Praise
be to Allaah.
It
is prescribed to start with ‘aqeedah (belief, tenets of faith), as the
Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and all the
Messengers did, and because of the hadeeth of Mu’aah, [in which the
Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him, when
he sent him to Yemen]:
"You will come to some of the people of the
Book. When you reach them, invite them to testify that there is no god
except Allaah and that Muhammad is His Messenger. If they obey you in
that, then tell them that Allah has enjoined on them five prayers every
day and night. If they obey you in that, then tell them that Allah has
enjoined on them Sadaqah (i.e. Zakaah) to be taken from the rich among
them and given to the poor among them. If they obey you in that, then
exercise caution and do not take their best properties (as Zakaah). Fear
the invocation (du’aa’) of the oppressed person, for there is no
barrier between his invocation and Allaah.”
This is if the people who are being called are
kaafirs (non-Muslims). If, however, the people who are being called are
Muslims, then they should be taught about the aspects of their religion of
which they are ignorant and where they are falling short, so you should
start with the most important, then the next most important, and so on.