Enjoining Good & Forbidding Evil (with British Sign Language) - Shaykh Mustafa Abu Rayyan

Opening Khutbah

My beloved brothers and sisters, I start by praising Allah and sending blessings and salutations upon our beloved messenger Muhammad ﷺ.

The Sixth Pillar: Al-Amr bil-Ma'ruf wa'l-Nahy 'an al-Munkar

My beloved brothers and sisters, when it comes to the many commandments that we have in Islam, we know there are five that are the most important ones. Of course, the five pillars of Islam: the shahada, the five daily prayers, the annual zakat and charity, fasting in the month of Ramadan, and going to Hajj — which is, of course, not too far from now. May Allah allow us to visit His house.

Now, my brothers and sisters, some of the ulama actually say that there is a sixth pillar of Islam, if you will. One that is so important — a command so crucial — that it ought to be added to the five pillars of Islam. Of course, you have the five, but they said this to emphasize and highlight the importance of this particular act of worship. And that act of worship, my brothers and sisters, is what is known as الْأَمْرُ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَالنَّهْيُ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ — the enjoining and the calling towards good and the forbidding of evil.

This is an act of worship that the ulama say is an obligation. Sometimes it will be a communal obligation, meaning we are all collectively responsible to ensure that we are calling towards that which is good and forbidding that which is evil. And that will have stages. Sometimes we are talking about within the confines of your home. Sometimes we're talking about your neighborhood. And it can go bigger and larger depending on the situation and the sin and the evil that is being forbidden, or the good that is being called towards. But nonetheless, it is an obligation. And one that we have to ask ourselves: how am I, how often am I, how good am I, how regular am I at doing this particular obligation when it comes to enjoining good and forbidding evil?

The Greatest Nation — and Why

Allah mentioned in the Quran that the nation of Rasulullah ﷺ — this ummah that we have been honored to be a part of — is the greatest ummah:

"You are the best of nations brought forth to the people. You command good and you forbid evil and you believe in Allah." Some of the ulema highlighted the fact that Allah put the forbidding of evil and the commanding of good even before believing in Allah — again, to highlight its importance.

Similarly, my brothers and sisters, Allah says:

"Let there be among you a people — a group, some of you at the very least — that are calling towards good, that are forbidding evil, that are commanding and enjoining good, and they are the successful ones." If you want success in this life and you want success in the hereafter, be among those that stand up for truth, that spend time calling people towards good and forbidding evil.

The Consequences of Staying Silent

Now, what are the consequences if we don't? And I want to share with you two narrations. First, the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhī, Hadith 2169)

"You shall forbid evil. And if you don't, you will call upon Allah and Allah will not answer you." So if there is evil among us and none of us are saying anything about it; if there's evil in your home and you're not speaking out against it; if your relatives and family members are involved in a particular sin and you're not saying anything about it; or there is not enough khair and goodness and righteousness being commanded in your home, in your neighborhood, in your area, in your workplace or wherever it may be — then the Prophet ﷺ said that he is fearful that we will be raising our hands to Allah and our du'a will not be accepted. This should be enough of an encouragement, my brothers and sisters, for us to take this seriously.

Similarly, the Prophet ﷺ said in a narration:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhī, Hadith 2169)

"I swear by the One whose hand my soul is in — you will command good and you will forbid evil, or else a punishment will descend upon you all that encompasses everybody, and the curse that came upon Bani Israel will fall upon us as well."

The Lesson from Bani Israel and the Sabbath

And what was the curse that fell upon Bani Israel? Allah said that the people of Bani Israel were cursed by the prophets that were sent to them — Isa and Dawud — and what was the reason that the curse came upon them? They would not forbid evil.

There is a clear example of that in the story of the Sabbath that Allah mentioned in Surah Al-A'raf, where Allah mentions that they were given a test or a trial — you are all familiar with the story. They were told that they could not do certain things on the day of the Sabbath, including fishing. But Allah tested them because all of the fish would be readily available on that day. So they tried to be deceptive: they planned to put their nets out on a Friday, on Saturday they would sit at home, and then on Sunday they would collect the fish.

Now Allah mentioned that those that did that were transgressing, they were sinning, they were disobeying. And by the way, my brothers and sisters, that might be a very clear way of being deceptive, but the Prophet ﷺ warned us against those people who try to find loopholes when things are forbidden from them — trying to find loopholes: "Oh, this is haram, but technically if you do it this way, if you do it that way, then it can be halal." This type of thinking is very dangerous. Stay away from that which Allah has forbidden. Stay away from the borders of the haram, as the Prophet ﷺ taught us.

Now, my brothers and sisters, when that sin happened, when they transgressed, there was a group of people that stood out against it, that spoke out against it from the men of Bani Israel. They warned them and reminded them to fear Allah. Then of course you had the group that was transgressing and you had the group that was speaking out. But there was a third group, and that third group said:

"Why are you bothering with these people? Why are you warning them? Why are you admonishing them? There is no point. Allah will punish them. Allah will deal with them. Let them be." And then the people that stood out — those that were forbidding the evil — they responded:

"Why are we doing it? Why am I spending my time trying to save someone else, calling towards good, ensuring that they are not doing haram, reminding them of Allah? مَعْذِرَةً إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُمْ — so that we have an excuse in front of Allah. So that the day I am resurrected, I can say to Allah: Ya Allah, I tried. Ya Allah, I reminded him. Ya Allah, I admonished him. وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ — and perhaps they will fear Allah and stop."

So here you learn something: your niyyah — a portion of it — should be, "I am standing up here calling towards good and forbidding evil so that in front of Allah I have an excuse. Ya Allah, I did not just watch them. Rather, I spoke out, or I did what I could." وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ — and perhaps they may take heed and listen and obey and fear Allah.

From this story you understand why many of Bani Israel were cursed — because not only were they not speaking out, they were actually stopping others from speaking out. Which is why the worst thing you can do, my brothers and sisters, is when someone is trying to call towards khair, you say: "Ya Akhi, why are you bothering? Give up — he will never listen." This type of attitude is very dangerous, because guidance is not in our hands; it is in the hands of Allah.

Two Key Lessons

So my brothers and sisters, here we learn something very important. Number one: the obligation of calling towards good and forbidding evil — and that obligation is on all of us, on different levels. Those that have authority over more people will have more of an obligation than others. Those that can affect change will have more of an obligation than others. But each one of us right now — if I ask you: do you know someone that needs advice? Do you know someone that is engaged in a particular sin that needs to be advised? Maybe they are selling something haram in their shop. Maybe they don't pray. Maybe she is not wearing the right way of modesty and hijab. Maybe this, maybe that. Each one of us has a relative, a family member, a friend, a co-worker — somebody that needs advice, that needs guidance, that needs to be spoken to. But if we don't do that, we are also culpable. May Allah forgive us.

Number two: how sinful it is if we don't. May Allah protect us.

I say this and I ask forgiveness for me and you and for the rest of the Muslims from every sin — so ask forgiveness. He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

The Reward of Calling Towards Good

All praise is due to Allah and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. My brothers and sisters, you've understood the obligation, you've understood the sin — let me briefly speak about the reward. This act of worship has great reward, and suffice it to say that the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1893)

"The one who shows someone else a path towards good will be like the one doing it." In other words, if you speak to certain brothers or certain sisters that you know who are not doing ibadah, who are not doing something khair, and they start doing that because of you — because you spoke to them — every good thing that they do after that, you have a portion of that reward. So there is a great reward in doing this, my brothers and sisters, and a great sin in not doing it. May Allah forgive our shortcomings.

How to Enjoin Good and Forbid Evil

Now it is important that we speak about how — how do we call towards good, how do we forbid evil — lest we start making things worse. And if you look at the Quran and the Sunnah, you'll find many examples and many lessons teaching us how.

The Three Stages

The first thing I want to address is that the Prophet ﷺ said that there are three stages of calling towards good and forbidding evil:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 49)

"If one of you sees evil, then let him change it with his hand. If he is not able to do so, then let him speak out with his tongue. And if he is not able to do so, then at the very least let him hate it in his heart."

My brothers and sisters, this is something you always have to remember and ask yourself: what can I do? If you can physically change something — and often that is with those you have authority over — this could be your children that you're raising in your house; it could be a place that you're in charge of; maybe you manage a shop; maybe you have employees and they're not praying, or maybe there is no prayer room, or maybe there is something haram being done and you have authority to change that; maybe you own the business and you can change something about it. That will be something that you can physically change and affect. If that is the case, then you are responsible. And of course, those that are in power, those that are in authority, those that are the rulers — they will have the most responsibility.

But changing something with your hand is connected to having the authority to do so. If you don't have the authority, then don't cause any more issue — but rather speak out against it if possible.

Courage and Patience

And that, my brothers and sisters, requires two things: courage and patience. First, have the courage to speak out. It's not easy, my brothers and sisters. Sometimes someone will say, "I don't want to make it awkward, I don't want to cause a scene, I don't want to change the vibe." It is weird because we are not used to it — we're not used to telling each other and checking each other — which is exactly what we are meant to be doing if we all collectively want to go to Jannah. I need you to speak to me and you need me to speak to you. So that requires courage and tweaking the way we behave amongst each other.

How often have you seen someone backbiting someone else in front of you — maybe towards you, saying that brother is like this and like that — and you're just listening, and sometimes you know it's wrong, and you're smiling and nodding along because you don't want to call that person out? But my brothers and sisters, is it really brotherly? Is it a real friend — the one that watches you sin and doesn't stop you? Let's fear Allah in this regard and try and have the courage to speak out when it benefits, when it benefits. And we have to have some level of wisdom here.

And also the patience when things don't go the way we want. وَاسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ — seek aid in patience and prayer, as Allah said. Allah told the Prophet ﷺ:

"Have patience like the very patient of the Prophets" — the five that Allah mentioned in the Quran. So why is this important? Because when you speak to someone, sometimes they might insult you, sometimes they might abuse you, sometimes they might not take heed, sometimes they might say something that hurts, that friendship might not be the way it was before. But have patience — especially if you have a lofty goal of guiding people, if you have a lofty goal of pleasing Allah.

You speak out — again, I have to emphasize — when it benefits, because sometimes it may not benefit. And you have to be wise enough to analyze the situation and say, "Maybe in this situation speaking out will cause more harm. Maybe in this situation, if I speak out, this particular person will not listen to me." It could very well be that it is in a gathering, and sometimes you don't want to embarrass a person in a gathering — hence why you speak to them in private. Maybe this particular person is your senior and they are less likely to listen to you, and the better approach would be to find someone of similar age, or to use an indirect approach.

Often I have people coming to me saying, "My father, my mother, my uncle — someone that is a senior to me is engaging in something they are not supposed to, or doing something sinful. How do I approach?" And I often say, "Perhaps you are not the right person to speak to them." And look, my brothers and sisters, this is a problem that we have to solve — this problem of not being able to take advice from youngsters, not being able to take advice from people that are your juniors. It is incorrect, but at the same time it is a fact, which is why we have to use hikmah wherever possible.

Receiving Guidance with Humility

Now, here I am often speaking to you as if you are the people who are going to be calling to good and forbidding evil — but it is just as likely that you will be the one receiving the guidance, receiving the advice. And just as you are required to be good and efficient in calling towards good and forbidding evil, you have to be just as good and efficient at receiving it. Don't be arrogant when someone comes to you.

Allah told Prophet Musa when he was going to approach Fir'awn to be gentle with him:

So gentleness again is part of what you need when you are advising people. And the Prophet ﷺ said that nothing is accompanied by gentleness except that it increases it in beauty. That being said, let's say someone comes to you in a harsh tone, in a tone you don't like, or someone who is much younger than you says something. Then Shaytan comes to you and says, "Who is this person that is telling me this? Who do you think he is?" And you have that sense of arrogance bubbling — remember, it is Shaytan playing with you. You need to learn to zero in on the advice and ignore the rest. This person might use the wrong approach, but you as a receiver of guidance need to be able to say, "OK, maybe he didn't say it the right way, but what he is saying is true." You need to work on that, and that means curbing the arrogance and trying to be receptive to advice.

Because wallahi, even if sometimes their approach is wrong, even if they don't follow the Sunnah in being gentle, even if they don't follow the Sunnah in advising in private, even if they don't follow the Sunnah in these many aspects — they still walked up to you. They still cared enough to speak to you, and that means something. As opposed to the many that walked past and didn't advise you on your shortcomings.

Now, am I saying let's not follow the Sunnah? No. But sometimes I am speaking to you as the person giving guidance, and sometimes I am speaking to you as the person receiving guidance — because you will be both, my brothers and sisters.

Summary and Conclusion

I don't want to take too much of your time, but wallahi, a lot of khair and barakah will come from us as a community if we are speaking out more against evil, if we are calling more towards good, if we are more receptive to guidance, and if we follow the Sunnah when it comes to how we do it.

Allow me to summarize the points before we conclude, my brothers and sisters:

Number one: Understand that calling towards good and forbidding evil is an obligation. It is an obligation.

Number two: The reason we do it is مَعْذِرَةً — that we have an excuse in front of Allah — and also وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ — perhaps the person you are speaking to will accept that and be guided. And if they do, you will get a great deal of reward for that. May Allah reward us all.

Number three: Remember that the people that came before us were punished and cursed for their lack of concern for others, for their lack of calling towards good and forbidding evil.

Finally: When it comes to how we do it, we have the hadith that tells us there are three stages. Depending on how much authority you have and depending on the wisdom required, you will use whatever is appropriate. But there is one that you must always do — and that is hate it in your heart.

And finally, my brothers and sisters, the approach we take should be from the Sunnah: be sincere; do it in private when possible; do not embarrass people when you are giving them da'wah or calling them; use hikmah and knowledge; ensure that what they are doing is actually haram; ensure that what you think they are doing is actually what they did; do not go looking for people's mistakes and try to find them — but if they are very apparent, then you have the right to speak out. Give the people a chance to grow into the guidance that you are giving them. Fear Allah, have courage and patience when you are doing it, and be as gentle as you can.

And I am going to conclude with this final advice, my brothers and sisters. The great scholar Ibn Rajab said: do you know how you can check if you are sincere when you are giving someone guidance and da'wah? It is that when you speak to them, afterwards you follow up by making du'a for them when they are not there. So it is not only about that moment — "My brother, my sister, change this, do this" — but the moment that they are gone, you raise your hands and you make du'a for them, asking Allah to guide them.

I ask Allah to guide us all, to forgive us for our shortcomings, and to make us realize that we are the greatest nation through the calling towards good and forbidding evil.