Beyond Arguments

As someone who has been engaging and interacting with both non-Muslim and Muslim families who are perhaps not well-versed in the true teachings of Islam, what I have noticed (and this could be pretty obvious but I think it needs to be said) is that take, for example, a Non-Muslim, he could be a teenager, a youth, or someone who is in their 20s, 30s, 40s or beyond, let’s say an English non-Muslim, white, born and bred in the UK, for someone like that, if you were to give rational and logical proofs, using common sense about Islam and about how Islam makes sense and its foundations are solid, then what will more likely stop them from accepting the truth is that they are holding on to their beliefs, their way of life which they have lived for 20, 30, 40 years. This is what their family upbringing has given them, this is what they have been brought up all their lives. This might apply to a Christian, Hindu, atheist, or Muslim in a Muslim world who are involved in un-Islamic practices. They only hold on to these beliefs not because they are intellectually convinced and they have thought about it irrationally but only because their family have told them this and it is a habit of a lifetime. It took years to perfect and this is their life.
Even if someone came with proof in Islam why would they change suddenly, why would they want to change that? So I believe that our Dawah should take this into consideration that yes, logical proofs about the existence of God, existence in general and the purpose of life and the proof of Islam by the Quran and The prophet (Peace Be Upon Him), this should be our part of the Dawah but we should also consider that people hold on to their beliefs, not because of intellectual strength. So perhaps what we should do is to have a discussion or start a discussion or at least put in our discussion whether with Muslims or non-Muslims, that they are not bothered about intellectual rational arguments.

So what I propose is that we should go back to the old initiation, which is that we should really get to know them. Our conversations should be more of an inquiring nature rather than a convincing, persuasive nature. When I see all the amazing Du’aat in and around London or around the world and the videos online, they are predominantly arguments debating. Of course, you can’t always avoid debate, but let’s have a heart-to-heart conversation and get to know them. I am not saying we are offering counselling therapy, but let’s develop skills of rapport building even more; let’s talk about their life or history.
Off course this is not applicable to everybody because, as I know, as street Da’ai, people are in a rush, but this is for those people who have time and who will chat with you and who will connect with you. And what we should do is we should rather be focusing on intellectual arguments, after getting to know them, tell them about our Islamic way of life. It could be even, e.g., I get up in the morning at 4-5 in winter; yes, it’s cold, but there is a certain joy in this, which is unexplainable. Getting up in the morning and praying in the cold and doing Wudu with cold water and communicating with the Divine, there is joy in it and maybe talk about avoiding looking at things we shouldn’t do. We could talk about the Jummah rituals. So talking about our way of life basically and how Islam helped your life and how it has helped overcome stress and anxiety, how it has helped with brotherhood when there was no one there, when family members don’t help you but you have the Ummah to help you. When you have mosques, which are the places of refuge and peace.
Talk about your life because I think people need to know about our lives as Muslims. So let’s think beyond rationality, debates, and arguments, and perhaps let’s take into consideration that the reason they are holding on to their atheism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity or even Nihilism—whatever they are holding onto is not because they are convinced after research, but because this is what they are used to and this is their way of life. If you are discussing logic, then talk about your life and daily routine as a Muslim.