Riyad al-Salihin
From the words of the Master of the Messengers
Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him
Chapter: Commanding the Good and Forbidding the Evil
From the Mother of the Believers, Umm Salamah
Hind bint Abi Umayyah Hudhayfah, may Allah be pleased with her
From the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who said:
"Indeed, there will be appointed over you rulers,
whose actions you will recognize and disapprove of.
Whoever dislikes them is absolved of blame,
and whoever disapproves of them is safe.
But whoever is pleased and follows them [is not]."
They asked, "O Messenger of Allah,
shall we not fight them?"
He replied, "No,
as long as they establish prayer among you."
Narrated by Muslim
Its meaning:
Whoever dislikes it in his heart,
and is unable to disapprove of it with his hand or tongue,
is absolved of the sin,
and has fulfilled his duty.
Whoever disapproves of it according to his capacity,
is safe from this sin.
And whoever is pleased with their actions and follows them,
he is the sinner.
"Whose actions you recognize"
means you recognize some of their deeds
because they conform to the Shari'ah.
"And disapprove of"
means you disapprove of some of their deeds
because they contradict the Shari'ah.
From the benefits of the hadith:
Among the miracles of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
is his foretelling of future unseen events.
If rulers commit acts that contradict the Shari'ah,
it is not permissible for the Ummah to agree with them in that.
People are of three types:
Among them is he who dislikes it in his heart,
and thus he is absolved of the sin.
Among them is he who is able to disapprove with his hand or tongue,
and thus he is safe from being held accountable for the sins of the elite.
And among them is he who considers these evil acts acceptable,
and he shall fall headlong into the wrath of Allah.
Prayer is the hallmark of Islam,
and the dividing line between disbelief and faith.
A warning against inciting discord and causing division,
and considering that to be more reprehensible than bearing the evil of sinful rulers,
and exercising patience regarding their harm,
for discord is more severe and greater than killing.
The standard for changing evil and removing a ruler
is the Shari'ah,
not whims, partisanship, or sectarianism.
From the Mother of the Believers,
Umm al-Hakam Zaynab bint Jahsh, may Allah be pleased with her,
that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
entered upon her in a state of alarm, saying:
"There is no deity but Allah!
Woe to the Arabs from an evil that has drawn near!
Today, a gap has been opened in the barrier of Gog and Magog like this,"
and he circled with his thumb and the finger next to it.
I said, "O Messenger of Allah,
shall we perish while there are righteous people among us?"
He said, "Yes, if wickedness becomes prevalent."
Agreed upon
"In a state of alarm" refers to panic,
which is terror and fear.
"Woe" is a word of punishment,
and it is said at times of grief.
Gog and Magog
are nations that will appear at the end of time,
and they will spread corruption on earth.
Their appearance is one of the major signs of the Hour.
"A barrier" is a dam built by Dhu al-Qarnayn,
and it is the one mentioned in Surah al-Kahf.
"Circled with his fingers"
means he placed his index finger at the base of his thumb,
and closed them until only a small gap remained.
"Wickedness"
refers specifically to adultery,
or general immorality and sinfulness.
From the benefits of the hadith:
Alarm does not distract the heart of the believer from the remembrance of Allah;
rather, he remembers Allah when afraid,
because it is in the remembrance of Allah that hearts find peace.
The emergence of Gog and Magog is an evil.
He singled out the Arabs for mention
because they are the carriers of Islam and the standard-bearers of its banner.
So if they become corrupt,
it is a sign of evil, we seek refuge in Allah.
This does not imply a special status for the Arabs in their persons or lineages;
rather, they are honored by carrying Islam and raising its banner.
And whoever breaks his covenant, he only breaks it against his own soul.
General destruction occurs due to the prevalence and spread of sins,
even if there are many righteous people.
A clarification of the ominous nature of sin and an incitement to denounce it.
Calamities affect all people, both the righteous and the corrupt,
but they will be resurrected according to their intentions.
From Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him,
from the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who said:
"Beware of sitting on the roads."
They said, "O Messenger of Allah,
we have no other places to sit,
where we can talk."
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"If you insist on sitting,
then give the road its due right."
They asked, "And what is the right of the road, O Messenger of Allah?"
He said, "Lowering the gaze, refraining from harm,
returning the greeting, commanding the good,
and forbidding the evil."
Agreed upon
"Beware" means be cautious and avoid it.
"We have no other places to sit"
means we cannot do without them.
"Lowering the gaze"
means restraining the eyes from forbidden things.
"Refraining from harm"
means repelling and preventing harm.
From the benefits of the hadith:
The road is common ground among the Muslims;
it is not permissible to monopolize it for one's own benefit,
or to block or narrow it.
It is one of the public rights.
It is permissible to sit on the road
under the conditions mentioned in the hadith.
The prohibition of looking at the private parts of Muslims.
Lowering the gaze,
refraining from harm,
returning the greeting,
and commanding the good and forbidding the evil
are obligatory matters.
The Muslim occupies himself with what benefits him and his community,
even during his time of sitting or leisure.
An Ummah whose individuals act in this way
will prosper, succeed, and triumph.
And the opposite is true.
The permissibility of consulting a scholar or a mufti
to clarify a matter that might be hidden from one regarding a ruling or fatwa.
From Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both,
that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
saw a gold ring on a man's hand,
so he pulled it off, threw it away, and said:
"Does one of you intend to take a coal from the Fire
and place it on his hand?"
It was said to the man after the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had left,
"Take your ring and benefit from it."
He said, "No, by Allah, I will never take it,
for the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has thrown it away."
Narrated by Muslim
"Intend" means purpose.
"Benefit from it"
means benefit from it by selling or gifting it.
From the benefits of the hadith:
Removing evil with the hand when one has the ability to do so.
The permissibility of giving away something to someone who might benefit from it.
The prohibition of gold rings for men is for the purpose of declaring it unlawful.
The permissibility of trading in gold by buying and selling.
The Companions' compliance with the command of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and their avoidance of his prohibitions.
It is derived from the hadith
that wearing gold for men is one of the major sins.
From Abu Sa'id al-Hasan al-Basri,
that 'A'idh ibn 'Amr, may Allah be pleased with him,
visited 'Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad,
and said, "O my son,
I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, say:
'Indeed, the worst of shepherds is the harsh one.'
So beware of being one of them."
He said to him, "Sit down, for you are but the chaff of the companions of Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him."
He replied, "And did they have any chaff?
The chaff only came after them and among others."
Narrated by Muslim
"Shepherds" is the plural of shepherd.
"The harsh one" means the one who is violent in tending camels, in driving them to water and bringing them back,
throwing them upon one another and treating them roughly.
He used it as a metaphor for a bad ruler who is harsh with his subjects,
showing them no gentleness in their guidance and grazing.
"Chaff"
refers to the husks of flour, which are its peels.
The intended meaning is someone of no consequence.
From the benefits of the hadith:
The Companions' commitment to commanding the good and forbidding the evil.
The Companions are all masters and virtuous,
because they are the best of people after the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
The dregs and the chaff were not known until after their generation.
The reform and righteousness of the Ummah is achieved by leading it to the straight path with gentleness.
The recommendation for a man to advise his children.
The best of people to others is the one who is gentle and kind.
From Hudhayfah, may Allah be pleased with him,
from the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who said:
"By Him in Whose hand is my soul,
you must command the good,
and you must forbid the evil,
or else Allah will soon send upon you a punishment from Him,
then you will call upon Him, and He will not answer you."
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi
From the benefits of the hadith:
The obligation of commanding the good and forbidding the evil.
The permissibility of varying the wording of an oath.
As long as it is religiously sanctioned.
Enjoining good and forbidding evil.
A safety valve against the wrath and punishment of Allah.
The consequence of negligence in abandoning the enjoining of good and forbidding of evil.
Being among those whose supplications are not answered.
The calamity and misfortune of evil spreads to both the perpetrator and others.
On the authority of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him.
From the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who said:
"The best form of jihad..."
"...is a word of justice spoken to a tyrannical ruler."
Narrated by Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi.
"A word of justice" means a word of truth.
"Tyrannical" means unjust.
Among the benefits of this hadith:
Enjoining good and forbidding evil is a form of jihad.
Advising a tyrannical ruler is among the greatest forms of jihad.
Jihad has various levels, and it varies in merit and degree.
The permissibility of confronting an unjust ruler when he commits injustice.
And enjoining him to do good and forbidding him from evil.
One should be gentle in offering advice and kind in delivering admonition, so that he may perhaps remember or fear Allah.
On the authority of Abu 'Abdullah Tariq ibn Shihab al-Bajali al-Ahmasi, may Allah be pleased with him.
That a man asked the Prophet, peace be upon him:
While he had placed his foot in the stirrup.
"Which jihad is best?"
He said: "A word of truth spoken to a tyrannical ruler."
Narrated by al-Nasa'i.
The stirrup is the foot-rest of a camel saddle.
Whether it is made of leather or wood.
It has also been said that it is not restricted to leather or wood.
Among the benefits of this hadith:
Enjoining good and forbidding evil in the presence of an unjust ruler is among the best forms of jihad.
Because it indicates the perfection of the person's certainty and the strength of his faith.
As he spoke before that powerful, tyrannical ruler.
And did not fear his tyranny or his brutality.
Rather, he sold his soul to Allah.
And prioritized the command and right of Allah over his own self.
In this, there is a greater risk than the risk faced by a fighter on the battlefield.
Riyad al-Salihin.