This excerpt is taken from Sheikh Abu Hamza Abdul Khaliq Siddiqi's book Sahih Fazail-e-Amaal.
One branch of the propagation and dissemination of religion is enjoining good and forbidding evil, that is, commanding what is good and preventing what is evil. Therefore, here some virtues of this great task and its bearers are mentioned:
﴿التَّائِبُونَ الْعَابِدُونَ الْحَامِدُونَ السَّائِحُونَ الرَّاكِعُونَ السَّاجِدُونَ الْآمِرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَالنَّاهُونَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَالْحَافِظُونَ لِحُدُودِ اللَّهِ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ﴾
“They are those who repent, worship, praise, fast, bow and prostrate, teach good things, forbid evil, and observe the limits set by Allah. Give glad tidings to such believers.”
Reference: (9-At-Tawbah:112)
In this noble verse, Allah Almighty has described the qualities of His believing and successful servants. Among these qualities is enjoining good and forbidding evil. And for such believers, there is the glad tidings of Paradise:
﴿وَلْتَكُن مِّنكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ ۚ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ﴾
“There should be a group among you who call to goodness, enjoin what is right, forbid what is wrong, and those are the successful.”
Reference: (3-Aal Imran:104)
﴿كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ ۗ وَلَوْ آمَنَ أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ لَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَّهُم ۚ مِّنْهُمُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَأَكْثَرُهُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ﴾
“You are the best nation produced for mankind; you enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah. If the People of the Book had believed, it would have been better for them. Among them are believers, but most of them are defiantly disobedient.”
Reference: (3-Aal Imran:110)
In these verses, Allah Almighty has also described the well-being and success of those who enjoin good and forbid evil. That is, enjoining good is not a trivial matter but one of the matters of salvation. And those who consider it trivial and refrain from acting upon it, or invite others to act upon it but themselves do not act, Allah Almighty says about such people:
﴿لُعِنَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِن بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ عَلَىٰ لِسَانِ دَاوُودَ وَعِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِمَا عَصَوا وَّكَانُوا يَعْتَدُونَ. كَانُوا لَا يَتَنَاهَوْنَ عَن مُّنكَرٍ فَعَلُوهُ ۚ لَبِئْسَ مَا كَانُوا يَفْعَلُونَ.﴾
“The curse of Allah is upon the disbelievers among the Children of Israel because they disobeyed and exceeded the limits. They did not forbid one another from wrongdoing that they committed. Indeed, what they used to do was very evil.”
Reference: (5-Al-Ma'idah:78,79)
عن أبى سعيد الخدري رضى الله عنه قال: سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: من رأى منكم منكرا فليغيره بيده ، فإن لم يستطع فبلسانه ، فإن لم يستطع فبقلبه وذلك أضعف الإيمان
Narrated by Sayyidina Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (RA) that I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) say: “Whoever among you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand; if he cannot, then with his tongue; and if he cannot, then with his heart—and that is the weakest level of faith.”
Reference: Sahih Muslim, Book of Faith, Chapter on the Explanation that Forbidding Evil is Part of Faith, No: 177.
From this hadith, it is clear that enjoining good is part of faith. The one who acts upon enjoining good is at a high level of faith. In fact, the one who enjoins good is a great well-wisher of people. And well-wishing requires warning against harmful matters and guiding towards beneficial matters.
عن ابن مسعود رضى الله عنه ، أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: ما من نبي بعثه الله فى أمة قبلي ، إلا كان له من أمته حواريون وأصحاب يأخذون بسنته ويقتدون بأمره، ثم إنها تخلف من بعدهم خلوف، يقولون ما لا يفعلون، ويفعلون مالا يؤمرون ، فمن جاهدهم بيده فهو مؤمن ، ومن جاهدهم بقلبه فهو مؤمن ، ومن جاهدهم بلسانه فهو مؤمن ، وليس وراء ذلك من الإيمان حبة خردل
Narrated by Sayyidina Ibn Mas'ud (RA), the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: “Before me, Allah sent other prophets, and among their nations were helpers and companions who followed their Sunnah and obeyed their commands. Then after them came unfaithful people who said things they did not do and did things they were not commanded to do. So whoever fights them with his hand is a believer, whoever fights them with his heart is a believer, whoever fights them with his tongue is a believer, and beyond that, there is not even the weight of a grain of mustard seed of faith.”
Reference: Sahih Muslim, Book of Faith, Chapter on the Explanation that Forbidding Evil is Part of Faith, No: 50.
The flight of both is in the same sky,
The world of the vulture is different, and the world of the falcon is different.
عن أبى سعيد الخدري رضى الله عنه عن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: إياكم والجلوس فى الطرقات ، فقالوا : يا رسول الله ! مالنا بد من مجلسنا ، نتحدث فيها ، قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : فإذا أبيتم إلا المجلس فأعطوا الطريق حقه، قالوا: وما حقه؟ قال: غض البصر ، وكف الأذى ، ورد السلام ، والأمر بالمعروف ، والنهي عن المنكر
Narrated by Sayyidina Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (RA), the Prophet (PBUH) said: “Avoid sitting on the roads!” The Companions said, “O Messenger of Allah, we have no choice but to sit in those gatherings where we talk.” The Prophet (PBUH) said, “If you must sit there, then give the road its due right.” The Companions asked, “What is the right of the road?” He said, “Lowering the gaze, removing harmful things from the road (or refraining from causing harm), responding to greetings, enjoining good, and forbidding evil.”
Reference: Sahih Bukhari, Book of Oppressions, Chapter on Courtyards and Sitting on the Roads, No: 2465 - Sahih Muslim, Book of Clothing, Chapter on Prohibition of Sitting in the Roads, No: 2121.
عن حذيفة رضي الله عنه عن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: والذي نفسي بيده! لتأمرن بالمعروف، ولتنهون عن المنكر ، أو ليوشكن الله أن يبعث عليكم عقابا منه ، ثم تدعونه فلا يستجاب لكم
Narrated by Sayyidina Hudhayfah (RA), the Prophet (PBUH) said: “By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, you will certainly enjoin good and forbid evil, or Allah will send upon you a punishment from Himself, then you will call upon Him but He will not respond to you.”
Reference: Sunan Tirmidhi, Chapters on Tribulations, Chapter on Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil, No: 2169 - Al-Silsilah al-Sahihah, No: 2868.
Sayyida Aisha Siddiqah (RA) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: “Every human being among the children of Adam is created with three hundred and sixty joints. Whoever says Allahu Akbar, Alhamdulillah, La ilaha illallah, Subhanallah, Astaghfirullah, removes a stone, thorn, or bone from the path of people, enjoins good, and forbids evil, has done the equivalent of the number of joints. He will end that day in a state as if he has certainly saved himself from the Hellfire.”
Reference: Sahih Muslim, Book of Zakat, No: 1007.
The Imams of Hadith practiced enjoining good and forbidding evil with great zeal. As Shuja' ibn al-Walid says:
“I traveled with Imam Sufyan (may Allah have mercy on him), and he would constantly enjoin good and forbid evil with his tongue while walking.”
Reference: Siyar A'lam al-Nubala: 259/7.
Similarly, Sufyan (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
“When a person’s neighbors praise him with sweet words, it is actually bad because often he sees them doing evil but does not forbid them; rather, he meets them with a smiling face.”
Reference: Siyar A'lam al-Nubala: 278/6
