Usul al-Dawah - Jamiat al-Madina
- Author died
- -
- Editions
- Jāmiʻat al-Madīnah al-ʻĀlamīyah
Usul al-Dawah (The Principles of Islamic Propagation) is an academic curriculum textbook published in a single volume by Al-Madinah International University (Jamiat al-Madina al-Alamiya) for postgraduate study . The work serves as a foundational guide for advanced students of Islamic missionary work (dawah), focusing on the spiritual, methodological, and practical challenges encountered by Muslim callers .
Curriculum and Structure
The book is designated as course material for the university's master's program under the course code GDWH5073 . Structured in modular educational lessons, it organizes discussions around key theoretical principles and pedagogical instructions designed to prepare Islamic callers for long-term field engagement .
Content and Methodology
The work analyzes various spiritual and psychological pitfalls (afat) that affect Islamic workers, causing burnout, withdrawal, or deviation from their missionary calling . Key areas addressed include:
- Haste and Impatience (al-Ajalah): The text warns against rushing outcomes, citing traditional maxims such as the legal principle that whoever rushes something before its due time is punished with its deprivation . It highlights manifestations of haste, including teaching or issuing legal verdicts (fatwa) prior to qualification, transmitting rumors without verification, hasty declarations of apostasy (takfir), and rushing numerical recruitment at the expense of sound spiritual and ideological education .
- Steadfastness and Certainty (al-Yaqin): It addresses despair and weakness of faith that arise when success appears delayed, encouraging endurance through Quranic narratives of past prophets and early Muslim struggles, such as the Battle of the Trench .
- Educational Foundations: The text emphasizes a gradual pedagogical approach modeled on the piecemeal revelation of the Quran, advising mentors to foster dedicated, well-grounded cadres rather than gathering large but fragile followings .
The material draws systematically on Quranic exegesis and prophetic traditions, integrating commentaries and insights from classical and later scholars such as Ibn al-Qayyim, Ibn Kathir, and Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi .
Answer updated