It is all right to do a little evil in order to do a greater good.

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Do you agree with the statement in the title?

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subhanAllah! What an accusation to make against an innocent God-fearing Muslim! It's a famous hadith I never realised you'd never heard it?
 
Al Habeshi said:
Salam Alaykum,

With threads which have these type of themes I get confused, are we asked for our viewpoint even if it contradicts the Islamic viewpoint, or are we asked what we think the Islamic viewpoint is, or...?
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Wa alaykum Asalam,

I'm just looking for a discussion really... People's opinions, the islamic point of view (if there is one, which i think there is in this case), different scenarios, etc..
 
must have been kingdom of heaven that you watched...inni

and I think it matters what that little evil is and whether its just you who considers it to be a little evil and whether it will actually do a greater good or greater harm
 
My answer is: No!

If Allah has forbidden something, then I feel it should not be done. We are not put into any situation, except that Allah has allowed us to be faced with this situation. If Allah has allowed us to be faced with this situation, then surely he would want us to deal with it in a way that is halal.

As far as I am aware, Allah has given us guidance for all situations, even for the most exceptional of circumstances.
 
Hmm, I have a scenario that I quickly made up now:

What if you were planning to free a slave, got him, and as you were exiting the "slave masters' territory", somebody asks:

"Is that a slave you've freed? If so, I'm afraid I'm going to have to call the guards."
"Uhh, no. No, he's a friend; he's dressed up for a play showing all the advantages of the slave trade and why is should still carry on."

Would you lot think this is right, or wrong?
 
Ali. said:
Hmm, I have a scenario that I quickly made up now:

What if you were planning to free a slave, got him, and as you were exiting the "slave masters' territory", somebody asks:

"Is that a slave you've freed? If so, I'm afraid I'm going to have to call the guards."
"Uhh, no. No, he's a friend; he's dressed up for a play showing all the advantages of the slave trade and why is should still carry on."

Would you lot think this is right, or wrong?
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hmm... I see you're point. Allah knows best :)
 
:sl:

Ali. said:
Hmm, I have a scenario that I quickly made up now:

What if you were planning to free a slave, got him, and as you were exiting the "slave masters' territory", somebody asks:

"Is that a slave you've freed? If so, I'm afraid I'm going to have to call the guards."
"Uhh, no. No, he's a friend; he's dressed up for a play showing all the advantages of the slave trade and why is should still carry on."

Would you lot think this is right, or wrong?
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I think it depends.

Why are you freeing a slave?
What other means have you exhausted?

:w:
 
Well I'm not giving out a fatwa but I believe there is a general principle in Islam which is certain actions can be done (which may be viewed as wrong) when there is a need. By this I mean no choice - like 'do or die'.

A classic - I'm sure many have heard of it before:

You are stuck in a remote island after your ship sinks. The island is quite barren but there are some pigs hogs/pigs nearby which you can kill for food. The rescue parties have not been able to locate you for some days and you are slowly starving to death. You are in a situation where there is no choice except to eat the pigs else its suicide which is haram.

In the above case you are doing a major evil (eating pork is a major sin) in order to do an immense good (saving of a human life - yours/others).

So I would say sometimes, in exceptional (dire need) cases, the answer maybe 'yes'. Allahualim - Allah knows best.
 
Osman said:
Why are you freeing a slave?
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:w:

He has been kidnapped from his home in order to work 18 hours a day carrying loads of (item) to and fro a place, and in return he gets nothing. The reason for freeing is because they are taking away his human rights to do whatever he likes, and just like the rest of us, he deserves to lead a normal life.

What other means have you exhausted?
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Exhausted? :?
What do you mean, bro'?
 
S1aveofA11ah said:
A classic - I'm sure many have heard of it before:

You are stuck in a remote island after your ship sinks. The island is quite barren but there are some pigs hogs/pigs nearby which you can kill for food. The rescue parties have not been able to locate you for some days and you are slowly starving to death. You are in a situation where there is no choice except to eat the pigs else its suicide which is haram.

In the above case you are doing a major evil (eating pork is a major sin) in order to do an immense good (saving of a human life - yours/others).

So I would say sometimes, in exceptional (dire need) cases, the answer maybe 'yes'. Allahualim - Allah knows best.
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In such a scenario, I believe you should choose the lesser of two evils which is an established principle in the Shari'ah. I think another post on this thread has alluded to this as well. :)
 
crayon said:
I just heard a similar sentence in a film I watched, and its worth thinking about... Is doing a small bad thing in order to do something much greater worth it?

Yes/No and explain please.
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It depends on the case. It's wrong to spy on ordinary citizens in order to secure the state, it's wrong to ban gay marriage in order to protect the regular marriage and public morals, it's wrong to kill people in order to prevent further crime. I'm opposed to violating indivual rights in order to bring good for the society or even worse, the state, at least in cases I mentioned.

As for the baby whose death saves the world from cancer... I think it's acceptable..
 
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It's like the saying, "The end justifies the means". but then again, that isn't an islamic perspective...
 
Osman said:
Sorry. :-[

I meant what other means have you tried using to free the slave? e.g. have you asked the slave master nicely?
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Oh. The whole country allows slave trading and this guy who frees the slave is one out of an extreme minority that are trying to help free the slaves, one by one.
If you ask the slave master nicely, he will kill you. There have been many stories and similar incidents.

If this was the case, bro', what would you say?
 
Whatsthepoint said:
As for the baby whose death saves the world from cancer... I think it's acceptable..
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I dislike hypothetical scenarios like this. I believe that Allah would never allow such scenarios to exist and instead we should focus on reality.

This post isn't addressed to anyone in particular...I'm just saying. Like. :)

By the way, I just thought of something. Allah judges our actions by our intention, so if we always take the course of action that we think would please Allah the most, then Inshaa'Allah we will not have sinned.
 
Ah, of course.
I don't think slavery in any form should be allowed, no matter how humanely the owners are supposed to treat their slaves, no matter what benefits it brings to the state, no matter if abolishing it should collapse the country's economy..
 

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