“...He who strives against them with his heart is a believer and beyond that there is no faith even to the extent of a mustard seed.” Will you explain this hadith and the issue of enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil?

Ibn Mas’ud narrates: The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) stated the following:

“Never a Prophet had been sent before me by Allah towards his nation who had not among his people his disciples and companions who followed his ways and obeyed his command. Then there came after them their successors who said whatever they did not practice, and practiced whatever they were not commanded to do. He who strives against them with his hand is a believer: he who strives against them with his tongue is a believer, and he who strives against them with his heart is a believer and beyond that there is no faith even to the extent of a mustard seed.” [Muslim, Iman 80, (al-Anfal, 8/25)]

Dear Brother / Sister,

Ibn Mas’ud (radiyallahu anh) narrates: The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) stated the following:

“Never a Prophet had been sent before me by Allah towards his nation who had not among his people his disciples and companions who followed his ways and obeyed his command. Then there came after them their successors who said whatever they did not practice, and practiced whatever they were not commanded to do. He who strives against them with his hand is a believer: he who strives against them with his tongue is a believer, and he who strives against them with his heart is a believer and beyond that there is no faith even to the extent of a mustard seed.” [Muslim, Iman 80, (al-Anfal, 8/25)]

A believer needs to act based on the circumstances in the face of a bad deed (munkar). If it is something that he can overcome with his power, he needs to do so; if is something that he can cope with his words, he needs to do so. If he cannot overcome it with his power and words, he needs to hate it with his heart to show that he does not support it. If he does not do so, it means he tolerates/allows it, which does not comply with belief.  

Tariq Ibn Shihab narrated:

“It was Marwan who initiated the practice of delivering khutbah (sermon) before the prayer on the eid day. When he did so, a man from the congregation stood up and said: ‘What you do is wrong. Prayer should precede khutbah.’ Marwan said, ‘That practice has been done away with.’ Thereupon this Abu Said al-Khudri said, ‘This man has performed his duty of warning. I heard the Messenger of Allah state the following:

He who among you sees something wrong should modify it with the help of his hand; and if he has not strength enough to do it, he should do it with his tongue, and if he has not strength enough to do it, he should abhor it from his heart, and that is the least degree of belief.” [Malahim 17, (4340); Muslim, Iman 78 (49); Abu Dawud; Salatul-Iydayn 248 (1140); Tirmidhi, Fitan 11 (2173); Nasai, 17 (8, 111); Ibnu Majah, Fitan 20, (4013)]

The following is stated in a narration of Tirmidhi: “Somebody stood up and said, ‘O Marwan! You opposed to the sunnah’...”

Abu Dawud includes the following addition: “You started the pulpit (musalla) on eid day. However, there was no pulpit on eid day before.  In addition, you placed khutbah before prayer.”

The explanations above do not exist in the narration of Nawawi; only the words of the Prophet (pbuh) exists.

1. Umayyad caliphs uttered some political statements that disturbed the congregation during khutbahs. It became usual practice to insult and damn Ahl al-Bayt, especially Hz. Ali. Many Muslims who wanted to worship but did not want to listen those unpleasant statements left the mosque as soon as prayer finished; they would not listen to the khutbah. Marwan, the caliph, made the change mentioned above in order to make everybody listen to the khutbah. Khutbah was delivered first and prayer was performed after that. This brought about some other problems and interventions that shook the prestige of the caliph.

2. AMR BIL-MA’RUF AND NAHY ANIL-MUNKAR

We will mention briefly the issue of enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil, which is an important issue that preserves the religious life.

MA’RUF, which needs to be enjoined, is anything that the mind and the shari’ah regard good. Munkar, which needs to be forbidden, is anything that the mind and the shari’ah regard bad and reject.

Both many verses of the Quran and many hadiths of the Prophet (pbuh) encourage believers regarding this issue. It is stated that the nations that did not fulfill the duty of enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil collapsed in the past and that they would be subject to misfortunes and disasters in the future, and collapse too.   A hadith regarding the issue is as follows:

“If evil deeds are committed in a nation in which good people are more distinguished and powerful and if the good people do not intervene – in another narration, if evil deeds are committed in a nation in which there is a person who is powerful enough to intervene but he does not intervene - , Allah will send a general penalty that will affect everyone.”

The following hadith states that if enjoining what is good is not done in time, the infliction that society will suffer will be very hard to atone:

“O believers! Enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil before you fall into a situation in which your prayers will not be accepted though you beg a lot.”

Ibn Mas’ud narrates: The Prophet (pbuh) said,

“When Sons of Israel started to commit some sins, their scholars forbade them from it but they did not listen to them and did not give up. In the course of time, the scholars started to sit with them, help them and drink together with them. Thereupon, Allah added the aberration of them to the others and increased the unbelief of them with the others: ‘Curses were pronounced on those among the Children of Israel who rejected Faith, by the tongue of David and of Jesus the son of Mary...’” (al-Maida, 5/78)

Then, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), who was standing, sat down and completed his statement as follows:

“I swear by Allah, who holds my soul in His hand of power that if you do not forbid them from what is evil, you cannot attain His consent. [Abu Dawud, Malahim 17, (4336); Tirmidhi, Tafsir, Maida (3050), Ibn Majah, Fitan 20, (4006)]

Qays Ibn Abi Hazim narrates:

“After praising God Almighty, Hz. Abu Bakr (radiyallahu anh) stated the following:

“O people! You read the following verse and misunderstand it: O ye who believe! Guard your own souls: If ye follow (right) guidance, no hurt can come to you from those who stray.’ (al-Maida, 5/105). We heard the Prophet (pbuh) say, ‘When the people see a wrongdoer and do not prevent him, Allah will soon punish them all.’ I also heard the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) say, ‘If acts of disobedience are done among any people and they do not change them though they are able to do so, Allah will soon punish them all.’” [Abu Dawud, Malahim 17, (4338); Tirmidhi, Tafsir, Maida (3059), Fitan 8 (2169); Ibn Majah, Fitan 20 (4005)]

Abu Hudayfa narrates: The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,

“I swear by the Being who holds my soul in His hand of power that you will either enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil or Allah will soon send you a general punishment. You will beg a lot but your prayers will not be accepted.” [Tirmidhi, Fitan 9, (2170)]

Ibn Mas’ud narrates: The Prophet (pbuh) said,

“Indeed you shall be aided, obtain booty and conquer many countries. If any of you sees that, let him fear Allah, enjoin the good and forbid the evil. If a person lies about me on purpose, let him get ready for his place in fire.” [Tirmidhi, Fitan 70, (2258)]

Urs Ibn Amira al-Kindi narrates: The Prophet (pbuh) said,

“If a person sees an evil deed committed on earth and condemns it, he is saved from its harm as if he has not seen it. If a person does not see that evil deed committed but becomes pleased when he hears it, he is harmed spiritually as if he has seen it.” [Abu Davud, Malahim 17, (4345)]

Abu Said narrates: The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,  

“It is among great jihads to tell what is right in the presence of a cruel sultan.” [Abu Dawud, Malahim 17, (4344); Tirmidhi 13, (2175); Ibn Majah, Fitan 20, (4011)]

AMR BIL-MA’RUF AND NAHY ANIL-MUNKAR

The institution of amr bil-ma’ruf and nahy anil-munkar (enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil) is one of the most important precautions that Islam imposed in order to prevent mischief before it occurs. Ma’ruf is what the mind and the shari’ah regard good and munkar is what the mind and the shari’ah regard bad; this institution means informing people about good deeds and spreading them, and forbidding and preventing bad deeds. Both the Quran and hadiths deal with enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil a lot. It is repeatedly reminded so that it will not be neglected; the greatness of the reward of doing it and the greatness of the harm and misfortune of abandoning it are explained clearly enough for everybody to understand.  

A remarkable aspect of the issue is that the harm to be caused by abandoning forbidding what is evil is expressed as a mischief that will harm the whole society.

In this part, we will try to explain with examples from the verses of the Quran and hadiths the importance of enjoining what is good, the encouragement to do it and the results of abandoning it. Since the phrase is a bit long, we will sometimes use the word irshad in the sense of enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IRSHAD AND FITNAH (MISCHIEF):

A close relationship between abandoning irshad (activities of enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil) and the emergence and spread of fitnah (mischief) is established in verses and hadiths. The Prophet (pbuh) states the following:

“You will either enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil or Allah will make the evil ones among you assault the good ones. When your good ones pray, it will not be accepted.”

Another hadith is as follows:

“If evil deeds are committed in a nation in which good people are more distinguished and powerful and if the good people do not intervene – in another narration, if evil deeds are committed in a nation in which there is a person who is powerful enough to intervene but he does not intervene - , Allah will send a general penalty that will affect everyone.”

This penalty is so general and affects everyone that when it comes, not only the bad people but also the good people will be astonished. “They can neither eliminate the evil nor can they escape from its evil.” Therefore, the Prophet (pbuh) advises doing irshad on time and preventing mischief before increasing:

“O believers! Enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil before you fall into a situation in which your prayers will not be accepted though you beg a lot.”

According to a narration from Zaynab Bint Jahsh, when the Prophet (pbuh) woke up one morning, he said,

“Woe to Arabs from an evil that approaches. A hole as big as this – he made a circle with his fingers – was opened in the wall of Yajuj (Gog) and Majuj (Magog).” Hz. Zaynab asked:  

“Are we going to be destroyed as a whole though there are righteous people among us?” The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) answered:

“Yes, if evil increases, (you will all be destroyed.)”

EXAMPLES FROM PREVIOUS NATIONS:

Abandoning irshad is a source of destruction not only for the ummah of Muhammad but it is also a general social law of Allah for all human communities from the beginning. The nations that were subjected to disasters and that were eliminated in the history of man were those who were onlookers to the spread of evil and who did not fulfill the duty of irshad sufficiently and efficiently. What happened to them was the divine penalty and natural result of their neglect. The first verse attributes the cause of the disaster to the lack of the preventers of mischief (guides) while the second verse states that nations will not be destroyed just before polytheism (shirk) as long as there are preventers of mischief (guides):

“Why were there not, among the generations before you, persons possessed of balanced good sense, prohibiting (men) from mischief in the earth - except a few among them whom We saved (from harm)?...” (Hud, 11/116)

“Nor would thy Lord be the One to destroy communities for a single wrong-doing, if its members were likely to mend.” (Hud, 11/117)

The Prophet (pbuh) gives an example from Sons of Israel and states that they were subjected to disasters due to their neglect and levity:

“When corruption began in Sons of Israel, they saw their brothers committing sins and prevented them from those sins. However, the next day they would not hesitate to eat, drink and talk with them. Thereupon, Allah made them go astray by mixing their hearts with one another. The following verse was sent down about them in the Quran:

“Curses were pronounced on those among the Children of Israel who rejected Faith, by the tongue of David and of Jesus the son of Mary: because they disobeyed and persisted in excesses. Nor did they (usually) forbid one another the iniquities which they committed: evil indeed were the deeds which they did…If only they had believed in Allah, in the Prophet, and in what hath been revealed to him, never would they have taken them for friends and protectors...” (al-Maida, 5/78-81).

Then, the Prophet (pbuh), who was leaning against a wall, read the verses above, sat down and added the following:

“I swear by Allah, who holds my soul in His hand of power, that if you do not forbid them from what is evil, you cannot attain His consent.

“No. You will not abandon irshad until you hold the hand of the oppressor and guide him.”

IRSHAD SHOULD NOT BE NEGLECTED AT THE BEGINNING:

The scholars who explain hadiths understand the phrase “the prayers of the good people not being accepted” mentioned in various narrations quoted above as follows: If everybody abandons irshad, their prayers will not be accepted or people will not accept irshad and irshad will become ineffective since mischief becomes widespread and most people will be involved in bad deeds.   

In that case, those hadiths express the following: As soon as an evil deed emerges in society, it is necessary to try hard to eliminate it and not to underestimate it. As a matter of fact, when Ibn Abbas interprets the following verse:

“And fear tumult or oppression, which affecteth not in particular (only) those of you who do wrong: and know that Allah is strict in punishment” (al-Anfal, 8/25), he reaches the following conclusion: “God Almighty orders believers not to allow the settlement of even one evil deed and threatens to punish those who do not fulfill this command”.

Otherwise, an evil deed that starts to be committed by a small minority will be adopted by the majority over time, causing inevitable disasters that will affect everybody. The Prophet (pbuh) states the following:

“God Almighty does not punish the majority with the deeds of the minority. However, if the majority sees the bad deeds of the minority among them and does not prevent them though they have the power, God Almighty will punish both the minority and the majority due to acting like that. (The following is stated in Muwatta’s narration: “...If evil deeds are committed openly, all of them deserve the penalty.”)

THE PLACE OF THE COMPANIONS IN IRSHAD:

It is understood that the Companions kept such a high sensitivity – which disappeared afterwards – alive during the Era of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) thanks to the effect of the Prophet’s warnings related to those evil deeds that could emerge. Hudhayfa makes a complaint as follows:   

“During the Era of the Prophet (pbuh), a person would be regarded as a munafiq due to some words he uttered. Now I hear those words four times from a person during a conversation. That is not appropriate. You will either enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil or Allah will humiliate and abase all of you with His penalty or your evil ones will tyrannize you.  Then, your good ones will pray to Allah to be saved from it but their prayers will not be accepted.”

Hz. Abu Bakr (radiyallahu anh) was worried that a verse would be misunderstood and hence irshad would be neglected; therefore, he warned people as follows: “O people! You read the following verse of the Quran: “O ye who believe! Guard your own souls: If ye follow (right) guidance, no hurt can come to you from those who stray.” (al-Maida, 5/105) You misinterpret it and abandon the duty of irshad. We heard the Prophet (pbuh) say the following:

“If people see an evil and do not prevent it by intervening, Allah will soon punish them all.”

Ibn Kathir states that there is no evidence showing that one can abandon irshad though he has the opportunity to do it. Ibn Kathir includes the condition “opportunity” because it is better to abandon irshad if it is to cause mischief – as it will be mentioned later.

When Razi lists various interpretations of the verse, he regards the following interpretation that Abdullah Ibn Mubarak makes more appropriate. “The verse enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil is confirmed in the verse in question. For, with the phrase “guard your own souls”, the verse says take care of your religious brotherhood; the aberration of unbelievers will not hard you... Guard yourselves by advising, encouraging good deeds and charities, preventing bad deeds and sins. The phrase “guard your own souls” protect yourselves; real protection is through enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil.”

NOT TO FEAR AND DREAD DURING IRSHAD:

The Prophet (pbuh) states that it is necessary to fulfill the service of enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil (irshad), which interests the qadar and future of society, that is, not to dread while conveying the truth to people when they start to do something that the religion forbids and abandon something that the religion orders. The truth needs to be uttered in the presence of the sultan too:

“The most valuable jihad is to tell the truth in the presence of the cruel sultan.”

“Be careful! Fear of people must not prevent you from telling the truth.”

The Prophet (pbuh) describes the fear of people that can prevent one from proclaiming the truth as “despising one’s soul” in another narration and states that it will make a person responsible on the Day of Judgment:   

- None of you should despise his soul.

- O Messenger of Allah! How does a person despise his soul?

- He sees a bad thing about which he has to speak for the sake of Allah but he keeps silent. God Almighty asks him on the Day of Judgment:

“What prevented you from telling the truth about such and such a thing?” The slave will answer:

“Fear of people (I kept silent because I feared people).” Allah states the following:

“You should have feared me.”

It is an important principle not to pay attention to the fear of people that can occur in various forms in the activities done for the sake of Allah, in enjoining and proclaiming what is good and preventing and forbidding what is evil. As a matter of fact, the Quran praises “those who are never afraid of the blame of the blamers while fighting in the way of Allah”. Due to the importance of this issue, the Prophet included the condition of “not being afraid of the blame of the blamers while striving in the way of Allah” during the allegiance with the first Muslims.

If this issue is not paid attention, it is clear that the command of proclaiming will remain unfulfilled and that oppressors will become braver and increase their oppression. The Prophet (pbuh) expresses the honor of the Muslim individual and society that keeps silent in the face of oppression in the following hadith:   

“If you see my ummah fear saying to an oppressor ‘You are an oppressor’, know that its existence and non-existence are the same.”

THOSE WHO MAKE A HOLE IN THE BOAT:

The Prophet (pbuh) states that if the good people keep silent in the face of evil deeds, the social problems (mischief, chaos, evil, etc.) caused by the bad people will threaten the whole society including the good people. He draws the following analogy that is difficult to forget in order to prevent keeping silent and remaining indifferent:

“The example of the people abiding by Allah's order and restrictions in comparison to those who violate them is like the example of those people who drew lots for their seats in a boat. Some of them got seats in the upper part, and the others in the lower. When the latter needed water, they had to go up to bring water, troubling the others. If the ones in the lower part took an axe and made a hole at the bottom of boat, the ones above would come and say, ‘What are you doing?’ The ones in the lower part would say: ‘When we took water, we disturbed you; we need water. Therefore, we will get water like this without disturbing you now.’ If the ones above, prevented them, they would save both themselves and those in the lower part. If they allowed them, both the ones in the lower part and they themselves would be destroyed.”

THE DECREE ON AMR BIL-MA’RUF:

As it is seen, all Islamic sects agree that enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil (irshad), which is given an exceptional place and extraordinary importance in the Quran and hadiths, is absolutely fard. Even Rafizis, who has the most different view regarding the issue, do not deny that it is wajib but restrict it by saying, “it needs to be done by the people appointed by the state”. According to Ahl as-Sunnah, this issue is a secondary issue but according to Mu’tazila, it is regarded among main issues. That enjoining what is good is not wajib is dependent upon what is enjoined and what is forbidden. Enjoining wajib is regarded as wajib and enjoining mandub is regarded as mandub. It is wajib to forbid haram and it is mandub to forbid makruh.  (In this issue, the term “wajib” is not in the sense of the religious decree about which there is a doubt in terms of its certainty in the eye of fiqh scholars. Wajib here expresses definite things like fard.)

This issue can be summarized briefly as above but we regarded it more appropriate to summarize partly from Taftazani and to make main themes clear with headings due to its importance and its close relationship with anarchy, which is our main topic:

Taftazani includes the following explanation regarding the issue: “...What is meant by ma’ruf here is wajib. What is meant by munkar is haram. Therefore, scholars regard it a duty to enjoin what is good and to forbid what is evil using a definite style.  

However, enjoining a mandub deed is not wajib; it is only mandub. The evidence that enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil is wajib and that it is not dependent upon the emergence of the expected imam as Rafizis claim is certain in terms of the Quran, sunnah and ijma (consensus).

“Our evidence from the Quran is the following statement of God Almighty:  

“Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong: They are the ones to attain felicity.” (Aal-i Imran, 3/104)

Another verse is as follows:

“Enjoin what is just, and forbid what is wrong.” (Luqman, 31/17)

The evidence from the Sunnah is the following statement of the Prophet (pbuh):

“Enjoin what is good, forbid what is evil and show patience in the face of the inflictions while doing so.”

Another evidence is the following statement of the Prophet (pbuh):

“If any of you sees a munkar, let him prevent it with his hand; if he cannot prevent it with his hand, let him prevent it with his tongue; if he cannot do it, let him hate it with his heart; that is the weakest degree of belief.”

“As for consensus, it is the fact that the Muslims advised it to each other in the first century of Islam and afterwards and that they blamed those who abandoned it though they had the power to do it.”

IS IT POSSIBLE FOR IT NOT TO BECOME WAJIB? After determining that irshad is wajib as it is stated above, Taftazani mentions the evidences that could be used to show that it is not wajib and refutes them. He states the following:

“They deny that it is wajib by using the following verses of the Quran:

“O ye who believe! Guard your own souls: If ye follow (right) guidance, no hurt can come to you from those who stray...” (al-Maida, 5/105), and

“Let there be no compulsion in religion” (al-Baqara, 2/256)

and the following narration reported by Hz. Aisha: “We asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah! When is maruf not enjoined and munkar not prohibited?’ He gave the following answer: ‘When stinginess surrounds the good ones among you, authority is captured by the disgraced ones among you, flattering becomes the characteristic of the old people among you and wealth is owned by the young ones’”, we will give the following answer: “What is meant by the hadith is as follows: Improve your souls by fulfilling wajib deeds and abandoning sinful deeds, by enjoining what is good, and forbidding what is evil; the insistence of the rebels on committing sins after that will not harm you. Similarly, the aberration of an aberrant person will not harm a guided person if he forbids evil.”

The verse “Let there be no compulsion in religion” was abrogated by the verses commanding jihad. However, it is debatable whether commanding and prohibiting can be in the form of (compulsion).

As for the hadith, it indicates that it becomes no longer wajib only when the conditions disappear. That state is when enjoining what is good, forbidding what is evil becomes harmful rather than useful.  

THE CONDITIONS THAT MAKE AMR AND NAHY WAJIB:

After the explanations above, Taftazani states that enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil is wajib under certain conditions and starts to list them:  

“FIRST CONDITION: The person to do it has to know what it is. That is, is enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil a specific wajib or an optional deed? Is it a general wajib for everybody or is it wajib kifayah (when it is done by some people, others will not be held responsible)? It is also necessary to know those issues about the thing to be forbidden (i.e. is it haram, makruh, mandub or fard?) To sum up, the first condition necessitates knowing at the time of enjoining and forbidding that enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil is dependent upon a different decree (wajib, mandub, etc.) based on the thing to be enjoined or forbidden being wajib, mandub, etc.; thus enjoining and forbidding will be made related to something that is appropriate for shari’ah.   

“SECOND CONDITION: The view that it will be effective. If it is known that it will definitely not be effective, it must not be done. Otherwise, what is done will be wasting time and doing something unnecessary. If it is not effective, we say, “Lowering the religion can be in question instead of elevating it in this deed.”

“THIRD CONDITION: The positive result to be obtained at the end of enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil must be more than the evil that is committed or at least equal to it. That applies to enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil that is wajib, not that is permissible. Furthermore, scholars state that it is permissible for a person to intervene even if he thinks that he will not be able to overcome the evil doing person by hitting him, etc. and that even he might kill him. However, it is permissible for a person to keep silent in such a case. This permission is contrary to the decree about a person who attacks polytheists on his own though he thinks he will be killed. For, it is permissible for such a person to attack if he thinks he will probably win by killing, wounding or defeating them.”

FOR WHOM IT IS WAJIB: Taftazani continues his explanations and states under what conditions enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil becomes wajib for people with different religious and social status like the imam (head of state), khawas (elite) and awam (ordinary people):

“1. THE POSITION OF THE HEAD OF STATE: According to Ahl as-Sunnah, it is not a duty peculiar to the head of state. In the first century of Islam and in the years after that, the Muslims enjoined what was good to the administrators and forbad them from what was evil. This act was not regarded odd and they did not get permission from any authority to do it. Thus, it is understood that it is not a duty peculiar to the administrators. On the contrary, it is permissible for the citizens to do it with words and deeds.   

“2. WHAT DEED IS PECULIAR TO THE STATE: If the intervention necessitates armed struggle, the sultan needs to intervene so as not to allow any mischief; individuals cannot intervene. Jurjani speaks more clearly regarding the issue and states the following: “If the person enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil thinks that it is more probable that his intervention will cause mischief or will not attain the purpose, it does not become wajib to enjoin what is good and to forbid what is evil.”

 ”3. THE DEEDS THAT EVERYBODY CAN INTERVENE: If a deed is understood to be munkar easily by both elite people and ordinary people, both scholars and ignorant people have the right to intervene. However, it is not the duty of the individual to forbid by using force because it instigates mischief and increases evil.

“4. THE DEEDS THAT SCHOLARS CAN INTERVENE: If it is based on ijtihad to understand whether something is munkar or not, that is, if it is judged to be munkar only through ijtihad, ordinary people (people who are not scholars and mujtahids) cannot enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil; it is the duty of mujtahids.

“5. DISAGREEMENT AMONG SCHOLARS: It should be known that a mujtahid cannot reject and blame another mujtahid due to a disagreement in an issue they decide through ijtihad. According to Ahl as-Sunnah, every mujtahid is regarded to have found the truth related to secondary issues. This issue is included in Majallah as the 16^th rule in general rules as follows: “An ijtihad is not rejected by another ijtihad.”

“6. CAN A FASIQ (OPEN SINNER) PERSON ENJOIN WHAT IS GOOD AND FORBID WHAT IS EVIL? Enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil is not wajib for only pious people who fear Allah, who are honest and who do not commit the sins that they will forbid. Anybody who sees a munkar has to forbid it even if he himself commits it. For, abandoning a munkar is one thing and forbidding a munkar is another thing. Somebody who does not do one of them does not have to abandon the other.

“7. ENJOINING WHAT IS GOOD AND FORBIDDING WHAT IS EVIL IS FARD AL-KIFAYA: If one person in every region fulfils this duty properly, the others will be freed of the responsibility of this fard. This decree is not contrary to the decree that it is fard for everybody. For, the view of our madhhab is that when fard al-kifaya is fulfilled by some people, the others are relieved of the responsibility.

“8. APPOINTING A SPECIAL OFFICIAL (MUHTASIB): If a person is appointed for enjoining what is good, it becomes his duty. This person inspects the issues that involve the rights of God Almighty without searching and spying. Similarly, he inspects the issues that involve the rights of people. However, when he does it, he does not intervene in all issues. For example, he does not intervene in issues like a rich person delaying paying his debt and a person’s exceeding the wall of his neighbor. If the owner of a right wants help from him, he becomes involved. The same thing applies to the breakdown of the drinking water of a district, the walls of a town collapsing, the people of a region abandoning taking care of the needy people when there is no money in the Treasury. The official inspects and enjoins without targeting anybody; he intervenes in those who change the appearance of the deeds of worship. For example, He intervenes in the loud reciting in prayers where silent reading is necessary, those who increase or decrease the words of adhan, those who issue fatwas, give lessons and preach though they are not qualified to do so. He also intervenes in the judges that hide the opponents and tries to make haphazard decisions in judicial affairs and the imams of the mosques who lengthen prayers. Thus, it is understood that the deed of enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil is not peculiar to wajib and haram deeds only.

“9. MANNER OF ENJOINING WHAT IS GOOD AND FORBIDDING WHAT IS EVIL: It is appropriate for the intervention to be done from sweetness and softness to firmness and forcing based on the state of munkar. The following is included in Muhitul-Hanafiyy: “If a person sees somebody with his knees uncovered, he intervenes leniently. If the person acts obstinately, he does not enter into a quarrel. If the part above his knee is open, he intervenes firmly but does not hit him if he acts obstinately. If his private parts are open, he punishes him; if he acts obstinately, he kills that person.” Ghazali clarifies the issue as follows: “As for using severe expressions like ‘O oppressor!’ and ‘O the one who does not fear Allah’ during forbidding what is evil, if it is feared that the evil to be caused by using them will affect others, such phrases should not be used. However, if it is thought that it will harm only that person, it is permissible and even mandub. The practice of Salaf was in the form of fulfilling the duty of enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil openly and personally.”

“10. KNOWING ONE’S PLACE IN IRSHAD: If we pay attention to the issues mentioned so far about enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil, we understand that it is not something to be done ignorantly and without acting carefully. The nature of the thing to be intervened, the effect to be obtained, whether mischief can be brought about should be taken into consideration and the person to do it should consider his state and make evaluations. In order to make the last issue clear, we will include the deductions of some scholars from the following hadith: “If any of you sees a munkar, let him prevent it with his hand; if he cannot prevent it with his hand, let him prevent it with his tongue; if he cannot do it, let him hate it with his heart...”. The scholars state the following:

“The first order in the hadith (the order of preventing the munkar with the hand) is related to administrators. The second one is related to scholars and the third one is related to all Muslims. In that case, if the administrators do not intervene directly by using force at appropriate times and speak only, this deed will be weak in the face of the munkar; if the scholars abandon the way of guiding, persuasion, proving and refuting by using their tongue and try to use weapons, it will bring about another mischief (anarchy).”

“11. ENJOINING AND FORBIDDING THE ADMINISTRATORS: It is necessary to mention the following issue while dealing with various issues related to enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil. It is regarded as a principle to enjoin and forbid a cruel sultan too but it is necessary to use a method that will not cause mischief. Ghazali expresses the issue as follows: “Enjoining what is good to the administrators should be in the form of description and preaching.” Razi states that it is wajib for Muslims to forbid the administrator that commits an evil deed through preaching and giving advice as long as a mischief that can occur between two groups does not emerge.

Thus, related to this fard al-kifaya of enjoining and forbidding, which becomes a duty for everybody in some circumstances, we should be ready to fulfill our duty without falling into weakness, anarchy and cowardice. Otherwise, it is not Islamic jihad and the type of enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil that the religion of Islam wants to resort to imported and non-Islamic methods thinking that one is serving Islam as some people do today by taking to the streets with sticks and weapons, writing randomly, drawing without considering the addressees and the social conditions of the present time, calling some people unbelievers, insulting and alienating people. Those who do so will be disappointed in the world and they will be held responsible in the hereafter, suffering eternal regret. For, the religion of the Prophet can be served only with his principles.

ABANDONING ENJOINING WHAT IS GOOD AND FORBIDDING WHAT IS EVIL

Some verses of the Quran and hadiths state that it is necessary to abandon enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil in cases in which mischief increases very much. As it was explained sufficiently in the relevant issue, it might be evaluated as a contradictory state at first sight that the duty of enjoining and forbidding, which is a general fard for everybody to the extent that they have the opportunity and an important measure to prevent mischief, is ordered to be abandoned as a measure to prevent mischief. In fact, this prohibition is another evidence showing the importance Islam gives to the prevention of mischief. As it is seen, the order to abandon enjoining what is good is given so as not to instigate and increase mischief. For, such conditions and circumstances are described that enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil will cause mischief to increase.  

The following verse exists in the Quran related to abandoning enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil: “O ye who believe! Guard your own souls: If ye follow (right) guidance, no hurt can come to you from those who stray.” (al-Maida 5/105.) Despite the agreement of the majority of the scholars that the obligation of enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil, which is certain based on many other verses of the Quran and the hadiths of the Prophet, is not abolished, it is stated that the obligation will be suspended in some cases.

This verse has caused different understandings since the Era of the Prophet (pbuh) and the Companions; the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) himself made some explanations to clarify the issue. We can say in the first place based on some explanations in the hadiths and the explications of scholars that it is an undeniable fact that abandoning enjoining what is good is mentioned under certain circumstances. There are many narrations confirming this fact.  

Abdullah Ibn Amr Ibnil-As narrates one of them as follows:

“Once, we were sitting around the Prophet (pbuh). The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) mentioned mischief and said,

“If you see that people do not keep their promises, that they misappropriate and that the good and the bad become intermingled – he interlocked his fingers to show it – and cannot be separated, mischief has started.”  I went over him and asked,

“What do you advise me to do then?” He said,

“Retire into your house, keep silent, do maruf, abandon munkar, try to protect and save yourself and your relatives, do not interfere in others’ affairs.”

In another narration, the same advice is given to Ibn Umar. The hadiths that order people to retire into their houses and not to interfere in others’ affairs in terms of a concept though they do not include the same words were reported by some other Companions like Abu Dharr and Muhammad Ibn Maslama. The most comprehensive and clearest one is the narration from Abu Umayya ash-Sha’bani. He states the following:

“I asked Abu Tha'labah al-Khushayni: “O Abu Tha'labah! What is your opinion about the verse “Guard your own souls?” He said: I swear by Allah, I asked the one who was well informed about it. I asked the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) about it. He said:

No. Do not abandon irshad. On the contrary, enjoin one another to do what is good and forbid one another from doing what is evil. However, when you see niggardliness being obeyed, passion being followed, worldly interests being preferred, everyone being charmed with their own opinions, care for yourself, and give up dealing with others.”

The social corruptions like niggardliness being obeyed, worldly interests being preferred to the religion, passion being followed, religious discipline being abandoned and personal opinions being followed, which make it legitimate for irshad activities to be abandoned, are mentioned in the hadith above; some other issues like the state of being managed by young people, the old people falling into prostitution and knowledge being owned by disgraced people are added in other hadiths.

Islamic scholars evaluated the narrations related to abandoning enjoining what is good as follows: In cases in which a person thinks that evil has prevailed in society because it is accepted by the majority or he will not be able to eliminate munkar with his intervention because evil people are aggressive and malicious or he will be harmed without getting any benefits from his activity, in other words, evil people increase and good people become weak, it is permissible to abandon enjoining what is good; salaf agreed unanimously on it.  

DELIBERATENESS (CAUTION) IN IRSHAD

The Prophet (pbuh) states the following in a narration confirming that one should not hurry to enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil in cases in which mischief becomes widespread and there is no hope for irshad to be effective: “People will see such a period that a believer will pray to Allah for everybody and God Almighty will say to him, “I will answer your prayer if it is about yourself but I am angry with people in general.”

The Prophet (pbuh) states the following in a narration from two different Companions (Hz. Ali and Ibn Umar):

“It is not permissible for a believer to despise his soul.” The Companions asked,

“O Messenger of Allah! How does a person despise his soul?” The Prophet answered:

“He acts against a problem that he cannot cope with.”

The following narration confirms what we have mentioned so far regarding the issue: “The Prophet (pbuh) states the following:

“When God Almighty questions a person on the Day of Judgment, He also asks the following question:

‘What prevented you from intervening when you saw a munkar?’ If God Almighty helps His slave, he will give the following answer:

“O Lord! I kept away from people by depending on your generosity and grace because I feared their evil.”

ONE SHOULD NOT BE MORE ROYALIST THAN THE KING

When the fact is as it is mentioned above, one should act cautiously and should not go to extremes in the struggle against evil in order to ensure the society that is desired. The owner of the religion (Allah) orders us to give up irshad in cases in which it is probable to increase mischief and in which one himself and others might be harmed by the reaction of the addressees, and to try to save himself and his relatives, from whom such problems will not be in question. When this criterion is certain, it is not regarded as service to religion but murder in the name of religion to go to extremes that will increase the mischief that is all around with the intention of irshad, without considering the circumstances. Such a person will be held responsible by Allah. There is no need to be more royalist than the king, more Islamic than the Prophet (pbuh).

Munawi states the following at the end of the explanation of the hadith ordering us to abandon irshad:

“...Abandon what is contrary to shari’ah among the things that people do. Watch Allah’s prudence on people with your heart. For, He divided ethics among people just as He divided sustenance. If He had wished, he would have given the same ethics to all of them. Then, do not be heedless of seeing God Almighty’s prudence on those happenings. If you see a sin, thank Allah that he has not involved you in it. When you enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil, act softly, leniently, patiently and calmly. If your activity is made effective, thank Allah; if it is not effective, ask forgiveness from Allah for your insufficiency. Show patience in the face of the inflictions regarding this issue because patience is a great determination and steadfastness in the face of incidents.”

ANOTHER ASPECT OF MISCHIEF:

MISCHIEF PURGES OPPRESSORS

We can mention some other verses and hadiths in order to express the importance of acting so deliberately and cautiously while enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil as to abandon it. The Prophet (pbuh) states the following in a narration that Ibnul-Arabi includes in his book called Ahkamul-Quran:

“Do not detest mischief because it purges munafiqs (hypocrites).”

The following hadith, which is reported from Tabarani’s Awsat, confirms the same meaning: “I take revenge from those whom I hate through those whom I hate; then, I send both groups to Hell.”

The following narration, whose meaning is confirmed by the narrations above, is also remarkable:

“An oppressor is a means of Allah’s justice on earth. Allah takes rvenge through him and then takes revenge from him.”

The following verse confirms the meaning of the hadiths above, which, according to scholars, are weak in terms of the chain of narrators: “Thus do we make the wrong-doers turn to each other, because of what they earn.” (al-An’am 8/129.)

It is reported that Imam Malik states the following for the leaders who are worried for their sultanate: “If a new sultan emerges against the existing sultan, it is a duty to repel the new one if he wants to overthrow an imam like Umar Ibn Abdilaziz. However, if he is not a sultan that is not dear like him, leave him. It means Allah is taking revenge from an oppressor through another oppressor. He will take revenge from both of them afterwards.”

DELIBERATENESS (CAUTION) IN THE DECISION OF ABANDONING IRSHAD

When we mention abandoning enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil, it is necessary to state that this issue is very delicate. It is not appropriate for everybody to make decisions regarding the issue, to be onlookers to the evil deeds that surround society by using this principle as an excuse for laziness. Otherwise, we will pave the way for evil, debauched and unbelieving people who want to spread evil and eliminate Islam to act freely. Therefore, we might be exposed to great disasters and responsibilities and be a target of the fury of God Almighty.

We will give some examples of cases from salaf as-salihin, who are our real leaders in all issues, in order to show the sensitivity of the issue and the necessity of acting very cautiously before reaching the conclusion that the conditions “make it necessary to abandon irshad”.  Since those cases are similar to the incidents that we experience today – those incidents and conversations took place during the great mischief (al-Fitnatul-Kubra), which caused people to fight during the Era of the Companions and Tabiun - , they will enlighten us and shed light on the issue.  

EXAMPLE 1: According to a narration from Hasan al-Basri, a man came to Ibn Mas’ud and asked him about the following verse: “Guard your own souls: If ye follow (right) guidance, no hurt can come to you from those who stray”. Ibn Mas’ud gave the following answer: It is not the time to abandon irshad, which is mentioned in this verse. Irshad is appropriate now. However, the time when it will be necessary to abandon irshad will come. When you make irshad such and such evil deeds will be inflicted upon you. (Ibn Mas’ud probably said, “Nobody will listen to your irshad then.”). At that time, you will need to guard your own souls: If ye follow (right) guidance, no hurt can come to you from those who stray.”

EXAMPLE 2: The following is reported from Ibn Mas’ud related to the same verse: “When a group of people was sitting near Ibn Mas’ud, a disagreement occurred between two people. They attempted to attack each other. Somebody from the group said, “Shall I stand up and enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil?” The person next to him said, “Leave them and mind your own business. God Almighty says, “Guard your own souls...”.  When Ibn Mas’ud heard it, he said, “No. The interpretation of this verse has not become certain yet. As you know, the Quran was sent down when the Prophet (pbuh) was alive. The interpretation of some verses became certain a little while after his death. The interpretation of some verses will be certain after a while. The interpretation of some verses will be certain during Doomsday. The interpretation of some verses will be certain after Doomsday, during reckoning. Enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil as long as your hearts preserve their unity, your desires are shared, you are not divided into groups and you are not oppressed by one another. However, when your hearts become separated, when you are divided into opposing groups and when you are oppressed by one another, guard your own souls at that time. Only then will the interpretation of this verse be certain...”

EXAMPLE 3: Once they asked Hz. Umar’s son, Abdullah, “Is it not possible for you to sit at home and not to enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil in this atmosphere of chaos? God Almighty states the following: ‘Guard your own souls: If ye follow (right) guidance, no hurt can come to you from those who stray.’” Ibn Umar gave the following answer: “This verse is neither for me nor for my friends.

For, the Prophet said,

“Those who saw me should convey what I have conveyed to them to those who will not see me.”

We are the ones who saw the Prophet (pbuh). You are the ones who did not see him. We have to convey the message to you. As for this verse, it is for some people that will come after us. Even if this message is conveyed to them, they will not accept it.  

EXAMPLE 4: Once, a fearless person who talked a lot came to Hz. Umar’s son, Abdullah and said, “O Abu Abdurrahman. There are six people; all of them read the Quran. They all act hurriedly to deduce decrees from the Quran. They all make ijtihad. However, none of them acts cautiously while deducing decrees. Besides, all of them say they only want goodness. It is strange that they show evidences indicating that the others fell into shirk (polytheism).” One of the people sitting there interrupted and said, “Can there be a greater villainy than accusing one another of polytheism?” The man said, “I did not ask you. Keep silent. My addressee is that old man.” He repeated his statement for Abdullah.

Abdullah gave the following answer: “May Allah improve you! It seems that you want me to say that those people are unbelievers and to order you to kill them. You want to kill them. No. Go to them and give them advice. Prevent them from this deed. If they do not obey, guard yourself. God Almighty said, “O ye who believe! Guard your own souls...”

EXAMPLE 5: the following narration from Jubayr Ibn Nufayr is remarkable: He said, “I was in a congregation where the Companions of the Prophet (pbuh) were present. I was the youngest one among them. They were talking about the issue of enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil. I interrupted and said, “God Almighty states the following in His book: ‘O ye who believe! Guard your own souls: If ye follow (right) guidance, no hurt can come to you from those who stray.’ There is no need to discuss it. They turned toward me and said, “Do you choose a verse whose meaning and interpretation you do not know from the Quran?” I wished I had not spoken. They talked for a long time. When they were about to leave, they said to me, “You are a young man. You have picked a verse about which you do not know yet. However, you will probably reach the time when its interpretation becomes certain. When you see that people act selfishly, pursue their desires and do not value the views of others except their own views, it means the interpretation of the verse has become certain. ‘Guard your own souls: If ye follow (right) guidance, no hurt can come to you from those who stray’ at that time.”

THE DECREE OF FIQH: It will be useful to mention an explanation included by Ibn Abidin since it will shed light on the issue. Ibn Abidin states the following: “It is permissible for a soldier to attack unbelievers in a battle on his own with the hope of killing them, wounding them and making them escape. However, if it is obvious that he cannot do any of them, it is not permissible for him to attack.” Then, he continues as follows: “A Muslim’s forbidding fasiqs from evil is not like that even if they can kill him let alone abandoning evil. It is permissible for him to keep silent and not to intervene but it is not haram for him not forbid them from evil. For, Muslims already believe that what he says is haram. Therefore, his forbidding evil will affect fasiqs unlike unbelievers.    

This statement of Ibn Abidin reminded us of the following verse:

“But teach (thy Message) for teaching benefits the Believers.” (adh-Dhariyat, 51/55)

(see Prof. Dr. İbrahim Canan, Kütüb-ü Sitte Tercüme ve Şerhi, EMR-İ Bİ’L-MA’RUF VE’N-NEHY-İ ANİ’L-MÜNKER CHAPTER)

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