Contacting the people in private and public is a matter established in the methodology of the Prophets (saw). Contacting privately and publicly is a noble act of worship, which is rewarded by Allah (swt). Allah (swt) relates in His Noble Book regarding the respected Prophet Nuh (as) that he complained to his Lord about the response he received from his people, and how he was patient with them for this long period of time - which was nine hundred fifty years. He complained due to his explaining and clarifying matters for them and his calling them to guidance and the straightest path. He (swt) also relates how Nuh (as) persisted with the people, calling them both privately in publicly (ثُمَّ إِنِّي دَعَوْتُهُمْ جِهَارًا * ثُمَّ إِنِّي أَعْلَنْتُ لَهُمْ وَأَسْرَرْتُ لَهُمْ إِسْرَارًا) "Then verily, I called to them openly (aloud)- Then verily, I proclaimed to them in public, and I have appealed to them in private." [Surah Nuh 71: 8-9]. This contacting is made with seriousness and striving as is clear from the testimony Nuh (as) gave to his Lord about his contacting the people. (رَبِّ إِنِّى دَعَوْتُ قَوْمِى لَيْلاً وَنَهَاراً) "O my Lord! Verily, I have called to my people night and day," [Surah Nuh 71:5] meaning that 'I did not abandon calling them night and day, carrying out Your Command and in obedience to You.'

Moreover, this contact is made with careful observation of the response, even if it were harshly rejecting. Nuh (as) declared (وَإِنِّى كُلَّمَا دَعَوْتُهُمْ لِتَغْفِرَ لَهُمْ جَعَلُواْ أَصَـبِعَهُمْ فِى ءَاذَنِهِمْ وَاسْتَغْشَوْاْ ثِيَابَهُمْ) "And verily, every time I called unto them that You might forgive them, they thrust their fingers into their ears, covered themselves up with their garments" [Surah Nuh 71:7] meaning, `they closed up their ears so that they could not hear what I was calling them to.' This is similar to what Allah said about the disbelievers of the Quraysh who rejected the call of RasulAllah (saw)(وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ لاَ تَسْمَعُواْ لِهَـذَا الْقُرْءَانِ وَالْغَوْاْ فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَغْلِبُونَ) "And those who disbelieve say: "Listen not to this Qur'an, and make noise in the midst of its (recitation) that you may overcome.'' [Surah Fussilat 41:26] (وَاسْتَغْشَوْاْ ثِيَابَهُمْ) "covered themselves up with their garments," Ibn Jarir recorded from Ibn `Abbas that he said, "They concealed themselves under false pretences from him so that he would not recognize them.'' Sa`id bin Jubayr and As-Suddi both said, "They covered their heads so that they could not hear what he was saying. Allah (swt) further elaborated (وَأَصَرُّواْ) "and they persisted," meaning, they continued in what they were upon of associating partners with Allah and great disbelief. And He (swt) said, (وَاسْتَكْبَرُواْ اسْتِكْبَاراً) "and they magnified themselves in pride" [Surah Nuh 71:7] meaning, they were turned away from following the truth and submitting to it.

And after the careful observation, there was careful thought about the further contact. Even when the response was discouraging and negative, the believer is not frustrated and despaired. The contacting of the people, publicly and privately, is not stopped. Rather, thought is applied on how to convey the message in a way that perhaps it will be understood and embraced, linking it strongly to our purpose in life. Allah (swt) said that Nuh (as) called to his people with persuasive argument, (وَيُمْدِدْكُمْ بِأَمْوَلٍ وَبَنِينَ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ جَنَّـتٍ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ أَنْهَاراً) "And give you increase in wealth and children, and bestow on you gardens and bestow on you rivers" [Surah Nuh 71:12] meaning, `if you repent to Allah, seek His forgiveness and obey Him, He will increase your provisions for you and provide you with water from the blessings of the sky. He will cause the blessings of the earth and crops to grow for you. This means that He will give you more wealth, more children, more livestock and gardens with various types of fruits. He will cause rivers to flow among these gardens.' This is the position of the invitation with encouragement. Then He made it balanced for them by using intimidation. He said, (مَّا لَكُمْ لاَ تَرْجُونَ لِلَّهِ وَقَاراً) "What is the matter with you, that you do not hope for any Waqar from Allah" [Surah Nuh 71:13] meaning, great majesty. This has been said by Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid and Ad-Dahhak. Ibn `Abbas said, "That you all do not magnify Allah in the proper manner that He deserves to be magnified. Meaning, you do not fear His punishment and His vengeance.''

The beloved RasulAllah (saw) also invited the people, both privately and publicly. So we see that RasulAllah (saw) invited to the people privately in his natural circles. RasulAllah (saw) first invited his wife Khadijah (ra) and she believed in him. He (saw) then invited his cousin ‘Ali (ra) and he believed in him. He then invited his servant Zayd (ra), and he believed in him. And then he invited his friend Abu Bakr, who also believed in him. He continued to invite people to Islam privately, some believed and others rejected. Scores of people subsequently embraced Islam, until it became the topic of discussion amongst the people of Quraysh. Thus Messenger of Allah (saw) would visit people in their homes, telling them that they had been commanded by Allah (swt) to worship Him and to associate none with Him.

RasulAllah (saw) also went outside of his natural circles and contacting the people privately. He (saw) called publicly within the wider circle of society, after the following words of Allah were revealed to him: (فَاصْدَعْ بِمَا تُؤْمَرُ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ) "Proclaim what you have been ordered; And turn away from the Mushriks" [Al- Hijr 15: 94]. So, he conveyed Islam openly and publicly by calling Quraysh to mount Safa and told them that he was a Prophet sent by Allah (swt) and he asked them to believe in him. He started to publicly convey the Da'wah to groups as well as individuals. His public contact was vigorous and dynamic. He publicly opposed Quraysh; their gods, creeds and thoughts by showing their falsehood, corruption and error. He publicly attacked those thoughts as he attacked all the existing creeds and thoughts. Verses of the Qur'an were simultaneously revealed to him on these specific issues, attacking all their practices including taking usury, killing their baby daughters, cheating in the weighing scales and committing adultery. The verses also attacked the leaders of Quraysh, insulting their forefathers and their minds, exposing their conspiracies against the Messenger of Allah and his Companions. All this he did as an individual with no means or help and with no weapons except his deep Iman (faith) in the message of Islam which he was sent with. He persisted despite the negative and harsh response.

RasulAllah (saw) also personally supervised the private and public contacting by the beloved Companions.  So he supervised the private contacting of Abu Bakr (ra). Abu Bakr (ra) was held in high esteem among his people, they enjoyed his company and always consulted him on many issues. He (ra) used his influence to persuade ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan, together with Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam, ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Auf, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas and Talhah ibn ‘Ubaydullah to embrace Islam. Abu Bakr brought them to the Messenger of Allah (saw) where they all confirmed their belief and offered prayer.

And RasulAllah (saw) supervised the public contacting, with great attention. Musab (saw) was sent to Madinah and prepared it to become the first Islamic State within one year. This was so because despite the small number of those who had embraced Islam, the strong public contacting of just one Companion of the Messenger of Allah (saw), Mus'ab ibn ‘Umayr (ra), was enough to change Madinah and transform the existing thoughts and emotions within its society. The majority of people in Madinah embraced Islam and Islam made an impact in the collective heart of the Madinah society, and their thoughts and emotions were radically transformed. This clearly demonstrates that when individuals who embrace Islam are strong in their contact with the public, a strong impact within society is generated, within the majority of people. It also demonstrates that if the existing relationships between people were affected by thoughts and emotions they would lead to the desired transformation and change no matter how small the number of the conveyors of the Message are.  People in Madinah had sensed the falsehood of the thoughts they were carrying and they had been searching for other thoughts and another way of life. That is why it took Mus'ab ibn ‘Umayr only a short time to witness the response to the Da'wah, he went on calling the people to Islam publicly and maturing them with its thoughts and rules. He would feel the quick response and witness people's willingness to accept Islam and their enthusiasm to learn and acquire the knowledge of Islam's rules, and this would make him rejoice; he would witness the number of Muslims grow and Islam spread and this would encourage him to multiply his efforts in the Da'wah.

And RasulAllah (saw) observed closely the impact of contacting the public. When the season of Hajj arrived, Musab (ra) returned to Makkah and the Messenger of Allah (saw) took a report from him about the Muslims in Madinah and their growing might, and about Islam and its rapid spread, describing the state of the Madinah society and how people there talked only about Allah's Messenger (saw), and how Islam occupied centre stage. Mus'ab informed the Messenger of Allah (saw) about the strength of the Muslims and their deterrent might, which made Islam the dominant force in Madinah. He also informed him that some Muslims, whose belief had grown stronger and whose determination to carry the Message and defend the Deen of Allah had become greater than ever.

Today, in Pakistan, the strong opinion for Islam is sensed throughout society. The people of Pakistan have sensed the falsehood of democracy and dictatorship and now are looking for Islam. It is not a surprise any more that when a person is met for the first time and spoken to, he expresses that he wants Khilafah "Caliphate" and not democracy. The people are speaking about the need for an Islamic revolution and the implementation of Islam. They even attempt to link the issues with Islam's solutions themselves. They ask the carriers of the call to elaborate upon Islam's opinions regarding the issues and events in the society. They carry these opinions as much as they can to others. And there is a widespread discussion about the party working for the Khilafah "Caliphate" and a desire for its success. It is in this strong environment that the carriers of the call must engage in strong contacting. This contacting must not be limited to the private contacting within the natural circles, whether of individuals or groups and gatherings. It must extend to public contacting to further consolidate the public opinion and strengthen the public awareness. The Muslims must not waste any opportunity to address the people wherever they gather, in the markets, the mosques and the streets. They must arrange to address the people in their places of work and study. Their voice must be heard clearly in the major forums and gatherings upon the issues that the Muslims face. The public contact must be vigorous and well planned and be far from routine and monotony. The public contact must include the careful evaluation of the response of the people and what it reveals of confusion and clarity in the minds of the people. Accordingly, the arguments must be well prepared regarding the issues, linking them firmly and clearly to Islam. Even the best places and best times must be chosen to maximize the effect of the public contact. It is this strong and effective contact which generates enthusiasm within the carrier of the call upon witnessing first hand the warm response of the people, regardless of his knowledge and experience. It is this strong contact which compels him to seek more knowledge to further improve his contacting, as the people demand more from him of answers to their urgent questions. And above all the public contact must be done with a sense of purpose, confident in the knowledge that the results and the reward is in the hand of Allah (swt). All of this will allow the further rapid elevation in the awareness of the people inshaaAllah.

The train of the Khilafah "Caliphate" project is approaching fast to its final destination and the people are anticipating its arrival, both the Islamic Ummah and those who stood against her. So, let the Muslims quicken the pace and make the society as strong as possible in welcome of its return, which is soon inshaaAllah. There is hope after the pain, and glad tidings of joy after the reality of grief, and ease after hardship, and comfort after suffering for far too long. (وَيَوْمَئِذٍ يَفْرَحُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ * بِنَصْرِ اللَّهِ يَنْصُرُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيم) "And that day the believers will rejoice In the victory of Allah. He gives victory to whom He wills, and He is the Exalted in Might, the Merciful." [Surah Ar-Rum: 4-5].

Written for The Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by

Musab Umair