Dawah to Christian tuition student

[Abul Lais]

Assalaamua'laikum warahmatullah

I have just begun giving private tuition (maths/science) to a Christian lad at his home. Its sundays 8 - 12 a.m. He is quiet, polite and seems very obedient.

Now I would feel extremely guilty if I just fulfilled my duties without introducing Islam to him, even though it may be in a subtle way. After all doesn't the obligation of dawah rises for those "under one's command"?

I would greatly appreciate if someone could chart a concrete plan for me, how to break the topic of Islam to him, and then how to proceed step-by-step? I understand dawah is our INDIVIDUAL DUTY wherever possible, and it seems there is a great chance here. Just that I am new and need some guidance. In the past, I did "bulldozer dawah" which probably caused more harms than benefits.

Jazakallah khairan katseeran.

[Colonel_Hardstone]

Assalaamua'laikum warahmatullah

I have just begun giving private tuition (maths/science) to a Christian lad at his home. Its sundays 8 - 12 a.m. He is quiet, polite and seems very obedient.

Now I would feel extremely guilty if I just fulfilled my duties without introducing Islam to him, even though it may be in a subtle way. After all doesn't the obligation of dawah rises for those "under one's command"?

I would greatly appreciate if someone could chart a concrete plan for me, how to break the topic of Islam to him, and then how to proceed step-by-step? I understand dawah is our INDIVIDUAL DUTY wherever possible, and it seems there is a great chance here. Just that I am new and need some guidance. In the past, I did "bulldozer dawah" which probably caused more harms than benefits.

Jazakallah khairan katseeran.

Welcome to the forum.

1) Get to know him and about his likes/dislikes
2) And then break the ice by initiating Dawah with presenting Islamic personalities which he may have some recognition for like Muslim football players (assuming that he is in it) or Ex-Rap stars

And then time to time drop stuff like, "Did you know..." depending on his psych-profile (which you did in step 1)

Maintain a link with him via email etc even after you leave.

[amr123]

Like Colonel saab said, get to know him better.
I think a nice ice-breaker for dawah is to discuss about 'What do you think the purpose of life is?'. That will help you know his faith in religion, his concept of God, etc.

[Abul Lais]

Wa'alaikum salaam warahmatullah

Jazakallah khair brothers....

May Allah ta'aala grant you success in your own dawah plans, and more importantly, He accepts them. Ameen.

[Abdul Qaadir]

Give him some introductory Islamic literature. Give him an English only translation of the Quraan, and a copy of Kitab ut Tawheed as a gift. This will make him very impressed by your seriousness and sincerity in Dawah, and he will become a Muslim.

[Abul Lais]

Dear Brothers (and sisters)

let us keep our minds (and tongues) calm. Anyway, I have done the first step - psych profilling. I asked him to answer a few questions just to test his beliefs. They are reproduced below.

__________________________________________________ _________________________________


1. If I had all the free time in the world, what would I spend most of my time doing?[/B]

Reading storybooks and learning computer programing

2. If I had all the money in the world, where would I spend most of it on?

Buying storybooks and computers

3. What do you think is the purpose of life?

Learning about God and His creations

4. Nowadays, the world seems to be plagued by all types of troubles – poverty, diseases, depression, crime etc. What, in your opinion, is the most significant problem amongst all of them? Why?

In my opinion the most significant problem is the degeneration of human moralities since most of all the worlds’ trouble originates from this. For example, poverty exists because of selfishness where people would first care about spending money on their comforts before wondering if people somewhere else need some money to eat andCrimes occur as people think it’s alright to take from the weaker person. The troubles of Poverty and crimes have been around for a long time but the problem is getting worse as our morals degenerate. Just take a look at the news and you will see how teenagers start to accept the idea that pre-marital sex and sex for fun is okay and how people start to become numb to killing or even how people start to think that homosexuality is nothing wrong. The basic foundation on which our society was founded on is our morals, the “right” and the “wrong” this is the reason why we prospered. What is wrong is not just what hurts others but what goes against humanity and society. Morals are the laws made to protect our society, lose them and society collapses bringing on a rush of troubles and problems. The troubles and problems that we already start to see arise.

__________________________________________________ _________________________________

Anyone has any ideas/strategies etc you are most welcome to share.

Jazakallah khair.

[saeed_bakr]

Assalam alaykum,

May Allah (SWT) reward your efforts. Since your tutoring time falls at the time when Christians attend church, perhaps this lad is not actively involved in church at this time.

Usually the first obstacle for a Christian is the word Allah (SWT), because they believe Him to be a different God than the Christian God. So it has to be explained that Allah (SWT) is the God of Abraham and all of the prophets named in the Old Testament.

Another major issue is that Christians are taught to believe that Jesus is God.

The other major obstacle, of course, is the trinity doctrine.

All the above can be dealt with insha Allah by using both Quran and Bible. For example, Jesus says in Mark 12:29 that there is only one God. You could perhaps use the Bible stories as a transition to the Quran. This is a reverse strategy of what many Christian missionaries use on Muslims. This is why it is important for Muslims who bring Dawa to Christians to have an understanding of the Bible and Christian theological issues.

Wassalam

[amr123]

Dear Brothers (and sisters)

let us keep our minds (and tongues) calm. Anyway, I have done the first step - psych profilling. I asked him to answer a few questions just to test his beliefs. They are reproduced below.

__________________________________________________ _________________________________


1. If I had all the free time in the world, what would I spend most of my time doing?[/B]

Reading storybooks and learning computer programing

2. If I had all the money in the world, where would I spend most of it on?

Buying storybooks and computers

3. What do you think is the purpose of life?

Learning about God and His creations

4. Nowadays, the world seems to be plagued by all types of troubles – poverty, diseases, depression, crime etc. What, in your opinion, is the most significant problem amongst all of them? Why?

In my opinion the most significant problem is the degeneration of human moralities since most of all the worlds’ trouble originates from this. For example, poverty exists because of selfishness where people would first care about spending money on their comforts before wondering if people somewhere else need some money to eat andCrimes occur as people think it’s alright to take from the weaker person. The troubles of Poverty and crimes have been around for a long time but the problem is getting worse as our morals degenerate. Just take a look at the news and you will see how teenagers start to accept the idea that pre-marital sex and sex for fun is okay and how people start to become numb to killing or even how people start to think that homosexuality is nothing wrong. The basic foundation on which our society was founded on is our morals, the “right” and the “wrong” this is the reason why we prospered. What is wrong is not just what hurts others but what goes against humanity and society. Morals are the laws made to protect our society, lose them and society collapses bringing on a rush of troubles and problems. The troubles and problems that we already start to see arise.

__________________________________________________ _________________________________

Anyone has any ideas/strategies etc you are most welcome to share.

Jazakallah khair.

So he
-Believes in God
-Believes in moral ethics and cares for greater good of the Humanity
-Reads a lot of Books.

Before you say things about Islam, Ask him what he knows about Islam.
Tell him about the concept of Zakat and how obligatory it is for a Muslim to give Zakat. The brotherhood of Islam.
Since he has a good appetite for reading. 'Later on' give him a small booklet about fundamentals of Islam.

[Abul Lais]

Firstly, wa'alaikum salaam warahmatullah to Colonel_Hardstone, azhar123 and saeed_bakr

When a (courteous) greeting is offered you, meet it with a greeting still more courteous, or (at least) of equal courtesy. Allah takes careful account of all things.
(Surah Nisaa:86)


Hence it is compulsory (waajib for ahnaaf, sorry not sure about the rest) to reply to verbal AND written salaam. So let us remember the ahkaam in cyberspace as well, Inshaa Allah. Just a gentle reminder, for reminders benefit the mu'mineen.
__________________________________________________ _________________________________

Anyway, a small idea came to mind, which I hope is beneficial to all of us doing da'wah to the nasaaraa. Since I can't do explicit da'wah in his house (his dad got a room full of biblical commentaries etc!!!), the plan is to destroy his doctrinal beliefs indirectly. This is quite suitable Inshaa Allah for Muslim teachers/guardians/nannies who have Christian children under their charge. The plan is to let him read hypothetical stories which expose the fallacy of some Christian dogma in a very subtle manner. Alhamdulillah a few such stories have been invented so far.
__________________________________________________ _________________________________

Short stories for Christian children

1. In this world, in all positions of leadership and authority, it is the accepted and tested rule that there is only one person in charge. What do you think if there were 2 equally powerful persons holding the same seat? Imagine a bus or boat being driven by 2 drivers? Or a country being run by 2 powerful kings? Obviously, the higher the post, the bigger the calamity of having 2 leaders when they clash; so describe what would happen to the universe if it were run by 2 superpowers?

2. Imagine a newly-born, innocent baby is being held responsible for some crime committed by his 100th grandfather (who probably lived 3000 years ago!). Do you think this is morally justified? Would you want to be held responsible for the crimes done by your forefathers?

3. Imagine a thousand criminals have been involved in some great crime. Now, a holy, innocent man is brought forth with a clause that if he is executed, the criminals will all be freed. Do you think one man should be made to bear the errors of another? Would you want to be killed for the sake of a gang of criminals?

4. In general kings and presidents have some powers of clemency, whereby they can pardon some condemned prisoners if they wish. Now if someone suggests the king himself should be punished in lieu of the criminal , is this not a ridiculous idea? For the king has established authority in his land, which includes the power to pardon; do you think the king should be punished before he can invoke his powers of clemency? Or can the king simply forgive by issuing a command to that effect?

5. Your friend has given you the biography of some famous personality in history. After reading through, you discovered about 100 places where the book contradicts itself. In addition the writer of this biography lived 100 years after the famous personality passed away, and thus never met the person directly. He has himself copied from several unknown sources.

On the other hand, another friend passed you a biography of the same person, but it was written by the person's direct followers, and published shortly after his death. After reading through, it has no errors and the exact same book is being published throughout history without any need of being edited, for its authenticity is universally accepted.

Which book would you prefer as a reliable guide for truly understanding the famous person's life?
What criteria would you set in helping you arrive at a conclusion?
__________________________________________________ _________________________________

What these stories expose?

1. Trinity exposed
2. Original sin exposed
3. Crucifiction exposed
4. Crucifiction exposed
5. Contradictions in the Bible
__________________________________________________ _________________________________

That is all for now. Comments/suggestions are most welcome from all.

Jazakallah khair

[amr123]

Its a good idea and might work and negate his christian ideology. But if we do not fill the gaps with Quran he might be left with agnostic or atheist veiws.
But I m thinkin in a different way. If we induce a habit of questioning too much, he might even miss the truth in the Quran due to his newly acquired false logic. Instead of taking a 2 step process ie Negate his christian ideology, then introduce Islam. I think you should try 1 step process by letting him comparing Islam with christianinty. He might recognize the truth right away .

I could be wrong, i just thought of it this way.


P.s Don't push too much to falsify the Bible or Christian beliefs, He might get too defensive. Let him into the world of Islam, so he can understand how beautiful it is, The infallibility of Quran etc. Maybe you should alternate these two.