Is Justice (ʿAdālah) a Condition for a Dāʿī?
Taken from Fatāwā Amunpūrī by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
Question:
Is it a condition for a dāʿī (caller to Islam) to be just (ʿādil)?
Answer:
Every Muslim has two responsibilities:
① To practice the commands of Islam and abstain from what is prohibited.
② To enjoin good and forbid evil.
If a person is negligent in fulfilling all commandments or falls into some prohibitions, this does not mean that he cannot call others to good or warn against evil. It is true that he must strive for self-reform and live by the Sharīʿah as much as possible, but restricting daʿwah only to those who are fully pious and flawless is neither correct nor practical.
Hence, being perfectly just (ʿādil) is not a condition for a dāʿī. Whatever part of the religion one learns, he should act upon it, preach it, and continue striving for more knowledge and practice. Preaching itself has a positive impact on the dāʿī.
Statements of Scholars
- Imām al-Nawawī (رحمه الله, d. 676 AH):
“The scholars said: It is not a condition for the one who enjoins good and forbids evil that he must himself be perfect in practice — acting upon everything he commands and abstaining from everything he forbids. Rather, even if he himself is neglectful in some good deeds, he must still command them. And even if he falls into some sins, he must still forbid them. For he has two obligations: to command himself and forbid himself, and to command others and forbid them. If he neglects one duty, how can that justify neglecting the other?”
[Sharḥ al-Nawawī: 2/23]
- ʿAllāmah al-Qurṭubī (رحمه الله, d. 671 AH):
“According to Ahl al-Sunnah, it is not a condition for the one who forbids evil to be a just person (ʿādil). The innovators say only a just person may forbid evil — but this is false, because complete justice exists in only a few individuals, while commanding good and forbidding evil is an obligation upon all people.”
[Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī: 4/47]
Conclusion:Justice (ʿadālah) in its complete form is not a condition for a person to engage in daʿwah. Every Muslim, regardless of his own shortcomings, is responsible to enjoin good and forbid evil while continuing to strive for his own self-reform.
