Enjoining Good, Forbidding Evil

The Responsibility of the Ummah of Muhammad(SAWS)

Brothers and sisters in Islam, when we stand back and take a look at society, we find it in a state of moral decadence. Humanity seems to be slipping more and more, and resembling that same state of Jahaliyyah(ignorance) that existed in the Prophet’s() time. Crime has become the favorite past time of many of our youth, and many of them take drugs and alcohol as their closest friends. Nastaghfirullah, many people put more trust in Dionne Warwick and her "psychic friends" than they do in Allah(SWT)!

So what needs to be done? More importantly, what needs to be done by us? For the simple fact of the matter is nothing in this society will make a permanent change for the better unless we, the Muslim ummah, stand up.

Allah(SWT) says in al-Qur’an-

"You are the best community raised up for mankind"(HQ 3:110)

 The verb "ukhrijat" is in the passive mode, and literally means "to be taken out, extracted." There is much significance here, for Allah(TA) is explaining to us that we cannot be involved in the evil and corruption of mankind, therefore He has extracted us, seperated us from the rest of humanity by our ibadaat(worship of Allah) and our mu'amalaat(dealings with each other). And why? "For mankind," this means we have service to perform for the benefit of the rest of humanity. And thus Allah(SWT) continues this ayat with

"you enjoin that which is good"

 What good is it that we enjoin, and how should we enjoin this good? We should invite the people to the Tawhid of Allah(SWT), to the establishment of salat, to purify their wealth through zakat, and to the acknowledgement and practice of the sunnah of Muhammad(). We enjoin good first through living Islam in our daily lives, so that when people look at us, they see the beauty of Islam, as opposed to the ugly charicature painted by the biased media. Aisha(RA) said that the Messenger() was a walking Qur’an. That means that in his daily life, the sahaba saw the practical application of what Allah(SWT) revealed. And make no mistake about it, when you say "I am a Muslim," people beging to look at you critically, whether you are aware of this or not. And Allah(SWT) asks us in al-Qur’an

"Do you enjoin righteousness on humanity and forget to practice it yourselves?"(2:44)

 So let us, insha’Allah, make Islam manifest both in words and deeds - commanding the people to righteouseness while at the same time, showing them by our example the definition of righteousness.

Not only do we enjoin what is good, but Allah says-

"and you forbid that which is wrong"

Many times we feel shy about telling people that what they are doing is wrong. But we have a responsibility that extends not only to the non-Muslims, but the Muslims as well. The Prophet() said that we should help our brother whether he is wronged, or is doing wrong. The sahaba asked, "how do we help him if he is the one doing wrong?" The Prophet() said, "by holding him back from doing wrong." In another hadith related in the sahih of al-Bukhari, the Prophet told a story where there was a boat in the ocean. One group of people were up on the deck, and another group were in the hull. Everytime the group in the hull wanted water, they had to go up and ask the people on the deck for water. Finally, they said "let us a make a hole in our part of the ship so we don’t have to bother them for water." The Prophet said if the people on the deck left the people in the hull to do what they suggested, everyone would perish. But if they stopped them, then everyone would be safe.

 Al-hamdu lillah for the wisdom of our Prophet(). In this hadith, he is telling us that if we don’t act by forbidding what is wrong, we will go drown along with everyone else, and know O you who believe - that the Qur'an and sunnah together are our floatation device in this sea of troubled waters. We cannot live in this society as it is, and realistically think that we can be righteous despite all that is around us. We cannot sit back and say, these are the problems of the non-Muslims, so it doesn't concern me. If in fact, we do believe this, then know that the ship is already sinking.

And the third characteristic is that we believe in Allah(SWT) as this ayat concludes.

So when we do these things, enjoining good, forbidding bad, and believing in Allah(SWT) we are fulfilling the role Allah(SWT) has decreed for us, as He has said-

"and thus have We made you a nation justly balanced, to be witnesses over humanity"(2:143)

 This is a heavy responsibility our Lord has laid upon us. We are to be the vanguards for the preservation of human dignity and development. Let us examine ourselves first as individuals, as a jammat, then the ummah as a whole. And ask ourselves, are we living up to this responsibility? Are we enjoining good, forbiding evil, and being witnesses over humanity?

We have the last guidance, the best guidance, we have the Qur’an and the sunnah of Muhammad( ), yet we find this ummah in a miserable state. We sit and wonder why? If Allah(SWT) has said that we are best nation and witnesses over humanity, why are we in the state we are in? be assured that the promise of Allah(SWT) is True, but it has conditions.

We cannot reasonably expect to be the leaders of the world because we say with our mouths, "we submit to Allah in Islam," if we are not living Islam. We have a duty to go forth with this knowledge of the Oneness of Allah, doing da’wah, enjoining what is good. This is a duty, for Allah(SWT) says-

 O ye who believe! what is the matter with you then when ye are asked to go forth in the cause of Allah ye cling heavily to the earth? Do ye prefer the life of this world to the hereafter? But little is the comfort of this life as compared with the hereafter. Unless ye go forth He will punish you with a grievous penalty and put others in your place; but Him ye would not harm in the least. For Allah hath power over all things. (Surah 9:38-39)

 So if we take this deen for play and amusement, Allah(SWT) may replace this whole ummah with an Ummah of Muslims better than us. Are we willing, by our lack of effort fi sabeel Allah, to allow ourselves to be substituted.