Class 5
BEST OF YOU
THE ENJOINERS
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)
“When they are seen, they remind you of Allah.”
SubhaanAllah, May Allah make us amongst these. When you see them, they remind you of Allah. This can achieved in one of three ways…
A person who enjoins good & forbids evil whenever he/she gets a chance.
A person who is constantly seen doing good deeds or is part of welfare of the Ummah.
A person whose attire is that of a Muslim, he/she dresses as per shariah and also is humble, honest and trustworthy in the way they deal with people.
We will briefly look into all three of these.
I. Enjoining Good Forbidding Evil
Allah says,
You are the best nation produced for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah. 3:110
Mujahid said, "Being the best of all peoples is conditional in the characteristics mentioned in the verse."
Al-Qurtubi said, "You are the best of peoples only if you enjoin good and forbid evil."
Allaah has made the Muslim ummah the best nation ever raised up for mankind, in order to do this important task,
Man is very forgetful and makes a lot of mistakes. His own self (nafs) tells him to do evil and the Shaytaan tempts him to commit sin. When bodies get sick and are afflicted with disease, one has to find a doctor who can prescribe the appropriate medicine so that the body may be restored to full health. Similarly, souls and hearts may be afflicted with the diseases of desire and doubt, so people do things which Allaah has forbidden, such as shedding blood, committing adultery, drinking alcohol, oppressing people and consuming their wealth unlawfully, preventing people from following the way of Allaah and disbelieving in Allaah.
The diseases of the heart [psychological and spiritual diseases] are worse than diseases of the body. This means that one must find a doctor who is skilled in treating such diseases. Because the diseases of the heart are so many and cause the spread of evil and corruption, Allaah has enjoined the believers to treat these diseases, by enjoining that which is good and forbidding that which is evil. Allah said, Allah said,“Let there arise from you a nation inviting to good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and those will be the successful”. Surat Ali Imran 3:104
Enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil is one of the most important Islamic duties, indeed it is the noblest and most sublime. This is the task of the Prophets and Messengers (peace be upon them all), as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Messengers as bearers of good news as well as of warning in order that mankind should have no plea against Allaah after the (coming of) Messengers” [al-Nisaa’ 4:165]
And the Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever among you sees an evil action, let him change it with his hand [by taking action]; and if he cannot, then with his tongue [by speaking out]; and if he cannot, then with his heart [by feeling that it is wrong] – and that is the weakest of faith.” (Muslim)
Enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil is one of the basic principles of this religion, and doing this is j i h a a d for the sake of Allaah. J i h a a d requires putting up with difficulties and bearing insults and harm with patience, as Luqmaan said to his son:
“O my son! Aqim-is-Salaah (perform As-Salaah), enjoin good, and forbid from all that is evil, and bear with patience whatever befalls you. Verily, these are some of the important commandments ordered by Allaah with no exemption” [Luqmaan 31:17 – interpretation of the meaning]
No matter how righteous a person may be, he still needs sincere advice, guidance and reminders in the light of the Qur’aan and Sunnah. Allaah said to the Messenger of the Lord of the Worlds, the most perfect of all creation (interpretation of the meaning):
“O Prophet (Muhammad)! Keep your duty to Allaah, and obey not the disbelievers and the hypocrites (i.e., do not follow their advice). Verily, Allaah is Ever All-Knower, All-Wise” [al-Ahzaab 33:1]
So we must all enjoin that which is good and forbid that which is evil, so that we may attain the Pleasure of Allaah and His Paradise.
How to
Enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil is an important mission, hence those who undertake this mission must be of good character and must understand the objectives of sharee’ah; they must call people with wisdom and fair preaching and deal with them in a kind and gentle manner,
Allah says, By Al-‘Asr (the time). Verily! The human is in loss; except those who believe (in Islamic Monotheism) and do righteous good deeds, enjoin one another to the truth and enjoin one another to patience. [Surah Al-Asr]
Ibn Taymiyyah writes: One who enjoins good must have three qualities: knowledge, gentleness, and patience. Knowledge comes before it, gentleness comes during it, and patience comes after it.
One who enjoins good must be gentle to avoid provoking the harmful reactions of those whom he enjoins, but it is to be expected that such harm is inevitable in some cases. This means that the believer should advise others and neither reciprocate their harm and insults, nor retaliate against them for the sake of his or her own ego.
Dangers of abandoning Enjoining Good & Forbidding Evil
If the ummah fails to do its duty of enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil, wrongdoing and corruption will spread throughout the ummah, and it will deserve the curse of Allaah. For Allaah cursed those among the Children of Israel who disbelieved because they failed in this important duty. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Those among the Children of Israel who disbelieved were cursed by the tongue of Dawood (David) and ‘Eesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary). That was because they disobeyed (Allaah and the Messengers) and were ever transgressing beyond bounds.
They used not to forbid one another from Al-Munkar (wrong, evildoing, sins, polytheism, disbelief) which they committed. Vile indeed was what they used to do [al-Maa’idah 5:78]
And the Prophet ﷺ said,
“By Him in Whose Hand my life is, you either enjoin good and forbid evil, or Allah will certainly soon send His punishment to you. Then you will make supplication and it will not be accepted”. [At-Tirmidhi].
“When people see an oppressor but do not prevent him from (doing evil), it is likely that Allah will punish them all.” [Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi].
“The parable of the one who observes the limits prescribed by Allah and the one who transgresses them is the likeness of people who board a ship after casting lots. Some of them are in its lower deck and others are in its upper deck. Those in the lower deck, when they need water, go to the upper deck and say: If we make a hole in the bottom of the ship, we will not harm you. If those in the upper deck leave them to carry out their plan, they will all be drowned, but if they stop them, then all of them will be safe.” (Bukhari)
Abu Dardaa' said, "Either you enjoin good and forbid evil or Allah will set up you a tyrant ruler who will nither respect your elderly nor have mercy on your young. If the pious amingst you pray for their destruction, their prayers will not be answered. If you ask Allah for help, He will not grant it to you. And if you ask His forgiveness, He will not forgive you."
Bilal bin Sa'eed said, "If an act of disobedience is kept secret, it will harm only its doer, but if it is committed openly and not changed, it will harm everyone."
II. Doing good consistently
The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said,
“The most beloved of deeds to Allah are those that are most consistent, even if it is small.” (Bukhari).
“My slave does not draw nearer to Me with anything more beloved to Me than the farā’id (obligatory deeds) that I have imposed upon him. And My slave continues to draw close to Me with the nawāfil (voluntary deeds) until such that I love him. And when I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks. If he were to ask Me, I would give him. If he were to seek refuge with Me, I would give him refuge.” [Muslim]
"A believer never satisfies doing good until he reaches Jannah." (Tirmidhi)
Allah S.W.T. loves consistency.
Our entire religion is structured around consistency in our lives. We pray five times a day at the same time everyday, we observe Ramadhan every Islamic year, and Hajj is the same every year. It is meant to instill in us consistency.
Maintaining consistency is a sign of your love for Allah and is a sign that you are loved by Allah S.W.T.According to scholars, if a person is able to maintain the consistency of a good deed, it is like a testimony of their sincerity for Allah S.W.T.
Consistency is not the same as being repetitive, because being repetitive is doing something without having our heart in it. That’s not what we want. When we look at how our consistency is defined, we’ll see that consistency is an action which is done with the same quality, over and over again.
If a person is prevented from completing a consistent deed due to a valid reason, he/she is rewarded as though he/she had completed the action. Allāh’s Messenger ﷺ said, “If a person becomes sick or travels, he will have the same reward as when he was healthy or not travelling” [Bukhari].
Apart from the nawafil, volunteering to help others is another means of doing good. This we will be studying in a class next week InShaAllah.
III. Muslim Identity
Allāh has mentioned here reasons for clothing: to cover the body and conceal what should not be revealed in public, and to beautify the body so the person looks better. Islamic clothing is known by its modesty. A Muslim is allowed wear whichever clothes he wishes so long as they are modest, free from impurities, not made from forbidden materials and within textual guidelines.
A summary of the requirements of the Islamic dress code for men
Clothing must conceal whatever is between the naval and knee.
Must be loose, and not see-through.
All garments must be above the ankle bone.
Should not resemble the clothing of women.
They should not resemble something that merely seeks to imitate un-Islamic practices/fashions (e.g. clothing of Buddhists, priests, rabbis, hip-hop artists, movie stars, etc.)
It cannot be made of silk or coloured/dyed with saffron.
For females is as follows:
It should cover the whole body.
It should be thick enough, i.e. non-transparent or translucent.
It should be loose and not tight on her body.
It should not be decorated or ornate or flashy such as to attract onlookers.
It should not be perfumed.
It should not resemble the dress of men.
It should not resemble the dress of the unbelievers.
It should not bear crosses or depictions of anything with a soul (humans, animals, etc.)
One of the characteristics of the believer is that the believer takes pride in the faith of Islam and his identity stemming from that faith. Note that this ‘pride’ is not at all the type of pride that is forbidden, because that pride is based on the false assumption that somehow you are better than other person because of something you have done. This type of pride is not arrogance, but rather an overwhelming sense of gratitude that Allah has blessed one with imaan, and the dignity and love that comes from recognizing and living with imaan.
Be confident in what you believe, who you are, and that you are on earth to serve Allah by serving the society in which you live.
“And who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah and does righteousness and says, “Indeed, I am of the Muslims.” (Fussilat 41:33)
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 individual roles & responsibilities.
Remember the sins and their effects
ASSIGNMENT
There will be an Assignment Question asked in the Test. Marks will be given based on the following: -
Invite atleast 15 people to the course (can invite via WhatsApp, Facebook, Email, telegram or word of mouth) 3 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.
Implement any 3 of the deeds covered from week 1. (5 Marks)
Talk about any 3 topics covered in this week’s classes with atleast 3 people. 5 Marks.
Pray for the Ummah, pray for the ease of all the poor & oppressed Muslims and pray that Allah make us all strong in imaan and give us the hidayah to work for the aakhirah and to help each other. Pray for this applying any three Sunnahs from class 4. - 2 Marks
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