This is another accusation which is posed to brothers who do dawat & Tableegh. "Where does going for 3 days, 40 days, 4 months come from?". Sheikh Mumtaz Ul Haq answers this well alhumdulilah.
The Prophet said "There is no intelligence like planning, no nobility like good character, and no piety like restraint" [Bayhaqi and Shu'ab al Imaan].
The Prophet did dawah for 23 years, if we can do that, then its all well and good, but most of us cannot do so, so the least we can do is small amounts on a regular basis.
It is a desperate and illogical argument posed by some people because, imagine telling your boss you need time off, and he says "how long", and you say "i cant tell you its bid'ah", or you tell your wife "i am going", she says "for how long so you can do the shopping", you reply "i cant tell you because it is bid'ah".
The name "jamat-tabligh" is not the name of this work and it is wrong to assume that this is a separate sect in islam.
The reviver of Tabligh in this specific form Moulana Muhammad Ilyas (Ramatullahi Alayhi) [d.1944] is reported to have said; "If I had to give this work/movement a name I would have given it the name "The reviver of iman".
