THE second caliph of the Khulafa’ al-Rasyidin rule, Umar al-Khattab, once said, “Teach your children with contemporary knowledge, for they are born in an era which is different from yours.” These wise words of one of the closest companions of the Prophet of Islam stressed on the importance to prepare the next generation with ample knowledge to face the challenges of the future.
In other words, Umar al-Khattab foresaw that time and situation will continue to change and necessary preparation is needed in order to face these changes.
The paradox in that “the only thing constant is change” holds true, especially in today’s reality.
Gone are the days when we can take it easy. Today, we have to be ahead with everything, lest we are left behind.
Everything that is happening today is a result of the rapid advancement in technology, spearheaded by information and communication technology (ICT).
With ICT, we see that geographic, political and time barriers and borders are broken down.
Physical distance is no longer a factor nor is time difference an issue when it comes to communication and sending information.
The whole world is now a village where everyone with access to the world of the Internet can interact, communicate and transact.
Hence, the advice of Umar alKhattab should be heeded as the changes triggered by ICT will continue to occur at an unprecedented rate.
More importantly, however, this timeless advice should also be noted by Muslim preachers or daei.
There should be concerted effort among the daei to keep up with the changes of time in spreading the word and message of God to the masses.
This, however, does not mean that we deny the importance of conventional dakwah.
The approach of conventional dakwah has its advantages. Nonetheless, at the same time, there must also be a breed of new daei who are techno-savvy and willing to utilise modern tools and approach for the benefit of dakwah.
ICT has brought with it countless tools and methods for communication and dissemination of information.
Muslim daei should be able to make use of these tools and methods in promoting dakwah, in particular to the younger generation who are ICT literate and technophilic.
Dakwah in this day and age requires a new approach in order to attract more people towards Islam and at the same time, create a better understanding on the religion.
All quarters involved in dakwah should be in the mainstream of things and not be left out as marginalised groups.
As such, it is important that the dakwah vision, mission and movement maintain the core substance while at the same time make full use of the many tools available today.
The core substance of dakwah is to uphold the Oneness of God (tawhid) and the prophethood of Muhammad, as well as to invite people towards goodness and prevent sinful deeds (amar maaruf nahi mungkar).
The approach to spreading this core substance must be varied, utilising both the conventional and modern tools.
One of the most well-known conventional dakwah tools is lectures or sermons. This approach is vastly popular among the public, and more so if preachers are articulate and eloquent.
Nonetheless, the effectiveness of this approach is minimal if the masses do not jot down what they hear.
Imam Shafie, one of the greatest Islamic scholars in history, applied the method of writing down what he learned in order to remember.
At one point in time, when he was too poor to buy proper writing materials, he wrote what he heard on his palm using his saliva as ink.
The bottom line is listening alone is ineffective. Research has shown that there is a marked increase in understanding when listening is coupled with learning.
This learning experience includes the integration of all five senses that we have.
Incorporating and integrating the senses are, in essence, what multimedia is all about. At this point in time, multimedia technology could only integrate two senses, namely sight and sound.
With the technology of virtual reality, sight and sound are not the only senses that are incorporated. With virtual reality, its users can also experience the sense of touch.
In truth, ICT presents us with a wide variety of possibilities that need to be explored. If Muslim daei could study these possibilities and take advantage of the advancements in ICT, then dakwah could be conducted with greater effectiveness and could attract a wide range of audience.
We tend to forget that ICT also includes the equipment that we use on a day-to-day basis, such as radio, television, mobile phones and fixed line telephones.
ICT also includes more sophisticated equipment such as computer, Internet, electronic mail, electronic messaging, multimedia and wireless applications.
All these tools and gadgets allow for human ingenuity in contributing towards the success of dakwah. Take multimedia as an example. Efforts are ongoing to use multimedia as a method of teaching during the preparatory courses for haj.
In the past, these courses utilise the lecture approach. Today, this conventional approach is coupled with the usage of multimedia to make the learning experience more effective and at the same time, more interesting and, to a certain extent, more realistic.
But the potential does not stop there. If, for example, we can make use of virtual reality, the learning experience for would-be pilgrims to Mecca would be much more enhanced with this technology.
They could be exposed virtually to how it would feel like during the performance of the haj at the various locations. Surely, this is much better than mere lectures.
Doubtless, the effectiveness of dakwah could be increased manifold with the use of ICT. Just imagine how things would be more interesting and effective if a lecture conducted in the mosque is assisted with the use of multimedia, power points and liquid crystal display (LCD).
This is why we need a new breed of daei — techno-daei if you like. This new breed of daei would make full use of the technology that is available.
Today, the state-of-the-art technology is ICT, but tomorrow, things may be much different. No matter whatever technology is current, the important thing is that the technology would be utilised by the techno-daei for the benefit of Islam.
Umar al-Khattab probably said it best when he stated the need for the future generation be equipped with the necessary knowledge to face the challenges of the future.
In the context of dakwah, it is also equally important that the daei is equipped with the necessary knowledge to make use of modern technology to conduct better and more effective dakwah to the masses.