Commanding the Right in the Right Manner
| Khatib : | Sadullah Khan |
| Khutbah No: | 244 |
| Khutbah Date: | 07/20/07 |
Though a mark of the Believers it is a universal principle practiced by the righteous all over.
- In the example of Luqman the Wise’s advice to his sons;
أَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَانْهَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَاصْبِرْ عَلَى مَا أَصَابَكَ إِنَّ ذَلِكَ مِنْ عَزْمِ الْأُمُورِ
Establish prayers, command what is right, forbid what is wrong,
And patiently persevere the trials that befall you.
That is surely among the most resolute of matters. [Qur’an 30:17]
- Among people of other faiths:
لَيْسُواْ سَوَاء مِّنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ أُمَّةٌ قَآئِمَةٌ يَتْلُونَ آيَاتِ اللّهِ آنَاء اللَّيْلِ وَهُمْ يَسْجُدُونَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ
وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَيُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ وَأُوْلَـئِكَ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ
People are not all alike: among the followers of earlier revelation there are upright people, who recite God's messages throughout the night, and prostrate themselves [before Him]. They believe in God and the Last Day, and enjoin the doing of what is right and forbid the doing of what is wrong, and vie with one another in doing good works: and these are among the righteous.[Q 3:113]
Allama Qurtubi; author of the tafseer Jami’-al Ahkam al-Qur’an explains
ان الأمر بالمعروف و النهي عن المنكر كانا واجبَينِ فى الأمم المتقدمة ،
و هو فائدة الرسالة و خلافة النبوة
Previous peoples were ntrusted with the commands of ordering the good and forbidding the wrong; in this lies the benefit of prophethood and entitles the ummah to succeed the emission of the Prophet
- Among the righteous Muslims
الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِيَّ الأُمِّيَّ الَّذِي يَجِدُونَهُ مَكْتُوبًا عِندَهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَالإِنْجِيلِ يَأْمُرُهُم بِالْمَعْرُوفِ
وَيَنْهَاهُمْ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَآئِثَ وَيَضَعُ عَنْهُمْ إِصْرَهُمْ وَالأَغْلاَلَ الَّتِي كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ
فَالَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ بِهِ وَعَزَّرُوهُ وَنَصَرُوهُ وَاتَّبَعُواْ النُّورَ الَّذِيَ أُنزِلَ مَعَهُ أُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ
Those who follow the unschooled Prophet who they find mentioned in the Torah and the Gospel; who commands them with the universal values of right and forbids them all that is wrong, declaring permissible those things that are beneficial and declares impermissible that which is tainted; he frees them from the bondage that they find themselves in. So, those who believe in his message, who honor him and who follow the light that has come down with him, such are the successful ones. [Q7:157]
‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbaas narrates a tradition in which the Prophet said;
ليس منا من لم يرحم صغيرنا و لم يوقر كبيرنا ، و يأمر بالمعروف و ينه عن المنكر
That person is not of us.. the young who does not respect the elder and the elder who has no compassion on the young; and also that person who does not command the right and forbid the wrong.
Among the earliest revelations to the Prophet was “arise and warn” [Q 74:2] which Ibn Taymiyyah interprets as الانذار بمعنى أمر بالمعروف و النهي عن المنكر the commanding of right an forbidding the wrong. The famous tradition of the Prophet instructs us to command good and forbid wrong physically, or by speech and at the least in the heart.
Desiring to implement Islamic values is always noble, but having a meaningful and effective strategy is indeed most significant. Forcing other is not the best resort and certainly not the first resort; especially since our Deen commands us not to use compulsion as a tool.
Ibn ‘Arabi (in his Ahkam al-Qur’an) dissuades the use of misplaced force in establishing amr bil ma’ruf as he states;
شهر السلاح بين الناس قد يكون مخرجًا الى الفتنة وايلا الى فساد اكثر من الأمر بالمعروف و النهي عن المنكر
The using of force with weapons among people to establish amr’bil m’ruf may open the doorways to fitnah and problems greater than the wrong you were trying to avoid.
Just because something needs to be done does not mean that anything that is done is okay; and just because something is done in religious fervor does not in any way prove that it is Islamically correct.
Ibn ‘Arabi further explains;
و من الأمر بالمعروف و النهي عن المنكر نصرة الدين باِقامة الحجة على المخالفين
The conveying of Islam should be done convincingly to its detractors; and this is an essential part of amr bil ma’ruf wan-nahy ‘anil minkar.
In keeping with the Prophetic prayer “O Allah, Show me things as they really are”, we must separate ideals from reality, we must let reason supercede emotion, and we must realize the consequence of our actions; the consequence for ourselves and the consequence for others. The Prophet advised; “If you decide to do something, evaluate its consequence; if the consequence is good then continue; if the consequence is negative, stop.
As people of Faith, we have the duty of commanding good and forbidding evil. We thus engage ourselves, as social beings, in improving ourselves and working towards being instruments in improving the world we live in. As people of Faith, it behoves us to have the decency not to search for faults in others and we would do well to heed the advice of our Beloved Prophet (pbuh): "Part of being a good Muslim is minding your own business."
We do what we do in obedience to Allah, not breaking a rule with the excuse of establishing a rule. Allah says in Glorious book,
التَّائِبُونَ الْعَابِدُونَ الْحَامِدُونَ السَّائِحُونَ الرَّاكِعُونَ السَّاجِدونَ
الآمِرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَالنَّاهُونَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَالْحَافِظُونَ لِحُدُودِ اللّهِ وَبَشِّرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
The triumph of those who turn Allahin repentance, and who worship and praise Him, and go on seeking spiritual proximity, and who bow down and prostrate themselves in adoration to Him, and enjoin the doing of what is right and forbid the doing of what is wrong, and keep to the bounds set by Him; Give such believers the glad tiding of Allah's promise. [Q 9:112]