Methods of Tabligh (propagation)

Methods of Tabligh (propagation):

Morteza Agha mohammadi

The elements of propagation:
1- The propagator.

2- The addressee (audience).

3- The message.

4-the medium of propagation

First: The elements of propagator:

A. Where he/she is from.

B. What sort of education he/she has.

C. purification:

Imam Ali A.S said:

*مَنِ اتَّخَذَ الْحَقَّ لِجَاماً اتَّخَذَهُ النَّاسُ إِمَاماً*(1)

D. To have pure intention:

*لاأَسْئَلُكُمْعَلَيْهِأَجْرا*ً(2)

"I do not ask you any reward for it"

E. To be moderate:

Imam Ali A.S said:

ألاأُخْبِرُكُمْبِالْفَقِيهِحَقِّالْفَقِيهِمَنْلَمْيُقَنِّطِالنَّاسَمِنْرَحْمَةِاللَّهِوَلَمْيُومِنْهُمْمِنْعَذَابِاللَّهِوَلَمْيُرَخِّصْلَهُمْفِيمَعَاصِياللَّهِ(3)

F. being handsome i.e. not short or thin or …

Appearance: How do you appear in front of the audience?
Wearing chines clothes doesn’t mean that you are chines, so you can wear their clothes while you are in china. This is what Christians do, i.e. they change their clothes easily when they travel to another country with a different culture.

Note: not only it's not bad but also it is recommended not to be turbaned always outside Iran. To wear their clothes gives a better impression to the audience. If there is no reason, don’t wear your uniform, e.g. in a market or a mall.
The first impression gives the picture.
Wearing long beard in European countries doesn’t mean that you are a great scholar; on the contrary they don't like to see such a person.

G. To have good temper and noble characteristics like being patient, sincere, humble.
H. To be knowledgeable enough to be able to rationalize the traditions and believes.
Note: They don’t expect you to know everything. And if you tell
them that you don’t know something, they accept and beside they consider you a real man of God.
I. To appear as a man of God because if they realize that the propagator is propagating himself/herself they will avoid him/her.

J. To love people. The propagator should show them that he/she loves them by helping them and showing affection to them. God loves them with all of their sins so the same should be with us.
K. Certainty. The messenger should be sure about what he/she preaches.

Second element: The addressee (audience).

• ·Talking with women:

Women abroad think that: not looking at them is a kind of disrespect to them, and even they might think that you don’t consider them as a human.

Question: then how the propagator can look at them and at the same time avoid committing haram looking?

The solutions:

1- Looking at them is not Haram according to Ayatollah Sistani.

2- If we explain for them that it is our religion and it's not something personal, most of them understand it.

3- In the verse 30 chapter 24 it reads:

قُلْ لِلْمُؤْمِنينَ يَغُضُّوا مِنْ أَبْصارِهِمْ...**

"Tell the faithful men to cast down their looks"

The concept of " غض بصر" doesn't mean not looking at them but it means to avoid staring at their body.

• ·To know what are the likes and dislikes of the audience.
• ·Never force answers.
• ·

Third: The message.

The propagator can begin with:

üGod's existence, His mercy toward all people, his kindness

üSome questions about Islam, peaceful nature of Islam.

üWomen's rights and their duty inside the home

üDon’t talk about something that they don’t accept or annoys them, for
example don’t start with a Hindu with "Why do you respect cow?" Or
never talk with a Christian about the reason that they don’t enter into political issues.

ü The first step is getting friend with them.

üNever begin with what is highly accepted by the audience.

Note: talking about politics is not beneficial.

Fourth: the medium of propagation:

• §Listen to people eagerly not passively even if you disagree with them, because your eyes show that if you are a man of truth or you are absolute and you never accept the truth.
• §Don’t discriminate among them.
• §Show interest by your body movements, even pretend to think about their ideas, take notes, say something like this:

"Yes you are right" it is good for them to have your confirmation.

• §Try to know the name of audience as much as possible since it is a kind
  of respect to them. Also repeat his/her name.
• §Try to know their jobs for managing your speech level.
• §Have eye contact with them.
• §Shake him friendly and firmly.
• §Be aware of the title.
• §Don’t attend in a meeting with simple invitation.
• §How to seat?
  seat somewhere that is:

A. it’s convenient and reachable and other can contact you.

B. It has no problem seating between to women.
C. show you are eagerness.

D. Don’t bend over.

E. Don’t show you are ready to answer.

F. Show you are relaxed.

• §Say "Yes" to them when they are right. This way they begin to trust you.
• §Don’t insist on your clothes so that others might think by changing their religion they have to change their clothes.
• § Don't behave as: I’m here to teach you. you are completely wrong and know nothing and I'm right.
  L: When someone criticizes you, listen to him/her and accept him/her, if he is right, otherwise the hypocrites come to you.
• §Look at their markets in the street and people and so on.
• §While attending a conference or a meeting, ask them about their names, jobs, phone numbers, addresses, and make friends and get close to them.
• §Be in a way that you come here for learning not teaching them.
• §Don’t close your eyes while you are listening or speaking.
• §Show confidence while you are speaking. Don’t be in hurry; don’t talk fast in a way that people cannot understand you.
• §Don’t defend a certain person even he is good. Don’t be the representative of a certain person, because you are a man of God.
• §Some questions that people are sensitive (forbidden questions):
  Religion (in some country) , age and wage.
  More educated society wants more rights. Keeping their money, age,
  education, secret is their personal right , but in less educated
  societies, since they don’t know their rights, it is acceptable for
  them to be asked about their personal lives.
• §Notice people's reactions:
  you can realize how good your job is, because when they don’t say anything, you don’t understand whether your speech was convincible or not.
• §Don’t criticize the religion of people quickly and directly, because
  it is the way of his fathers, brothers, friends, relatives and people are sensitive about their religious ideas so try to show preferences to people e.g. "Christianity is good but Islam has a better idea".

Don’t criticize the customs or culture and say: how is it beautiful! Just if they serve alcohol tell them: Based on my religion I can’t drink this.

1 -عيون الحكم و المواعظ (لليثي)، ص: 457

2- Surah 11 : 51

3- كافي،ج1 ، ص 36