Class 3
ETIQUETTE OF ENJOINING GOOD
Calling people to Allah is a virtuous deed which brings great reward. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever calls others to guidance will have a reward like the rewards of those who follow him, without that detracting from their reward in any way. And whoever calls others to misguidance will have a burden of sin like the burden of those who follow him, without that detracting from their burden in any way.”(Narrated by Muslim, 2674)
Also the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ reminded us, “A believer is the mirror of his brother. When he sees a fault in it, he should correct it.” (Abu Dawood & Bukhari in Adab Al Mufrad; classed as Hasan by Albani).
Also the Prophet ﷺ said: "By Allah, if Allah were to guide one man throughyou, it would be better for you than a red camel." (Bukhari & Muslim) – A red camel was a prized possession amongst the Arabs at thetime and it was a way of illustrating the significance of the act of guiding someone to Islam.
Besides explaining the virtues of giving advice, our beloved Rasulullah ﷺ also taught us necessary etiquette and required manners and characteristics of advising others. These prophetic techniques are conveyed to us through his narrations in authentic Ahadith books. They are simple, easily doable, and universal.
ETIQUETTE FROM THE SUNNAH
Pure Intentions
His motive for giving advice should be love of good for his brother and hating for anything bad to befall him.
Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “With regard to giving sincere advice to the Muslims, [the one who wishes to do that] should love for them what he loves for himself, hate for them what he hates for himself, feel compassion for them, show mercy to their young ones, show respect to their elders, and share their grief and their joy, even if that is detrimental to his worldly interests, such as loving for prices to be dropped for them, even if that causes him to lose some profits on what he sells of trade goods.
By the same token, he should hate everything that could cause them harm. He should love what is good for them, and hope for harmony to exist among them and for them to continue enjoying the blessings of Allah. He should pray that they always prevail against their enemies and that all harm be warded off from them. Abu `Amr ibn As-Salah said: Nasihah (sincerity, sincere advice) is a comprehensive word which means that the one who is sincere should want all kinds of good for the one to whom advice is offered, and should try to achieve that for him. (Jami` Al-`Uloom wa’l-Hikam, p. 80)
He should be sincere when giving advice , seeking thereby to please Allah. He should not intend thereby to prove his superiority over his brother.
With Knowledge
It should be done on the basis of knowledge and clear proof. The Prophet ﷺ was commanded to say: “Say, “This is my way; I invite to Allah with sure knowledge, I and those who follow me….” 12:08
He ﷺ called to his people with sure knowledge, insight and understanding. This is a prerequisite to giving advice: having the right knowledge relating to the advice that is being given. As opposed to ignorance, which can lead to more harm than good.
As-Sa`di (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Wisdom dictates that giving advice to others should be done on the basis of knowledge, not ignorance, and that one should start with that which is more important, then that which is less important, and with that which is easy to explain and understand, and that which is more likely to be accepted. The advice should be given in a kind and gentle manner. If the person to whom the advice is given pays heed to this approach, which is based on wisdom, all well and good; otherwise we should move on to exhorting him with good instruction, which means enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, accompanied by mention of the reward from Allah for doing good and the punishment for doing wrong. If the person to whom that is addressed believes that what he is doing is sound and correct, or he calls people to falsehood, then we should argue (debate) with him in a way that is best, which means debating with him in ways that are based on rational arguments and religious texts, which includes quoting evidence that he regards as sound and valid, for that is more likely to lead to a positive response. The debate should not lead to dispute or trading of insults, for that would defeat the purpose and serve no interest; rather the aim of the debate is to guide people to the truth, not merely to prove the other side wrong, and so on. (Tafsir As-Sa`di (p. 452)
With Wisdom & Gentleness
This is a divine commandment when Allah says: “Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best”. 16:125
Wisdom is developed over time and through experience. It is not something that can be easily defined. There are many examples from the lives of the prophets and the righteous that came before us exemplifying this quality. We can learn from that and apply it ourselves.
Expressing Genuine Love and Care
The following Hadith is an excellent example of how the Messenger of Allah ﷺ advised one of his companions, Mu'adh Bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ held his hand and he ﷺ said:
"O' Mu'adh, By Allah I love you, by Allah I love you. Then he ﷺ said: "I advise you not to miss this supplication after every Salah (prayer) in which you say: 'O' Allah help me remember You, give Shukr (gratitude) to You, and worship You in the best manner." (Abu Dawud & An-Nasa'i)
Rasulullah ﷺ asked Mu'adh to develop a permanent habit of saying a specific Du'a after every prayer. Still, prior to advising anything, Rasulullah ﷺ used the following three unique techniques as mentioned in this Hadith:
He held Mu'adh's hand to express his love and affection for Mu'adh, grounding his words with sincerity.
He expressed his love and affection for Mu'adh again. When addressing him the second time, he swore by Allah twice to express his affection for his companion.
Then, he repeated his actual name, which encourages the listener to be attentive to what will be said. He then began giving his advice
Generating a good feeling by praising before reminding
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “What an excellent man `Abdullah is! If only he could perform [optional] prayers at night.” After this, `Abdullah used to sleep very little at night. (Al-Bukhari and Muslim).
Keeping the Advice small & simple
The Prophet ﷺ said, "I have been given words which are concise but comprehensive in meaning." (Sahih Muslim).
Make things easy
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,
“Make things easy (for people) and do not make things difficult, give glad tidings and do not put people off.” (Bukhari & Muslim)
“Verily, Allah Almighty is pleased for this nation to be at ease, and He is displeased for it to be in difficulty,” and the Prophet ﷺ said it three times. (al-Mu’jam al-Kabīr 707; Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Suyuti)
Hence the Prophet ﷺ enjoined and encouraged moderation, and urged us to be moderate and so we reach our goal. (Sahih Bukhari)
Then he ﷺ enjoined avoiding extremism and trying to be near perfection, and encouraged people to be hopeful and not to yield to despair.
Remind of the Rewards
There are many examples from the Sunnah where the Prophet ﷺ reminded us about the rewards of each act, some examples are mentioned here:
“The one who sponsors an orphan, whether it is a relative of his or not, he and I will be like these two in Paradise,” and (pointed with his forefinger and middle finger). (Muslim)
“Whoever among you who is able to screen [protect] himself against the Fire, even if it should be with half a date; then he should do so”. (Muslim)
“Indeed the sadaqah [charity] extinguishes from its people the heat of the graves, and the believer will be shaded on the Day of Resurrection in the shade of his charity.” (Tabarani, Hasan)
“There is no Muslim who visits a (sick) Muslim early in the morning but seventy thousand angels send blessings upon him until evening comes, and if he visits him in the evening, seventy thousand angels send blessings upon him until morning comes, and he will have a garden in Paradise.” (At-Tirmidhi, classed as hasan by Albani.)
Reminding of Good Deeds in public to inspire
Once after the fajr prayer the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ was sitting amongst his Sahaba and asked: “Who among you is fasting today?” Abu Bakr (R.A.) said: “I am.” He ﷺ said: “Who among you has attended a funeral today?” Abu Bakr (R.A.) said: “I have.” He ﷺ said: “Who among you has fed a poor person today?’ Abu Bakr (R.A.) said: “I have.” He ﷺ said: “Who among you has visited a sick person today?” Abu Bakr (R.A.) said: “I have.” The Messenger of Allaah ﷺ said: “These (traits) are not combined in a person but he will enter Paradise.” Narrated by Muslim, 1028.
Reminding the Purpose of Life
Allah has not created man to eat, drink and multiply, in which case he would be like the animals. Allah has honoured man and favoured him far above many of those whom He has created, but many people insist on disbelief, so they are ignorant of or deny the true wisdom behind their creation, and all they care about is enjoying the pleasures of this world. The life of such people is like that of animals, and indeed they are even more astray. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“while those who disbelieve enjoy themselves and eat as cattle eat; and the Fire will be their abode” (Muhammad 47:12)
“Leave them to eat and enjoy, and let them be preoccupied with (false) hope. They will come to know!” (al-Hijr 15:3)
We have been created to worship Allah and to prepare for the Hereafter
“And I (Allah) created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone)” [al-Dhariyat 51:56]
“Who has created death and life that He may test you which of you is best in deed. And He is the All-Mighty, the Oft-Forgiving” [Al-Mulk 67:2]
Give Advice as an Act of Worship, Not as a Habit.
For some people, giving advice turns into a habitual pattern. Sometimes one gives advice to others to avoid dealing with one’s own problems. An important rule states, “He who is preoccupied with telling others to be good may find no time to be good.”
Leading by Example
Among the reasons for the rapid and peaceful spread of Islam in many parts of the world was due to the simplicity of its message and values and high morals that its adherents possessed. Muslims led by example in their daily lives and when dealing with others, they would interact with fairness and justice.
The manners of the Muslims need to be exemplary so that you inspire change in others.
The Prophet ﷺ said, “The best of you are those who, when they are seen, they remind you of Allah.”(Ibn Majah & Adab Al Mufrad; classed as Hasan)
Practice what you preach
Allah says, “Do you order righteousness of the people and forget yourselves while you recite the Scripture? Then will you not reason?” [Al-Baqarah 2:44]
And the Prophet ﷺ said, “A man will be brought on the Day of Resurrection and will be cast into Hell, and his intestines will pour forth and he will go round them as a donkey goes round a millstone. The inmates of Hell will gather round him and say: ‘What has happened to you, O so-and-so? Were you not enjoining us to do good and forbidding us to do evil?’ He will reply: ‘I was enjoining you to do good, but was not doing it myself; and I was forbidding you to do evil, but was doing it myself.'” (Bukhari and Muslim)
These are stern warnings to the one who tells people to do what is right when he does not do it himself, and forbids them to do what is wrong when he does it himself.
Tomorrow we will InShaAllah learn about the Etiquette of Forbidding Evil & Correcting People
May Allah give us all the Hidaayah to be able to call others towards Allah and to be able to inspire them to do good for His sake.
TIPS FOR THE TEST
Do not have to memorise the ayahs or hadeeths word for word and their references, but remember their meanings and the msg being given.
Remember the etiquette & rewards.
ASSIGNMENT
There will be an Assignment Question asked in the Test. Marks will be given based on the following: -
I. Invite atleast 10 people to the course (can invite via WhatsApp, Facebook, Email, telegram or word of mouth) 4 Marks. (check the note below for exceptions)
Note:
Those who have already invited whether on Whatsapp, Email or FB, do not need to invite again.
It does not matter, whether people join or not, our job is to invite.
II. Talk to 5 people (friends or family) about any three topics from the course - (5 Marks)
III. Pray for the Ummah, pray for the ease of all the poor & oppressed Muslims and Maghfirah of the Muslims who passed away. Pray that Allah make us all strong in imaan and give us the hidayah to work for the aakhirah and to help each other. - 1 Mark
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