Enjoining the good and forbidding the evil.....

[Flame of Hope]

Begin with Yourself

A man went to Ibn ‘Abbas radiAllaahu ‘anhu and said, “O Ibn ‘Abbas, I want to enjoin people to do good and forbid them from doing evil.” Ibn ‘Abbas said, “And have you reached that level?” He said, “I hope that that is so.” He said, “If you do not fear to be exposed by three verses of Allah’s Book, then do so.” The man asked, “And what are they?” He mentioned this verse:

Enjoin you Al-Birr (piety and righteousness and each and every act of obedience to Allâh) on the people and you forget (to practise it) yourselves.”(Baqarah 2:44)

And then asked, “Have you applied the implications of this verse?” He said, “No.” Ibn ‘Abbas then mentioned the second verse:

O you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do? Most hateful it is with Allâh that you say that which you do not do. (As-Saff 61:2-3)

After that he asked, “Have you applied the implications of this verse?” He said, “No.” He then mentioned the third verse regarding Shu’aib alayhi salaam:

“I wish not, in contradiction to you, to do that which I forbid you.” (Hud 11:88)

And then he asked, “Have you applied the implications of this verse? He said, “No.” Ibn ‘Abbas said, “Then begin with yourself.”

Transcribed from: Gems and Jewels | Compiled by: Abdul-Malik Mujahid | DarusSalam

[in jihad]

A man went to Ibn ‘Abbas radiAllaahu ‘anhu and said, “O Ibn ‘Abbas, I want to enjoin people to do good and forbid them from doing evil.” Ibn ‘Abbas said, “And have you reached that level?”

I like this article. Enjoining good forbidding evil must be done with wisdom and knowledge. Takes time to reach that level. Ain't gonna happen overnight.

['Aleena]

Jazakallahu Khairan sis.

May Allah give us Toufeeq to enjoin the good and forbid the evil.
Ameen.

[tigerkhan]

i think its a deep topic and need much wisdom to understand. if someone is more interested may see Fazail Amal english translation.

[AabiruSabeel]

In one of his speeches, after praising Allaah The Almighty, Abu Bakr said, “O people, you read this verse often:{“O you who have believed, upon you is [responsibility for] yourselves. Those who have gone astray will not harm you when you have been guided. To Allaah is you return all together; then He will inform you of what you used to do. ”} [Quran 5:105] However, you have misunderstood it. I heard the Messenger of Allaah say: “If acts of disobedience are done among any people and they do not change them even though they are able to do so, Allaah will soon smite them all with punishment.”[Ahmad, Abu Daawood, An-Nasaa’i, Al-Tirmithi and Ibn Maajah] [Saheeh]

Enjoining good and forbidding evil has different degrees; the first of which is abhorrence of the wrongdoing. Only a pious Muslim’s heart would shiver to know about an evildoing that is being committed. Then, a Muslim should advise the wrongdoer to quit his misdeed, and if the wrongdoer does not respond, then a Muslim has to try modifying the misdeed with his hands, if he is able to. On the other hand, some scholars believe that the correct order of these levels is to modify the wrongdoing with the hand, then with speaking out, then with the heart. However, one cannot modify a misdeed with his hands unless he, in his heart, abhors it first, Abhorring a wrongdoing is the least degree of forbidding evil, and if the wrongdoer does not stop, then a Muslim should leave the place where the misdeed is being committed.
It is wrong for a Muslim to say, “As long as I have disapproved of the wrongdoing, I can stay where the wrongdoing is being committed." In fact, by doing so, such a Muslim is actually following his own desires.
To Muslims who act in such a way we say that were they to abhor the wrongdoing, they would leave the place just as they would do if someone cursed them or their father; they would either defend themselves or their father or leave that place immediately.

Read more: http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/in...cles&id=158773

[Flame of Hope]

i think its a deep topic and need much wisdom to understand.

Yes, brother you are right. Muslims aren't perfect and all of us are at differing levels of understanding. There will be people doing things they mustn't do. All of us have faults. To enjoin the good and forbid the evil is a duty imposed upon us by Allah if we are able to do so.

I heard the Messenger of Allaah say: “If acts of disobedience are done among any people and they do not change them even though they are able to do so, Allaah will soon smite them all with punishment.”[Ahmad, Abu Daawood, An-Nasaa’i, Al-Tirmithi and Ibn Maajah] [Saheeh]

The Qur'an makes it crystal clear who is qualified to enjoin the good and forbid the evil....as stated in the article....

Enjoin you Al-Birr (piety and righteousness and each and every act of obedience to Allâh) on the people and you forget (to practise it) yourselves.”(Baqarah 2:44)


So many of us know a lot of hadiths and suras of the Qur'an. But how many act upon that knowledge? Allah knows best. The point is, knowledge is useless unless it is acted upon.

And one can't act upon knowledge unless one first acquires knowledge.

This means enjoining the good and forbidding the evil isn't something that everyone can do. If it is done by an ignorant person, it could cause more harm than good.

I've seen Muslims who are quick to point out faults of others and who openly criticize people, causing them to flee in the opposite direction. And all the while, these critical Muslims delude themselves by believing that they were merely enjoining the good and forbidding the evil.

[Flame of Hope]

A man went to Ibn ‘Abbas radiAllaahu ‘anhu and said, “O Ibn ‘Abbas, I want to enjoin people to do good and forbid them from doing evil.” Ibn ‘Abbas said, “And have you reached that level?” He said, “I hope that that is so.” He said, “If you do not fear to be exposed by three verses of Allah’s Book, then do so.”

According to this article, a person has to reach a certain level in order to enjoin the good and forbid the evil. And it's clear that one can't reach that level of Al-Birr (righteousness) unless one applies the knowledge that he has acquired.

It's also clear that one can't reach that level unless he has a proper understanding of the shahada - La ilaha il Allah, Muhammaddar Rasul Allah. All knowledge springs from a proper understanding of the first pillar of Islam. This is where our main focus should be, in my opinion.

And Allah knows best.