"If a person sees a bad deed that he cannot change, it is enough for him to be saved from the sin when he tells Allah that he does not like that deed." How should we understand the hadith above?

The Answer

Dear Brother / Sister,

"If a person sees a bad deed that he cannot change, it is enough for him to be saved from the sin when he tells Allah that he does not like that deed." (Tabarani)

Every Muslim has to fulfill his duty. The status of a person in a community lays some responsibilities on him. Every Muslim is held responsible based on his status and position. We can view the issue through the following hadith:

When you see a mischief, change it with your hands if you can; but if not, try with your tongue; if it does not work either, disapprove it with your heart.” (Müslim, İman 78; Tirmidhi, Fitan, 11)

That hadith may not be interpreted by every person depending on their own understanding. For example, if we see something wrong on the street and dare to change it with our hands and beat the wrongdoer, and if the man sues us, a penalty will be applied on us. So, in what way should we understand the hadith?

It is the duty of the authorized people, that is, the state and the security forces to correct a mistake with the hand, the duty of the scholars to correct it with the tongue and the duty of the others to disapprove it with the heart.

Man may confront with some bad deeds that he cannot intervene throughout his life. He might not be able to correct that bad deed. In that case, if he disapproves it with the heart and feels disturbed, he will be freed of the responsibility for that bad deed.

Questions on Islam

Was this answer helpful?
In order to make a comment, please login or register