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Sunna's |
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Enjoining good and forbidding evil
Introduction Enjoining good and forbidding evil is a general principle that the Islamic Sharia established. It is considered as a balance by which the awareness of people is measured. It is one of the features of the Islamic nation and it is the one upon which its beneficence is established. The Almighty Allah said: «You are the best nation to have been raised up for mankind, you enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, and you believe in Allah…». [Surat Al-Imran/The Family of Imran, from the verse 110].
I. The necessity to work according to this principle. What makes it necessary to act according to this principle is: - The state of loss that the nation sinks in. - The ampleness of heinous and objectionable acts in belief, morals and transactions.
II. The obligation of enjoin good and forbid evil. Many divine texts assert that enjoining good and forbidding evil is a legitimate duty and obligation. a) From the Noble Koran. The Almighty Allah said: «And be a nation inviting to uprightness and enjoining good and forbidding wrong, and it is they who are successful». [Surat Al-Imran, 104] «The unbelievers of the children of Israel were cursed by the tongue of David, and by the tongue of Jesus the son of Mary, because of their rebellion and their transgression. They did not forbid each other the wrong things they committed, evil were their doings». [Surat Al-Mâ'ida/ The Table Spread, 78 and 79]. These verses denote that enjoining good and forbidding evil is a collective duty and not an individual one. - Ibn Taymiya said in his book Majmû' El Fatawa (Collective Fatawa): «…Likewise, enjoining good and forbidding evil is not obligatory on each individual, it is rather sufficient to be done by one». Other Ulemas like Imam En-Nawawi claim that it is an obligation on each Muslim to order what is right and forbid what is wrong according to his abilities. b) From the Sunna. Abi Saâd El Khodri -may Allah be pleased with him- said: «I heard the prophet -may peace be upon him- saying: «He who sees atrocious acts must alter them by his hands (i.e. authority) and if he is not able, so by his tongue (i.e. saying or advice), and if he is unable by his tongue, so by his heart (denying them) and this is the lowest degree of faith (i.e. the least that one can do)». [Reported by Muslim] - Hudhaifa -may Allah be pleased with him- reported that the prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «By Allah in whose hand my soul is, you shall enjoin good and forbid evil or you risk to be afflicted with a punishment by Allah, and then you invoke Him and He never respond to your invocations». [Reported by Et-Termidhi and said it is Hassan (good)] - Abi Saîd El-Khodri reported that the prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «The best Jihad (fighting for the sack of Allah) is to say a just word before an oppressive ruler». [Reported by Abu Dawûd and Et-Termidhi and said it is Hassan]
III. The stipulations of Enjoining good and forbidding evil. 1- Ability: He is not sinful the one who is unable to enjoin good and forbid evil. 2- The evil must be known (i.e. without making a slight effort to know it). 3- The evil must be apparent. 4- Considering degradation in enjoin good and forbid evil. 5- Enjoining or forbidding a matter must not lead to a worse harm, because the Islamic Sharia endeavors always to realize interests and to ward off harms. Ibn El-Qaim in his book Iîlam El-Muwaqiîn (Informing the signers) classified four degrees of forbidding evil: a) The evil may disappear and good substitute it. b) The evil may only diminish and not vanish. c) Evil and good may be equal. d) The evil may be substituted by another evil worse than the former. Ibn El-Qaim said that the two first degrees are legitimate, the third can be discussed but the fourth is totally forbidden.
IV. Conclusions 1- Forbidding evil is more difficult than enjoining good. 2- Considering the interests and the harms when enjoining good and forbidding evil. 3- The necessity to form a public opinion that rejects harms and accepts interests. 4- Enjoining good and forbidding evil is a responsibility of every individual: ruler or ruled persons. The prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «Every one of you is a guardian and every one of you is responsible of the persons he cares for, and the Imam is a guardian and he is responsible of his people…». [Reported by El-Boukhari and Muslim from Abudul Allah bnu Omar. |
