بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

The Reality of Jama’atu at-Tableegh

The following is a brief clarification on some of the observations made against the aforementioned group.


Jama’atu at-Tableegh is one of the largest Islamic movements which has become the predominant call to Islam in many parts in Asia. In fact they are found in over 200 countries worldwide. However, unfortunately, they are a movement which has been void of the correct Islamic teachings.

The Founder

Muhammad Ilyas, the founder of Jama’atu at-Tableegh, who first introduced his spurious ideology around 1926, was first a teacher in a school in India. He then abandoned teaching to become a missionary; he claimed to have a spiritual dream that lead him to falsely interpret a Verse to mean that he should create a group that become missionaries in commanding the good and forbidding the evil. This is after his pledging of allegiance to the four spiritual ways of Sufism.

He would at times go to the the graves of certain Shaykhs and establish spiritual mediation there to seek blessings.
He established his group to focus mainly on six concepts of Islam:

  1. Attestation to Faith
  2. Salat
  3. Knowledge with Dhikr
  4. Honouring the Muslims
  5. Singling out the intentions
  6. Going out for Da’wah

For this reason, Jama’atu at-Tableegh revolve their Da’wah around these six concepts mainly, and this is of course in accordance to innovated methods which were extracted from some of the Sufi schools of India.

Currently, Muhammad Ilyas’s grave is located in his Masjid in India wherein there is a designated window for those who wish to invoke him, and Allah’s aid is sought.

Some Common Traits of Jama’atu at-Tableegh

  1. Forming circles of two people or more inside the Masjid [mosque] to study the last ten Surahs of the Qur’an, and whenever they go out on a mission, they have to perform the aforementioned task.
  2. Continuous performance of I`tikaf on Thursdays.
  3. Determining certain days for setting out for Da`wah; three days of every month, forty days of every year, and four months during one’s lifetime.
  4. Continuous collective supplication after each trip for Da`wah.
  5. In every week there are two jawla [walk around], one of which will take place in the Masjid and the other one occurs outdoors.
  6. They don’t give much importance to Tawheed al-Uloohiyah and Tawheed-Asmaa-Wa-Sifât. Their speeches mainly revolve around Tawheed ar-Rubūbiyyah.
  7. They believe no one can succeed in giving Da’wah except through their path.
  8. They form an ameer [leader] amongst themselves although they may not be in a state of travel.
  9. They pledge allegiance to their methodology by chanting out the word “مستعدون” (i.e. ready).
  10. They give no attention to teach the people matters of jurisprudence.
  11. They harbour hostility and hatred against Ahl as-Sunnah.
  12. They are fully welcomed by countries which wage war against Islam.
  13. The money movement within the organization is a mystery up until this day.
  14. They show no concern whatsoever to religious politics.
  15. They adhere to a common sermon amongst themselves which they begin their talks with after the five daily prayers.
  16. They base their Daw’ah upon storytelling even if the stories are unauthentic or even fabricated.
  17. They establish unsought and inconvenient visits to the houses of others under the banner of giving Da’wah.
  18. Their main propagation is to bring the public to the mosques. Yet, it is known that they are not qualified to educate the public who attend their gatherings.
  19. They establish annual gatherings in Bangladesh and give much importance to attending; perhaps they give even more importance to these affairs than going for Hajj or Umrah.
  20. They read sections from the deviant book Fadaa’il al-Aamaal.

A Side Note: The condition of the Book “Fadaa’il al-Aamaal” which Jama’atu at-Tableegh commonly read from is outlined here.

Related Links:

  1. https://torontodawah.com/some-brief-pointers-regarding-the-belief-of-the-sect-known-as-al-qaadiriyyah-lajnah-permanent-committee-for-scholarly-research-and-ifta-and/
  2. https://torontodawah.com/the-naqshbandis-lajnah-permanent-committee-for-scholarly-research-and-ifta-and-shaykh-abdullaah-ibn-humayd/

Compiled by

AbdulFattaah Bin Uthman
Abu Fajr