorities and objectives, educational cultivation, piety, realism, and humility . The second chapter defines da'wah, its religious status, virtues, legal ruling, objectives, and societal outcomes .
- Part Two: The Three Pillars of Da'wah (Arkan al-Da'wah al-Thalathah) covers the caller (al-da'i), the recipient (al-mad'u), and the methodology (manhajiyyat al-da'wah) across three chapters . It outlines the caller's qualities, the necessity of accommodating the psychological, intellectual, and faith levels of the audience, and key methodological maxims—such as prioritizing faith before legal rulings, focusing on instruction and conveyance rather than judgment and reckoning, teaching foundational tenets before subsidiary matters, maintaining balance between fear and hope, adhering to gradualism, and inviting people to God and His Messenger rather than to partisan groups .
- Part Three: Da'wah Styles and Means (al-Asalib wa-l-Wasa'il al-Da'wiyyah) examines the practical implementation of propagation . It details rhetorical styles grounded in gentleness, balance between intellect and emotion, and storytelling . It also evaluates various traditional and modern mediums—such as lectures, conferences, audio and visual recordings, debate (jidal), the internet, purposeful educational drama, and photography—along with their legal rulings and technical guidelines .
The conclusion compiles the primary findings and recommendations resulting from the study .
Method and Style
Al-Arur avoids technical jurisprudential debates and exhaustive citations of variant scholarly opinions, deliberately adopting a straightforward style accessible to non-specialists . The text draws directly on scriptural texts from the Quran and the Prophetic Sunnah without adherence to a single faction or blind imitation . Each theoretical principle (ta'sil) is paired with practical examples to demonstrate real-world applicability . Hadiths and biographical reports are verified briefly rather than extensively elaborated .
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