Islamic Society & Culture
Enjoining
Good & Eschewing Evil:
The use of violence
as means to enforce their version of Islam by the religious fanatics is not a
new phenomenon. The most common pretext is the enforcement of the Qur’anic
commandment: ‘Enjoining Good & Eschewing Evil;’ a noble cause, but evil
means of violence and coercion. To achieve the political objectives rather than
with sharing and alleviating their sufferings and aspirations, the name of
Islam, so deer to the simple innocent
but ignorant Muslims is exploited. It is
high time that the exploitation of the religious feelings of socially and economic
deprived simple people, who are ever ready to lay down their lives on the name
of Islam be stopped. The methodology of implementation of Qur’anic commandment
of ‘Enjoining Good & Eschewing Evil needs to be analyzed and understood in
the overall teachings of Qur’an, Hadith, the historic context.
The state (include most of
governments in Muslim countries) on its part has done nothing to towards
implementation of Qur’anic commandment of ‘Enjoining Good & Eschewing
Evil’, rather under the slogan of ‘Enlightened Moderation’ it appears to have
resorted to ‘Enjoining Evil & Eschewing Good’ by implication if not
deliberately. Qur’an says: “The hypocrite men and the hypocrite women, they are
all alike. They enjoin what is evil, forbid what is just, and withhold their
hands from doing good. They have forgotten Allah; so He has forgotten them. In
fact the hypocrites are transgressors.”(Qur’an;9:67). Obedience to rulers in
only right matters not in evil (munkir):
“..and that they will not disobey you (Muhammad) in what is right (ma’roof),
then accept their allegiance and pray to Allah for the forgiveness. Surely
Allah is Oft-Forgiving, most Merciful.”(Qur’an;60:12). Muslims can develop and
gain respect among the community of nations by adhering to their cultural values,
which are inherently deep rooted in the Islamic traditions. Just a simple look
at the most common dress of women folk reveal that they are dressed in the
moderate Islamic way since centuries, which besides meeting the religious
requirements, is also convenient in the extreme weather conditions and the role
rural women play in the economic and social life. The women dressed in semi
naked western dress displayed in the media and advertisements is not the
popular dress of ordinary Muslim women. Some forms of obscenity and vulgarity
are condemned even in the most modern European culture. The pantographic web
sites are routinely blocked to save the youth. They are condemned in media.
Many countries, specially China
Divine
Purpose of Creation:
The Divine purpose of
creation may be kept in view, which in short is to; Test the human during
limited life span on earth, those who obey Him by their free will and live
according to His guidance, will be rewarded for good deeds and those who disobey will be punished in hereafter.
It is mentioned in Qur’an: “The One Who created death and life, so that He may
put you to test, to find out which of you is best in deeds: He is the
All-Mighty, the All-Forgiving.”(Qur’an;67:2 also at 18:7, 2:155-157, 3:142). “Every soul shall have a
taste of death: and We test you by evil and by good by way of trial: to Us must
ye return.”(Qura’n;21:35 ).
Allah says:
“Mankind was one nation having one religion. Later when people invented other
religions, Allah appointed Prophets as bearers of good news and warnings; and
revealed to them the Book with the True Guidance to settle the matters of
dispute between mankind. But the very people to whom it was given, started
disputes after the clear arguments had come to them, because of rivalry between
one another. Allah has guided the believers by His will to the truth in those
matters in which they had differences. Allah guides whom He pleases towards the
Right Way
Faith is a matter of
personal conviction, which can not be forced upon others: “There is no
compulsion in religion.” (Qur’an;2:256), "Truth has come and Falsehood
perished: for Falsehood by its nature is bound to perish.”(Qur’an;17:81). “This
is Paradise ; you have inherited it by virtue
of your past deeds.”(Qur’an;43:72). If He wanted all humanity could have been
on true guidance. Allah does not want to force the belief upon human: “If your
Lord had so willed, He would have certainly made mankind one single nation but
that is not what He wants, so they will continue to differ except those on whom
He has bestowed His mercy; and that very freedom of choice and action is the
whole purpose of their creation. That is how the Word of your Lord, that He
will fill Hell with jinns and human beings all together, will be
fulfilled.”(Qur’an;11:118-119). Man has been provided with guidance and endowed
with intellect, so that he can use his reason and freedom of choice to either
follow the true path or the evil way of devil : "Who hath ordained laws
and granted guidance;” (Qur’an;87:3).
“Say "The Truth is from your Lord": let him who will believe
and let him who will reject (it)- -(Qur’an;18:29 ). “Notwithstanding that no human being can ever
attain to faith otherwise than by God’s leave, and (that) it is He who lays the
loathsome evil (of disbelief) upon those who will not use their
reason?(Qur’an;10:100). “..whosoever
follows My guidance will not lose his way nor fall into misery. But whosoever
turns away from My Message verily for him is a life narrowed down and We shall
raise him up blind on the Day of Judgment." (Qur’an;20:117-124).“When
those who believe in Our revelations come to you, say: "Peace be upon you.
Your Lord has decreed mercy upon Himself. If anyone among you commits evil
because of ignorance and thereafter repents and mends his ways; you will find
Allah Forgiving, Merciful.”(Qur’an;6:54 );
“He is the Forgiving, the Loving, (Qur’an;85:14). Hence while implementing the
divine command of ‘Enjoining Good & Eschewing Evil’, the other commandments
related with the divine plan of
creation may be kept in view.
Muslims-As
Moderate Community:
Inheritors
of Qur’an and Legacy of Abraham: Though Judaism and
Christianity claim their roots with Abraham (peace be upon him), it is Islam
alone, which can truly declare to be the intact legacy of Abraham (peace be
upon him). Allah says: “Jews and Christians say: "Be Jews or Christians,
you shall then be rightly guided." (O Muhammad), say: "By no means!
We follow the faith of Abraham, the upright one; and he joined not gods with
Allah.”(Qur’an;2:135), “(O Muhammad),Say: Lo! As for me, my Lord has guided me
unto a straight path, a right religion (din qiyam), the community of Abraham,
the upright, who was no idolater.”(Qur’an;6:161), “Abraham was not a Jew, nor
yet a Christian; but he was an upright man who had surrendered (to Allah), and
he was not of the idolaters.”(Qur’an;3:67), “Say: Allah speaks truth. So follow
the religion of Abraham, the upright. He was not of the
idolaters.”(Qur’an;3:95). Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him ), the last
messenger of God, said: “..you (Muslims) are an heir to the heritage of
Abraham”(Sunan Abu Dawood;770). Allah appointed Muslims to inherit Qur’an, but
He categorizes them in to three groups: “We have given the Book (Qur’an) as an
inheritance to those of Our servants (Muslims) whom We have chosen, among them
there are some who wrong their own souls,
some follow a middle course and
some, by Allah's leave, excel in good
deeds; which is the supreme virtue.”(Qur’an;35:32).
As inheritors of legacy of
Abraham and
Qur’an, Muslims have a great responsibility, Allah says: “We have made you a
moderate (justly balanced) community so that you may be witness against the
mankind and that your own Messenger may be witness against you…”(Qur’an;2:143).
The essence of Islam is to avoid all extravagances and extremism on either
side. It is a sober, practical balanced (wasat) religion. When two persons
dispute, they advance extravagant claims. A just witness comes between them,
and brings the light of reason to bear on them, pruning all their selfish
extravagances. So the mission of Islam is to curb, for instance, the extreme
formalism of the Mosaic law and the extreme "other-worldliness"
professed by Christianity. Similarly use of violence is against the spirit of
moderation. The witness must be unselfish, equipped with first-hand knowledge
and ready to intervene in the cause of justice. Such is the position claimed by
Islam among rival systems. Similarly, within Islam itself, the position of
witness to whom disputants can appeal is held by the last Messenger Muhammad
(peace be upon him). Qur’an advises patience in enjoining good and forbidding
the evil, because the persuasion and preaching requires patience: “O my son! Be
constant in prayer (Salah), enjoin good and forbid the evil. Endure with patience
whatever befalls you, surely this shows your determination in conducting the
affairs.”(Qur’an;31:17). The scholars can draw their conclusion form advise to
Children of Israel : “Why do not the Rabbis and the doctors of laws forbid them
from their (habit of) uttering sinful words and eating things forbidden? Evil
indeed are their works.”(Qur’an;5:63).
Universal
Responsibilities: The
Muslims bear great responsibility with in themselves and then to the
mankind, Allah says: “You (Muslims) are the best of peoples which has ever been
raised for the guidance of mankind. You enjoin good, forbid evil, and believe
in Allah.”(Qur’an;3:110). Islam being the Universal Religion urges its
adherents to realize their global responsibility towards guidance of mankind, for
Islam is just submission to the Will of Allah. This implies (1) Faith, (2)
doing right, being an example to others to do right, and having the power to
see that the right prevails, (3) avoiding wrong, being an example to others to
eschew wrong, and having the power to see that wrong and injustice are
defeated. Islam therefore lives, not for itself, but for the mankind as a
whole.
Responsibilities
of State, Law and Muslims:
The basic purpose of
believers is the attainment of desires; happiness, in this world and the next;
success; prosperity; freedom from anxiety, care, or a disturbed state of mind;
as opposite to failure; misery; punishment or penalty; agony or anguish. To
achieve this Allah says: “Let there arise from among you a band of people who
should invite to righteousness, enjoin good and forbid evil; such are the ones
who shall be successful.”(Qur’an;3:104). The ideal Muslim community is happy,
untroubled by conflicts or doubts, sure of itself, strong, united, and
prosperous: because there has to be a group among themselves who should invite
them to all that is good; enjoins the right; and forbids the wrong. Such
arrangements should however be made under the state and with in the law of the
land, to guard against anarchy and instability. Some people justify using force
to eradicate vice and force goodness in the society by interpreting this
verse with Sahih Muslim Hadith number
16, narrated by AbuSa'id al-Khudri; I heard the Messenger of Allah as saying:
“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.” Obviously if there
is an overall degeneration in the society, then as small group is not in a
position to force their decision upon the majority even with good intentions.
In such circumstances Prophet (peace be upon him) has urged the believers to
use their tongue, i.e. preaching and persuasion through peaceful means (which
was done during the initial 13 years at Makkah). This Hadith may also be
understood with other Hadiths: Narrated Awf ibn Malik; The Messenger of Allah
(peace be upon him) said: “The best of your rulers are those whom you love and
who love you, who invoke God's blessings upon you and you invoke His blessings
upon them. And the worst of your rulers are those whom you hate and who hate
you and whom you curse and who curse you. It was asked (by those present):
Shouldn't we overthrow them with the help of the sword? He said: No, as long as
they establish prayer among you. If you then find anything detestable in them,
you should hate their administration, but do not withdraw yourselves from their
obedience.”(Sahih Muslim Hadith number 861, similar Hadith number 860 has been
narrated AbuSa'id al-Khudri). Narrated AbuSa'id al-Khudri; The Prophet (peace be upon
him) said: “The best fighting (jihad) in the path of Allah is (to speak) a word
of justice to an oppressive ruler.”(Sunan of Abu Dawood No.2040). It is evident
that instead of using force and violence against Muslim rulers, the use of
words, advise and peaceful protest is the preferable option.
Narrated AbuTha'labah
al-Khushani; AbuUmayyah ash-Sha'bani said: I asked AbuTha'labah al-Khushani:
What is your opinion about the verse "Care for yourselves". He said:
I swear by Allah, I asked the one who was well informed about it; I asked the
Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) about it. He said: “No, enjoin one another
to do what is good and forbid one another to do what is evil. But when you see
niggardliness being obeyed, passion being followed, worldly interests being
preferred, everyone being charmed with his opinion, then care for yourself, and leave alone what
people in general are doing; for ahead of you are days which will require
endurance, in which showing endurance will be like grasping live coals. The one
who acts rightly during that period will have the reward of fifty men who act
as he does. Another version has: He said (The hearers asked:) Apostle of Allah,
the reward of fifty of them? He replied: The reward of fifty of you.” (Sunan of
Abu Dawood No.2037).
Enjoining
Good and Forbidding Evil – An Implementation Methodology:
The implementation
methodology could be deduced from guidance provided by Allah: “Make due
allowance for man’s nature, and enjoin the doing of what is right (amr bil
a’rif); and leave alone all those who choose to remain
ignorant.”(Qur’an;7:199). While explaining this verse Muhammad Asad writes:
“According to Zamakhshari, khudh-al-‘awf means: ‘Accept what comes easily to
thee (or ‘what is willingly accorded to thee’) of doings and the nature of men,
and make things easy (for them), without causing them undue hardship (khulf);
and do not demand of them efforts that may be too difficult for them.’ This
interpretation – which has been adopted many other classical commentators as
well–is based on the identical explanation of the phrase khudh al ‘awf by ‘Abd Allah ibn az- 4:28 ) and that “God does not
burden any human being with more than he is well able to bear”(Qur’an;2:286,
6:152, 7:42 & 23:62),
the believer is admonished to make due allowance for human nature and not to be too harsh with those who err.
This admonition is the more remarkable as it follows immediately upon a
discourse on the most unforgivable of all sins- the ascribing of divine powers
or qualities to any one or anything but God.” It may also be kept in view that
the man is also under trial :“Every soul shall have a taste of
death: and We test you by evil and by good by way of trial: to Us must ye
return.”(Qura’n;21:35 ).
Islam
granted the basic human right of individual privacy, 1400 ago once such freedom and personal liberty was
unthinkable in any society: “O
believers! Avoid immoderate suspicion (guesswork), for in some cases suspicion
is a sin. Do not spy on one another, nor backbite one another (to say something
about another behind ones back that if one hears it, dislikes it). Would any of
you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Surely you would abhor it. Fear
Allah; for Allah is the Accepter of repentance, Merciful.”(49:12). The
implementation of these injunction by Caliph Umar is a good example of
moderation in implementation of rule of law. On night Umar, the second Caliph,
during his routine night watch hear some singing sound form a house. He climbed
up the wall and found a man with wine and a woman. He asked him that how he
could hide such immoral violation of commands of Allah? The man replied that
the Caliph has already violated three command of Allah; first by spying on a
believer (Qur’an;49:12), secondly, by not entering a house through door
(Qur’an;2:189), and thirdly by entering the house without permission of the
owner (Qur’an;24:27-28). The Caliph had no answer and had to leave quietly
however he took a promise from him not to indulge in such immoral activates in
future. Not even the most civilized governments can grant such a freedom to
their citizens even in this present era of civil liberties and human rights.
The other
most common evil Slanders:
Slanders & scandals, are strictly prohibited, by
Allah: “Those who love to spread foul slanders among the believers will have a
painful punishment in this life and in the Hereafter. Allah knows and you do
not know.”(24:19). This Qur’anic warning against foul slander and by obvious
implication against any attempt at seeking out other people’s faults finds a
clear echo in several well-authenticated sayings of the Prophet: “Beware of all
guesswork (about one an other) for behold, all (such) guesswork is most
deceptive (akdhab al-Hadith); and do not spy upon one another, and do not try
to bare (other people’s) failings: (Muwatta’ almost identical version of this
Tradition have been quoted by Bukhari, Muslim and Abu Dawood); “Do not hurt
those who have surrendered themselves to God (Muslims), and do not impute evil
to them, and do not try to uncover their nakedness(i.e., their faults): and do
not impute evil to them, and do not try
to uncover their nakedness (on the day of judgment)” (Tirmidhi); and, Never
does a believer draw a veil over the
nakedness of another believer without God’s drawing a veil over his own
nakedness on Resurrection Day” (Bukhari). All these injunctions have received
their seal, as it were, in the Qur’anic exhortation: “Avoid immoderate
suspicion (guesswork), for in some cases suspicion is a sin.”(49:12).
Hence the scholars are of
the view that invitation towards righteousness, enjoining good and forbidding
evil is to be done in the society by scholars and citizens through peaceful
preaching, reason and wisdom as Allah says in Qur’an: “Call people to the Way of your
Lord with wisdom and best advice, and reason with them, if you have to, in the
most courteous manner: for your Lord knows best who strays from His Way and He
knows best who is rightly guided.”(Qur’an;16:125); “Good deeds are not equal to the evil ones.
Repel other's evil deeds with your good deeds. You will see that he with whom
you had enmity, will become your close friend.”(Qur’an;41:34). “Repel evil with
good - We are fully aware of their slanders”(Qur’an;23:96). However under grave
circumstances force may have to be applied appropriately against evil and
mischief threatening the peaceful environments, with in the ‘zone of authority’ only by those people,
charged with authority, like a father in his house, head of institution with in
his organization and the government with in state: “These are the people who,
if We establish them (in power, authority) in the land, will establish Salah
and pay Zakah, enjoin justice and forbid evil; the final decision of all
affairs is in the hands of Allah.”(Qur’an;22:41 ), “..enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil,
and observe the limits set by Allah..”(Qur’an;9:112). “Verily Man is in loss.
Except such as have Faith and do righteous deeds and (join together) in the
mutual teaching of Truth and of Patience and Constancy.”(Qur’an;103:2-3).
Consequently while keeping in view divine plan of creation, the scholars and
Muslim should preach to ‘Enjoin Good and
Eschew Evil’ through peaceful means. Under no circumstances people should take
law in to their own hands as it will create
anarchy (fasad, fitna) and destabilize the state as happened in the
initial days of Islam through the extremist and violent sect, the Khawarij.
Avoiding
Reemergence of Fitnah:
The term Fitnah (‘trial,’ or
‘test’), is used in Islamic history, which refer to heretical uprisings,
especially the first major internal struggle within the Muslim community
(656-661 C.E), which resulted in both civil war and religious schism. During
the reign of the third caliph, 'Uthman, certain rebellious groups accused the
Caliph of nepotism and misrule, and the resulting discontent led to his
assassination. The rebels then recognized the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law,
'Ali, as ruler but later deserted him and fought against him, accusing him of
having committed a grave sin in submitting his claim to the caliphate to
arbitration, they are called Khawarij. The word kharaju, from which khariji is
derived, means "to withdraw" and Khawarij were, therefore, believed
in active dissent or rebellion against a state of affairs they considered to be
gravely impious. The basic doctrine of the Khawarij was that a person or a
group who committed a grave error or sin and did not sincerely repent ceased to
be Muslim. According to them mere profession of the faith
"there is
no god but God; Muhammad is the prophet of God" did not make a person a Muslim unless this
faith was accompanied by righteous deeds. In other words, good works were an
integral part of faith and not extraneous to it. The second principle that
flowed from their aggressive idealism was militancy, or jihad, which the
Khawarij considered to be among the cardinal principles, or pillars, of Islam.
Contrary to the orthodox view, they interpreted the Qur’anic command about
"enjoining good and forbidding evil"(Qur’an;3:104) to mean the
vindication of truth through the sword. The placing of these two principles
together made the Khawarij highly inflammable fanatics, intolerant of almost
any established political authority. They incessantly resorted to rebellion and
as a result were virtually wiped out during the first two centuries of Islam.
A moderate group of the
Khawarij, the Ibadis, avoided extinction, and its members are to be found today
in North Africa and in Oman East Africa , including Zanzibar Island
Takfir:
The doctrine of Takfir; is
being used in the modern era especially by Taliban, in sanctioning violence
against leaders and simple Muslims who are deemed insufficiently religious.
Takfir is a pronouncement to declare any (non practicing Muslim), to be an
unbeliever (Takfir), apostate, (Murtad) hence liable to be killed. It has
become a central ideology of militant groups such as those in Egypt iraq Afghanistan Pakistan
It appears that; “We are chasing an Islamic order stripped of its humanism,
aesthetics, intellectual quests and spiritual devotions…. concerned with power
not with the soul, with the mobilization of people for political purposes
rather than with sharing and alleviating their sufferings and
aspirations.”(Eqbal Ahmad). In order to avoid other Fitnah gaining roots in the
Muslim Ummah, there is strong need to undertake short term and long term
measures to satisfy the needs of morality, security, justice, social inequality
and economic conditions of masses and level of education in religious
institutions so that the unity and development of Muslims is not affected.
INDEX:
Related:
- Jihad: Myth & Reality
- Takfir- Doctrine of Terror
- Islamic Decree [Fatwa] Against Terrorism
- Tolerance
- Rebellion by Khawarij Taliban & Shari’ah in Pakistan
- Rebuttal to Anti-Islam FAQs
- Islamic Scholars in modern age علماء اور دور جدید
- http://takfiritaliban.blogspot.com