Home »
» Enjoining Good And Forbidding Evil - By Shaykh Ashraf Salah
Enjoining Good And Forbidding Evil - By Shaykh Ashraf Salah
Enjoining Good And Forbidding Evil
By Shaykh Ashraf Salah
Dear Muslims:
It is very important for Muslims to realize that
da`wah or enjoining good and
forbidding evil is an
obligation upon them. Allah (S.W.T) says in the Holy Qur’an:
"Invite to
the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom and fair preaching, and argue
with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone
astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided."
[16:125].
Allah (S.W.T) also
says: "Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that
is good, enjoining al-ma`roof [i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam
orders one to do] and forbidding al-Munkar [polytheism and disbelief and all
that Islam has forbidden]. And it is they who are successful." [3:104].
The second verse
may seem to be restricting the general obligation given in the first verse, but
a close look at the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) reveals that
calling to Allah (S.W.T) is an individual obligation, rather than a collective
one. The Prophet (P.B.U.H) has said: "Convey from me, even one
verse." [al-Bukhari]. Conveying the message therefore does not require a
high level of scholarship, it is in fact a responsibility of each and every
Muslim, according to his or her ability.
Muslims are
praised by Allah (S.W.T) as belonging to the best nation because they feel the
responsibility and give the proper advice. Allah (S.W.T) says: “You are the
best community that has ever been brought forth for mankind: you enjoin good
and forbid evil, and you believe in God” [3:110]. Moreover, enjoining good and forbidding evil is one of the characterisics of good
believers: “Those who repent, those who worship, those who praise, those who
persevere, those who bow down, those who prostrate, and those who enjoin good
and forbid evil”, [9:112]. On the contrary, when some of the Israelites
neglected this duty they were cursed by Allah (S.W.T): “Those of the Israelites
who were unbelievers have already been cursed on the tongue of David and Jesus,
son of Mary, for they were disobedient, and transgressed. They did not forbid
one another from committing the evil that they wrought. What they used to do
was foul indeed”. [5: 78-79].
Dear Muslims:
The obligation of
da`wah or enjoining good and
forbidding evil is further
emphasized by the following verse which explains that not conveying the message
- hiding knowledge - is disobedience to Allah (S.W.T) that causes Allah's curse
to descend upon such people, which shows that such a sin leads to the Hellfire.
"Verily,
those who conceal the clear proofs, evidences and the guidance, which We have
sent down, after We have made it clear for the people in the book, they are the
ones cursed by Allah and cursed by the cursers." [2:159].
In the same
connection, the Prophet (P.B.U.H) has stated, "Whoever hides knowledge,
Allah will brand him with the branding iron from the hellfire." [Ahmad].
Dear Muslims:
Bukhari and Muslim
relate that Zaynab (R.A.A), the wife of the Prophet (P.B.U.H) said, "The
Prophet (P.B.U.H) once awoke, and his face was dark, as he said three times,
'There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah! Woe betide the Arabs, because
of an evil which will soon come! Today, the barrier of Juj and Ma`juj has been
breached by so much,' and he made a circle with his thumb and forefinger."
And Zaynab remarked, "I said, 'O Messenger of Allah! Even when the
righteous still dwell amongst us?' and he said, 'Yes, when khubth (moral
degradation) becomes widespread.'"
Malik ibn Dinar
once recited the verse, “There were in the city nine men who caused corruption
in the earth, and would not cause reform”, [27:48] and said, "Nowadays,
there are people in every clan and district who cause corruption in the earth,
and do not cause reform."
He also said,
"We have become accustomed to loving the world, so that we do not enjoin
good or forbid evil to one another. Allah the Most High will certainly not
permit us to continue doing this, but would that I knew what kind of punishment
shall befall us!"
`Umar ibn `Abdul
`Aziz said, "It used to be that Allah the Most High does not punish the
common people for the sins of the elite; but when the evil is done openly, and
they do not repudiate it, they all become deserving of His punishment."
Dear Muslims:
Calling people to
Allah (S.W.T) or enjoining
good and forbidding evil also
means completing our own worship, the reason for which we are created. It is
one of the noblest acts that entails a high reward.
"And who is
better in speech than he who invites to Allah and does righteous deeds, and
says: 'I am one of the Muslims.'" [41:33].
With regards to
the reward, the Prophet (P.B.U.H) has said: "Whoever guides [another] to a
good deed will get a reward similar to the one who performs it." [Saheeh
Muslim]. Also, "By Allah, if Allah were to guide one man through you it
would be better for you than the best type of camels." [al-Bukhari,
Muslim].
Dear
Brothers And Sisters In Islam:
Performing the obligation of da`wah, enjoining good and forbidding evil requires comprehensive knowledge about foundations of Islamic law.
Not every statement that contains prohibition is haram, nor is every word that
appears as a command an obligatory duty. Not everyone who leaves the
recommended is an innovator. Therefore, not every caller to Islam is capable to
assume the role of a mufti who will pass Shari `ah
judgments, nor is he competent to work in criticizing evil actions done by
Muslims.
Every Muslim
should accept opinions of mujtahidoon in secondary matters. Not applying
principles of removing evil in secondary matters does not mean keeping silent
about the truth. Some Islamic scholars reached positions where they were able
to enforce opinions they considered right. However, if the issue was a
secondary matter, they would not exercise their power. Imam Malik rejected the
order of the khalifa that his fiqh be made obligatory in all provinces. His
argument was that his book al-Muwatta contains explanations, studies and
narrations of opinions and is therefore necessary to leave it to people to
follow opinions they deem right.
May Allah (S.W.T)
make us from those who listen to the truth and follow it, bless, guide and
forgive us all (Ameen).
