Author: Abu Aisha
Mu’tazila (25th part)
The Sayings of Scholars
Scholars write about the opinion of Ahl al-Sunnah and Jama’ah that their opinion on this matter agrees with and is the same as the Mu’tazila’s point of view. With them, enjoining the good and forbidding the evil is a (farz kifaye) obligation.
Ibn Taymiyyah about this honorable verse “کنتم خیر أمة أخرجت للناس تأمرون بالمعروف وتنهون عن المنکر” He writes: As Allah Almighty has informed me and you that this nation enjoins the good and also forbids the evil; so, Allah Almighty has made this obligatory and sufficient for them. Allah Almighty says in another place: “ولتكن منكم أمة یدعون إلى الخیر ویأمرون بالمعروف وینھون عن المنکر وأوىلئك ھم المفلحون” “And there should be a group of you who call to goodness and enjoin righteous deeds and forbid unworthy deeds, and they themselves will be saved.”
He says in another place: “Commanding good and forbidding evil is not obligatory for every person in a certain way, but this responsibility is obligatory and a (farz kifaye), as the Qur’an stated.”
Allameh Saad bin Saeed writes: “Our religion orders us to do what is good because there is goodness hidden in it and it prevents us from negativity. Because it is full of evil, many scholars have made “enjoining good and forbidding evil” the sixth pillar of Islam. Enjoining good and forbidding evil are related to each other because one of them means emptying and the other means emptying, and the other is that those two are negation and proof because a thing is completed when conditions are found, and obstacles are removed.
He says in another place: “Enjoining the good and forbidding the evil is the duty of the prophets and the responsibility of their followers. They were thrown into the fire and cut with saws because of the command to the good and forbidding the evil. Allah Almighty described the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, with this responsibility in his book, and it is one of the most obvious; rather, he has placed the first attribute of them.
Allah Almighty says: “الذین یتبعون الرسول النبي الأمي الذي یجدونه مکتوبا عندهم في التوراة والإنجیل یأمرھم بالمعروف وینھاھم عن المنكر””Those who follow this uneducated messenger and prophet, the one who finds him (name) is written with them in the Torah and the Bible, he commands them to do what is good and forbids them from what is evil.” Commanding what is good and forbidding what is evil is the greatest attribute of the people of faith because they are preferred over others with this attribute.
Ishaq bin Rahwayh says: “Commanding what is good and forbidding what is evil is obligatory for every Muslim; unless he is afraid of his own life.”
Dr. Muhammad bin Abdullah Sahim writes in the book “Islam and Principles”: “One of the good benefits of the Islamic Sharia and its very beautiful features is ‘Enjoining the good and forbidding the evil,’ which a wise and mature Muslim man and woman can afford. It is obligatory to enjoin good deeds and forbid evil deeds as much as possible.”
Harb bin Ismail says, I heard Ishaq bin Rahwayh say that Abu Abdullah was asked if “commanding good and forbidding evil” is obligatory on a Muslim; he said: Yes! He said: If you are afraid? He said: “Enjoining the good and forbidding the evil is obligatory so that when he is afraid, when he is afraid of his own soul, then he shouldn’t do this.”
Abdul Kareem al-Khudeer writes in the book “Sharh al-Tajreed al-Sarih for Ahadith al-Jami’ al-Sahih”: “There are many obligations. A group of scholars say that enjoining what is good and forbidding what is bad is one of the pillars of Islam.”
It is stated in the description of Riyad al-Salehin: “This itself is a proof of the necessity of enjoining the good and forbidding the evil, and it is obligatory, and it is considered one of the most important obligations of religion and its obligations to the extent that some scholars consider it the sixth pillar of Islam. Known. Of course, it is correct that enjoining good and forbidding evil isn’t the sixth pillar; rather, it is one of the most important duties and necessary responsibilities.”
Reminder: Although this principle has undergone extensive research among the Mutazilites; however, there are a few different cases regarding the commandment of what is good and the prohibition of what is evil between the Mutazilites and the Sunnis.
According to the Mutazilites, let’s state the reasons for each and the statements of the scholars of both sides. But what is the position and rank of “enjoining the good and forbidding the evil,” what are its conditions and obstacles, and what issues are related to it, we will examine these topics in the next sections of this topic, Inshallah.
