Amar ma'rof nahi munkar - what have we done today?

[Ali Mujahidin]

As salaam mualaikum.

I am posting this purely to seek Allah's blessing.

Today, during the Asar prayer, I was in the Central Mosque of Sungai Kolok, Narathiwas, Thailand. There were many people because we have just finished a mastura gathering. As I took my place in the saf, I moved closer to the person on the right until my shoulder touched his. Then I half-turned to the left to invite the person in the saf behind me to fill in the gap. It is important to fill the saf fully and snugly.

I did what I did as my contribution to amar ma'rof nahi munkar. Perhaps my brothers and sisters in Islam have also done something today to heed Allah's call to amar ma'rof nahi munkar. Please post your experiences here so that others would be encouraged to do something, too. Insha Allah.

 

[Flame of Hope]

As salaam mualaikum.

I am posting this purely to seek Allah's blessing.

Today, during the Asar prayer, I was in the Central Mosque of Sungai Kolok, Narathiwas, Thailand. There were many people because we have just finished a mastura gathering. As I took my place in the saf, I moved closer to the person on the right until my shoulder touched his. Then I half-turned to the left to invite the person in the saf behind me to fill in the gap. It is important to fill the saf fully and snugly.

I did what I did as my contribution to amar ma'rof nahi munkar. Perhaps my brothers and sisters in Islam have also done something today to heed Allah's call to amar ma'rof nahi munkar. Please post your experiences here so that others would be encouraged to do something, too. Insha Allah.

:wa:

Speaking about any good we might have done would cancel out our deeds. It's best to keep one's good deeds secret. Making a display of one's deeds in public no matter how good they may be would be tantamount to riya or showing-off and cause those deeds to have zero value in the eyes of Allah.

 

[tigerkhan]

^ i personally blv that in this time of fitna where ppl even muslims feel proud of their sins and sometimes feel ashamed for their good deeds, we should show off our good deeds so that ppl should also motivate to do good.
2ndly on this forum each of us identity is not disclosed to other..so there is very less chance of riya. so in my personal opinion share ur goods deeds openly so that other should be motivated.

 

[Ali Mujahidin]

Please do not confuse amar ma'rof nahi munkar with sadaqah.

Amar ma'rof nahi munkar is very much public practice of Islam. For example, it is part of amar ma'rof nahi munkar for male Muslims to go to pray in jemaah in public in the mosque and to encourage other male Muslims publicly to go to pray in jemaah in public in the mosque, too.

Another example of amar ma'rof nahi munkar is to be dressed in public in attire that is immediately identifiable as Muslim attire.

Amar ma'rof nahi munkar has nothing to do with riya or takkabor unless the person concerned has such an intention. The English has a saying, "Justice must be done and seen to be done". In Islam, we can say "Islam must be practiced and seen to be practiced." Islam is not a secret cult to be practiced in the dark.

Sadaqah, on the other hand, is to be done in private, so much so that the left hand does not even know what the right hand gives in sadaqah.

Hope this is useful. Insha Allah.

 

[Alpha Dude]

Speaking about any good we might have done would cancel out our deeds.

Not necessarily, sister. It would depend on your reason for speaking out. If it was out of riya/pride, then it's possible that your deeds would have no value. If, say your reason was to encourage others to do good deeds by giving them an example (like the starter of this thread) then the deeds would be considered of worth.

Although, sister Flame didn't mean to say Amar ma'rof nahi munkar (enjoining good/forbidding evil) in and of itself could cause riya, rather she meant us discussing it here in a thread might. I.e. we are broadcasting our good deeds.

There might be some people who have issues with shaytan encouraging them toward riya and this thread could help them toward sinning. That, I would say, is a possibility. So Flame is right to be concerned in that respect.

 

[Ali Mujahidin]

Perhaps some of our brothers and sisters might want to post something about amar ma'rof nahi munkar from the third person perspective. This can still be useful as an encouragement to other brothers and sisters to do amar ma'rof nahi munkar, without exposing the poster to the temptation of riya.

WaLLahu aklam.

 

[in jihad]

I been enjoining good and forbidding evil for years. I done this and I done that. This is my list for today:

1. I did xxxx yesterday morning.

2. I did xxxx 10 times in the afternoon.

3. I refrain from xxxx to the people the whole day.

Just a few things to name ya know.

Frankly, if any of u guys were to find out what I did or didn't do, would you even care? Wud it encourage u to do the same? Or wud it make you disgusted? I reckon u feel disgust when a person talks about what he done.

There might be some people who have issues with shaytan encouraging them toward riya and this thread could help them toward sinning. That, I would say, is a possibility. So Flame is right to be concerned in that respect.

In that case, the sista just enjoined the good and forbid the evil.

 

[Ali Mujahidin]

Wow, I didn't know that it is possible to do xxxx so many times. Last week, I tried to xxxx with someone. Somehow it didn't quite come out the way I thought it would. Do you think I should try to xxxx instead? Or maybe you should xxxx your xxxx in the xxxx for a change?

Back on topic:

Last night I did something which I don't normally do. I was sitting at a roadside cafe having one more cup of coffee before I call it a day. Sitting at the same table with me was a friend, A, and B, a friend of that friend.

A couple of girls passed by on the other side of the road. B turned and his gaze followed them until they were quite far away. Then he made some lewd comments to A about the girls. Normally, I would not bother to take much notice of such things.

However, last night, I felt compelled to say something to B. I asked him whether he was a Muslim. He said he was. Then I asked him where in the Quran or Hadith does it say that it is good to make lewd comments like what he had done. He said there was no teaching in Islam to support what he did. Then he asked me how it would be possible to get a wife if a man does not "ngurat" a girl. "Ngurat" is a Malay slang word for "sweet talking girls", with sexual undertones.

I told him that "ngurat" has got nothing to do with getting married. He did not look convinced. I explained that "ngurat" is forbidden in Islam. He still did not look convinced. I explained further that "ngurat" is something practiced by kafirs. I told him that we have to live as Muslims and not follow the way of life of the kafirs.

Then he got up abruptly and left together with A. I really have no idea what difference my words had made to his way of thinking and living. I just did what I could. WaLLahu aklam.

 

[in jihad]

Wow, I didn't know that it is possible to do xxxx so many times. Last week, I tried to xxxx with someone. Somehow it didn't quite come out the way I thought it would. Do you think I should try to xxxx instead? Or maybe you should xxxx your xxxx in the xxxx for a change?

I was tryin to make a point bro.

The point was there's no way you gonna drag out of me the things I done. There's no way I'm gonna be saying: "hey, look at me, see what I done! This is the good i enjoined and this is the evil I forbid. See how much i practise islam? See what a good muslim i am?"

Whatever I done it's enuf for me that Allah knows it. There be no need for me to tell the world about it. I ain't looking for applause or recognition from people.

You go ahead and tell the world what you done. But i ain't doing it.

 

[Tilmeez]

I was tryin to make a point bro.

ThisOldMan is also trying to make a point, take it easy. Your earlier post did not make any sense. He is talking about the deeds you do to order/ request/promote/support good and forbid evil. He or this thread is not about your deeds which are part of daily Ibadah (Rituals) like salat, sadaqat, dikr etc.

However, last night, I felt compelled to say something to B. I asked him whether he was a Muslim. He said he was. Then I asked him where in the Quran or Hadith does it say that it is good to make lewd comments like what he had done. He said there was no teaching in Islam to support what he did. Then he asked me how it would be possible to get a wife if a man does not "ngurat" a girl. "Ngurat" is a Malay slang word for "sweet talking girls", with sexual undertones.

I told him that "ngurat" has got nothing to do with getting married. He did not look convinced. I explained that "ngurat" is forbidden in Islam. He still did not look convinced. I explained further that "ngurat" is something practiced by kafirs. I told him that we have to live as Muslims and not follow the way of life of the kafirs.

This is the best example of Amar ma'rof Wa nahi munkar.

I appreciate the deed of thisoldman, as he preferred discharging his duty and pleased Allah SWT instead his friend A and B. He could have easily avoided this situation but Allah SWT gave him strength to do what was supposed to be done by a Muslim.

 

[Flame of Hope]

He is talking about the deeds you do to order/ request/promote/support good and forbid evil. He or this thread is not about your deeds which are part of daily Ibadah (Rituals) like salat, sadaqat, dikr etc.

Are you saying that deeds that enjoin the good and forbid the evil can be done for other reasons than for the sake of Allah? A deed is not considered sincere, pure or acceptable unless it is done solely for Allah's pleasure. If there is a dual purpose behind the deed, it will most certainly be rejected. Do correct me if I am wrong.

This is the best example of Amar ma'rof Wa nahi munkar.

I don't agree. I'm against the implication made by these words: I explained further that "ngurat" is something practiced by kafirs.

It implied that those who practiced "ngurat" weren't Muslims. I wouldn't like to be spoken to in that manner myself. Not surprising that the brother got up abruptly and left with his friend A.

I appreciate the deed of thisoldman, as he preferred discharging his duty and pleased Allah SWT instead his friend A and B. He could have easily avoided this situation but Allah SWT gave him strength to do what was supposed to be done by a Muslim.

I'm also against praising people before others. Sister Amat Allah posted a very beneficial thread recently. "How to achieve Humbleness."

I'm quoting part of that article here due to its relevance to this thread:

Prohibiting Praising People in Their Presence

Abu Musa said:
"The Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) heard a man praising another man
and saying good words about him while he was present with them.

He said, 'You have destroyed or broke the back of the man!'"
[Al- Bukhari & Muslim]

Also, Abdur Rahman bin Abi Bakrah said:

that a man was once mentioned in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings be upon him).
Another man said good words of praise about him. The Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings be upon him) then said, what translated means:

"Woe unto you! You have beheaded your friend. If one of you has to praise, let him say, 'I think this and that' (about the praised man),
if he thinks that he deserves it, 'And his reckoning is with Allah,' and let him not ascribe purity (to anyone)."

[Al-Bukhari & Muslim]

Also, Ibrahim At-Taymi said that his father said:
"We were sitting in the presence of Umar when a man praised another man to his face.
Umar said, 'You 'Aqartahu (crippled him), may Allah do the same to you.

'" Furthermore, Abu Ma'mar said that a man stood up and praised one of the leaders,

then Al-Miqdad started throwing sand in his face, and saying,
"The Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings be upon him) ordered us to throw sand in the faces of the praisers."
[Muslim, At-Tirmidthi, Abu Dawud & ibn Majah]

From these Hadiths and stories, we conclude that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings be upon him)
prohibited praising others, especially while they can hear their praise.

This is because such praise may encourage the praised persons to overestimate themselves,
especially if they were people of position or wealth.

Also, such praise may lead the praised person to be arrogant, which may lead to laziness and a lower number of good deeds,
for one will depend on what he heard of praise and ignore acquiring more good deeds.

---------------------

Allah knows best.

 

[in jihad]

ThisOldMan is also trying to make a point, take it easy. Your earlier post did not make any sense.

You mean my post where I say I done xxxxx deeds?

I done that becoz I don't want anyone to know what I done.

But if you really support the bro's thread, then mebbe u could tell us what you done. Could u be honest and tell us if u feel comfortable talking about what u done?

And after u post the things u done, I be more than glad to put in my comment of appreciation for ur deeds.

 

[Ali Mujahidin]

1. If you practice amar ma'rof nahi munkar and prefer not talk about it, that is your choice and I have no problem with that.

2. If you do not practice amar ma'rof nahi munkar and prefer not to talk about it, that is your choice and I have no problem with that.

3. If you want to make a hue and cry about the practice and non-practice of amar ma'rof nahi munkar, instead of posting something useful that might, insha Allah, encourage a brother or sister to make a greater effort at practicing amar ma'rof nahi munkar, that is your choice and I have no problem with that.

WaLLahu aklam.

 

[in jihad]

3. If you want to make a hue and cry about the practice and non-practice of amar ma'rof nahi munkar, instead of posting something useful that might, insha Allah, encourage a brother or sister to make a greater effort at practicing amar ma'rof nahi munkar, that is your choice and I have no problem with that.

Mebbe I make hue and cry. But I do that becoz I want for my brothers and sisters what I want for meself. There's danger in this thread & I don't want others to fall in the trap of Iblis.

 

[in jihad]

Showing Off as a Way of Destroying One’s Deeds

A person can receive great rewards from Allah on account of his good intentions alone, even if he is prevented from carrying out the intended deed. On the other hand, the deeds that he performs can become bereft of blessings if they are not accompanied by a good intention. Such deeds can actually be sinful.

There are many hadîth that warn us against destroying our good deeds. One of the most serious causes of our deeds going to waste is that of showing off.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) relates to us that Allah will say: “Go to those who used to show off in the world and see if they found their reward.”13

He also relates that Allah says: “I am in no need of partners. Whoever does a deed for the sake of others as well as me, I leave his deed for those others.”14

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “A man will be brought forward on the Day of Resurrection and thrown into the Fire. His entrails will come forth from his throat and he will hang from them going around like a donkey goes around a mill. The inhabitants of the Fire will gather around him and ask: ‘What is with you? Didn’t you used to enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong?’ He will reply: ‘Yes, I used to enjoin what is right but not do those things myself, and I used to forbid what is wrong but not refrain from them myself.’”15

Some people might get the idea that this man was punished because he enjoined what is right and forbade what is wrong while he was had many shortcomings in his own deeds. This is a big mistake, because the task of enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong is worthy of reward in and of itself as long as the person engaged in it is sincere and has the right intention. This man was being punished because he did the very evil deeds he forbade others from doing and he abandoned the very duties he called others towards. He was merely beautifying his outward conduct while his inner being remained corrupt. His punishment was for his sins, not because he enjoined what is right and forbade what is wrong.

As for the verse: “Do you enjoin right conduct on others and forget to practice it yourselves and yet you recite the Scripture? Do you not have any sense?” [Sûrah al- Baqarah: 44], it means that Allah rebukes them and punishes them because they turn away from the truth though they know it full well. This makes them different from those who are ignorant of the truth, who if the come to know it would most likely follow it. Therefore, we should know that enjoining what is right is something we owe to the people, even if we fail to do what is right ourselves. The same goes for forbidding what is wrong. A poet once said:

If no sinner exhorts others to righteousness,
Then who will exhort the sinners after Muhammad?

No one after Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) is divinely protected from committing sins. It is, however, the duty upon every person to do the following four things:

1. Do what is right.
2. Enjoin others to what is right.
3. Abstain from what is wrong.
4. Forbid what is wrong.

Failure to perform one of these four duties does give us the right to neglect any of the others. Therefore, someone who commits a sin still has the duty to call others to avoid it. Showing off in words and deeds is a sickness that can get a person thrown into the Hellfire. That person on the outside appears to be righteous. His concern for what others think of him earns him the reward of their high esteem but not the pleasure of Allah. The praise of the people is sufficient for him.

This is the type of hypocricy that the earliest Muslims were afraid of falling into. Al-Hasan al-Basrî said, speaking about the tendency to show off: “I swear by Him in whose hand is my soul. No one feels safe from it except for a hypocrite and no one fears it except for a believer.” They were afraid that it would creep unnoticed into their deeds as Allah says: “…lest your deeds become vain and you perceive it not.” [Sûrah al-Hujurât:2]16

Al-Bukhârî placed in his Sahîh a chapter entitled: “A person being afraid that his deeds will become vain while not perceiving it”. In this chapter, he mentions a hadîth related by Anas b. Mâlik that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) inquired of the whereabouts of Thâbit b. Qays. A man said he would go and find out about him. The man found Thâbit sitting in his house with his head hanging down.

The man asked : “What is the matter with you?”

Thâbit replied: “It is very bad. A person used to raise his voice above the voice of the Prophet (peace be upon him) so his deeds have become vain and he is now one of the people of the Fire.”

The man returned to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and informed him of what Thâbit had said. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to the man: “Go back to him and say to him: ‘You are not from the people of the Fire but from the People of Paradise’.”17

Footnotes:
13 Musnad Ahmad (23119, 27442).
14 Sahîh Muslim (2985).
15 Sahîh Muslim (2989).
16 The entire verse reads: “O you who believe, raise not your voices above the voice of the Prophet nor speak aloud to him in talk as you may speak aloud to one another, lest your deeds become vain and you perceive it not.”
17 Sahîh al-Bukhârî (3613). Sahîh Muslim (119).

There's 20 ways you can show off. I can't post links yet. So can't provide source.

Sorry.

 

[Ghazalah]

I think the OP had nothing but good intention in the making of this thread, however I do believe that it can cause pride and arrogance to creep in ones heart when exposing any good they have done, whether that's sadaqah, amar ma'rof nahi munkar or anything of the like.

AllahuAlam.

 

[Ali Mujahidin]

I beg Allah that all those wonderful people who have been so kind as to make long and detailed posts here about amar ma'rof nahi munkar are also practicing amar ma'for nahi munkar in their real lives. It would be useful if they also post some actual accounts of amar ma'rof nahi munkar. I am sure that, with their good command of English and immaculate attention to the teachings of Islam, they can post, say, from the third person perspective, so that they will not be guilty of riya.

I am, of course, assuming that they have something real to post about, and are not just good at copying and pasting. Copying and pasting, as can be seen clearly in a number of posts, can be very easily done even by people who have openly declared they are not practicing Muslims. Actually some of the copy-and-paste posters are blatantly anti-Islam. I am assuming that a member of this forum who identifies himself or herself, as the case might be, as a Muslim is not actually an enemy of Islam who is just pretending to be a Muslim with the intention of subverting and undermining the faith of our Muslim brothers and sisters with copious copy-and-paste posts that contribute nothing to encouraging our Muslim brothers and sisters to practice amar ma'rof nahi munkar.

Specifically, I do not think it is good to post something that will make a Muslim brother or sister begin to wonder if he or she should practice amar ma'rof nahi munkar at all because of the fear of riya. I was taught there is a specific iblis named "Waswas". "Waswas" translates roughly as "doubt". This particular iblis is especially adept at making Muslims begin to doubt their practice of Islam. Doubt like in wondering whether it is safe to practice amar ma'rof nahi munkar because of the possibility of riya. Anyone helping Waswas to do his work, obviously, cannot be a Muslim.

AudzubiLLahi minasyaitani rajeem.

 

[in jihad]

It would be useful if they also post some actual accounts of amar ma'rof nahi munkar. I am sure that, with their good command of English and immaculate attention to the teachings of Islam, they can post, say, from the third person perspective, so that they will not be guilty of riya.

I am, of course, assuming that they have something real to post about, and are not just good at copying and pasting. Copying and pasting, as can be seen clearly in a number of posts, can be very easily done even by people who have openly declared they are not practicing Muslims. Actually some of the copy-and-paste posters are blatantly anti-Islam. I am assuming that a member of this forum who identifies himself or herself, as the case might be, as a Muslim is not actually an enemy of Islam who is just pretending to be a Muslim with the intention of subverting and undermining the faith of our Muslim brothers and sisters with copious copy-and-paste posts that contribute nothing to encouraging our Muslim brothers and sisters to practice amar ma'rof nahi munkar.

Not sure what u mean by 3rd person perspective. Could u give example? Also what do u mean by copy and pasting? ^o)

 

[Flame of Hope]

Anyone helping Waswas to do his work, obviously, cannot be a Muslim.

Brother, it's better to refrain from making such statements.

 

[Ali Mujahidin]

Anyone helping Waswas to do his work, obviously, cannot be a Muslim.

Brother, it's better to refrain from making such statements.

Thank you for your comment. Just curious. Am I to infer from your post that you are saying that a Muslim can help Waswas do his work and still be a Muslim?

Not sure what u mean by 3rd person perspective. Could u give example?

Here's an example:

The other day I saw a Muslim going to the mosque to pray. On the way, he stopped at a road-side stall where there were a few Muslims playing chess. He told them to stop playing chess and go to pray instead. One of the chess-players got up and went with him to the mosque. The others just ignored him and continued with what they were doing.

Also what do u mean by copy and pasting?

Here's an example:

"Say: What thing is the weightiest in testimony? Say: Allah is witness between you and me; and this Quran has been revealed to me that with it I may warn you and whomsoever it reaches. Do you really bear witness that there are other gods with Allah? Say: I do not bear witness. Say: He is only one Allah, and surely I am clear of that which you set up (with Him)."

Qur'an 6:19

This is taken from the post below:

http://www.islamicboard.com/clarifications-about-islam/134304514-islam-needs-reform-5.html

Please read the entire post above to see what I mean.

I beg Allah that Allah will keep all of us strong and steadfast on the true path of Islam and not be misled by the whispers of shaytan and the helpers of shaytan. Ameen, ameen, ameen ya Rabbil alamin. AlhamduliLLahi Rabbil alamin.