In the name of Allah I initially started this to gather my thoughts after watching the 2015 ABTQ Bayyinah Talk Show, until it became a 1000 word essay. I have not had the opportunity to record the evidences and references. Each point made in this is article most certainly needs further detail as no amateur text can fully translate the writer’s ideas. However, I am hoping for critical analysis of this piece of text and feedbacks.
May Allah forgive my shortcomings and accept my propagation. Yaquob Ahmed, 2017.
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![]() He remains in Turning away from wrong actions by turning to the Concealer of faults and the Knower of all secrets is the basis of those who travel to Him, the initial investment of those who finally profit, the first step in the quest for His Face, the key to putting right whatever is not correct, and the primary stage in the selection of those who will be brought close to HIm. The station of the turning in repentance is at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end. The servant who seeks HIm never abandons it. Definition
'Sabr' is an Arabic word which comes from a root meaning to detain, refrain and stop. There is an expression in Arabic, “so-and-so was killed sabran,” which means that he was captured and detained until he died. In the spiritual sense, patience means to stop ourselves from despairing and panicking, to stop our tongues from complaining, and to stop our hands from striking our faces and tearing our clothes at times of grief and stress. What scholars have said about patience [1.9 The Need for Beneficial Knowledge]
This is because the person, even if he has believed that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and that the Qur’an is the truth in a general way, is commonly in need of knowledge of that which would benefit him and harm him. He is in need of knowledge concerning what he has been commanded to do and forbidden from doing in the finer aspects of the matters and in those areas of which he has no knowledge. [Not only this but we find that] that which he does have knowledge of, he does not put the greater part of it to practice! Assuming that all of the commands and prohibitions contained in the Qur’an and Sunnah have reached him, then the Qur’an and Sunnah contain laws that are general and universal for which it is not possible to specify to every individual person - therefore the person has been commanded due to the likes of this to ask for guidance to the Straight Path. Guidelines on Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil
Knowledge In order to enjoin good and forbid evil, you must know the principles governing them and how to distinguish between them. Actions will not be any good if they are not done with full knowledge and wisdom. `Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz said, "Whoever worships Allah without knowledge, will do more damage than what he puts right." Mu'adh Ibn Jabal said: "Knowledge should precede action, because if action and intention are done without knowledge, then ignorance, misguidance and desires will prevail." So if a believer knows that by forbidding a particular evil, his action will lead to a greater evil, then he should not forbid that evil in the first place; or if his action will lead to the elimination of what is of greater benefit to the Muslims, then again, he should not forbid that evil. The Prophet t did not kill Abdullah Ibn Ubai Ibn Salul, the leader of the hypocrites, and his friends, because they enjoyed significant support from among their tribes. So the Prophet avoided killing Abdullah Ibn Ubai Ibn Salul, because people might think that he was killing his companions, and also because Abdullah Ibn Ubai Ibn Salul's tribe might have risen up against the Prophet , and sought to avenge their leader's death. Accordingly, you must consider the issues of maslaha and mafsada12 before embarking on enjoining good and forbidding evil. Hudhaifah related that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "By Him in Whose hand my soul is, you must
enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil, or Allah will certainly soon send punishment from Him to you. Then you will make supplication and not receive any answer."1 An-Nu'man Ibn Bashir related that the Prophet said, "The metaphor of a person who complies with Allah's orders and prohibitions in comparison to those who violate them is like the metaphor of some people who drew lots for their seats in a boat. Some of them were given seats on the upper deck, and the others on the lower deck. When those on the lower deck needed water, they would have had to go up to fetch the water, so they said, 'Let us make a hole in our part of the ship and save those who are above us from our troubling them.' If the people on the upper deck let the others do what they suggested, all the people in the boat would be destroyed, but if they prevented them, both groups would be safe."2 ![]() Enjoining good and forbidding evil, (Arabic: amr bi'l-ma'ruf wa'n-nahiy an al-munkar), is the pivot and most important principle in Islam and it is the main reason why Allah sent His Prophets and Messengers to His creatures. If this principle is not implemented and put into practice, then prophethood is ineffective, the deen fades away, misguidance, corruption and ignorance prevail, civilizations decline, and nations are destroyed. Whenever this principle has been extinguished, people follow their desires and whims, ignore their Lord, and live like animals — and then you can hardly find anyone who adheres to the principle of enjoining good and forbidding evil, even though the reward of putting it into practice is great in the sight of Allah. The Obligation to Enjoin Good and Forbid Evil Allah says: (Let there be a community among you who call to the good, and enjoin the right, and forbid the wrong. They are the ones who have success. ) (3: 104) Allah also says: ( They are not all the same. There is a community among the People of the Book who are upright. They recite Allah's Signs throughout the night, and they prostrate. They have iman in Allah and the Last Day, and enjoin the right and forbid the wrong, and compete in doing good. They are among the salihun. ) (3: 113-114) In the above verse, Allah does not accept their righteousness just by their believing in Allah and the Last Day, until He has added to it the principle of enjoining good and forbidding evil. In another verse, Allah says: Supplication is one of the most powerful tools for driving away evil, and
btaining that which is needed; however, its effect may be absent if there is weakness in the self - such that the supplication could be disliked by Allah (Subhanahu Wata'ala) ; if it includes any injustice, or due to the weakness of one's heart, not being devoted to Allah ~ at the time of supplication. Hindrance may also be due to eating that which is Haram (unlawful in Islam) or to the accumulation of sins on the heart, or to the dominance of one's desires upon the self. The Prophet ~ said: "Supplicate to Allah when you are assured of being answered, and know that Allah does not answer a supplication which comes from a careless and inattentive heart." (Sunan Tirmidhi - Chapter of Supplication and Musnad Ahmad 3/451 ) Extract from Spiritual Disease and its Cure by Ibn Qayyim ![]() Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali (may Allah have Mercy on him) said: “Know that intention (niyyah), will (iradah), and goal (qasd) are various terms that all mean the same thing, and it is a description of the state of the heart when it is a source for two things: knowledge and action. Knowledge comes first - as it is the foundation and condition - and action follows it, since it is the fruit that branches from knowledge. This is because every action – that is, every intentional movement and motion – does not occur without three things: knowledge, will, and ability. Nobody does something without knowing of it. So, he must have knowledge. Likewise, nobody does something without having the will to do it. So, one must have the will to do something, and the meaning of will (iradah) is that the heart reaches out to what it sees as being in accordance with what it seeks... A new article on the tafseer (exegesis) of Surah al-'Asar has been uploaded: http://www.oceanofislam.co.uk/tafseer.html
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