The History of ‘The Reign of Islaamic Da’wah’, Toronto, Canada

As-salaam ’alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa baraakatuh,

The Early Years

In 1996 a group of zealous young Muslims began to give da’wah in the streets of Toronto. This small yet essential da’wah effort progressed to become ‘The Reign of Islaamic Da’wah Centre.’ We are a diverse, multi-ethnic group of brothers and sisters who volunteer our time, wealth and skills to spread pure Islaam through various mediums to the Muslims and the non-Muslims.

Our efforts in street da’wah almost sixteen years ago resulted in countless people embracing Islam by the will of Allaah. We then rented a small facility which became the first da’wah centre in Toronto, Canada. We had very limited resources at the time; 300-400 audio cassettes, a cassette dubbing machine, a few books and a phone line. We struggled and strove in the path of Allaah and al-hamdulillaah; we managed to collect enough money to print 30,000 da’wah leaflets. This massive project resulted in countless new Muslims by the grace of Allah, the Almighty. Many of these young reverts became strong in their religion and joined this noble da’wah effort.

As the community grew, so did the need for a larger facility and a wide range of Islaamic projects evolved. In order to pave the way for the Muslims to continue their Islamic development; ‘aqeedah classes, Arabic lessons, a book and tape store, counselling and other social services would need to be made available. In 1997, the da’wah centre relocated to a much larger location in a bustling area. The new facility included a sisters section, structured classes, not to mention daily da’wah services and an open door for all people, Muslims and non-Muslims alike to learn about the true Religion of Islaam.

Another landmark was reached in 1998 with the help of Allah, the All-Powerful and the efforts of a few Muslims. We managed to distribute 50,000 leaflets entitled ‘20 Questions about Islaam’ in addition to 600 audio cassettes. The leaflets were intended to call the non-Muslims to Islam, a supplement to the already successful ‘tawheed’ pamphlet. To our joy, these leaflets were inspirational to the Muslims and became an instrumental tool in calling the Muslims in our community to the sunnah. As the da’wah increased so did the necessary activities. Da’wah was established in the prisons, Friday Prayer and Islamic classes in schools and universities, counselling services were freely available and lectures and seminars were established. At this juncture, the da’wah centre had evolved full-circle in the service of da’wah to the Muslims and the non-Muslims.

In June of 1998, the da’wah centre investigated the potential of creating a website to present the services of the centre and our da’wah pamphlets. This small project grew to become the face of the da’wah centre. Through time, troid.ca has emerged from a single web page to become one of the largest Islaamic knowledge base on the internet. During the last several years, articles and audio have been consistently published online for the benefit of the entire world. This became a global da’wah platform which allowed us to present the writings and recordings of the Scholars and their students to the masses. At present, 100's of gigs monthly are downloaded making it one of the largest known salafee website online.

The Separating of 'Ahlul-Bid'ah wal-hizbiyyah' from Ahlus-Sunnah

As 1999 entered, the salafiyyeen in Canada encountered the fitnah that had faced our brothers in England some years before, the fitnah of tamyee’, closet-Qutbism and overall opposition to the usool of ad-da’watus-salafiyyah. It was at this juncture, amidst the confusion of the callers to Innovation, that the centre made a clear mawqif to make our allegiance to the noble Scholars of ahlus-sunnah wal-jama’aah such as Shyakh Rabee’ Ibn Haadee, Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan, Shaykh ‘Ubayd al-Jaabiree and other than them from Scholars of this ummah. The speech of the ‘ulamaa and the tullaabul-‘ulamaa were emphasised in direct opposition the mumayyee cries for ‘bringing the issues of the scholars of Canada (wallaahul-musta’aan)’ or ‘Shaykh Rabee’ doesn’t have time for these issues!’. 

It was during this year that our noble brothers from ‘waseelatus-salafiyyah’ in America were kind enough to visit us and advise us towards righteousness and piety. So, our noble brother, Kashif Khan made many affairs clear to us and directed us to strengthen our ties with the trusted du’aat in the West such as our brother and elder, Abu Uways ‘Abdullaah Ahmad (rahimahullaah), Abu Khadeejah ‘Abdul-Waahid from Salafi Publications, Abu Talhah Daawood Burbank (rahimahullaah - from the first of men to propagate salafiyyah in the West) and other than them. Our eyes were opened to the pathways to knowledge, we began to contact the ‘ulamaa and their students and continued to propagate their writings and speech upon the internet despite the angry insults of the hidden hizbiyyeen whom Allaah was exposing day by day.  It was at this point that the centre began to solidify its direction and subsequently many of those who had diseases in their hearts, love of fame, hatred for the ‘Ulamaa and guised disdain for the salafee da’wah began to separate and called others to separation. And as had preceded many years before in England, a clear separation occurred between those who desired to be with the ‘Ulamaa and those who desired to oppose them and by Allaah, this was a barakah from Allaah, an aid to the da’wah and a light upon the path of salafiyyah, the da’wah of the noble Messenger (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam).

Hugh Gains (wal-hamdulilaah) as Ahlus-Sunnah in Toronto strive forth upon clear salafiyyah

Between 1999-2003, due to the abandonment of the financial support of many of the people (because to their disapproval of the direction of the centre – sticking firmly to the ‘Ulamaa and abandoning the personalities in the city who were separating the people from the scholars), the centre was moved to a smaller office, wal-hamdulilaah this only strengthened the brotherhood and increased the firmness of the community upon salafiyyah, and increased our hatred for shaqsiyyah and tamyee’. Despite the small facility (no larger than a small bedroom), the classes increased, the tele-links became more frequent and the emergence of TROID Publications (now with 10 books published) expanded the scope of the centre’s projects.  This was a period of tasfiyah wat-tarbiyah for the community, a sign from Allaah that those who wish the spread this noble da’wah will be faced with trial upon trial. al-hamdulilaah, the community persevered, organising as many initiatives as possible; telephone lectures with some of the ahlul-ilm and du’aat in the West, the ‘eedayn were established, knowledge days, a class on thalaathatul-usool and tajweed. During this testing time, the salafiyyeen were not swayed by the siyaasah of ahlul-bid’ah, remaining firm upon the path of salafiyyah, not concerning themselves with the mockery of the partisan ones. It was a ‘new beginning’ for the centre, establishing the usool of ad-da’watus-salafiiyah and cleansing the community of the years of shubuhaat at the hands of ahlul-hizbiyyah in our city. In striving to bridge the gap between the awaam and ahlul-ilm, we were graced by Allaah to be able to successfully host two seminars in Toronto.

The Launch of Masjidul-Furqaan & Islaamic Centre
 

In 2004, the da’wah centre continued to grow in its activities. By the Grace of Allaah, a new facility was opened which is more than thirty times the size of the previous location and will enable ahlus-sunnah to host the salaawat, khutbatul-jumu’ah, duroos, tele-links and various other events, free from tribulation, wal-hamdulilaah. During the last four eight (2004-2012), the establishment of a masjid upon the manhaj of the salaf has been a tremendous benefit to the local and regional community. It has allowed the pure da'wah of ahlus-sunnah wal-jama'aah to be propogated without hinderence, from the highlights during this period are

a) Islamic Seminars (Approx. 2-3 a year, the most prominent of them being 'The Khawaarij, A Legacy of Evil & The Hallmarks of Ahlus-Sunnah (Anti-Terrorism conf.) 2006, The Path to Paradise (with the mashaayikh from Yemen) 2006, and the Islamic Summer Courses with Moosaa Richardson (2007, 2008, 2010)

b) Regular Classes for Children and Adults

c) Islaam.ca (2006) - A dedicated site introducing Islam to the non-Muslim reader

d) The Establishment of Khutbatul-Jumu'ah

e) The Establishment of the 'Eedayn

In general, the ability to convey the moderate and balanced da'wah of ahlus-sunnah, the manhaj of the salaf without harm has opened up the doors to much khayr and has served as a stablising point for the community after much hardship, as Allaah said,

So verily, with the hardship, there is relief, (Ash-Sharh 94:5)

Truly this is a great success, a blessing from Allaah and a testament to the hard work of the local and international community. We thank Allaah, the giver of Mercy for this great blessing, we thank our noble brothers and sisters for their du'aa and their support and we ask Allaah to plant our feet firm upon this noble salafee manhaj, ever-loving to please and obey Allaah, clinging firmly to the kibaarul-'ulamaa - the inheritors of the Prophets, always hating innovation and it's callers, and we ask Allaah to keep our hearts pure, loving unity, hating division and always putting forth the best intentions, wal-hamdulillaahir-rabbil-'Aalimeen.

Your brothers at ‘The Reign Of Islaamic Da’wah’

Toronto, Canada