Requirements for Islamic Outreach
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(c) Wisdom, composure, and avoidance of rashness:

“Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in the best manner.” 1

“Whoever is granted wisdom has certainly been granted abundant good.” 2

Wisdom, in the briefest and most precise terms, means gentleness where gentleness is called for, and firmness where firmness is called for.

(d) Avoiding appeasement at the expense of religion, one of the most dangerous traits in a caller to Islam. This means courting people’s affection and flattering them at the expense of religion, until he eventually becomes unable to explain the truth, enjoin what is right, or forbid what is wrong, out of consideration for public sentiment. He thus follows the crowd: when people are upright, he is upright with them; when they become corrupt, he becomes corrupt with them.

(e) Patience and endurance, for remedying the prevailing conditions in Muslim countries requires a long time—nearly as long as this entrenched state of ignorance has lasted, or longer.

If we ensure that the callers working at this stage—the stage of rectification—meet these requirements, or possess comparable qualities, we will be closer to the path of success in our work, Allah willing. We nevertheless recognize the urgent need to reconsider how Islamic outreach is organized in general. Indeed, Islamic work as a whole has yet to be properly organized. As is evident, a small amount of organized work is better and more fruitful than a great deal of unorganized work.