Dawah

Grammatically, the word represents a gerund of a verb with the triconsonantal root d-ʕ-w (د-ع-و) meaning variously "to summon" or "to invite".

A Muslim who practices daʿwah, either as a religious worker or in a volunteer community effort, is called a dāʿī (داعي, plural duʿāh دعاة [dʊˈʕæː]).

Daʿwah is also described as the duty to "actively encourage fellow Muslims in the pursuance of greater piety in all aspects of their lives", a definition which has become central to contemporary Islamic thought.

Daʿwah came into wider usage almost a hundred years after Muhammad's death, in the wake of 'Abbasid propaganda against the then ruling Umayyad clan in the 720s.

Isma'ilis, in many ways, can be seen as the pioneers of the organized Muslim missionary activities: their highly institutionalized and sophisticated daʿwah structure has hardly been repeated until today.

Daʿwah as the "Call towards God" is the means by which Muhammad began spreading the message of the Qur'an to mankind.

[17] The importance of daʿwah has been emphasised many times in the Quran: Who is better in speech than one who calls to Allah, does righteous deeds and says indeed I am among the Muslims.You are the best nation raised up for humankind.

Those are the successful ones.Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good preaching.In the Hadith ("sayings") of Muhammad, daʿwah is mentioned to emphasise importance and virtues: Muhammad sent Muadh ibn Jabal to Yemen and told him "You will be going to Christians and Jews, so the first thing you should invite them to is the assertion of the oneness of Allah, Most High.

If they pray them, then inform them that Allah has made the payment of charity from their wealth obligatory on their rich to be given to their poor.

"[26] With regard to Muhammad's mild nature in preaching Islam, the Quran says: And by the mercy of Allah you dealt with them gently.

Taken in general, the intertwining of daʿwah and politics, then, has been a feature throughout the Muslim history, though practical implications of this have been different in different ages.

"[34] Various Islamic institutions provide elaborate manuals, trainings and workshops to daʿi to prepare them for successful daʿwah.

For instance, among Ismailis, al-Naysaburi's Code of Conduct depicts the values in which dais should spread the word of Islam to Muslims and non-Muslims.

[50] Idris Imad al-Din's work presents us with an indigenous account of the traditions of the daʿwa in Yaman.