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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Guidelines on Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil |
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| jannah |
| 04/13/04 at 03:31:13 |
| Thought this was a very good excerpt from the book Heaven's Door. Guidelines on Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil Knowledge In order to enjoin good and forbid evil, you must know the principles governing them and how to distinguish between them. Actions will not be any good if they are not done with full knowledge and wisdom. 'Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz said, 'Whoever worships Allah without knowledge, will do more damage than what he puts right.' Mu'adh Ibn Jabal said: 'Knowledge should precede action because if action and intention are done without knowledge, then ignorance, misguidance and desires will prevail.' So if a believer knows that by forbidding a particular evil, his action will lead to a greater evil, then he should not forbid that evil in the first place; or if his action will lead to the elimination of what is of greater benefit to the Muslims, then again, he should not forbid that evil. The prophet (s) did not kill Abdullah Ibn Ubai Ibn Salul, the leader of the hypocrites, and his friends, because they enjoyed significant support from among their tribes. So the Prophet (s) avoided killing Abdullah Ibn Ubai Ibn Salul, because people might think that he was killing his companions, and also because Abdullah Ibn Ubai Ibn Salul's tribe might have risen up agains the Prophet (s) and sought to avenge their leader's death. Accordingly you must consider the issues of [i] maslaha [/i] and [i]mafsada[/i]* before embarking on enjoining good and forbidding evil. Gentleness You should be kind and gentle in enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong. The Prophet (s) said, 'Be gentle, for if gentleness is present in anything, it adorns it - and if it is absent from anything, it damages it.' The Prophet (s) also said, 'Allah likes gentleness in all matters and rewards it more than He rewards harshness.' Jarir related, 'I heard the Messenger of Allah (s) say 'Whoever is deprived of gentleness is deprived of good.' Sufyan ath-Thawri said, 'Only he who has the following qualities can enjoin good and forbid evil: He should be gentle and just and he should know the principles of enjoining good and forbidding evil.' Patience Whoever intends to enjoin good and forbid evil must have patience in the face of adversities and hard times. He should know, beforehand, that he will be subjected to tribulation, just as Luqman told his son: [i] My son, establish salat, and command what is right and forbid what is wrong and be steadfast in the face of all that happens to you. That is certainly the most resolute course to follow. [/i] Quran 31:16 Allah also ordered His Messenger (s) to be patient: [i] You who are enveloped in your cloak! Arise and warn! Magnify your Lord. Purify your clothes. Shun all filth. Do not give out of a desire for gain. Be steadfast for your Lord. [/i] Quran 74:1-7 And [i] Be steadfast in the face of what they say and cut yourself off from them - but courteously. [/i] Quran 73:9 So you must have three qualities: knowledge, gentleness and patience; knowledge before enjoining good and forbidding evil, gentleness in carrying this out, and patience after it. * [i]maslaha (plural: masa'lih):[/i] considerations of public interest, human welfare, utility, and human good. Ash-Sha'tibi said: "Whatever concerns the subsistence of human life, the wholeness of his way of life, and the acquiring of what man's emotional and intellectual faculties require of him in their absolute sense." * [i]mafsada (plural: mafa'sid): [/i] Evil, namely anything which violates ad-daruriyat al-khamsa, the five essential values of deen, life, intellect, lineage and property; the opposite of maslaha. |
| 04/13/04 at 03:47:34 |
| jannah |
Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board |