The True Meaning of Tabligh Dr.

Muhammad Fazlur Rahman Ansari The word Tabligh means 'to reach out the message'. As a term it means 'propagation of the Message of Islam'. The Holy Quran has given to it the status of an institution (3:104; Etc.) and has ordained it as an important social duty. This duty has been conceived to function at two levels, i.e. within the Islamic social order and outside the Islamic social order where entire humanity comes under its purview. The end it serves are: 1. Preservation 2. Development, and 3. Perpetuation of the Islamic Community and that in service to cause of humanity (3:110) The dimensions of this duty are: 1. Education of new generations of Muslims in Islam 2. Improvement in Islamic Knowledge and inspiration of the grown-up Muslims. 3. Dissemination of the knowledge of Islam among non- Muslims all the non-Muslims of the world wherever they may be found- in order that they may know the Divine Message that has come for them and those among them who are seriously dedicated to Truth may accept it for their own good; while, in the case of others, correct knowledge about Islam among them goodwill for Islam-which, in itself, forms a genuine contribution to the promotion of the intercommunal and international goodwill. Thus Tabligh stands out as duty towards other individuals in respect of their spiritual and moral progress. Also, it contributes simultaneously to the spiritual and moral development of the persons who undertake it and thus it becomes a duty to self.

Its role, however, as a collectivistic or social duty, remains supreme. Indeed, from that point of view it stands out as the foremost duty without which the very existence of Islam becomes jeopardized. As the Holy Quran affirms, the Islamic Community is meant to continue to exist for all time- up to the last day. This is in the very nature of the case, because the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the last and final Divine Messenger and the Muslims are the last Divine religious group. As such disappearance of the Islamic Community at any time in human history is not conceivable. But, the dissipation of the energies of communities and nations both ideological and nonideological- being the law of history, one of the most important instruments for keeping the Islamic community alive and functioning genuinely and truly is the repeated infusion of fresh blood into the body politic of Islam. This has already happened in Islamic history, as for instance when towards the end of the Abbasid period , the Muslim world began to show signs of lassitude and weakness, the conversion of the Turko- Tartars revitalized the Islamic community to an extent that it could maintain its glory for several centuries more. The same seems to be the crying need today. But this need cannot be fulfilled without resorting to an enlightened, dynamic and multidimensional movement in the field of Tabligh, and not just a ritualistic of professional performance.