1
Mukallaf (legally accountable):-
He should be responsible in shari’ah although a child could
perform it but not by way of obligation. The legally responsible
is the one who is sane, awake and mature. Nabi (saw) was reported
by A’li to have said “The pen is lifted for
three – one who sleeps till he awakes, a child till he becomes
mature and an insane person till he gains his sanity” (ABU DAWOOD kitabul Hudood, AHMAD, NASAA’I, IBN MAAJAH and
graded ‘saheeh’ according to AL HAAKIM as reported
by IBN HAJR AL ASQALAANI in ‘Bulooghul Maraam min Adillatul
Ahkaam’ [kitaabun Nikaah no.927])
2
I’lm (Knowledge):-
Islam revolves around knowledge and error in action and belief
is connected to following the desires in opposition to the knowledge.
Allah (swt) says “Nay, but those who do wrong follow
their own lusts without knowledge. Then who will guide him whom
Allah has sent astray? And for such there will be no helpers.” (ar Room 30:29) So this also applies to the action of
commanding ma’roof and forbidding munkar, if the basis is
ignorance then mistakes will be made in the actions. It is reported
that Nabi (saw) said “Knowledge is the Imaam of
action and action is slave to knowledge” (IBN A’BDUL
BARR) Therefore, errors in commanding and forbidding usually start
due to ignorance of the subject matter, conditions and methods
that have been detailed and explained in the shari’ah.
There is the knowledge of the command to amr bil ma’roof
wan nahi anil munkar and then there is the knowledge of the specific
obligations and prohibitions of the shari’ah which are the
subject matter of commanding and forbidding. The one who was unaware
of the duty of hisbah and had a legitmate excuse not for having
any access to this command (compelled isolation, disability, imprisonment
etc.) is not accountable as Allah (swt) says “We
never punish until we send a messenger” and “And
Allah will never lead a people astray after He has guided them
until He makes clear to them as to what they should avoid. Verily
Allah is knowing of everything.” (at Tawbah 9:115)
As
for the knowledge of the duties then it would be impossible to
perform this task without knowing it. It is fardul a’yn
that munkar is forbidden when somenone encounters munkar as long
as they know this munkar and this would generally apply to the
issues known from the deen by necessity such as the prohibition
of alcohol etc. as for the matters of ijtihaad or those matters
not known by necessity then this is best left to the u’lemaa’
or those students of knowledge who know these matters well and
this is why a specific section of the Muslim ummah must be dedicated
to amr bil ma’roof wan nahi anil munkar rather than the
common and the ignorant. Imaam al Juwayni (d.478 h) said ‘For
what can only be understood by the specialists in law the common
people are not allowed to command and forbid in that area but
rather this commanding has been entrusted to those with the legal
ability’ (‘kitaabul Irshaad’)
The
forbidding of munkar should not itself be munkar and this could
occur due to the one forbidding not having knowledge that there
is evidence to allow the matter that he is forbidding or it could
be that he exceeds the limits in forbidding and has adopted a
prohibited methodology or has not fulfilled the conditions of
amr bil ma’roof wan nahi anil munkar so that he himself
is committing a munkar. The matter of prohibiting the munkar when
it is not munkar or commanding the ma’roof when in fact
it is munkar is very dangerous due to this being connected with
nifaaq “The munaafiqoon are from one another, they
command the munkar and forbid the ma’roof…” (at Tawbah 9:71) and due to this being similar to making haraam
what Allah has made halaal and making halaal what Allah has made
haraam, Allah (swt) says “And say not that concerning
that which your tongues put forward falsely ‘This is halal
and this is haram’ So as to invent lies against Allah. Verily
those who invent lies against Allah will never prosper” (an Nahl 16:116) and “Say: ‘The things
that my Lord has forbidden are al fawaahish whether committed
openly or secretly, ithm, rebellion without right, shirk with
Allah for which He has given no authority (sultaanan) and saying
things about Allah of which you have no knowledge.” (al A’raaf 7:33) Similarly, if the ignorance of the one
commanding and forbidding was implemented or followed by the people
then this would be a sin for the one following and an increased
level of sin for the one who called to it as Abu Hurayrah reported
that Nabi (saw) said “He who called to guidance
(hudaa), there would be rewards for him like the rewards of those
who followed it, without their rewards being diminished in any
respect. And he who called misguidance (dalaalah) he shall have
to carry the sins of those who committed it, without their sins
being diminished in any respect.” (MUSLIM [6470])
Therefore, if someone prohibits us from a matter and we know it
to be ma’roof or we are commanded to a matter and we know
it to be munkar then we should not obey or follow them as Allah
(swt) says “And follow not that of which you have
no knowledge. Verily! The hearing and the sight and the heart,
of each of those you will be questioned” (al Israa
17:36)
From
knowledge is that no false conditions should be put upon the obligation
of commanding ma’roof and forbidding munkar. It is also
from knowledge that the one commanding and forbidding should have
knowledge of the condition of those he is commanding and forbidding
and that he chooses the most appropriate way to call them according
to the Quran and Sunnah. From knowledge is also that he is clear
about the what the shari’ah has commanded and prohibited
and in the manner in which these obligations and prohibitions
should be addressed. Therefore the one commanding and forbidding
should always have a dynamic relationship with knowledge and never
base his activities on his own desires and nor shoul he compromise
his obligations to suit the desires of others even if they were
his ameer, his family, his tribe etc. Allah (swt) says “So
unto this then call and go straight [i.e. cling to shari’ah]
as you are commanded and follow not their desires but say ‘I
believe in whatsoever Allah has sent down of the Book and I am
commanded to do justice among you. Allah is our Lord and your
Lord…” (ash Shoora 42:15) The justice that
we have been commanded to do among the people includes amr bil
ma’roof wan nahi anil munkar. And Allah (swt) says “Say: ‘This is my way, I call to Allah with baseerah
[sure knowledge and insight], I and whosoever follows me. And
Glory to Allah and I am not of the mushrikoon.” (Yoosuf 12:108) Therefore the da’wah to Islam is to be based
on knowledge and we should not commit shirk by following others
as opposed to the knowledge that has come to us. Indeed, it is
when we stray from shari’ah laws, methods, conditions and
principles and start to invent our own ways that causes the problems
everywhere, Allah (swt) says “And if the truth had
been in accordance with their desires, verily the heavens and
the earth and whosoever is therein would have been corrupted!
Nay! We have brought them their reminder but they turn away from
their reminder.” (al Mu’minoon 23:71) and “Corruption has appeared on the land and the sea because
of what man has earned with his hands…” (ar
Room 30:41)
3 Qudrah (Capability):-
Jareer bin A’bdullah reported that Nabi (saw) said “There
is no man from among a people who commits sins in their midst
and they have ability to change it but they do not bring him back
(to right) except that Allah will inflict punishments on them
on his account before they die.” (ABU DAWOOD, IBN
MAAJAH as reported in ‘Mishkaatul Masaabih’ Eng/Arabic
[vol.1 p.374]) There is the capability to forbid and the capability
to remove munkar, this is proven by many evidences but especially
by what was reported by MUSLIM on the authority of Abu Sa’eed
al Khudri who mentioned that Nabi (saw) said “Whoever
of sees a munkar must change it with his hand if he is incapable
then with his tongue if he is incapable then with his heart and
that is the weakest of Imaan” As for physically
removing a munkar then this should only be done if it is considered
that this will successfully remove the munkar otherwise risks
should not be taken that may result in harm to the one forbidding
or harms to the one being forbade it is also a waste of time that
could be better directed elsewhere. If the someone engaged in
this without capability then it may result in a harm that they
are unable to tolerate which may then lead them to sins or it
may incapacitate them so that the benefit of their commanding
and forbidding is then lost and this benefit would then become
absent from the society, Hudhayfah reported that Rasool Allah
(saw) said “It does not befit a believer to disgrace
his own self” They asked ‘How does he disgrace
himself?’ He (saw) replied “He puts himself
in a risk which he can not endure” (IBN MAAJAH
kitaabul Fitan Eng/Arabic [vol.5 no.4016] TIRMIDHI) As for the
capability of the verbal forbidding then if this can not be done
out of the fear of oppression whci thought may lead to a worse
situation or if it is thought that it will be of no effect and
a waste of time then it should be better directed somewhere else,
however this forbidding is rewardable even if it did not result
in the removal of the munkar as long as it was not considered
to lead to a greater harm. As for the time of great fitnah and
munkar then if it is considered that the attempts at forbidding
the munkar are in vain and that greater harms will come to the
self and others then in stage it can be left but hated in the
heart Anas bin Maalik is reported to have said that someone asked
Nabi (saw) ‘When should we abandon commanding the ma’roof
and forbidding the munkar?’ Nabi (saw) said “When
what appears among you is what appeared among those before you” We said ‘Yaa Rasool Allah! And what did appear among those
before us?’ Nabi (saw) answered “When the
Mulk falls to your young (small or inferior) ones, when fahshah
is among your great (elders, scholars) ones and when knowledge
is possessed by the low people amongst you” Zayd
said ‘The explanation of the words of rasool Allah “…And knowledge will be among the low [rudhaalatikum]of
people amongst you…” is that knowledge will
be among the fusaaq (sinners)’ (IBN MAAJAH kitaabul Fitan
Eng/Arabic [vol.5no.4015] similar from AHMAD [3/187]) AL HAYTHAMI
graded it ‘saheeh’ in ‘majmu az zawaa’id’)
This is also supported by the following hadeeth of A’bdullah
ibn U’mar who reported that Rasool Allah (saw) said “What
would be your condition during a period of time in which soon
people would be completely saved and only the rubbish of the people
will be left, their oaths and trusts will become loose they will
differ (fakhtalafoo) with one another and become like this” (He [saw] interwove his fingers) They said ‘Allah’s
Messenger, what should we do when it will be like this?’
He (saw) said “You should adhere to what you consider
good and abandon what you dislike. You should take interest in
your own selves and leave the affairs of your masses (public)
to them.” (IBN MAAJAH kitaabul Fitan Eng/Arabic
[vol.5 no.3957]) However we have not yet reached the stage although
there are many traces of it. There are still thousands if not
millions of sincere students of knowledge and u’lemaa’
who act upon their knowledge and there are many sincere worshippers
of Allah and we see that the commanding of ma’roof and forbidding
of munkar in these times does have an effect on the strong believers
and weak believers and many Muslims make hijrah from the haraam
to the halaal and thousands of kuffaar embrace is Islam by the
will of Allah through the da’wah of sincere muwahhideen
and many kaafir countries are afraid of the mujaahideen and the
regimes of taaghoot are vulnerable due to the support for those
active in calling for the deen of Islam to be established in its
entirety.
Also
related to the issue of capability (qudrah) is the principle of
Istitaa’ah [to do as much as you are able] and this does
not only include only engaging in that which you are physically
capable of but it also means that people should exhaust their
effort to do as much as they are able, and beyond this they are
not sinful. All of the commands of the sharee’ah are related
to this principle as Abu Hurayrah reported that Nabi (saw) said “If I command you to do something then do as much as you
are able…” (MUSLIM kitaabul Hajj, BUKHAARI)
Ibn Taymeeyah (d.728 h) said in regards to this ‘Indeed
capability is a condition for commanding ma’roof and forbidding
munkar. So its level of obligation upon a person is proportional
to his level of capability as Allah (swt) says “So
have taqwa of Allah as much as you can…” (at Taghaabun 64:16) (‘Majmu’l Fataawa [vol.28 p.66])
4
The avoidance of greater Munkar:-
This greater munkar that is being avoided could be in relation
to the person who is forbidding the person who is committing the
munkar or anyone else it effects or the society as a whole, Al
Khallaal reported that Imaam Ahmad (d. h) said ‘Commanding
ma’roof and forbidding munkar is waajib on a person unless
he becomes in a state of fear, if he fears for himself then he
does not do it.’ (‘Al Amr bil Ma’roof wan Nahi
anil Munkar’ [p.88]) An example of this would be one not
approaching a man who is a drunkard or other such things who may
react with hostility towards his own wives and children etc. They
must be protected and indirect assitance should be adopted. The
forbidding of munkar itself should not consist of munkar nor should
it lead to it. Thus the dedication to reform the society in accordance
with the shari’ah should not be based upon a divisive methodology
such as the various groups which remain independent and separate
from each other and from the shari’ Imaamah on the grounds
of grouping to forbid the munkar and revive Islam in the absence
of power. Rather the shari’ah not only prescribed a command
to unity but also a method to achieve it and this was method was
not the method of divided independent groups. Rather the shari’ah
commanded to establish the whole deen on the principle of unity
and not division and this includes establishing darul Islam, Allah
(swt) says “…Establish the deen and do not
make divisions in it.” (ash Shoora 42:13) and Nabi
(saw) and the sahaabah sought nussrah as one united group under
the leadership of Nabi (saw) and not as divided independent groups.
The
avoidance of a greater munkar must not be equated some difficulty
or resistance but rather this is a natural consequence of calling
to Islam and all of the prophets encountered difficulties and
then the difficulty is encountered according to how much we follow
the prophets. The believer is rewarded for the difficulties and
hardships he encounters while calling to the Deen of Allah (swt) “Or do you think you shall enter paradise without
such (trials) as came to those who passed away before you? They
were afflicted with adversity and they were so shaken that even
the messenger and those who believed along with him said ‘When
will be the help (nasru) of Allah?’ But verily, the help
(nasra) of Allah is near!” (al Baqarah 2:214)
Therefore
it is not the hostility to the call of Islam which is an excuse
to abandon da’wah and hisbah, as this is a natural struggle
between the truth and falsehood and in addition we do not know
the future. In fact, if difficulty and hostile reactions was the
scale to abandon the obligations then indeed the whole of Islam
would be abandoned as Allah (swt) confirmed in many ayaat that
the disbelievers hate the truth “…but most
of them have a hatred for the Truth” (al Mu’minoon
23:70) and “It is He who sent His messenger with
guidance and the deen of truth to make it manifest over all the
deens even though the mushrikeen detest it” (at
Tawbah 9:33). In truth Allah promised the believers that their
difficulties would be a blessing and reward for them “…That
is because they suffer neither thirst nor tiredness nor hunger
in the cause of Allah nor they take any step to raise the anger
of the disbelievers nor inflict any injury upon an enemy but it
is written to their credit as an act of righteousness. Surely,
Allah wastes not the reward of the muhsineen” (at
Tawbah 9:120) and those who are in engaged in difficulty for the
sake of Allah are much higher in the Sight of Allah (swt) “Those who believed and made hijrah and strove hard in the
cause of Allah with their wealth and their lives are far higher
in degree with Allah. They are the victorious” (at
Tawbah 9:20) and “And certainly, We shall test you
with something of fear and hunger and loss of wealth, lives and
fruits but give glad tidings to the saabireen. Who when afflicted
with a calamity say: ‘Verily, to Allah we belong and verily
to Him we shall return’ They are those on whom are the salawaat
from their Lord and receive His mercy and it they who are the
guided ones” (al Baqarah 2:155-157) Also the hadeeth
mentions “The reward is in accordance with the difficulty
of the test” (kitaabut Tawheed or Mishkaat) and/or “If Allah loves a people then he tests them” (Mishkaatul Masaabih) and “If Allah desires good
for a people then He afflicts them” (MAALIK)
We
see clearly from the Qura’n that those who are to attain
success will have to suffer difficulty due to their Islamic qualities
of belief and action which explicitly includes commanding ma’roof
and forbidding munkar. Allah (swt) says “Verily
Allah has purchased of the believers their lives and their wealth
for that theirs shall be Paradise. They fight in the cause of
Allah so they kill and are killed. It is a promise in truth which
is binding on Him in the Taurah and the Injeel and the Quran.
And who is tuer to his covenant than Allah? Then rejoice in the
bargain which you have concluded. That is the supreme success.
Those who turn to Allah in repentance, who worship, who praise,
who fast who bow down, who prostrate, who command the ma’roof
and forbid the munkar and who preserve the limits set by Allah.
And give glad tidings to the believers.” (at Tawbah
9:111-112)
It
is only allowed to abstain from forbidding a munkar if it is genuinely
believed that this will definitely lead to a Munkar that has been
regarded as more severe in the shari’ah texts. This is because
the objective of commanding ma’roof and forbidding munkar
is to bring about Islaah [Beneficial reform] which is in accordance
with the shari’ah. If the forbidding of a lesser munkar
brought about a greater munkar or prevented a greater shari’ah
obligation then this would be a reason to delay the action of
forbidding. However, this does not mean that the forbidding of
this Munkar is now to be abandoned but rather this would mean
that the method of forbidding the Munkar should be changed in
order to bring about the most effective result. This could for
instance to select a more long term approach to removing or forbidding
the munkar so that the forbidding is accepted due to an understanding
that has been conveyed to the sinner. When this is understood
we can realise that in truth there is no such thing as ‘abandoning
forbidding munkar to avoid a greater munkar’ but rather
it was only the method that was chosen which was inappropriate.
This is because there are no contradictions in Islam and the shari’ah
rules, objectives, conditions and methods are all consistent with
each other and thus there is no way that performing an obligation
such as Amr bil ma’roof wan nahi anil munkar in the correct
way can lead to munkar. Rather forbidding munkar only leads to
munkar in two cases i) When a method of forbidding was chosen
that was not the best method according to the shari’ah.
This means it was not the obligation of forbidding munkar that
led to the greater munkar but rather it was the wrong decision
in methodology that led to the munkar. Ii) The munkar was prohibited
in the correct manner but this did not lead to change but led
to hostility and even more sins and munkaraat. This situation
is actually no fault of the one who is prohibiting the munkar
and it was not the obligation that led to the munkar but rather
it was the deviations in the hearts of those being prohibited
that led to the munkar.
5
A’dalah. (Justice):-
The people are less likely to listen to the corrupt and the corrupt
can also not be trusted in performing the task properly. The message
of Islam is best carried by those who speak the truth and also
act according to it so that their guidance is not only verbal
but also by their living example and this was much of the way
of Nabi (saw). Forbidding munkar should not be neglected even
if the one forbidding it is himself a sinner. A confusion arose
in some people due to the saying of Allah (swt) “O
ye who believe! why say ye that which ye do not? Grievously odious
is it in the sight of Allah that ye say that which ye do not.” (as Saff 61:2-3) and “Do you command people to good
and forget yourselves?” (al Baqarah 2:44) The command
here is to not deliberately neglect the self reform but to engage
in societal reform and self reform. This can not mean that no
one should command except the sinless as all sin except the prophets.
In addition to this, changing the self is one obligation and commanding
others is another obligation, if the one neglected himself and
society he would be committing two sins. This was explained clearly
by Imaam Abu Bakr al Jassaass ‘One’s neglect of some
duties does not exempt him from performing all other duties. For
instance, one who does not pray is not supposed to give up fasting
as well. Likewise, one who is not dedicated to all ma’roof
and abstaining from all munkar is not exempted from performing
amr bil ma’roof wan nahi anil munkar’ (Ahkaamul Quran
[vol.2 p40]) Similarly, Imaam Juwayni (d.478 h) said ‘…if
the person who takes upon himself commanding ma’roof is
not virtuous himself, his commanding of the ma’roof must
not stop. What is specifically imposed upon him personally is
a duty that is distinct from what he is required to command in
others. One of the two duties does not necessarily apply to the
other…’ (‘kitaabul Irshaad’) This view
is also supported by the hadeeth where Anas reported that ‘We
asked Rasool Allah (saw) ‘O Rasool Allah! Is it right that
we should not command with ma’roof until we do all the actions
ourselves and that we should not forbid from the munkar until
we leave all of them?’ and Nabi (saw) said “No,
you should command others to do ma’roof even if you do not
do it all and you should forbid from the munkar even if you do
not abstain from it all.” (TABARAANI ‘al
Awsaat’) and Imaam Ghazali (d.450) said ‘…There
is no such condition. To insist on it results in the negation
of the duty because none including the companions of the prophet
(saw) can claim infallibility.’ (Ihyaa U’loomid Deen
[vol. 2 p.275]) Ghazali also said ‘…his neglect of
one duty cannot render him exempt from performing other duties.
Why should he be forced to neglect the other duty also? His neglect
of a duty cannot exempt him from performing other ones.’
and ‘…To strive for reform in society is not to be
conditional upon self reform. One preaches to others not for the
sake of self perfection. It is therefore pointless to consider
self reform as a pre-requisite.’ In other words, if someone
forbids munkar this is not a declaration that he himself is without
errors. We can also add to this that to leave others in a sinful
state will increase the likelihood of the person himself sinning
because he is accustoming himself to neglecting munkar and they
also might effect him in the future as the environment effects
people as is affirmed by various ahadeeth and by rational fact.
Know
that those who command others may be sincere and may be seeking
reward of Allah and seeking to assist their brothers and call
the kuffaar to Islam but may still neglect much themselves out
of weakness or ignorance etc. This type of person should continue
his societal duties but make more effort on himself and he is
not being forbidden from commanding the people. However, there
is another type of person who has no intention to change himself
but he continues commanding the people and thus he contradicts
himself and commits nifaaq in action. There is another type of
person who only commands the people in order to achieve some worldy
benefit (such as the rewards from the rulers) or he does it to
look down on the people and display his knowledge so this is the
type of person who is severely condemned by ayaat and ahadeeth
such as the narration of BUKHAARI and MUSLIM concerning the man
in the Hell Fire who commanded and forbade the people and yet
will be cirling his stomach like a donkey turning a mill due to
himself not implementing what he called to. There is also the
narration of the one whose lips will be cut with scissors due
to himself speaking but not implementing those matters upon himself,
this is either the hypocrisy in action which may cause some people
to be punished in the grave or even to enter the Fire for a time
or it may be cause by the major hypocrisy in belief and those
will be in the worst part of the Fire. and Allah knows best. Similarly,
Allah (swt) mentions the words of the Prophet Shua’yb “I
wish not in opposition to you, to do that which I forbid you to
do. I only desire reform to the best of my ability.” (Hud
11:88)
6
Sabr [Perseverence]
People by their nature do not always accept to be corrected but
rather their arrogance cause resistance and hostility in them.
If the muhtasib is not aware of this he may be dterred by the
common negative or even hostile response that he recieves. However,
he should realise that all prophets went through such responses
and that they were called names and suffered even some to the
point of death. This type of death is an honour just as the hadeeth
says “The best jihaad is to speak the truth in front
of a tyrant ruler”. Also the muhtasib should not
expect that all the munkar will be removed in his society by his
efforts but rather this is a continuous duty because man is continually
erring, sinful, neglectful and ungrateful. The duty must continue
and as long as he continues in the task and calls others also
to perform it he can hope that a worldly calamity does not strike
him and he can hope for good in the hereafter, any hardship endured
then will hopefully be a purification for him and a sign of the
love of Allah. Patience is necessary for this task as there is
much munkar and most people want to remain in the munkar as numerous
ayaat and ahadeeth confirm, as for the need for patience in commanding
and forbidding, Allah (swt) mentions the advice of Luqmaan to
his son “O my son! Estrablish the Salah and command
the ma’roof and forbid from the munkar and bear with patience
whatever befalls you. Verily, these are from the great commands.” (Luqmaan 31:17) |
