SPECIAL REPORT: Rape survivors demand justice as Kano fails to domesticate important lawsHerbert Wigwe from afar, By Kenneth AmaeshiCounting days, World War III enthusiast, Macron will leave, By Owei LakemfaSPECIAL REPORT: Rape survivors demand justice as Kano fails to domesticate important lawsHerbert Wigwe from afar, By Kenneth AmaeshiCounting days, World War III enthusiast, Macron will leave, By Owei LakemfaEnjoining good and forbidding evil is a trial, so it should not be rushed into...
Hisbah, as defined earlier, is the duty of promoting what is good and preventing what is evil. And it is a collective duty or obligation of the Muslim society. Hence, a considerable number of individuals should assume this responsibility, take an affirmative stand toward it, and put it into practice whenever there is a need for it.
The scholars have said that enjoining good and forbidding evil is based upon three principles, or prerequisite and necessary conditions:It is not appropriate for someone to enjoin good or forbid evil unless they have knowledge of Islamic rulings and their relevancy to real-life situations, they are able to be patient and forbearing with the harm this duty entails, and they are gentle with people as much as possible.
Aisha reported that: If the Prophet heard something bad about a man, he would not name them by saying: Enjoining good should always been done with a sincere intention for the sake of Allah, not as a pretext to vent personal grudges or any other egotistically driven motive. Sometimes one who enjoins good is motivated by hope of reward or fear of punishment, but an even better motive is good will and mercy towards the believers and the pure love of Allah and love for the sake of Allah.
The issue of confronting tyrannical, unjust and merciless leaders best illustrates the need to wisely consider the harms and benefits of direct action or speech. There are plenty of examples in Islamic history, and human history in general, when zealous revolutionaries incited a civil war in their countries or states and made a very bad situation even worse than it had been before.