What is the ruling on a soldier who resides in a barracks among his fellow soldiers who are negligent in prayer and commit many sins, and likewise the commander is negligent?
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The questioner : Peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy.
The Shaykh : Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.
The questioner : I have a long question, Shaykh. May Allah reward you for your patience, if Allah wills.
The question says: I am a soldier with the rank of corporal, and I live in the military barracks. It contains a large number of soldiers of various ranks, from sergeant and below. Among them are those who pray and are committed, those who only pray, and a large number who abandon prayer, may Allah protect us from that.
And when I rebuke them with wisdom, they say, "May Allah reward you with good," sarcastically, and it does not benefit them. And as I mentioned, I am a corporal, and my authority to punish those who do not pray is limited. I do not punish anyone except those below me in rank. As for those higher than me in military rank, I cannot punish them, and if I advise them, they may not heed the advice.
Knowing that the military barracks contain sins that only Allah knows about, and I do not wish to mention the types of sins that occur in the military barracks.
And despite this corruption, there are righteous people who can be counted on the fingers. Some are righteous in themselves and do not know what is going on around them, and some know but it does not move them.
The Shaykh : Continue, are you finished?
The questioner : No, there is more, from the beginning.
The Shaykh : No, no, continue, continue.
The questioner : And despite this corruption, there are righteous people who can be counted on the fingers. Some are righteous in themselves and do not know what is going on around them, and some know but it does not move them. And as I mentioned, their rebuke is limited. We have a commander in the company who is very negligent in prayer.
The Shaykh : And what do you have?
The questioner : The commander of the company, the company commander, is very negligent in prayer, but he loves the righteous. He is contradictory in his actions and words. Although he encourages prayer and threatens people who commit sins and abandon prayer with dismissal or transfer to religious affairs, we have not seen him do so, although he knows who is righteous in the company and who is corrupt. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : This question is long, and it is a question about an entire village, because the residential complex gathers people whose ideas, desires, actions, and words differ.
And if the advisor advises, it is not a condition of advice that the advised person accepts it. Did you see Allah saying to Musa and Harun:[Taha 20:43-44] So he bore the burdens of the message, but did he remember or fear? I ask you.
No, it is not a condition of advice that it be accepted.
If a person does what is obligatory upon him of advice, he has fulfilled what is required of him. If the one to whom it was directed accepts it, that is for him and for the advisor. If it is not accepted, it is for the advisor, and the responsibility is on the other.
But despite that, I do not exempt the subordinates and those below them from advising those above them. If they see acceptance from them, otherwise, let them raise the matter to those above them as well, either directly or through someone who conveys it to the authorities above him. Because appointing the unrighteous over the righteous is a reversal and inversion, for the obligatory thing is that the righteous one is the one who holds authority.
And this does not mean that we want him to jump from his rank to the other's rank, but we want that if the one above him does not reform, he is replaced by another righteous person.
And despite this, I believe that righteousness, praise be to Allah, has begun to spread in the military sectors and others. And some people flatter with righteousness at first, then in the end they become righteous with pure righteousness for Allah (Mighty and Majestic). As for the difference among the senior officials, from the leaders and those below them, this is a matter that is inevitable in most cases.
But it is better that this man reforms others and punishes those who have done wrong, even if he is not righteous in himself. This is better, and perhaps Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) will grant him the reform of his own self, as he tries to reform others. In summary: I advise you to remain in advising and punishing those you have authority over. If the one you advised does not heed, it is possible to raise the matter to those above him, either directly if you can, or through others if you cannot, especially if his sin is an exit from the religion, like the one who does not pray. The one who does not pray is, without doubt in my view, a disbeliever, an apostate, and outside of Islam. As the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, Yes.
The Shaykh : Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.
The questioner : I have a long question, Shaykh. May Allah reward you for your patience, if Allah wills.
The question says: I am a soldier with the rank of corporal, and I live in the military barracks. It contains a large number of soldiers of various ranks, from sergeant and below. Among them are those who pray and are committed, those who only pray, and a large number who abandon prayer, may Allah protect us from that.
And when I rebuke them with wisdom, they say, "May Allah reward you with good," sarcastically, and it does not benefit them. And as I mentioned, I am a corporal, and my authority to punish those who do not pray is limited. I do not punish anyone except those below me in rank. As for those higher than me in military rank, I cannot punish them, and if I advise them, they may not heed the advice.
Knowing that the military barracks contain sins that only Allah knows about, and I do not wish to mention the types of sins that occur in the military barracks.
And despite this corruption, there are righteous people who can be counted on the fingers. Some are righteous in themselves and do not know what is going on around them, and some know but it does not move them.
The Shaykh : Continue, are you finished?
The questioner : No, there is more, from the beginning.
The Shaykh : No, no, continue, continue.
The questioner : And despite this corruption, there are righteous people who can be counted on the fingers. Some are righteous in themselves and do not know what is going on around them, and some know but it does not move them. And as I mentioned, their rebuke is limited. We have a commander in the company who is very negligent in prayer.
The Shaykh : And what do you have?
The questioner : The commander of the company, the company commander, is very negligent in prayer, but he loves the righteous. He is contradictory in his actions and words. Although he encourages prayer and threatens people who commit sins and abandon prayer with dismissal or transfer to religious affairs, we have not seen him do so, although he knows who is righteous in the company and who is corrupt. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : This question is long, and it is a question about an entire village, because the residential complex gathers people whose ideas, desires, actions, and words differ.
And if the advisor advises, it is not a condition of advice that the advised person accepts it. Did you see Allah saying to Musa and Harun:
(43) Go, both of you, to Pharaoh. Indeed, he has transgressed. (44) And speak to him with gentle speech that perhaps he may be reminded or fear [Allah]."
اذْهَبْا إِلَى فِرْعَوْنَ إِنَّهُ طَغَى * فَقُولا لَهُ قَوْلاً لَيِّناً لَعَلَّهُ يَتَذَكَّرُ أَوْ يَخْشَىNo, it is not a condition of advice that it be accepted.
If a person does what is obligatory upon him of advice, he has fulfilled what is required of him. If the one to whom it was directed accepts it, that is for him and for the advisor. If it is not accepted, it is for the advisor, and the responsibility is on the other.
But despite that, I do not exempt the subordinates and those below them from advising those above them. If they see acceptance from them, otherwise, let them raise the matter to those above them as well, either directly or through someone who conveys it to the authorities above him. Because appointing the unrighteous over the righteous is a reversal and inversion, for the obligatory thing is that the righteous one is the one who holds authority.
And this does not mean that we want him to jump from his rank to the other's rank, but we want that if the one above him does not reform, he is replaced by another righteous person.
And despite this, I believe that righteousness, praise be to Allah, has begun to spread in the military sectors and others. And some people flatter with righteousness at first, then in the end they become righteous with pure righteousness for Allah (Mighty and Majestic). As for the difference among the senior officials, from the leaders and those below them, this is a matter that is inevitable in most cases.
But it is better that this man reforms others and punishes those who have done wrong, even if he is not righteous in himself. This is better, and perhaps Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) will grant him the reform of his own self, as he tries to reform others. In summary: I advise you to remain in advising and punishing those you have authority over. If the one you advised does not heed, it is possible to raise the matter to those above him, either directly if you can, or through others if you cannot, especially if his sin is an exit from the religion, like the one who does not pray. The one who does not pray is, without doubt in my view, a disbeliever, an apostate, and outside of Islam.