Enjoining Good & Forbidding Evil - Qari Zakaullah Saleem

Enjoining Good & Forbidding Evil

The Rights of the Road — Continuing the Hadith

It is reported by Imam Abu Dawood and Imam At-Tirmidhi — may Allah have mercy on them — on the authority of Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet ﷺ said: refrain from sitting on the pathways and blocking the roads. The companions of Rasulullah ﷺ said, "O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, we have no option other than sitting on the roads — on the path we get together and we discuss our worldly matters." The Prophet ﷺ said, "If you refuse not to sit on the path, then make sure you give the path and the road its due right." The companions asked the Prophet ﷺ, "What are the rights of the road and the path?" The Prophet ﷺ said:

The first right is that you keep your gaze lowered — you lower your gaze. The second right of the path and the road is that you refrain from causing any kind of harm on the road, on the path. The third is that anyone who passes, anyone who goes on that path and gives you salām, you must reply back.

I mentioned three of them previously and promised to continue with the hadith in today's khutbah. In this hadith, the Prophet ﷺ has mentioned two more rights of the road and the path. The fourth is that you enjoin the good, and the fifth is that you forbid the evil.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2465; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2121; also reported by Abu Dawood and At-Tirmidhi)

The Greatest Obligation Upon the Ummah

These two things — dear brothers and sisters in Islam — enjoining the good and forbidding the evil — this is one of the greatest obligations that Allah has placed on us as an ummah, as a whole ummah. Allah says in the Qur'an: you, the believers, the followers of Muhammad ﷺ — you are the best nation. Why are you classified as the best nation? Because you have this characteristic and this quality: that you enjoin the good, and you forbid the evil, and you also believe in Allah.

In this particular verse of Surah Āli 'Imrān, Allah made the mention of īmān after, which shows that īmān cannot be complete if you do not fulfill this obligation of enjoining the good and forbidding the evil.

Understanding Al-Amr Bil Ma'rūf — Enjoining the Good

Although the word in Arabic is amr, which is usually translated as "to enjoin," "to instruct," "to order," and "to command" — amr also, according to the Arabic language, includes suggestion, recommendation, and advice as well. So amr bil ma'rūf does not mean that you must only order, only instruct, or only command, and if you do not have any authority to instruct or order or command, then you give up and say, "At this place, at this time, in this instance, I cannot fulfill my obligation." No, this is not the case.

Rather, amr includes suggestion, recommendation, advice, and request as well. So when it comes to amr bil ma'rūf, never forget that it includes instruction and command wherever you have the authority — if you have the authority to command and order, you must do amr bil ma'rūf. And where you do not have authority and can only request, you still have to fulfill this obligation. You must enjoin the good in a way that you request others.

Ma'rūf is everything that is seen as good in the sight of the sharī'ah. It includes the farā'id — the obligations — for example: the five daily prayers, fasting during the month of Ramadan, paying the obligatory zakāh, performing Hajj, and other obligations of the religion of Allah. And ma'rūf also includes the things that are not obligatory in the religion of Allah but are amongst the mustahabbāt and the sunan — things that are highly recommended or are the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ.

Unfortunately, many times we do not approach someone to advise them to do something that is recommended in the religion of Allah, because we think, "Just leave it — it is not something that is compulsory." But this is not the way that our salaf understood al-amr bil ma'rūf.

Who is Obligated?

First and foremost, the whole ummah has this obligation on their shoulders — every single one of us. Every male, female, every youth and elder, regardless of their ethnicity, regardless of their color, regardless of even their level of knowledge — everyone is obliged to do amr bil ma'rūf wa nahī 'anil munkar. And obviously within this, it varies according to your knowledge and your level of authority.

Allah has told us in the Qur'an that the whole ummah is responsible for this obligation, as we just read the āyah from Sūrah Āli 'Imrān. And then there is a higher obligation on the prophets. Allah has mentioned one of the core responsibilities of our Nabī ﷺ in Sūrah Al-A'rāf — that he would enjoin the good and he would forbid the evil:

Along with the Prophet of Allah, those who have the authority — the rulers of the Muslim lands — they also have this obligation, and their obligation is greater than the obligation of any layman. Allah says: those to whom We give authority in the land — their responsibility is to establish the ṣalāh, to pay zakāh, and they must enjoin the good and forbid the evil:

The people who have knowledge also have a greater responsibility. This does not mean that this obligation is only on their shoulders — no. As I said, Allah said: you as a whole ummah of Muhammad ﷺ, you have the responsibility to enjoin the good and forbid the evil. But those who have knowledge — their responsibility is greater. Allah says in Sūrah Āli 'Imrān:

There should be one dedicated group amongst you who call the people towards the good, who fulfill this obligation of amr bil ma'rūf wa nahī 'anil munkar. Allah also said in Sūrah At-Tawbah:

It is not possible for all the believers to go out and seek knowledge — so why should it not be that a small group amongst you, from every nation, tribe, and region, comes out and goes out to seek knowledge, so they can learn the religion and get the understanding of it, and once they have accomplished the task and sought the knowledge, they come back to their own nation, their own community, their own society, and they continue the work of da'wah?

There are responsibilities on the people of knowledge — but you cannot leave every single time the obligation of amr bil ma'rūf wa nahī 'anil munkar for those who stand on this platform, on this minbar. You cannot say, "This is not my obligation — this is for the people of knowledge, this is for those who deliver the khutbah, this is for those who conduct talks and speeches." No — every single one of us.

As I said, amr bil ma'rūf includes instruction and order, and it also includes request. As a father, you have the responsibility to give the best tarbiyah to your children — you need to instruct them, order them, command them. But within the same house, you have your parents as well. How do you deal with your parents? You cannot instruct them, you cannot order them, because the religion of Allah does not allow you to do this — rather, you request them. But you have to fulfill the responsibility. You have to fulfill this obligation of amr bil ma'rūf.

So for example — someone within your own relatives, within your own family, who does not pray — it is your responsibility to either instruct them, order them, or request them to start praying. You encourage them to read the Qur'an. You encourage them to give in charity. You encourage them to do other good deeds. The ladies and the women within your relatives, within your family, who do not observe the Islamic hijāb — it is your responsibility either to instruct them, order them, implement the rulings and legislations of Allah upon them using your authority, or you request them and encourage them to observe the hijāb.

What we learn from the āyāt of the Qur'an is that this responsibility should be fulfilled beginning from your own family members. When Allah initially sent the revelation to our Nabī ﷺ, Allah said:

O Muhammad ﷺ, warn your close relatives. That is why the Prophet ﷺ invited his uncles, his aunts, his relatives — he invited them and gave them da'wah. So you begin fulfilling this responsibility from your own house, then those who are close to you, those who are around you, and then you go out and spread the message of the religion of Allah.

Al-Nahī 'Anil Munkar — Forbidding the Evil

The fifth right of the path that the Prophet ﷺ has taught us in this hadith is an-nahī 'anil munkar — forbidding the evil. Enjoining the good and encouraging others to do good is not always enough on its own — you have to forbid the evil as well. That is why in most places in the Qur'an, Allah has made the mention of both together: amr bil ma'rūf wa nahī 'anil munkar. And sometimes you cannot achieve the goal of amr bil ma'rūf unless you do nahī 'anil munkar.

When it comes to forbidding the evil, it is very similar to enjoining the good in that it does not always mean to instruct and order. It is not always right to simply say, "This is ḥarām, this is sin, this is kufr, this is bid'ah, this is shirk." No — you must request sometimes. Even if you know that the person is committing clear shirk, clear bid'ah, clear sin and disobedience to Allah, it is not always wise to approach them and say, "This is ḥarām, this is shirk, this is kufr." Rather:

Call towards the path of your Lord with wisdom. You must have this wisdom when you call people towards the religion of Allah.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 49)

Whoever amongst you sees an evil, he must try to stop it and prevent it by using his authority — with his hands. And whoever does not have this power, whoever is not able to stop the evil with his own hands and using his authority, then he must use his tongue. And if he cannot even stop it by his tongue, then he must stop it through his heart — meaning he must feel within his heart that it is a sin. And this is the weakest level of īmān.

The first part of this hadith is related to those who have authority — and this is not only for the rulers. If you have authority within your community, within your company, within your business, within your house — you must use your authority and stop the evil. And wherever you do not have authority, you cannot stop it by force with your hands — then you must stop it by advising people, using your tongue. And if you cannot do this because of certain reasons, then at least you feel the sin as a sin within your heart, and you do not start compromising. You never compromise on sin, on oppression, on something that is wrong, on disobedience to Allah — rather you continue feeling within your heart that it is a sin. And this is the lowest level of īmān.

Another narration reported by Imam Muslim states that the Prophet ﷺ said: if you do not even feel within your heart that something is going wrong — if you do not feel it wrong within your heart — it means you have no īmān left in your heart. And unfortunately this happens when you abandon forbidding the evil.

As I said, it is not always enough to simply enjoin the good and encourage people on good without forbidding the evil. You have to highlight the evil sometimes. Unfortunately, we have become accustomed to feeling very happy when we listen to a khutbah or a talk in which the speaker encourages good: "Do this, do this — you will get the reward of this." But as soon as the speaker says, "This is shirk" — he just highlights it — you do not feel good within yourself. You say, "No, no, no — this is pushing the people away." No — this is not the case. You have to highlight the evil sometimes, you have to forbid it. This is part of our obligation.

The Warning: Consequences of Neglecting This Obligation

The Prophet ﷺ said in a hadith reported by Imam At-Tirmidhi on the authority of Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him):

(Sunan At-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2169)

By the One in whose hand is my soul — you must enjoin the good and you must forbid the evil, or the punishment of Allah is very close to overcoming and overtaking you. And once you have neglected this obligation and the punishment of Allah has overtaken you, then you will be making lengthy du'ās to Allah and Allah will never respond to your du'ās.

The Prophet ﷺ also said:

(Sunan Abu Dawood, Hadith 4336; Sunan At-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3048)

The very first defect that started in Banī Isrā'īl was that a person would meet another person and advise him, saying, "O so-and-so, fear Allah and abandon and leave the sin that you are doing." And the next day, the same person would meet the same person and not bother advising or reminding him once again. He would start drinking with him, eating with him, sitting with him — and they both became friends, and now he does not feel to remind his friend anymore. Then Rasulullah ﷺ said that Allah mingled the hearts of them one with another. And then the Prophet ﷺ recited the verse from the Qur'an:

Allah has cursed those who disbelieve from amongst the Banī Isrā'īl — Allah has cursed them on the tongue of Nabī Dāwūd (peace be upon him) and 'Īsā (peace be upon him). Why were they cursed? Because they used to disobey Allah and they used to transgress. And in the next āyah, Allah says:

They used to see the evil going on within their society and community, and they would not have the courage to go ahead and stop it. They would not remind each other to stop committing the sins and the disobedience of Allah. And because of this, Allah cursed them. May Allah give us the ability to fulfill our obligation of amr bil ma'rūf wa nahī 'anil munkar.

Common Excuses — Addressed

Excuse 1: "As long as I myself am practicing, that is sufficient."

Sometimes we say, "As long as I myself am practicing the religion of Allah, it is sufficient for me. I do not have to go out and, even within my family members or relatives, approach them and upset them." Because if you approach them, if you encourage them to do good or try to stop the evil, they might get upset. "But I myself — I pray five times a day, I fast every single day in the month of Ramadan, I pay my zakāh, I fulfill my other obligations as well."

Abu Bakr Al-Siddīq (may Allah be pleased with him) once delivered a khutbah and said: "O people, I see you reciting the verse of Allah and misunderstanding the verse of Allah in Sūrah Al-Mā'idah, in which Allah says:

O you who believe, take care of yourselves. If you yourself are on the right path, on the path of guidance, no harm can hurt you — nothing can harm you if you yourself are on the right path."

Abu Bakr Al-Siddīq (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O people, you misunderstand this āyah. I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saying:

(Sunan Abu Dawood, Hadith 4338; Sunan At-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2168)

When people see the evil going on within the community, within the society, and they do not have the courage to go ahead and stop it — then Allah overtakes them all with His punishment." So it is not that as long as you are practicing the religion, you are safe. Amr bil ma'rūf wa nahī 'anil munkar — fulfilling this obligation — is part of your practicing the religion of Allah. How can you claim that you practice the religion of Allah if you do not fulfill this obligation?

Excuse 2: "I do not have enough knowledge."

As I said right at the beginning — amr bil ma'rūf wa nahī 'anil munkar is the obligation of every single one of us, based on the knowledge that we have. You have to fulfill this responsibility based on your level of knowledge. The Prophet ﷺ said:

Convey from me even if you know one single āyah of the Qur'an.

Mālik ibn Al-Huwarith (may Allah be pleased with him) says: We accepted Islam — our tribe accepted Islam — and we were about twenty young men of similar age. We came to the Prophet ﷺ and we stayed in Madīnah for twenty days. Then the Prophet ﷺ said to us: ارْجِعُوا إِلَى أَهْلِيكُمْ — "Go back to your own tribe, your families, and start giving them the da'wah." The Prophet ﷺ did not say, "No, no — you are only twenty days old within the fold of Islam, so you are not eligible to give da'wah." Rather, he ﷺ encouraged them and said: convey this message, whatever you have learned, convey it.

Conclusion

There are other excuses as well unfortunately, but the conclusion is that amr bil ma'rūf wa nahī 'anil munkar is the obligation that we all have to fulfill. And unfortunately, because of not fulfilling the obligation of amr bil ma'rūf, we have seen that many of us have neglected the obligations — the farā'id — within the religion of Allah, and even the mustahabbāt and the sunan. We know that there are sunan that have been abandoned by the people, and we do not find the courage within ourselves to go out and spread the sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ.

Likewise, when it comes to nahī 'anil munkar — forbidding the evil — when we stay quiet and keep quiet all the time, this is the reason that we see so many evils and sins within our community and no one takes the courage to go out and stop it. May Allah give us the tawfīq and ability to fulfill our obligation of amr bil ma'rūf wa nahī 'anil munkar.