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so that He may decide the future of these nations on the basis of
the witnesses’ testimony? Certainly, God’s
sunnah
can never be
abrogated.
C
ontent of the
C
all
What is the message we must convey to the people? In a phrase,
it is ‘the oneness of God,’ that is to say, to believe in one God and
make Him the centre and pivot of our lives. According to the
traditions, when Makkah was conquered and all kinds of people,
young and old, men and women, thronged to the Prophet, for the
oath of allegiance, he accepted their oath on two counts: Islam and
shahadah
. (Baihaqi).
Aswad relates that on the day of the conquest of Makkah, the
Prophet was taking the oath of allegiance. He asked him what is
meant by
shahadah
. The Prophet replied, ‘To bear witness that
there is no god but God and that Muhammad is His servant and
His Messenger.’ (Baihaqi)
The concept of monotheism is not just a philosophical issue,
but is a test paper for man. In this respect the Hereafter becomes
an essential part of the call of monotheism. When a preacher tells
people of the oneness of God, he also informs them that God will
not always remain invisible as He is today. After death, we shall
have to present ourselves before our Master to hear His judgement
of our actions in this world, where we will be held accountable to
God for all our actions in this world.
In the matter of the call of Islam, it is vital to keep in view the
delicacies of the interrelationship of the different parts of religion,
otherwise we shall not be able to do it justice. Under normal
circumstances, making a direct call to accept Islam would appear
to be unwise. That is why those who want to work in this field
have different opinions regarding the question of the method of
the communication of the message: some people think that Islam
could be presented to non-Muslims as a scheme of social reform,
Ca l li n g Pe o p l e t o Tre a d t h e Pa t h o f God
