11 Things You Should Know About Creative Da'wah

Gambar hiasan

What's the first thing that flashes in your mind at the sight of the word da'wah? Bulatan gembira? Guys in jubah and serban? Ladies in tudung labuh? Some boring talk that acts great as a lullaby? Hmm.. Let's leave those questions at that.

How about creative da'wah? Ever heard of that one before? You might or might not notice, but creative da'wah is growing at a rapid pace all around us. Internet, Youtube, facebook, comics, films, books, blogs. Do those ring a bell? No? Yes? Well, creative da'wah is a new way of spreading the word of Islam through modern and more efficient mediums. As we all know, we live in the era where gadgets, smartphones and social media become an inseparable part of our daily life. People spend a large amount of time in the virtual world, so much so that we spend less time in the real world. So how is the old school da'wah going to survive?

*Gasps... Does a dramatic "oh nooo!!!" sound effect...*

That's where creativity comes in. And yesterday Alhamdulillah 9 of us from Pusat PERMATApintar Negara made it to Universiti Malaya to attend The Muslim Show: Dakwah Kreatif Era Baru. Those series of talks got me into thinking that yes, da'wah can be done via the most simplest acts that even we tend to overlook. I took down some notes, and for my own benefit (and other's), I decided to share it right here on blogger.

11 Things You Should Know About Creative Da'wah

Say what you know, know what you're saying

There is this famous quote by Imam Hasan Al Basri (I do not know its English translation)

Seandainya seseorang itu hanya dapat menyampaikan dakwah apabila dia sempurna, nescaya tidak akan ada pendakwah.

I'm sure you guys get the gist of the above statement. But then here's the catch: Don't speak unless you truly know and understand what you're talking about. Sometimes misconceptions arise when people who know nothing act like they know everything. Don't let your ego trick you into not willing to accept the fact that you do not have the answer for everything. In other words, jangan buat pala! 

This is brought up during the talk entitled "Non-Muslim Bertanya: Al-Quran dan Bible Menjawab" by Dr. Danial. He did give us a few answers to simple but somehow deadly questions. Say, a non-muslim told you to define the Quran. Of course you would not want to look like someone who knows nothing about their own guidebook right? Here's how the answer should look like (Sorry because the definition is in BM) 

Al-Quran merupakan kalam Allah berbentuk mukjizat yang diturunkan ke atas Nabi Muhammad SAW dan ditulis di atas mashaf melalui riwayat yang mutawattir dan membacanya merupakan ibadah. 

Seems a mouthful, but if you'll get the hang of it once you truly understand the meaning.

Proof that Al-Quran is a mukjizat?

- Kebenaran kisah-kisah

- The prediction in the Quran has been proven true (kisah yang akan datang seperti kemenangan Rom ke atas Parsi selepas kekalahan teruk)

- Verses concerning science has been proven true by recent scientific findings

And listen to this: even the Western researchers admit that the Quran is authentic and has never been changed in any way nor will it ever change in the future. The bible however, not-so-surprisingly differs throughout the different schools of teaching. For instance, there are 73 books (surah) in the Catholic Bible, but the Protestants have 6 less! That's a food for thought. Hmm.....

Ciri dakwah secara berhikmah:

• Berlembut
• Adil dengan apa yang diseru
• Berilmu dengan apa yang diseru

Creative Da'wah is a Trial

LIFE is a trial, is it not? In everything we do, in everything that we possess, a trial tags along with it, whether we realise it or not. So Ustaz Zamrin Zainuddin spoke about trials in da'wah, specifically creative da'wah.

Our emotions are being put to the test. "Boleh jadi yang kita akan jadi bajet bagus. POYO! Rasa kita ja yang betul, orang lain semua salah" Ini semua poyooooo. Yup, with creative da'wah comes fame, glory, fans, wealth and attention never before experienced by the people before they were involved in this platform. You no longer get to walk in public without hearing giggles and murmurs of your name coming from a radius of 2 meters. You can never again walk in the supermarket without some of the other shoppers approaching you with a pinch of hope to snap a photo with you - and upload it somewhere on the web.

But is that what you are searching for? Fame? Say you're about to die tomorrow, will that still be your main objective in melibatkan diri in creative da'wah? Again, put some thought to that.

Besides that, there is a physical trial too. Being in the work of creative da'wah means that you'll have invitations pouring out in all directions; and you'll have to migrate from one place to another. But this is no excuse to skip meals or put your health at stake. It is a tiring job indeed.

Observe and learn

The best thing about being the spectator is that you have the chance to scrutinize and learn from what you observe. At least that's what Saiful Nang said. Being a (former) dyslexic, he used to sit at the edge of the field during a football match instead of joining his friends in the game. Watching the game enables us to detect successful strategies or failed plans. By watching, we could easily point out mistakes that someone has made, and mentally construct a new way to fix it.

Maybe now you're just this dude who has the intention of doing creative da'wah but has no idea where to begin and how to do it. Don't fret though, because there are lots of public figures of whom you can observe and learn from. Take baby steps, says Aiman Azlan. Sooner or later you'll get to it, insyaAllah..

Aiman Azlan comel

Kisah Aiman Azlan

Who has never ever heard of this fellow Youtuber all his/her life? (Me. Well, until recently of course. Hehe). He was a student in Canada in Biology and Psychology (wow). So one day he saw the Mat Luthfi video Drama Sebelum Kahwin (yeah, I like this one) and an Anwar Hadi video and thought to himself, "Why don't I do the same? :D". So his very first vlog was born, meant for his family back in Malaysia. His friends and family gave positive feedback. A friend of his even said, "Hey, I didn't know you were a funny guy" and he was like... Okay... Hihi... So he continued doing vlogs. You can go watch his YouTube videos, or read his blog!

During the Q&A session, a guy asked him: How did you make the video and just... meletup? Well, he said, I didn't even go to facebook and promote my video and stuff. Just know that you're doing the right thing. InsyaAllah there will be people who will follow and listen. :)

Kisah Hilal Asyraf

It all started back in his 6th Form year, when he used to give tazkirahs in class. His friend recommended him to start a blog, an idea that was still fresh and uncommon in his school years. He agreed but left his friend to set the blog up because he wasn't the tech geek kinda guy. Unfortunately he forgot the blog's password and made a new one under the domain langitilahi. He still collaborated with his friend of course; him doing the article while his friend handled the template and stuff.

He had to visit 300 or so blogs per week just to promote a new article that he has written. But now with the birth of facebook and other social media, such a method is no longer deemed necessary. Now we could just share it on our facebook page or tweet about it etc. So then a book company asked him to be one of the writers and so that was how it happened (that he finally became an author). Langit Ilahi, his website now has more recruits, including he himself.

Blogging

If you choose to start a blog, be consistent with it. Hilal Asyraf mentioned that he found that successful blogs have daily updates. But if you think that it's too much of a burden, do it on a weekly basis or a few times in a week.

Divide the post into smaller sections (also mentioned by Hilal Asyraf). Just like what I'm currently doing!

Tips Fatimah Syarha

Seeing her on stage, I could actually feel how humble and down to earth this person is. I like her, though I never read her book and I don't even watch the Aku Ada Wali series, but I am planning to do so some time.

She was asked a question that goes "Setelah masuk dalam industri hiburan ini, tidak kah ustazah takut akan terjerumus dengan fitnah?" And her answer was that fitnah can happen all around us. Our kids are a fitnah. Women are fitnah. But don't take it the wrong way. By fitnah, it just means that we have to be extra careful about it to prevent bad things from happening.

As a scriptwriter, she advised the audience to play around with emotions. Take the emotion sad for example. There are various types and degrees of sadness. Some are sad to the extent to overflowing tears and runny nose while others are just feeling the lonely kinda sad. Some have tissues with them to wipe their nose. Some simply stare out the window and sigh a big sigh. Or maybe the turn-to-Allah kinda sadness. So express the emotions of the characters through these methods, and the viewers might actually grasp the message more efficiently.

And her quote that warms my heart:

Jangan maju dek puji, jangan mundur dek keji, dalam memburu janji Ilahi

Kisah Ustaz Don

As I observed him, I came to a conclusion that he is this sempoi, laid back and santai kind of person. As he speaks of his past, I imagine him as a budak nakal that suka main-main dan tidak serious.
".... tapi miskin pun, hobi dan minat tetap perlu diteruskan.... Hobi saya dulu membaca komik..."
"... bagi saya lah kan, siapa yang tak baca komik Dragon Ball takda kehidupan..."

ternganga sambil tepuk dahi

Actions speak louder than words

There are types of people who find it difficult to express thoughts in words. The idiom above is perfect for them. "Berjaya dalam studies pun kira da'wah jugak" says Aiman Azlan. It's true, because by doing the right thing, by chasing excellence, success in this world and the hereafter, we are actually saying, "Hey, come on dude. Do as I do".

If you can't start with the big stuff, just start by displaying good attitude.

smile

And last but not least,

Be creative!

Do what people haven't done yet. I may not be the best person to talk when it comes to talking about da'wah, but simple acts go a long way. Don't let your mind be enclosed by this so-called box that doesn't even exist! Let your imagination run wild and do your best. Stay strong~

credits to Saidatul Assila :)

By the way, I hope you don't mind if I put some personal experience during the Muslim Show. Here it goes

telan air liur

Due to some unavoidable difficulties, we arrived more than an hour late and missed the first session of the day. It was a relief though, that we did manage to come.

I was genuinely dazzled by Felixia Yeop. She hasn't converted to Islam yet, but it looks like she is very well-informed about Islam. And by well-informed, I mean more than I would've expected any non-muslim to be.

"... correct me if I'm wrong but the neck is also the aurah, is it not?" tampar muka sendiri

"... I feel safe and secure wearing the hijab..."

"... I lost my old friends... I found new ones..."

"... I'm sorry but I saw lots of Muslimahs wearing the hijab without covering the chest, so I thought it was allowed..." (she did cover her chest during the talk, and mentioned that she now knew that it is obligatory to do so)

Felixia has a really good sense of humour and made spontaneous jokes here and there.

"... Yang saya hairan lah kan, walaupun saya bertutup macam nie pun lelaki tetap ada yang bersiul. Tapi tak boleh salahkan dorang la. Sometimes boys will always have to be boys. Tapi rasanya dalam dewan nie takda kot (lelaki yang macam tu). Tapi kalau ada pun takpa, asalkan bertaubat..." LOL

Then there was the Trio Komikus slot. I was thrilled to know that they were French. A translator had been brought along because the trio could not communicate in English (or are poor in English). I strained my ear to listen to what they're saying, but was dumbfounded that I understood none. The one word that I managed to link to my French learning was chercher which means search. I guess that's better than nothing huh?

During the forum with.... Fatimah Syarha asked the audience,"Are any of you here interested to become a scriptwriter?". A few girls sitting a few rows ahead of us raised their hands; and you know how she responded? She said "Alhamdulillah, ada permata di belakang sana" and we were like, gelak sambil pandang muka masing-masing.

At first I wasn't really that excited in taking pictures with the speakers, but at the end of the day I suddenly felt the enthusiasm. Having the opportunity to be in the same picture as Aiman Azlan left me giggling like some kind of maniac. Roll eyes. Sakai benar budak nie.

It was a new experience for us, and I hope I could put it to good use, InsyaAllah. Till then, stay awesome.