There are a number of factors that make it difficult for us to keep away from this act and some of them come from our environments. The society could either try to cripple us as discussed in my second and third posts, or on the flip side, push us a little too hard to get there. For those of us whom Allah has willed for to take active steps in fighting against this issue, it is crucial that we use wisdom.
I personally have been through the struggles of spiritual growth, and I’m not quite where I want to be yet, but I am not where I was last year and last year, I wasn’t where I was the year before. We don’t know this about people. When you’ve been raised in a proper hijab-wearing household/environment or have been blessed with guidance earlier than others, it’s easy to yell “wallahi wallahi sister” or say “just don’t share” because you do not understand or have probably forgotten the struggle.
‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr (رضي الله عنه) reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
“Verily the best of you are those who are best in attitude.”
Al-Bukhari (6035); Muslim (2321)
We can encourage people to do better without undermining their efforts. The last thing we’d want to do is make a striving sister feel like she isn’t trying hard enough. I am not implying that we sugarcoat da’wah; I personally am not a fan. But da’wah isn’t a one-size-fits-all. Wisdom lies in knowing how to approach each audience.
Between chocolate-frosted da’wah and harsh/condescending da’wah lies a more appropriate middle ground called compassionate da’wah.