What is the rank of enjoining good and forbidding evil, and upon whom is it obligatory?
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Question:
Your Eminence, I tell you that I love you for the sake of Allah. Your Eminence, who are those upon whom it is obligatory to enjoin good and forbid evil? And what are the degrees of enjoining good and forbidding evil? With examples in this time.
Answer:
As for love, we say: May Allah love you for the sake of which you loved us, and we ask Allah to make us all among those who love one another for His majesty, and to gather us with those righteous ones. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 2566 It was narrated by Muslim in "Sahih," and in "the two Sahihs" from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah: Muwatta Malik 51:14 Among them are: Sahih Ibn Hibban 64:248, and in "Muwatta Malik" with a good chain from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) he said: May Allah make us and you among them.
As for what concerns enjoining good and forbidding evil: this has a great status, and you have heard some of this. Allah the Exalted says: [Al-Tawbah: 71]. And among the characteristics of the believer and his obligatory attributes—because the attribute mentioned in the verse is the obligatory one—among his obligatory attributes and the obligations of Allah upon him is that he enjoins good and forbids evil. This is a binding command for every believer, not specific to any one person. And He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: : [Al-Imran: 110], so He made the entire Ummah like that. Then He placed enjoining and forbidding before faith.
This indicates care and attention, and the greatness of the rank. Faith is the root of the religion and the foundation of the religion, and yet He placed before it—though it is a part of it—enjoining good and forbidding evil. It is a branch of faith, a branch of the branches of faith, but because of the greatness of the matter and the intensity of the necessity for it, it was placed first. Just as it was placed first in the verse of Bara'ah:[At-Tawbah 9:71], then He said: [Al-Tawbah: 71]. So He placed it before prayer because of the greatness of the matter and the intensity of the necessity for this great obligation, by which people are rectified, they are deterred from falsehood, they are compelled to the truth, and the hands of the foolish are held back.
Therefore, it was mentioned to you in the hadith that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Musnad Ahmad 1Sahih (Darussalam), and in the other wording: he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: : "Enjoin good and forbid evil before you call upon Me and I do not respond to you, and before you ask Me and I do not give you, and before you seek My help and I do not help you" , and in the other wording: .
And in the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned the story of the Children of Israel and the causes of the deficiency that entered them, he said:, so he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: We ask Allah for safety.
So the obligatory thing is enjoining good and forbidding evil in general, but it has three ranks which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 49a.
It is obligatory for the Islamic state to establish a group of people in every town for this great matter, so that they pay attention to it and care for it; because of His saying, the Exalted: [Al-Imran: 104]. So this Ummah and this group will have a great responsibility, but they do not place the responsibility on others, nor do they throw the responsibility on others. Rather, the others also have a responsibility if they see evil, they do not say: "This is for others." If they see it and the specific body did not forbid it, or it did not reach them, and it reached him, he forbids it, or he reports it to them so that they forbid it. The intention is cooperation in removing evil and establishing good.
Your Eminence, I tell you that I love you for the sake of Allah. Your Eminence, who are those upon whom it is obligatory to enjoin good and forbid evil? And what are the degrees of enjoining good and forbidding evil? With examples in this time.
Answer:
As for love, we say: May Allah love you for the sake of which you loved us, and we ask Allah to make us all among those who love one another for His majesty, and to gather us with those righteous ones. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Allah would say on the Day of Resurrection: Where are those who have mutual love for My Glory's sake? Today I shall shelter them in My shadow when there is no other shadow but the shadow of Mine.
يقول الله يوم القيامة: أين المتحابّون بجلالي؟ اليوم أظلّهم في ظلي يوم لا ظلَّ إلا ظليThere are seven whom Allah will shade in His shade on the day on which there is no shade except His shade
سبعة يُظلّهم الله في ظلِّه يوم لا ظلَّ إلا ظلهTwo men who love one another for the sake of Allah, they meet for that and part for that.
رجلان تحابَّا في الله، اجتمعا على ذلك، وتفرَّقا عليهMy love becomes obligatory for those who visit one another for My sake, sit together for My sake, love one another for My sake, and exchange gifts for My sake.
وجبت محبتي للمُتزاورين في، والمتجالسين فيَّ، والمتحابّين في، والمتباذلين فيAs for what concerns enjoining good and forbidding evil: this has a great status, and you have heard some of this. Allah the Exalted says:
The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong
وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ بَعْضٍ يَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِYou are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah.
كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِThis indicates care and attention, and the greatness of the rank. Faith is the root of the religion and the foundation of the religion, and yet He placed before it—though it is a part of it—enjoining good and forbidding evil. It is a branch of faith, a branch of the branches of faith, but because of the greatness of the matter and the intensity of the necessity for it, it was placed first. Just as it was placed first in the verse of Bara'ah:
The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong
وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ بَعْضٍ يَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِand they establish prayer.
وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَTherefore, it was mentioned to you in the hadith that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
lf the people see evil and do not change it, soon Allah will send His punishment upon them all.
إن الناس إذا رأوا المنكر فلم يُغيروه أوشك أن يعمَّهم الله بعقابهAllah the Exalted says:
يقول الله You will surely enjoin good and forbid evil, or Allah will surely send down upon you a punishment from Him—or he said: He will send down upon you a punishment from Him—then you will call upon Him and He will not respond to you.
لتأمرنَّ بالمعروف، ولتنهونَّ عن المنكر، أو ليوشكنَّ الله أن يُرسل لكم عقابًا من عنده -أو قال: يُنزل عليكم عقابًا من عنده- ثم تدعونه فلا يستجيب لكمAnd in the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned the story of the Children of Israel and the causes of the deficiency that entered them, he said:
The first thing that began the deficiency in the Children of Israel was that a man among them, when he saw evil in a man, would forbid him and say: "O this one, fear Allah." Then that did not prevent him from being his companion in eating, sitting, and drinking. So when Allah saw that from them, He struck the hearts of some of them against others, then He cursed them.
أول ما بدأ النقص في بني إسرائيل أن الرجل منهم كان إذا رأى من الرجل المنكر نهاه عنه وقال: يا هذا، اتَّقِ الله، ثم لا يمنعه ذلك بعد ذلك أن يكون أكيلَه وقعيدَه وشريبَه، فلما رأى الله ذلك منهم ضرب بقلوب بعضهم على بعضٍ، ثم لعنهمBy Him in whose hand is my soul, you will surely enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, and you will surely take hold of the hand of the foolish person—and in another narration: the hand of the oppressor—then you will surely force him onto the truth by force—or he said: you will restrict him to the truth by restriction—or else Allah will strike the hearts of some of you against others, and then He will curse you as He cursed them.
والذي نفسي بيده، لتأمرنَّ بالمعروف، ولتنهونَّ عن المنكر، ولتأخذنَّ على يد السَّفيه -وفي روايةٍ: على يد الظالم- ثم لتأطُرنَّه على الحقِّ أطرًا -أو قال: تقصرونه على الحقِّ قصرًا- أو ليضربنَّ الله بقلوب بعضكم على بعضٍ، ثم يلعنكم كما لعنهمSo the obligatory thing is enjoining good and forbidding evil in general, but it has three ranks which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
He who amongst you sees something abominable should modify it with the help of his hand; and if he has not strength enough to do it, then he should do it with his tongue, and if he has not strength enough to do it, (even) then he should (abhor it) from his heart, and that is the least of faith.
مَن رأى منكم منكرًا فليُغيره بيده، فإن لم يستطع فبلسانه، فإن لم يستطع فبقلبه، وذلك أضعف الإيمانIt is obligatory for the Islamic state to establish a group of people in every town for this great matter, so that they pay attention to it and care for it; because of His saying, the Exalted:
And let there be [arising] from you a nation inviting to [all that is] good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong
وَلْتَكُنْ مِنْكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.