Answer
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
1- In order to explain the message of Islam to Christians, the first step is to emphasize tawhid, the belief in the Oneness of Allah.
2- It should be emphasized to them that we hold Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) in great esteem and honor.
Responding to your question, Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, former President of the Islamic Society of North America, states:
With our practical example, gentle words, and with demonstrating our own commitment to Islam, our dawah efforts will yield desirable fruits.
In calling others to Islam, we should not use any form of compulsion, for Allah Almighty says, “There is no compulsion in religion…” (Al-Baqarah 2:256)
Our job is to convey the message of Islam beautifully and clearly. It is Allah Who guides whomsoever He wills. We should not say that we are ‘converting’ someone. People convert themselves. It is a kind of repentance and acceptance for them. They are turning to Allah and accepting the true faith.
When you speak to Christians, emphasize what Allah says in the Qur’an:
{And argue not with the People of the Scripture unless it be in (a way) that is better, save with such of them as do wrong; and say: We believe in that which hath been revealed unto us and revealed unto you; our God and your God is One, and unto Him we surrender.} (Al-`Ankabut 29:46)
In order to explain the message of Islam to them, the first step is to emphasize tawhid, the belief in the Oneness of Allah. It should be emphasized to them that we in Islam hold Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) in great esteem and honor. We believe in him.
But, at the same time, we must say that he was a human being, not God or the son of God. God has not sons, daughters, brothers or sisters. God is God and there is none like Him. No human being was or is God, and God does not take the form of humans or animals. If tawhid becomes clear to their minds, then it will be easy for them to accept other aspects of Islam.
There are a number of good introductory books on Islam available. One book that is quite useful is Islam in Focus by Dr Hamoodah `Abdul `Ati. This book was written primarily for people in the West who come from Christian backgrounds. This is found to be very helpful and effective for dawah.
Moreover, Sheik Yusuf Estes, an American preacher and former National Chaplain of World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), adds:
Calling non-Muslims to Islam can’t be achieved through talk about Islam only. There must be a practical model that should be offered by the one who calls others to Islam.
In today’s world, Islam is in no need for orators who can captivate the audience with their resounding words. Rather, Islam is in a real need for those who really practice its teachings and try their best, while being guided by their good example, to call non-Muslims to Islam.
In other words, those who call to Islam should practice what they preach. Their actions should speak louder than their words.
In short, those who call others to Islam should make use of the following tips:
1- The one who intends to call others to Islam should practice Islam in the right way. After that, he can call others to Islam through wisdom and fair exhortation and he should be keen that his “walk follow his talk.”
2- There should be no compulsion to the target audience, as people usually reject those who compel them to accept an ordinary matter, let alone a creedal concept.
3- The da`iyah should be thoughtful. He should not say, while trying to call a Christian to Islam, for example: “How shameful that 1= 3 and 3=1.”
4- The da`iyah must be himself in the sense that he is not supposed to act the role of an instructor or a good public speaker while actually he isn’t.
5- The da`iyah should not expect that his target audience will change their beliefs 100%. Rather, the da`iyah should expect from them to accept the basics of Islam and to gradually try with them to change some of their distorted beliefs.
6- A gradual approach in da`wah is so beneficial and will bring about good results. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) spent 13 years in Makkah trying to anchor the basic concepts of Islamic creed among new Muslims.
7- In calling non-Muslims, we should concentrate on creedal concepts and we should not demand the new Muslims to do more than what Allah obliges them to do.
Almighty Allah knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.