This excerpt is taken from Sheikh Irshad Ullah Maan's book The Search for Truth.
Question: What is the method of Islamic Dawah?
Answer: The correct method of Islamic Dawah is to begin the invitation with the preaching of Tawheed, making clear to people the difference between Tawheed and Shirk. Those preachers who find Dawah-e-Tawheed difficult and do not focus on correcting people's beliefs, instead giving secondary importance to Dawah-e-Tawheed and inviting people to prayer, fasting, jihad, and ethics, their approach is contrary to the Sunnah of the Prophets, peace be upon them. This is why such Dawah fails to achieve the true Islamic results. Therefore, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when sending Sayyiduna Mu'adh ibn Jabal رضي الله عنه to Yemen, said: The first thing to which people should be invited is the Kalimah Shahadah, meaning that people should believe in Allah alone as الہٰ the One.
Reference: Bukhari, Book of Zakat, Chapter: Do not take people's wealth in charity as a favor: 1458
