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SELECTIONS FROM THE

REVITALISATION OF THE SCIENCES OF RELIGIONAl-Ghazalis Ihya Ulum al-Din

On Enjinin! G" an" F#$i""in! E%il

Cha&'(# On(

Th( O$li!a'in ) Enjinin! G" F#$i""in! E%il an" i's Vi#'u(s an" 'h(E%il ) N(!l(*'in! an" Lsin! i'

As for the evidence for enjoining good and forbidding evil in the Koran Allah, theAlmighty said: Let there be one nation of you that shall call to righteousness,ordering honor, and forbidding dishonor. Those are the prosperous. Koran !h." verse #$%& 'n this verse the obligation is clear, as (lory be to )im says: *Andbe.. this is an order, and the e+position of success is related to the order if it hasbeen carried out, as )e said: *those they are the successful. 't is sho-n thatthis is a collective duty, not an individual duty and if some have attended to it, the

obligation -ill be lifted from the others. ince )e did not say be all of you invitingto uprightness and enjoining right and forbidding -rong,/ but )e said: *0e anation

)e )igh 1+alted has also said: *2et they the 3eople of the 0oo4& are not allali4e. There are among the 3eople of the 0oo4 an upstanding nation that recitethe verses of Allah the Koran& throughout the night and prostrate themselves,-ho believe in Allah and the Last 5ay, -ho order honor and forbid dishonor and

race in good -or4s. These are the righteous. Koran !h. " verse ##"6##%& soAllah, the Almighty did not state that they are righteous just because they believein Allah and the Last 5ay, but they enjoin good and forbid evil.

And also Allah, the )igh, the 1+alted said: *The believers, both men and -omen,are guides to each other. They order -hat is just and forbid -hat is evil7 theyestablish their prayers Koran !h.8 verse 9#&

)e described them as believers in that they enjoin good and forbid evil, so theone -ho neglects enjoining good and forbidding evil is not one of the believersaccording to this verse.

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As for the evidence of enjoining good and forbidding evil in Tradition, Abu 0a4r 6may Allah be pleased -ith him 6 said in his speech: * people you are readingthis verse and e+plaining it contrary to its meaning: 0elievers, loo4 after youro-n souls, he -ho goes astray cannot harm you if you are guided. /Koran !h.

; verse #$;& ' have heard the 3rophet, praise and peace be upon him, saying:Any people -ho are committing sins and there are among them those -ho areable to forbid them from doing that, and he failed to do so, surely Allah -ill smitethem all -ith a severe punishment from )im/.

The 3rophet, praise and peace be upon him, said: * people, Allah said:2ou should enjoin good and forbid evil or you -ill not get any response to yourprayer/.

As for the evidence of enjoining good and forbidding evil in the sayings of the!ompanions: Abu 5arda/ 6 may Allah be pleased -ith him 6 said: *2ou should

enjoin good and forbid evil or Allah -ill incite against you an oppressor ruler -ho-ill not respect your elderly nor -ould he have mercy to your young, the best ofyou -ill pray against him, but their prayer -ill not be accepted, and you -ill see4help but you -ill not get it, and you -ill see4 forgiveness but -ill not be forgiven.

)athitha 6 may Allah be pleased -ith him 6 -as as4ed about the living dead, hesaid: *)e is the one -ho does not forbid the unla-ful by his hand nor by histongue, nor by his heart.

Ali ibn Abu Talib 6 may Allah be pleased -ith him 6 said: *The first of -hat youovercome in jihad is the jihad -ith your hands, then jihad -ith your tongues, then

jihad -ith your hearts, but if your heart does not 4no- maruf enjoining good& anddoes not forbid the unla-ful, then it is turned upside do-n.

't -as said to uences of their enjoining andforbidding.

't -as said to al Tha-ri: *5o you not enjoining -hat is good and forbid -hat isevil= )e said: *'f the sea bursts, -ho is able to hold it bac4=

This e+plains the real purpose of the 'slamic society: that people adopt piety andvirtue in their lives and do their utmost to help eradicate sin, evil and injustice,and promote and establish virtue, goodness and justice in their individual andsocial relationships.

o to conduct human life upon these lines, the hariah states its norms of virtuesand good ma/rufat& and of avoidance of sin and evils mun4arat& to, -hich theindividual and society conduct must conform. 't not merely provides an inventory

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of virtues and vices for man but also lays do-n the -hole scheme of life is such a-ay that virtues may flourish -ithout being polluted or retarded by vices. Thehariah 'slamic La-& conducts human society to-ards the free gro-th of good,virtue and truth in every area of life. This gives full play to the forces of good in alldirections and at the same time removes all impediments in the path of virtue. 'n

order to eradicate evil from society, it prohibits vice and closes all possible doorsfrom, -hich it can creep into society.

Th( Vi#'u(s ) Enjinin! G"Vi#'u(s a#( *lassi)i(" in' 'h#(( *a'(!#i(s+

?andatory fard&@ecommended matlub&3ermissible mubah&

The mandatory are obligatory and every member of a ?uslim society mustobserve and practice these commandments. The recommended virtues arethose -hich are desirable and the hariah -ants them to be observed andpracticed by people. The gro-th of these is encouraged in a ?uslim society butactual observance is left to the discretion of the individual. All others, -hich arenot prohibited are permissible and, again, are left to individual taste and socialpractice. The person has complete freedom of choice depending upon his o-ntastes and preferences.

Cha&'(# T,Th( #in*i&l(s ) Enjinin! G" an" i's Cn"i'ins

Kno- that the principles in all citien/s arrest hisbah& of comprehensiveobligation to-ards enjoining good and forbidding evil are four:

Al muhtasab one for, -hich you can e+pect re-ard in the )ereafter& )e shouldbe a faithful ?uslim and true believer -ho is fair and just, -ho has attained fullage, is of sound mind and able.

Al muhtasab alayh: Any human -ho commits a forbidden sin.

Al muhtasab fi: 1very forbidden evil, -hich presents itself to you, and is 4no-n tobe forbidden, -hich is openly evident to you. 'f anyone commits a sin inside hiso-n house, closing his doors upon himself, it is not permissible for anotherperson to spy upon him. Allah, the Almighty has forbidden that: * you -hobelieveB 5o not enter houses other than your o-n houses until you have as4edpermission, and given salutations to the people therein Koran C% verse C9&

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'htisab comprises degrees and ethics. As to the degrees, first is to 4no-, then toforbid, then to advise and admonish, then to scold, then to restrain -ith yourhands, then to threaten -ith beating, then to beat, then to use a -eapon, then tosee4 the help of others.

As for the ethics, the ethics of al muhtasab, are comprised of threecharacteristics: 4no-ledge, piety, and good manners.

Dhile these three characteristics al hisbah becomes one of the good deeds,-hich repel the unla-ful.

Cha&'(# Th#((Mun.a#a'Th( Cus'ma#y #hi$i'insIn 'h( Ha$i's ) 'h( (&l(

#hi$i'(" 'hin!s /mun.a#a'0 a#( ) ', .in"s+

)aram unla-ful&

?ma4ruh disli4ed&

?uslims are to abstain totally from forbidden haram& things, but in the case ofma4ruhat disli4ed& the hariah 'slamic La-& sho-s, e+pressly or by implication,disproval. There are several things, bet-een these t-o e+tremes of haram andma4ruhat, -hich are on the border. The hariah has, ho-ever, given strict

prohibitory orders against those bordering on haram, but left the case of thosebordering on ma4ruhat to the discretion and tastes of individual members of the?uslim society. 0oth these measures help a great deal in establishing andpromotion virtue and good and eradicating and discouraging evil and sin insociety.