Preaching (da’wah) is very inherent thing in Islam. To carry on rahmatan li al-‘alamîn mission, it becomes dominant tool to conduct the mission. Moreover, this religion is called by religion of preaching. Departing from its essence to deliver religion’s teachings, it becomes one of Islamic disciplines (Ilmu Dakwah). Science of preaching, which is accompanied by its methods/ways, media and kinds of preaching (da‘wah bi al-lisân, bi al-hâl, bi al-kitâbah and so on), has been born and grows rapidly through the works of scholars. Besides, Words and terms related to it have developed time by time. Instead of making it rich of methods and variations, they limit the scope of it. That misunderstanding leads us to wrong performing of preaching.
After all, Indonesian people have adopted Arabic words as terms of preaching such as; tawshiyyah, tablîgh, khithâbah, maw’izhah and nashîhah. All those words are associated to da’wah, but they understand them only as a religious speech. Moreover, whom they call da’i is just some of religious people. They mention them kiyai or ustâdz. This is a bending of the preaching concept that indeed obligates every of us to preach.
On the other hand, one other preaching term, amr al-ma’rûf nahy al-munkar, is occupied by one of Islamic organization as a grand theme. It views the term as the only one of preaching activities. What happens is the reality of commanding and prohibiting per se, even leading to coercive actions. From this one of preaching terms, we are confused when we try to understand a hadith narrated by Abû Isâ Muhammad bin Isâ Ibn Sûrah about taghyîr al-munkar. Of course, different word brings different meaning, yet we are still can not catch the real meaning of both in context of preaching activity. Broader meaning of preaching is directed to a change (taghyîr) as sunnatullah in da’wah. It is the problem in Islamic preaching between converting people to Islam and to change (taghyîr) bad behavior into the good one. Thus, the problem is the problem of meaning or semantical. The researcher investigates the different meaning of each word. From this, it can be known the principle of Islamic preaching revolving under the research of meaning.
Semantics is one of language sciences which deals with problem of word meaning. It may be used to help us clear and make a distinction. As those words are Qur’an words, name of Toshihiko Isutzu arises of Islamic scholar thinker by his adopting of this language science. The researcher, in the semantic analysis, adopts Toshihiko Isutzu’s method. It is collecting the same word in the Qur’an in one place, comparing, checking out the word. This step will obtain the definition of the word with the original object of Arabic word. It means that the researcher collects verses that contain the preaching words mentioned above. The researcher also looks for the meaning of the words mentioned above in the Arabic and Qur’an dictionary. The researcher analyzes the verses that contain preaching words by comparing the collected verses. In the next step, the words that accompany the words of preaching are also studied in order to obtain principles of preaching contained in the key words in their relation
Therefore, according to the background issues researcher disclose, this study also means entering terms or words that convey the same meaning to da’wah that may not be so well known in our mind, such as word jihâd, tabsyîr, indzâr, al-wa’du wa al-wa’id and tadzkirah. Thus, the words consisted in the word da’wah become more comprehensive.
To carry back understanding of Islamic terms to the Qur’an is one right way to conduct. Treatment and idea of humanity as basic of this religion, even all religions, have to be actualized in every side of its teaching. That is earned easily from its prominent source, al-Qur’an which has characteristic tending to be anthropological than theological.
Ethical believing people are goal to achieve from the preaching activities. They eventually bring themselves to be desiring advance people. Of course, the civilized Islamic community will bear from them. That is mentioned by the Qur’an khairu ummah, baldatun thayyibatun wa rabbun ghafûr.