The Art Of Preaching a Cause

From: http://www.islambasics.com/view.php?bkID=163

By: Mohamed Moustafa Atta

Preaching a cause or a reform is an art with its own principles, plans and method. It cannot successfully be undertaken by any who is only anxious to figure in history. It is mastered only by those who are well grounded in its principles, experienced in it, and have a natural talent for it. To miss any of these conditions is to miss success in this very difficult art. Failure of any one call for reform may be traced to the lack of the gifted expert preacher.

Successful calling for any new faith or ideal presupposes certain qualities inherent in the man who takes it upon himself to propagate such an ideal or faith. He should be a man of acumen and judgment so that he may choose the right circumstances for declaring his reform and successfully challenging the already established system. He should be a man of foresight, guarding against all eventualities.

Consider, for example, how factious differences between the early leaders of Islam at Madiinah threatened the Islamic cause with disaster had the situation not been saved every time by the prudent action of the Prophet. His tact and resource were definitely instrumental in suppressing the factious tribal spirit which threatened to flare up, as it would have done between the Immigrants (Al Muhagireen) and the Helpers (Al Ansar) after the battle of Banil-Mustaliq. Foresight in a reformer entails a good deal of premeditated contrivance against unforeseen eventualities or sudden changes.

Again, a caller for reform must be a man of insight, capable of reading the human heart, seeing through men, and willing to unfold his secrets only to those of his close adherents whom he could trust, and who could share his convictions. A leader must be qualified for leadership in the sense of surpassing his fellow-country- men in sound reasoning and comprehension. He should be endowed with a sharper intellect, and a skill unequalled by his contemporaries. He should be the master of sound argument, able to scrutinize all sides of an issue; and in possession of the power of persuasion that would facilitate the propagation of his ideals amongst his followers and close adherents.

He must be able to express himself with exactitude and rationality, so that he may be able to convince his opponents more easily than he should his adherents. Such were the outstanding callers for reform mentioned in history, as may be seen from the fact that Moses who, conscious of his linguistic deficiency, enlisted the aid of his brother Haroun to fill up the gap and supplement him in the would-be role of a leader and God's messenger. This he himself admits in the Quranic words to the effect:
"And my brother Haroun is more eloquent than me in speech. Therefor send him with me as a helper to confirm me. Lo ! fear that they will give the lie to me". (verse 34, Surah Al Qasas).
And we get the Divine answer:
"We will strengthen thine arm with th? brother and We will give unto you both power so that they cannot reach you from Our portents. Ye twain and those who follow you will be the winners." (Verse 35, Surah Al Qasas).

An able caller for reform then should be psychologically capable of understanding men, and of knowing how to select a group of helpers and be able to manage them to advantage, assigning to each the task to which he is most suited. He may be conscious of all this, but he may be impressionable and pliant to the extent of allowing his likes and dislikes to overrule his judgment, thus failing to put the right man in the right place. This mixing of matters and putting friendship before duty will surely lead to the failure of the call, or would seriously undermine the cause.

Moreover, an able caller for reform should also be acquainted with the psychology of the peoples and the mentality of the masses. He should know how to reach the innermost feelings of the people and be able to control them. To secure popular support or mass response in this connection is a very difficult matter, especially in view of the fact that the masses are so emotive that one mistake may result in their renunciation of a course they had already begun to accept. Matters may then develop into an anti-climax, and the ship may drift from its haven into dangerous seas.

The caller for reform must also be tolerant and patient, and should not force the issue, particularly when the new call involves a major change in the life of the community. He should not attempt wholesale transformations of the established order of things, but should gradually introduce such changes as are needed but could not be realized by the masses for fear of the ruling powers.

This means that reform must be preceded by a long preparatory stage. The French Revolution did not break out until matters had degenerated to an intolerable state. Revolutionary writers had already paved the way by their various progressive publications despite many threats of punishment which invariably meant imprisonment within the dark walls of the Bastille. Outstanding reformers believed in the Revolutionary principles, and pledged themselves to advocate their cause secretly and openly until the masses could demonstrate their full response. No sooner was the Revolutionary signal given, than the uncontrolled masses took matters in their own hands, and forcibly imposed the Revolutionary principles which were destined to shake the very foundations of the existing regime.

But first and foremost, the caller for reform must be a staunch believer in his mission, a man of determination, ready for the bitter sacrifice. Here we get the essential difference between a genuine and a quasi reformer. Every successful call has been sustained throughout its history by sacrifice, firm belief, and strict conformity to principles. Such were the inspired calls or missions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Every mission is in part a continuation and refinement of a previous one. It is not merely a displacement of the old by the new, for the present cannot be completely dissociated from the past, and the reforms proposed should be built on all that is good and sound in the legacy received. Lastly, a true call is one which utilizes and mobilizes national feeling to further its purposes.

And now we are in a position to raise the question could the Muhammadan mission, throughout the years of its propagation, utilizes this art long before it was born? Did it follow the principles hitherto known only to Providence? The reader of this work will see the art completely and minutely applied during the call by the bearer of the Divine Mission. Modern science has achieved remarkable success in almost every field particularly in psychology and the arts of preaching for a cause, including propaganda for both good and evil purposes. Yet not in any respect was modern civilization able to introduce new principles or improve upon what the Divine Messenger had done. His mission was successful because it did not overlook one single item of value instrumental in bringing about success.

It was consequently an ideal achievement, as may be evidenced by those millions of Muslims who were converted to the new faith throughout the centuries Islam was challenged on all sides by able adversaries, powerful and resourceful, but it successfully withstood the challenge, and will continue to do so. It is so firmly believed in by every Muslim that it challenges almost any persuasion, provocation or menace. The Divine Islamic Call will endure as long as humanity itself. It is the call of and Good. It is God's call in God's Earth.