TYPES OF PREACHING

The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬preached secretly in the early period of Islam but soon he started
to preach the new religion openly with the help of the Sahabas too.

SECRET PREACHING

Many aspects of the life of the final messenger (PBUH) have been foretold in the religious
scriptures of different religions. This is one of the reasons why some people have accepted
Islam very quickly. They could see the qualities and events of the Prophet (PBUH) as
described in their books. In many cases, they waited for the Prophet (PBUH) to come.

The Prophet (PBUH) preached only to a close circle of friends and relatives. Those who
adopted Islam became committed to Islam and started to read, worship and study. They
would have a private meeting where they would read the verses of the Quran and the values
of Islam. They would learn to pray and pray to Allah, much as the angel had told the prophet.
This time of preaching lasted three years.

After Khadijah, the people who believed in the Prophet (PBUH) were Ali and Zayd. Ali was
just ten years old, and Zayd was a slave who had little influence on the Makkan Culture.
After them, Abu Bakr, of the tribe of Taym, embraced Islam. He was a well-mannered and
most well guy, well known by the Arabs of Makkah. He was a successful merchant, too. He
used to say to some of his close friends that embraced Islam in his hands.

The early converts were people who knew the Prophet (PBUH) well. They had known his
character and his positive qualities. They also understood that he had always been true and
had no reservations about his word when he told them that realization had come to him. They
knew he had never written any words or poetry in the past, and the verses of the Qur'an were
a real masterpiece.

However, during this period of preaching, the word came to the Makkans about the message
of the prophet. Initially, the people weren't that concerned about Muhammad (PBUH).
Gradually they become concerned when they realize that the words of the prophet (PBUH)
have had an effect on people. They would talk about this mission and the effects it would
have on the Arabs and the religion of their ancestors.

OPEN PREACHING

After three years of this preaching, the Prophet (PBUH) was commanded by Allah to start
preaching to his own clansmen in the following words:

“And warn your near relatives.”

Muhammad (PBUH) called together all his clansmen to explain to them about Allah and his
mission. The invited crowd was around forty-five Makkans from his clansmen. This was the
first meeting with Abu Lahab, who became the most ferocious enemy of Islam. The Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH) went once to Safa and called the people together. This was a tradition at
the time when some big event or announcement was about to be made. The people were
gathering together and the Prophet (PBUH) said:

‘O people of Quraysh, if I was to tell you that an army was advancing to attack you
from the other side of this mount will you believe me?’

People knew the character of Muhammad (PBUH), after all they had given him the title of
Al-Amin (The Truthful). They observed this gentle child grow up in this world, and they saw
how well he dealt with people, his genuine character, and his trustworthiness. They had no
reason to suspect him, so they said:

‘Yes why not? We have always found you to be truthful’

The Prophet (pbuh) looked at the people assembled before him and said “O banu Abdul
Muttalib, O banu Abd Manaf, O Banu Zuhra! I have come to you as a Warner and if
you do not respond to my warning, punishment will fall upon you. I have been sent by
Allah to warn you and I cannot protect you in this world, nor can I promise you
anything in the next world, unless you acknowledge and submit to the worship of the
one Allah”

There was silence and then Abu Lahab, one of the more powerful individuals and the
prophets uncle, again responded “May you perish, did you call us to this?” the crowd then
dispersed.

This was one of the instances in which Abu Lahab used his authority to insult and criticize
Islam. He is the open opponent of the Prophet (PBUH) and of Islam. He proved to be a
hindrance and had a strong opposition to the Prophet during his holy mission.

A big turning point came when the Prophet (PBUH) was ordered to publicly preach Islam to
the people. The Arabs knew the effects this message might have on Arabia. They became
worried that the words and verses they were learned come from a place outside this world.
These verses of the Qur'an have drawn some people to Islam away from the conventional
Arab way of life. The Arabs believed in a multitude of gods and idols, but they were taught to
worship Allah alone. They were told that worshipping Idol was false and evil.

Indeed the fact was simple, and everyone who was subjected to this message was affected.
They understood that the message could only come from Allah, the maker and sustainer, and
that Muhammad (PBUH) was also the messenger of Allah.

They turned to Abu Talib and begged him to stop Muhammad. They said, "O Abu Talib!
Your nephew curses our gods; finds faults with our way of life, mocks at our religion and
degrades our forefathers; either you must stop him, or you must let us get at him." They
explained that because they all adopted the religion of their forefather, Abu Talib should let
them get rid of Muhammad (PBUH)! Abu Talib was doing his hardest to settle them down
and make peace between them. The Prophet (PBUH) continued his work by educating,
inviting and observing Islam.

LEVELS OF PREACHING
The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said, “Whenever you see any wrong thing happening, stop it
by your hand. If you’re unable to do so, stop it with your tongue. If that is not possible
then consider it bad in your heart. This is the weakest of your Iman.”

This hadith of The Holy Prophet (PBUH) gives us the three levels of preaching which can be
interpreted as follows.

The three levels are:

1. Stop by hand- State or government level

2. Stop by tongue- Scholars and Ulamas level
3. Consider bad at heart- Individual level

Government/ state
The first leve1 states that it is a duty of every government to implement laws in accordance
with Islamic laws. All rules and policies should be male in the light of teachings of the Quran
and the Prophet (PBUH). An Islamic environment should prevail in the state where all the
obligations are fulfilled and the deviators are punished according to the Islamic punishments.
The state owners are thus responsible and answerable to Allah if anything wrong happens.

Teachers/ preachers
Teachers, scholars and Ulamas are the builders oft nation and thus it is obligatory upon them
to preach the true teachings of Islam in the right manner. They are responsible to provide
Islamic guidance to all the people of the nation and stop them from doing acts that are
forbidden in Islam. They are the source of communication between Allah and his people.
Allah says,

"The best among you is he who gets the message of Allah and conveys it."

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said in his last sermon, Khutba hujat-ul-widah,

"Those who are present should convey it to those who are absent."

Individual
The little but most significant level is individual level where one is responsible for
differentiating between the right and wrong and spent his life in accordance with Islamic
laws. It is a duty of every Muslim to choose between the right and wrong and he would be
sinful if he fails to do so. Individuals make a nation and so it every individual would preach
the true faith and do his job, the society will be free from evils as a whole.

Islamic preaching is a unique phenomenon and thus it has a set of rules and implications,
which can again be found in the life of Holy Prophet (PBUH) as the Golden Principles of
Islamic Preaching.