Adeel Malik
Global Messenger Day (#GlobalMessengerDay) was a worldwide campaign initiated by iERA (the Islāmic Education & Research Academy). The aim of this campaign was simple – to let communities around the world know who was Prophet Muḥammad (peace be upon him and his family). The ever-growing need to spread his true message amidst the clouds of anti-Islāmic sentiment can never be undermined. Global Messenger Day took place on the 16th of May, 2015 in 51 countries around the world, and by all accounts, was a resounding success.
And who is better in speech than he who [says: ‘My Lord is Allāh (believes in His Oneness),’ and then stands firm (acts upon His Order), and] invites (people) to Allāh’s (Islāmic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: ‘I am one of the Muslims.’ [1]
Proselytism in the form of Street Da’wah (calling people to Islām), is a fundamental aspect of Islām which is rarely witnessed and practiced here in Hong Kong. However, with last month’s overwhelming success of the “Letter of Peace” campaign, instigated and led by MCHK with the support of 20 other local Muslim organisations in Hong Kong, we recognised the significance of holding Global Messenger Day in Hong Kong as another fantastic opportunity for Muslims in Hong Kong to let the local community know exactly who we love more than anyone, and more importantly why we love him.
Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good (Islām), enjoining Al-Ma‘roof (i.e. Islāmic Monotheism and all that Islām orders one to do) and forbidding Al-Munkar (polytheism and disbelief and all that Islām has forbidden). And it is they who are the successful. [2]
As per the aims of MCHK, we desired to engage and participate with as many Islāmic organisations within Hong Kong through this campaign. Our objectives were to facilitate, liaise and manage the logistics of the event between the numerous organisations. This type of collaborative effort, especially within Hong Kong for Street Da’wah, has never been witnessed before and thus it was an achievement in itself. The five Islāmic organisations in Hong Kong to be involved in this event included Discover Islām Hong Kong, Hong Kong Islāmic Youth Association, Islāmic Cultural Association, Islāmic Union of Hong Kong and the acquiescent, Serving Islām Team. This resulted in us having more than 50 Muslim brothers and sisters, comprising of children as young as 4 years old to elders of more than 60 years old, to share the message of the messenger of peace (peace be upon him and his family). We also had 5 students from the Islāmic Kasim Tuet Memorial School in one of the camps.
Help you one another in Al Birr and At Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety)… [3]
From re-adapting and re-designing the artwork and flyers to organising the printing of the T-shirts, the preparation within Hong Kong for this event was quite extensive. After participating in the online Da’wah workshop organised by iERA, the five teams situated themselves in four locations in Hong Kong. We were honoured to share our unconditional love for the Prophet Muḥammad (peace be upon him) with the Hong Kong community. Feedback was largely very positive and all involved had a wonderful experience of the event.
Prophet Muḥammad (peace be upon him) said,
“Convey from me even if it is (only) one aayah” – [4]
Global Messenger Day was most definitely not just a day, but a catalyst for Muslims in Hong Kong to do more in calling people to Allāh’s way of life. MCHK have since set up a group of Da’ees who are interested in participating in monthly Street Da’wah. MCHK like to thank, congratulate and appreciate the organisers of this event, an event which will live in the hearts of many, and hope that the true fruits of guidance will be reaped from the seeds that have been sown.
Click here to know more about the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
References:
[1] Al-Qur’ān, 41:33
[2] Al-Qur’ān, 3:104
[3] Al-Qur’ān, 5:2
[4] Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3461
4 Comments