RELIGION: FOR SALE?
What is the - "Deal for Dawah"? Can we "Sell" our religion like other religions? How much does "Truth" cost?
Yusuf Estes answers the questions regarding the sale of dawah materials (books, CDs, tapes, videos to help people understand Islam).
re: Answer to email requesting "Wholesale Pricing of Dawah Materials"
Bismillah Rahman Raheem
Salam alaykum:
Your request for ordering our products on a wholesale basis is appreciated.
However, as we don't charge anything to start with, it is impossible for us to offer a lower price. The materials are always offered for free and without any charge because everything we have ever produced has been with the intention of giving dawah to people to know about Allah and the message of Islam.
I realize many people have capitalized on my efforts and have made large amounts of money. Some have promised to help us when they make a lot of money. Others have outright stolen our rights to our own material by wrongly putting copyrights on my work. There is One certain group who followed me around while I visited their country - they told other people not to record as they had the exclusive rights (not true). I did ask people not to record with sub-standard quality if they were going to reproduce it for distribution of dawah. This particular One met with me and I told them I give away all of what I do for the sake of Allah. If they would like to donate to us to help out they could do so. Since then this One company has sold these works in many countries (with their copyrights, ordering other people not to reproduce this material and people should "Fear Allah" while they quote an ayah from the Quran) - JOKE!
Our material has always been free for the sake of Allah. Anyone who believes in Allah and the Last Day should consider that before they go here and start putting copyrights on it and then threatening other people who are as greedy as they are.
Here is what you can do to obtain as much material as you like for dawah from our efforts:
Go to any of these sites:
www.HearIslam.com <audios>
www.YouTubeIslam.com <search for "estes">
When you order materials from us, the donation from you helps us to pay for packing, shipping, mailing and producing the materials. It does not go for any profit at all. Any funds in excess of the actual cost go directly to our other campaign to mail out free materials to the non-Muslims such as Qurans, pamphlets, DVDs and CDs. And by the way, there is never enough to cover the costs and we go around asking for more donations to keep going.
Al Hamdulillah, Allah has blessed us with good Muslim brothers and sisters who do understand what "REAL DAWAH" is all about and they are helping us. Al Hamdulillah.
If money is what you are after, then you can copy and sell our materials. Some people do that.
If Akhirah is what you want, I advise you to copy and give away as much as you can, before it is too late. Who knows when the angel of death will arrive?
If you would like to mix it (and that for me doesn't work out) then copy and sell to the Muslims and give it free to the non-Muslims.
Our requirements are simple:
1. Don't claim you own our materials by putting copyrights on them.
2. Don't make the prices too high - keep it cheap so people will give it out
3. Let people know they can copy it and give it out
4. About all - do not change, alter or combine any of our materials with others, even out own.
Our materials are offered "as is" to the public without copyrights and free distribution of copies is encouraged. However, we do not permit changes to materials, nor do we allow combining our materials with others, even our own. If you find a short program on one disk that is how we intended to share it.
Anyone putting our materials on their websites and asking for donations - this is not permitted. Consider this, the only way we continue is through the donations. So, how would it be when someone else takes our materials for free and then goes into competition against us for donations to their website(s)?
Regardless of what others do, we intend to continue to distribute all of our materials at the exact same price as what charged by all the prophets of Allah, may Allah's peace be with them all. And the price they charged to the people was: ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
I tried to imagine what type of sign a prophet would have it front of his house, and I know it would not say:
Religion For Sale:
by Owner
by Owner
Regarding those who knowlingly violate these terms and conditions for using our materials:
We do what our prophet, peace be upon him, did to those who abused him and his message; we pray for them and ask Allah to put them on the right path and us too, ameen.
May Allah Forgive us and guide us to do dawah for the sake of deen and not for the sake of dollars, ameen.
Jazakallah khairan was salam alaykum,
Yusuf Estes
PS remember to www.ShareIslam.com in all your emails (like this)