Being approached about Christianity

for sharing your story with us.


I think I would have probably tried to use different cues in the conversation to provide dawah as well, in shaa Allah.

e.g. When it is mentioned about Jesus/ Isa (as) being 'our saviour', then mention the high status that he holds as a prophet of Allah, as well as our common belief in all the prophets that preceded him, starting from Adam (as).
And then dont stop here - continue to speak about the FINAL messenger of Allah - Muhammed (sallalahu alaihi wasalam) - and that the need for another messenger after Isa (as) stemmed from the fact that man had corrupted the scriptures and teachings that had been revealed to him.
You could stress that we, as muslims also believed in the Bible/ Torah and other scriptures at one point in time, and had it not been for the interference of man, then there would have been no need for the Quraan to be revealed.

They may try to defend the Bible at this point - to which you say, that it is a known fact that the Bible does not exist in its original form any longer - hence there are so many different translations/ editions/ versions that exist today.
(Yet one can travel the globe and the Quraan is exactly the same - a promise of its preservation from Allah Taa'la Himself.)

It is good to try to find the common/ shared beliefs first - and then go into our differences.

e.g. You can then mention that the only difference between Christianity and Islam is that we believe that Allah is ONE.
(Insert the translation for Surah Iklaas here in your conversation).

In this way, in shaa Allah - you have taken their 'dawah' and made it your own


Also, it is a good practise to keep leaflets on Islam and an english translation of Quraan in your bag/ car/ office, etc.
So, when you are offered their information booklets on Christianity - you can accept it, but say that 'I would like to return your generosity by providing you a copy of the Quraan and information on islam as well).
And leave your contact details as well, should they want to find out more about Islam at some point, in shaa Allah.
(You never know - this little act, could be the first step that a person takes towards finding the truth, by the will of Allah).


In summary - when people approach us to converse about religion, then this is the best opportunity to take to provide dawah.

In shaa Allah, we all need to become 'fluent' in the language of Dawah.
Allah Taa'la in His great mercy upon us, has blessed us with imaan - so it is our duty as muslims to call people to the truth at every possible chance that we have.


BarakAllah feek,

Was salaam

format_quote Originally Posted by Beardo

I was feeling a bit relaxed today after submitting my assignment, so I decided to take a book and read on a bench in the middle of the campus field. It’s how I release all the stress and frustration life thrusts at me. There’s nothing like a good book along with a refreshing drink.

Anyhow, as I’m sitting on the bench alone, these two guys come forward and ask if I can spare a couple minutes. I smiled and untangled my legs onto the floor. One of them literally sat next to me leaving no gap in between. The other one sat next to my backpack, and I presume he’d brush against me too if my backpack didn’t serve as a shield.

The one sitting next to me took out a miniature book entitled, “Would you like to know God personally?” There were so many similarities to Islam, and I kept nodding my head in agreement or understanding to everything he mentioned. After reading the booklet to me, he put his phone number and name on the book, telling me to give him a call anytime I wanted to hang out.

even the title is a bit of rubbish, isn't it? you can't know Allah personally, because Allah is not a person! you can personally know about Allah as Rabb, as well as His other Attributes and how to worship Him. why would you you sit there nodding (like a fool), instead of offering a rebuttal to each idiotic thing he read from the book? i'm disappointed that someone who helps oversee an Islamic website could be so unprepared to deal with such a simple situation.

Anyway, right before this, the other guy wanted to ask me a few questions. After some small talk about my name, its origins, and my career plan, he whipped out Thr ultimate question. Rather bluntly, might I add.

What is keeping you from converting from being a Muslim to a Christian, he asked.

you might try, "cuz i'm not an idiot and i don't want to jeopardize my eternal life on fairy tales and some anonymous books. the only thing anyone knows for certain about the New Testament is that Paul wrote 7 letters. in 1 of the "authentic" letters of Paul, Galatians, he specifically rejects the what the Apostles have been preaching (read the 1st 3 chapters).

I smiled. I explained to him that I have a hard time wrapping my head around the concept of Jesus being a son of God, but I certainly admire and love him as a Prophet.

nothing to "wrap your head around", Surah Al Ikhlas states that Allah has no children.

He then asked me about how I intend to achieve salvation, and I explained that God is Most Merciful, and so on. So one of them the asks, “If you were to die today, how sure are you that you’ll be granted the good eternal life?”

we have no guarantee of eternal life, but we do retain hope in Allah's Mercy.

I was a little caught off-guard, but I light-heartedly joked, saying, “God forbid, because I’m not studying for my finals if I’m going to die tomorrow.” He laughed and gave me a light hug, probably thinking I was offended by his question.

But I continued, saying that faith is all about believing in the Unseen, and that I am very hopeful in God.

Anyway, they seemed to have nothing else to add. What else is there to say? I hope they didn’t think they could convert me right then and there. Anyhow, they left me with the book with their contact information, and they were on their way.

Good times.

It’s funny this happens right after I was conversing with another friend of mine earlier. He asked me if I preach Islam. I told him that I do not, and he asked why. I told him that I simply don’t want to misrepresent my religion. It’s also due to the fact that I believe in preaching through action and conduct, rather than preaching directly. We all have our own ways of expressing ourselves, and that is the one I tr for.

And Allah Ta’ala knows best.

Should I have offered Da'wah directly? What would you have done?

you carry a backpack, and there is not a single piece of Islamic literature in it? not a one??? not a cd or a dvd? why are you in America??????????????

why do you think Allah has placed you here?

seriously, why don't you grow up? i'm not saying that you need to reach out to others, but if they come to you and start preaching paganism then at the least tell them why they are wrong and offer to get them some information.

don't get me wrong, i AGREE with you on I believe in preaching through action and conduct. well said, as well.

me? i would say, "i'm a Muslim, are you sure you want to continue?" right at the git-go. if they start to proceed, i would say, "i'm not an uneducated Muslim. i can rebut anything you say, and i know more about the history of your books then you do. i recommend that you stop while you are ahead. if you are looking for some gullible moron, continue looking elsewhere."

but that's only cuz you didn't have time. i blow Mormons off like that, but give other Christians a little more room.

or you could try. "look i'm a Muslim and i don't have time right now. we can meet after exams and chat if you like, but to me, your book would be totally worthless."

you could regroup then.

at a College? any other Muslims there? do you pray together? Jummu'ah there?

sorry if i sound mean. i'm old and mean. so, it's not personal!

are you west coast?

format_quote Originally Posted by Beardo

I believe in preaching through action and conduct, rather than preaching directly.

I do believe the same.In fact,Its the most effective method.Although when we give dawah to others we are giving out dawah to ourselves too,when you open your mouth you have to come up with clear mind to convey or the words you are uttering must be in line with your thoughts..This is how it goes.So when you are preaching with words and you inside and outside is on the same page,it does left an impression on others mind with credibility.An example which goes bad would be Jimmy Swaggert infamous case,a charismatic speaker but not an exemplary character.

format_quote Originally Posted by Beardo

Should I have offered Da'wah directly? What would you have done?

I don't think it would be appropriate to give counter dawah,since missionaries approached a person with a preoccupied mindset and your words for them would have no effect.I may proabably done the same what you have did.

I'm not a social person. Most people would not approach me because I have a constant scowl on my face.

On a serious note if I was in your situation I would have done the same.

format_quote Originally Posted by Beardo

The one sitting next to me took out a miniature book entitled, “Would you like to know God personally?” There were so many similarities to Islam, and I kept nodding my head in agreement or understanding to everything he mentioned.

It can be hard when it suddenly comes and you're not expecting it.

Firstly, don't feel that you have to be well versed in the Bible to give da'wah. As long as you know the fundamentals of your own faith, you'll be fine . Use this as a learning experience. Have a few key fundamental points, that you can use to get what we believe across to them. I made my own very basic da'wah leaflet in my signature, as I wasn't 100% happy with others I'd seen, and even still though, it probably needs improving. Such a thing is really useful especially if you think verbally you might not be so effective, and it is only a sheet of paper, rather than a booklet that might weigh more.

As soon as they said "would you like to know God personally", that could've been your cue to say, I know God how He Himself has described Himself to us in His own words, not the words of Paul or umpteen anonymous authors of the NT. Then you could go onto how God has no sons, no 3 in 1's, He is truly ONE. He does not beget, nor is He begotten. He has no sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, parents, cousins, nephews or relatives of any sort. He is eternal and does not die. He did not and does not, dwell in human or animal bodies, nor are there any incarnations of Him (as per Christian and Hindu belief). He is not mixed up in His creation in any way.

Automatically, now you're in charge of the conversation, talking about tawheed, having stopped their "da'wah" in it's tracks. Then you can continue, about how we don't believe mankind had a broken relationship with God, so no sacrifice was required, because Allah can forgive us freely with just His will when we ask sincerely, or you could take it down the line of how all the Prophets taught the same thing, and we're following the same Ultimate Universal Truth that they all preached, which is to worship the One True God without any kind of associate in His Exclusive Divinity, be that in the form of a son or otherwise, and blaspheming/rejecting any of the Prophets how they are in the Bible would take one outside the fold of Islam. You could talk about how the Qur'an is 100% the word of God unlike the other scriptures in existence today which have been changed by humans, and it is a continuation, confirmation and culmination of the original message contained within them, in its last and final form, preserved for all mankind for all time to come.

He then asked me about how I intend to achieve salvation, and I explained that God is Most Merciful, and so on. So one of them the asks, “If you were to die today, how sure are you that you’ll be granted the good eternal life?”

None of us can say, "We are saved". This is what the day of judgement is for. We strive with faith and deeds and obedience to God, do our best, and trust in His Promise, and His Justice, and hoping for His Mercy.

For Christians, this may be hard. They believe that by accepting Jesus (peace be upon him) as their saviour they have an assurance of salvation, and view the Islamic position on salvation as being one of uncertainty. You can tell them this: As a rough (not exact) analogy, the Christian position, is like one sitting an exam, but somebody has said they'll take all your bad marks for you, and if you let them do that, you'll pass. In the world, this would be viewed as cheating and as unjust. Injustice cannot be ascribed to God. The Islamic position is that of one sitting an exam, doing their best, and then awaiting their results, based on what they've done, and of course hoping for the mercy of God and trusting in His Promise.

It may also be worth telling them, that Muslims love and respect Jesus (peace be upon him) and believe in him as he was; one of the most noble and purest of humanity to ever walk the earth, and one of the greatest messengers of Allah, sent to the Children of Israel. We do not go to the extreme of rejecting him (as Jews do), nor do we go to the other opposite extreme of deifying him (as Christians do). Neither he, nor any other messenger, was divine, ever claimed divinity, or to be God's son. We believe he was born miraculously of the noble virgin Mary (peace be on her), and that he is the messiah. We do not however, believe that he died or was crucified. He will return to earth near the end of time. If you wish, you could show them some of what Isa alayhissalaam said, as recorded in the Qur'an e.g. "Indeed, Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. That is the straight path." (3:51 , 19:36 and 43:64. Shorter similar quote in 5:72 and 5:117. All five spoken by Jesus, peace be upon him)

Hope that helps a little.

One thing that does strike me though, is that while Christians see themselves as having a responsibility to get their message across directly and clearly, we as Muslims are not doing so, believing that we are giving da'wah through our behaviour and conduct. We do have to use wisdom, but I believe we can and should do more.

format_quote Originally Posted by Insaanah

we as Muslims are not doing so, believing that we are giving da'wah through our behavior and conduct. We do have to use wisdom, but I believe we can and should do more.

Its more heart hitting than thousands of words.Personally,I've seen action's effect a lot of time.But I agree we should strive to do more.

I think you handled the situation well, even if you did not do any direct "da'wah" you still held a good conduct which in my opinion is better than arrogantly doing da'wah (if it can even be called da'wah).

Maybe next time you can tell them about Tauhid in Islam.

I've been thinking about why muslims seem to shy away from giving dawah/ even talking about Islam in general terms to someone in public:

If we were to think of someone who is trying to sell a computer software, then at least the following 3 factors need to be in place:

1. He needs to have some (at least basic) knowledge about the software.
And his chances of making a sale are even greater, if he possesses more than basic knowledge about his product.

2. He needs to believe in his own product.
In other words, its no point trying to explain how good the software is......if he, himself, is not using it on his own computer.

3. He needs to be passionate about his product.
When he speaks about it, there should be an excitement/ enthusiasm in his voice.
If he is an disinterested/ unmotivated salesman, than his chances of making a sale are not very good.

In the same manner:

1. Before we can 'preach' something, we also have to be 'practising' it (the common saying: Practice what you preach).

My own perception, is that our own practice of Islam is far weaker than ever before....
If we are not striving ourselves, to follow the sunnah of our prophet (sallalahu alaihi wasalam).....and at times, even that which is waajib and fard upon us, then how successful can we be in calling others to this way of life?
e.g. if we do not recognize the importance of (proper) hijab, if our own mannerisms no longer reflect that of our Nabi (sallalahu alaihi wasalam), then how can we get this great message across to others?

2. If we are not making an attempt to obtain deeni knowledge from correct sources - actually making a sincere, concerted effort (as we do in all other aspects in life), then how weak will our own foundations be?
While we do not need to be scholars/ aalims to be able to give dawah, it is still our duty to seek knowledge (not just in worldly affairs, but also in our religion).
And considering that those who we are giving dawah to, often possess (frequently distorted) information about Islam, then it makes it even more important for us to understand our own deen (to the best of our abilities).

3. And finally, if we do not carry in our hearts, a sincere love and passion for Allah and His Rasul (sallalahu alaihi wasalam), then how can we motivate others to follow this way of life?
We may claim to have this love,
But as Hasan al-Basri once said: "Know that you will never truly love Allah, until you love obeying Him."


I think, (part of) the reason why our attempts at dawah do not seem adequate, and sometimes even sincere, is because the change needs to begin with ourselves first.
A change that is not only important for our own salvation, but also for sake of calling upon others towards this perfect and complete way of life.

^

I heard someone make the analogy once, in a talk, that if we had a business, we'd advertise it, we'd get people to spread the word, we'd let people know what a fantastic product it was, and how they could benefit from it. Yet that would be only for our material gain.

Yet we have the greatest thing in the world, Islam, and we don't have that same zeal for it. We generally don't talk about it voluntarily to others, we've never really bothered finding out how to/the best way to talk about it, yet this is something that will not bring material gain, but eternal success, not only to us but to those who we share it with and then subsequently accept it .

My fear, is that those we did not tell clearly, may complain to Allah about us on the day of judgement, that they knew us, but we did not convey Allah's message to them.

There is a saying from a japanese novel which I liked though it doesn't directly relate to the situation. It is about this young boy who grew up always being ridiculed and looked down on by the rest of his village. His goal is to be the village leader when he grows up so that he will be acknowledged by the people in his village. One day he met a wise man and told this wise man of his goal to which the wise man responded "You will not be acknowledged by the villagers for being the village leader, rather you will be the village leader for being acknowledged by the villagers.".

I think that while it is good for a muslim to actively go about inviting others to Islam it is important not to lose sight of what is more important which is bettering himself as a muslim first by seeking ilm as well as striving to achieve the best of akhlaq, adab and amal with the intention of earning the pleasure of Allah.

It could be through our strive to be a better muslim that others see the truth in Islam. It is important not to rely on a "cookie cutter" response to questions that might arise in the event of speaking to someone who is interested in learning about Islam. People come from different backgrounds and may have different worldviews so it is important on our part to understand what we are trying to convey so that we may express it in the best way possible for the questioner to understand.

It's not about selling a product nor about showing how much we know. It's about showing others the truth from their Lord.

A brother I am close with has had two non-muslims in his life who's converted to Islam and to my knowledge he never preached to either of them. One of them became interested over time as he saw that the brother would always take some time off school stuff to do his daily prayers, the other one started being interested when the brother sincerely explained that he is trying to be a better muslim and thus will not be joining for certain activities that might not be good for a muslim to join.

What I am sure of is that both these people had already acknowledged this brother as an upright person, seeing him strive to be a better muslim was what made them interested to know more. Alhamdulillah Allah opened their hearts to accept Islam.

Salaam,

Interesting feedbacks. Definitely will keep in mind in the event of similar thing happening to me in the future. I have noticed about myself is that I can react differently, even when given the same 'stimuli'. It has a lot to do with how I feel at that particular moment. Sometimes I welcome a debate and sometimes not.

Peace

one time I was ambushed by two of them, and one of them started with ''Are you saved?'' and I said yes, yes I am that's my bus I thought the bus arriving then was perfect comedic timing.. I wish I had that moment to commemorated on camera

format_quote Originally Posted by MustafaMc

If the crucifixion never happened, as we believe, then the whole of Christianity collapses like a house of cards.

This is true, and I'd say there are two major points of collapse. This one is what I call the end one, and the beginning one is the forgiving of Adam (peace be upon him). i.e. before we even get to Jesus (peace be upon him). The whole of Christianity hinges on the fact, that according to Christians, God did not/could not forgive Adam for eating from the tree, and that not only Adam but all subsequent generations have to bear a punishment from God, and fell out of grace with God, their relationship with God was severed, and they are born into a state of sin. They believe that God expects perfection from humans which humans can never achieve (partly because of the aforementioned sin), thus to atone for our imperfection and inability to meet God's exacting demand, and to reconcile people to God and repair the severed relationship, and to forgive (but in reality atone) people's sins, the sacrifice of an innocent man (who also happens to be God) and his slow, bloody, painful and humiliating death comes into play.

With Allah forgiving Adam (peace be upon him) and honouring him and guiding him, as per Islam, none of the above is needed.

The above is useful to know for the favourite Christian da'wah line from the Bible, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only son....". The foundation of Christianity, when taken back to it's bare bones, paints the picture of an unforgiving, punishing, and unjust God, not a loving one.

In Islam, while guidance and the right way has been shown to us, we, as humans, have the freedom to choose, to err, and to repent sincerely, and should we do so, we will find Allah Kind & Forgiving, forgiving freely and abundantly with just His will, no sacrifice needed, because it is truly forgiveness rather than atonement. For all and any in the posterity of Adam, the door of returning to the right path is always open, prior to death. We can give Christians and all non-Muslims an invitation to return to this right path, the path of all the Prophets, the path we ask to be guided to in Surah al-Faatihah so many times a day, the right path that has always been.

format_quote Originally Posted by MustafaMc

Christians confidently say "I am saved!" based on a nebulous event while Muslims acknowledge uncertainty based on their not knowing the purity of their own hearts or the status of their faith upon their death. Christians have a hard time understanding why someone would reject 'certainty' offered by their faith and rather choose 'uncertainty' offered by Islam.

We strive, and hope for God's Mercy and trust in Him, for none is more trustworthy than He, but for Christians, it is as though they must have a guarantee from God. We need no such guarantee, and do not feel in any way compromised by not having one, which is a key point where, as demonstrated, they try to catch Muslims. None of us would have a guarantee of passing an exam until we got our results, and this is no different. What greater thing is there than Gods Mercy? We try our best and hope for His Mercy and trust in His Promise, no guarantees needed, as He is not a human who will let us down, or be unjust, on the contrary we will not be wronged by even the spot on a date stone.

I have heard people being rude to Christian preachers. Muslims should avoid doing that. It does take guts to go out to the streets and preach. This should show how much these preachers care about spreading their message. So it's best to be polite to them. I assume it is appropriate to openly disagree with them but at least be gentle.

It is not easy being told you are wrong about beliefs you were taught at a young age.