When the Prophet ﷺ first sent out emissaries for da’wah, it was with the aim of finding a base from which to propagate Islam. When he sought tribes willing to enter Islam and host the community of the believers, he required that they pledge allegiance to him and make him the political and religious leader. The exact wording of the pledge
asked from the Ansar, radhi Allahu anhum, was as follows:

حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْيَمَانِ، أَخْبَرَنَا شُعَيْبٌ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، وَقَالَ اللَّيْثُ، حَدَّثَنِي يُونُسُ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، أَخْبَرَنِي أَبُو إِدْرِيسَ الْخَوْلاَنِيُّ، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ عُبَادَةَ بْنَ الصَّامِتِ، يَقُولُ قَالَ لَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَنَحْنُ فِي مَجْلِسٍ ‏ “‏ تُبَايِعُونِي عَلَى أَنْ لاَ تُشْرِكُوا بِاللَّهِ شَيْئًا، وَلاَ تَسْرِقُوا، وَلاَ تَزْنُوا، وَلاَ تَقْتُلُوا أَوْلاَدَكُمْ، وَلاَ تَأْتُوا بِبُهْتَانٍ تَفْتَرُونَهُ بَيْنَ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَأَرْجُلِكُمْ وَلاَ تَعْصُوا فِي مَعْرُوفٍ، فَمَنْ وَفَى مِنْكُمْ فَأَجْرُهُ عَلَى اللَّهِ، وَمَنْ أَصَابَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ شَيْئًا فَعُوقِبَ فِي الدُّنْيَا فَهْوَ كَفَّارَةٌ لَهُ، وَمَنْ أَصَابَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ شَيْئًا فَسَتَرَهُ اللَّهُ فَأَمْرُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ إِنْ شَاءَ عَاقَبَهُ وَإِنْ شَاءَ عَفَا عَنْهُ ‏”‏، فَبَايَعْنَاهُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ‏.‏

“Swear allegiance to me that you will not to join anything in worship along with Allah, steal, commit illegal sexual intercourse, kill your children, accuse an innocent person (to spread such an accusation among people), or be disobedient (when ordered) to do a good deed.” The Prophet ﷺ added “Whoever among you fulfills his pledge will be rewarded by Allah. And whoever indulges in any one of them (except the ascription of partners to Allah) and gets the punishment in this world, that punishment will be an expiation for that sin. And if one indulges in any of them, and Allah conceals his sin, it is up to Him to forgive or punish him (in the Hereafter).”

Sahih Bukhari, 18

عن عبادة بن الصامت رضي الله عنه قال: بَايَعْنَا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم على السَّمع والطَّاعَة في العُسْر واليُسْر، والمَنْشَطِ والمَكْرَه، وعلَى أَثَرَةٍ عَلَينا، وعلى أَن لاَ نُنَازِعَ الأَمْر أَهْلَه إِلاَّ أَن تَرَوْا كُفْراً بَوَاحاً عِندَكُم مِن الله تَعَالى فِيه بُرهَان، وعلى أن نقول بالحقِّ أينَما كُنَّا، لا نخافُ فِي الله لَوْمَةَ لاَئِمٍ.

‘Ubadah ibn al-Samit reported: “We pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, to listen and obey in hardship and in ease, in pleasure and displeasure, even if someone is wrongly favored over us, not to dispute the rule of those in authority, that we should speak the truth wherever we are and not fear those who blame us regarding Allah.”

Sahih Bukhari, 6873

So it’s very clear that seeking political authority was part of the early process of calling to Islam.

Once this base of authority was established, da’wah was conducted by sending emissaries to political leaders and inviting them to Islam with clear conditions; that they would establish salah, pay zakat, and submit to sharia. This illustrates that Islam is, by its nature, a dominant religion.

الِإسلام يعلو ولا يعلى عليه

“Islam dominates, and is not dominated over.”

Al Bayhaqi, 5/106-108

It didn’t matter if those receiving the da’wah were more powerful in worldly terms; all were called to submit to Allah and His religion. This is distinct from Christianity, which for a long time was propagated in secret through underground preaching, without the aim of achieving authority over the land. Christianity initially spread mainly among the poor masses, whereas Islamic da’wah was often addressed to rulers, nobles, and tribal leaders.

Da’wah requires energy and resources, and it is an attempt to enjoin the good and forbid the evil to save the people from divine punishment by bringing them out of the darkness and into the light. If a person calls with honesty and completeness to the true religion of Islam, without omitting or adding anything, they will face the same kind of opposition today that was faced by the Prophet ﷺ during his lifetime. The ones doing the inviting will face boycotts, imprisonment, torture, and death until they are exiled and forced to seek refuge in a society supportive of the call to tawheed.

This opposition doesn’t justify a “Meccan phase” approach to da’wah; it’s simply a permanent characteristic of the relationship between authentic Islam and kufr. We can emulate the Prophet’s ﷺ methodology of calling to Islam, but we cannot emulate the content of the message that he delivered, because the process of revelation was still underway during his lifetime, so we must convey the legal injunctions such as the hudud punishments and the obligation of jihad,
as well as fundamental beliefs.

Authentically calling to Islam completely in this way eventually necessitates hijra. Even those preachers from the Muslim lands who call to Islam openly, without fearing the blame or opposition, are frequently banned from entry to the lands of the kuffar. Our da’wah now, as in the time of the Prophet ﷺ should be concerned with establishing a base of political authority where Islam is correctly and authentically implemented, and where there is no other religion, ideology, or system of law dominant over the Muslims. This will then be the base from which da’wah can be conducted according to the Prophetic methodology.

This is of great importance now, as in the time of the Prophet ﷺ, because the Muslims are in need of shelter and protection, and are facing severe torment and persecution in many areas. Conducting da’wah correctly requires correct belief, and compassion for the believers is a part of correct belief. The Prophet ﷺ said:

لا تدخلوا الجنة حتى تؤمنوا ولا تؤمنوا حتى تحابوا

“You will not enter Paradise until you have faith and you will not have faith until you love each other.”

Sunan at-Tirmidhi, 2510

Islam is not just a set of beliefs; it is a lived reality, and da’wah must be an invitation to this reality. If this reality is absent, what is it that we are inviting the people to? Should it really be a priority to spend our limited time and energy inviting mushrikeen to join a community whose masajid are being destroyed, whose madrasas are having their curricula manipulated, and whose sermons are distorted by governments that are waging war against Allah?

The absolute priority must be establishing and supporting Islamic political authority capable of providing support and refuge to the Muslims. This authority is part of the religion itself, and without it, there is no Islam to invite to.

This is not to say that other forms of da’wah have no value or should be abandoned; rather, we should do whatever is in our ability. However, da’wah from a position of strength is orders of magnitude more effective than da’wah from a position of weakness. The evidence for this is that the Prophet ﷺ spent 13 years preaching without political authority, and a total of 72 muhajireen accepted Islam and migrated to Medina, but after 10 years in Medina, he ﷺ marched on Mecca with an army of 10,000 Muslims.

These were the results of the preaching of the best of creation ﷺ, who had the most sublime character and who was honored as a noble among his people. He ﷺ was preaching to his own family and tribe, and still, such was the difficulty of the call. His da’wah became vastly more effective through political authority and jihad for the sake of Allah. This perspective can help us to understand why jihad for the sake of Allah is an act of worship unlike any other in Islam.

عَنْ أَبِی ذَرٍّ، أَنَّهُ سَأَلَ نَبِيَّ اللہِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَىُّ الْعَمَلِ خَيْرٌ قَالَ‏ إِيمَانٌ بِاللهِ وَجِهَادٌ فِىْ سَبِيْلِ اللهِ عَزَّوَجَلَّ

Abu Dharr related that he asked the Prophet ﷺ about what deed is best. The Prophet ﷺ said “Belief in Allah and jihad in the path of Allah, the Mighty and Sublime.”

Sunan an-Nisai, 3129

Jihad establishes, preserves, and expands dar al Islam, which acts as a beacon and an amplifier for the call to tawheed and justice. Thus, striving in the path of Allah and supporting and calling others to support the mujahidin is part of authentic da’wah to Islam, and this is the da’wah that carries the same trials that the da’wah of the Prophet ﷺ carried. It is for this da’wah that you will face insults, boycotts, imprisonment, torture, exile, and death, just as the best generation, radhi Allahu anhum, did.

This is an honored path, and it is the path of the awliya and anbiya and shuhada. Those who walk it are few and blessed. Trials are a confirmation of the correctness of the path, and Allah does not burden a soul with more than it can bear.