Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil

 ENJOINING GOOD AND FORBIDDING EVIL 

A crucial aspect of being a balanced nation is the noble act of promoting what is good and forbidding what is evil. Those who claim to be Submitters – Muslims, should ideally be the best example for mankind. 

You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah. If only the People of the Scripture had believed, it would have been better for them. Among them are believers, but most of them are defiantly disobedient. – Quran 3:110 

The exceptional feat of Muslims being the ideal evolution of mankind is tied to enjoining righteousness and forbidding evil. The divine honour mankind has been bestowed is directly linked with the primary purpose of creation – to worship The Creator. Furthermore, the righteousness characteristic somewhat justifies the creation of man, because when Allah informed the angels, He was going to create man, the angels wondered why. However, in His ultimate wisdom and mercy, Allah responded by stating that He knows what they the angels do not know, because He is The All-Knowing.  

Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: "I will create a vicegerent on earth." They said: "Wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood? - whilst we do celebrate Thy praises and glorify Thy holy (name)?" He said: "I know what ye know not." – Quran 2:30 

Essentially, whenever Muslims are not enjoining good and forbidding evil, they are not fulfilling the purpose of their existence. The core of mankind's problems can be traced to the deliberate abandonment of the divine duty of enjoining good and forbidding evil. From a sociological viewpoint, forbidding evil is not exactly an easy feat. Being good is one thing, and enjoining good is another, but forbidding evil is more challenging, because people naturally do not like change – that's human nature. Obviously, enjoining good and forbidding evil must come from a place of love and humility. The motivation for such noble acts should be founded on love for fellow-creations, without haughtiness. Also, tact must be employed in such actions because forceful implementation would, in most cases, be counterproductive. The composition of the human psyche is to resist change by default, and people tend to be naturally defiant. As a similitude, if people are told not to drink alcohol, some people will be defiant and more determined to drink alcohol, simply because there is a law that says alcohol consumption is not permitted. In contrast, if reverse psychology is applied to the situation and people are instructed that the nonconsumption of alcohol is illegal. In such a scenario, there are people who will not consume alcohol to establish their defiance. This similitude highlights the defiance some people have towards rules, especially divinely inspired laws or anything associated with God, and underpins their general aversion to religion. The usual mantra is "nobody can tell me what to do" or "I can live my life the way I want", and in the process, may decide to sing “I want to break free”.  

The societal manifestations of such parochial and often self-inimical scenarios, underscores why it is a wiser option to advice people via reminders of the benefits of righteousness. Nonetheless, the societal implications of not enjoining good and forbidding evil are felt by all members of the society. Unfortunately, the impact of crime on any society cannot be steered to affect a particular set of victims. For example, if a drunken person drives a car, and the consumed alcohol causes an error in judgement that leads to a fatal accident, the casualties could be far-reaching. In such a scenario, potential casualties of the fatal accident could be the inebriated driver or innocent bystanders. In another example, a drug dealer sells hard drugs to a drug addict, and the effect of the drugs leads to the substance abuser attacking an innocent person on the street for no reason. As another example, a public servant tasked with the fixing of bad roads, decides to engage in graft – stealing – which leads to a ghastly accident, because the road was never fixed. The victims in the aforementioned instances can be traced to someone doing something terrible – an initial evil act that was committed, thereby triggering off a series of grievous events. In all the above citied scenarios, the friends and loved ones of all the parties involved are impacted by the manifestations of not forbidding evil. A Hadith succinctly highlights the detrimental effects of not enjoining good and forbidding evil with an analogy of a ship with two decks. 

Narrated Al-Nu‘man ibn Bashir: The Prophet ﷺ, said, "The parable of those who respect the limits of Allah and those who violate them is that of people who board a ship after casting lots, some of them residing in its upper deck and others in its lower deck. When those in the lower deck want water, they pass by the upper deck and say: If we tear a hole in the bottom of the ship, we will not harm those above us. If those in the upper deck let them do what they want, they will all be destroyed together. If they restrain them, they will all be saved together." – Sahih al-Bukhari 2493 

Excerpt from pgs 190-192 of P.R.I.S.M: Primal Religious Instruction Serving Mankind by M.B.O Owolowo ©️