A Guiding Address to the Members of the Committee on Patience in the Face of Accountability
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Your Excellency the Shaykh, I implore you: despite the heavy workload of the committee and the large number of cases we handle, the hearts of some of us have hardened. We ask you for a word that will renew our spirit, and may Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
No, the abundance of sins, crimes, and violations is not something that should discourage you from proceeding in obedience to Allah and in forbidding what is wrong. If people were righteous, we would not need you. If our entire community were righteous, we would not need you.
It is inevitable that in the community of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), there were those who stole, those who committed unlawful sexual intercourse, and those who engaged in highway robbery. However, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would execute the prescribed punishments against them, and no one’s criticism could deter him from the sake of Allah. It is not possible for a community to be 100% pure; there must be foolish people, there must be ignorant people, and there must be those driven by desires. Therefore, Allah prescribed the hudud (fixed Qur'anic punishments), prescribed ta'zir (discretionary punishment), and prescribed enjoining good and forbidding evil to treat the society.
So we must not give in despite the prevalence of crimes and the many open sinners, and so on. We must not yield to them; rather, we must do what Allah has made obligatory upon us and seek reward from Him. This is what we mean by patience: patience upon patience. “And enjoin upon each other righteousness and enjoin upon each other patience.” What did Luqman say to his son?[Luqman 31:17]. Because the one who enjoins good and forbids evil needs patience; otherwise, he will give up at the very beginning of the path. It is said that it is obligatory. And we do not reform the people. No.
You are obligated, and you have a reward and a recompense. This is from jihad in the path of Allah. This is your opportunity, this is your opportunity. So do not be weary, do not be annoyed, and do not despair. You must be patient. Yes.
Your Excellency the Shaykh, I implore you: despite the heavy workload of the committee and the large number of cases we handle, the hearts of some of us have hardened. We ask you for a word that will renew our spirit, and may Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
No, the abundance of sins, crimes, and violations is not something that should discourage you from proceeding in obedience to Allah and in forbidding what is wrong. If people were righteous, we would not need you. If our entire community were righteous, we would not need you.
It is inevitable that in the community of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), there were those who stole, those who committed unlawful sexual intercourse, and those who engaged in highway robbery. However, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would execute the prescribed punishments against them, and no one’s criticism could deter him from the sake of Allah. It is not possible for a community to be 100% pure; there must be foolish people, there must be ignorant people, and there must be those driven by desires. Therefore, Allah prescribed the hudud (fixed Qur'anic punishments), prescribed ta'zir (discretionary punishment), and prescribed enjoining good and forbidding evil to treat the society.
So we must not give in despite the prevalence of crimes and the many open sinners, and so on. We must not yield to them; rather, we must do what Allah has made obligatory upon us and seek reward from Him. This is what we mean by patience: patience upon patience. “And enjoin upon each other righteousness and enjoin upon each other patience.” What did Luqman say to his son?
O my son, establish prayer, enjoin what is right, forbid what is wrong, and be patient over what befalls you.
يَا بُنَيَّ أَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَانْهَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَاصْبِرْ عَلَىٰ مَا أَصَابَكَYou are obligated, and you have a reward and a recompense. This is from jihad in the path of Allah. This is your opportunity, this is your opportunity. So do not be weary, do not be annoyed, and do not despair. You must be patient. Yes.
Source
75-لقاءات مع الشيخ صالح الفوزان - 12- — archive.org (33:48)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.