Taqwa and Patience in Da'wah

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Some people are socially, politically and economically superior than the others. But when Islam came, there was a new way of organizing society. Seniority, status, .... none of that matters. Taqwa is the only standard. Taqwa, and nothing else, is the only thing that sets us apart. The best of you are the ones who have the most taqwa.

When it comes to the work of da'wah, that hierarchy is eliminated. Value is not determined by human beings but is determined by Allah. So we all are equally valuable and the leader has to communicate that by his behavior.

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam is warned to be happy and patient with those around him.

وَٱصْبِرْ نَفْسَكَ مَعَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُم بِٱلْغَدَو‌ٰةِ وَٱلْعَشِىِّ يُرِيدُونَ وَجْهَهُۥ ۖ وَلَا تَعْدُ عَيْنَاكَ عَنْهُمْ تُرِيدُ زِينَةَ ٱلْحَيَو‌ٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۖ وَلَا تُطِعْ مَنْ أَغْفَلْنَا قَلْبَهُۥ عَن ذِكْرِنَا وَٱتَّبَعَ هَوَىٰهُ وَكَانَ أَمْرُهُۥ فُرُطًا ﴿٢٨

And keep yourself patient [by being] with those who call upon their Lord in the morning and the evening, seeking His countenance. And let not your eyes pass beyond them, desiring adornments of the worldly life, and do not obey one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance and who follows his desire and whose affair is ever [in] neglect. (28) {Quran, Al-Kahf 18:28]

Taqwa is in the heart. That is the power of this ayah. Don't follow and don't be influenced by the people whose hearts Allah have emptied and made unaware of His remembrance. When Allah is gone from their hearts, what is left is their hawa (desires) and everything they do is evil.

May Allah grant us patience, righteousness and righteous companions. Ameen.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.

And Allah knows best and is Most Wise, and He alone grants success, and to Him is the final return of all.

Wassalaam