I have participated in the Tabligh Jamaat for more than 15 years and I still am actively engaged with the Jamaat.

Answer

It is baseless to claim that it is Fardh to participate in the tableegh activity of the Tableegh Jamaat. They are guilty of excesses, and this type of attitude culminates in Bid'ah. Those who make such preposterous claims are ignorant of the meaning of Fardh-e-Ain which means Fardh on each and every Muslim, man and woman. Whoever denies a Fardh-e-Ain hukm becomes a kaafir. Whoever abstains from it without valid reason is a vile faasiq. Billions of Muslims and Ulama all over the world do not participate in Tabligh Jamaat activities. Are they all kaafirs?

Fardh-e-Ain refers to an act such as the daily Salaat and Fasting during Ramadhaan. Denial of these Fardh-e-Ain acts of ibaadat is kufr which expels the denier from the fold of Islam. Despite the benefits of the Tablighi Jamaat, it is a gross excess to assert that it is Fardh-e-Ain to join the Jamaat and go out in Tabligh activity. The quota of Deeni Ilm which is Fardh on every Muslim can be acquired in a variety of ways. It could be obtained from books, madrasahs, maktabs, listening to bayaans, attending classes, etc. The acquisition of the Fardh quota of Ilm is not restricted to joining the Tabligh Jamaat. Allah Ta'ala says in the Qur'aan: "Do not commit excesses in your Deen."