Riyadh al-Salihin from the words of the Master of the Messengers, peace be upon him.
Chapter: Sincere Counsel (Nasiha)
Allah the Almighty says:
﴾The believers are but brothers.﴿
And He says, reporting the words of Nuh, peace be upon him:
"And I offer you sincere counsel."
And concerning Hud, peace be upon him:
“I convey unto you the messages of my Lord and am for you a true adviser.” (7:68)
On the authority of Abu Ruqayya,
Tamim ibn Aws al-Dari, may Allah be pleased with him,
that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
"The religion is sincere counsel."
We asked, "To whom?"
He said:
"To Allah, to His Book, to His Messenger,
to the leaders of the Muslims, and to their common folk."
Narrated by Muslim.
The leaders of the Muslims:
Meaning their rulers and those in authority over them.
Their common folk:
Meaning the rest of the Muslims.
The intended meaning is the subjects.
From the benefits of the hadith:
The obligation of sincere counsel toward the Muslims.
Because it is the pillar and foundation of the religion.
Sincere counsel to Allah:
Is achieved through the soundness of faith in Him,
and sincerity in worshipping Him.
Sincere counsel to the Book of Allah the Almighty:
Is achieved through believing in it, committing to its recitation, and acting according to its rulings.
Sincere counsel to the Messenger, peace be upon him:
Is achieved through believing in his message and obeying his commands,
and holding fast to his Sunnah and his law.
Sincere counsel to the leaders of the Muslims:
Is achieved by assisting them in the truth,
obeying them in matters that are not sinful,
correcting their deviations with kindness,
and not rebelling against them.
Sincere counsel to the common folk of the Muslims:
Is achieved by guiding them to what is beneficial for their worldly life and their hereafter,
enjoining good upon them, and forbidding them from evil.
This hadith is a great foundation in Islam that encompasses every good.
That is why the scholars said:
This hadith is the axis upon which Islam turns.
On the authority of Jarir ibn Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
"I pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
to establish prayer, to pay the zakat,
and to offer sincere counsel to every Muslim."
Agreed upon.
From the benefits of the hadith:
Sincere counsel and mutual advice among Muslims is a Prophetic covenant.
He took from them a pledge to commit to it.
And the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, pledged allegiance to that.
On the authority of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him,
from the Prophet, peace be upon him, who said:
"None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself."
Agreed upon.
"None of you truly believes," meaning he does not possess complete faith.
"What he loves for himself,"
meaning the good that he loves for his own soul.
From the benefits of the hadith:
A condition of complete faith
is that a Muslim desires for other Muslims the same good and acts of obedience that he desires and craves for himself.
Love is among the actions of the heart,
which affects faith by increasing or decreasing it.
All people of faith are brothers;
the Divine methodology has united them.
The Muslim community is an indivisible unit;
faith unites them and love surrounds them.
Chapter: Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil
Allah the Almighty says:
“And there may spring from you a nation who invite to goodness, and enjoin right conduct and forbid indecency. Such are they who are successful.” (3:104)
﴾And it is they who are the successful.﴿
And He says:
“Ye are the best community that hath been raised up for mankind. Ye enjoin right conduct and forbid indecency; and ye believe in Allah. And if the People of the Scripture had believed it had been better for them. Some of them are believers; but most of them are evil-livers.” (3:110)
“Ye are the best community that hath been raised up for mankind. Ye enjoin right conduct and forbid indecency; and ye believe in Allah. And if the People of the Scripture had believed it had been better for them. Some of them are believers; but most of them are evil-livers.” (3:110)
And He says:
﴾Take what is given freely, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the ignorant.﴿
And He says:
“And the believers, men and women, are protecting friends one of another; they enjoin the right and forbid the wrong, and they establish worship and they pay the poor-due, and they obey Allah and His messenger. As for these, Allah will have mercy on them. Lo! Allah is Mighty, Wise.” (9:71)
﴾They enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil.﴿
And He says:
“Those of the Children of Israel who went astray were cursed by the tongue of David, and of Jesus, son of Mary. That was because they rebelled and used to transgress.” (5:78)
﴾That was because they disobeyed and were transgressors.﴿
“They restrained not one another from the wickedness they did. Verily evil was that they used to do!” (5:79)
“They restrained not one another from the wickedness they did. Verily evil was that they used to do!” (5:79)
And He says:
“Say: (It is) the truth from the Lord of you (all). Then whosoever will, let him believe, and whosoever will, let him disbelieve. Lo! We have prepared for disbelievers Fire. Its tent encloseth them. If they ask for showers, they will be showered with water like to molten lead which burneth the faces. Calamitous the drink and ill the resting-place!” (18:29)
﴾So let whoever wills believe and whoever wills disbelieve.﴿
And He says:
﴾Then declare what you are commanded.﴿
And He says:
﴾We saved those who forbade evil.﴿
“And when they forgot that whereof they had been reminded, We rescued those who forbade wrong, and visited those who did wrong with dreadful punishment because they were evil-livers.” (7:165)
The verses in this chapter are many and well-known.
On the authority of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, say:
"Whoever among you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand;
if he cannot, then with his tongue;
if he cannot, then with his heart,
and that is the weakest of faith."
Narrated by Muslim.
"Sees," meaning knows.
"The weakest of faith,"
meaning the least of it in terms of fruit.
From the benefits of the hadith:
The obligation to change evil by every possible means.
Enjoining good and forbidding evil
is the responsibility of every individual in the Ummah of Islam,
each according to his capacity.
It contains an explanation of the levels of changing evil.
First:
Denouncing it with the hand and the tongue,
which is only obligatory according to one's ability and power.
Second:
Denouncing it with the heart,
which is an obligation upon every Muslim in every situation.
For if he does not denounce the evil in his heart,
it indicates the departure of faith from him.
It is evidence that actions are included in faith.
Islam’s concern with combating evils,
because they are diseases that destroy the Ummah
if left without removal or denunciation.
On the authority of Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him,
that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"There was no prophet sent by Allah to a nation before me
but he had disciples and companions from his nation
who followed his Sunnah and obeyed his command.
Then, successors came after them
“And how they say that which they do not?” (26:226)
who did what they were not commanded to do.
Whoever strives against them with his hand is a believer;
whoever strives against them with his heart is a believer;
whoever strives against them with his tongue is a believer;
and beyond that, there is not even a mustard seed of faith."
Narrated by Muslim.
"Disciples" (Hawariyyun), meaning the prophets' closest and purest followers,
and their striving supporters.
"Successors" (Khuluf), plural of khalaf with a sukun on the lam,
which refers to those who follow in evil.
As for khalaf with a fatha on the lam, it refers to those who follow in good.
"A mustard seed" is a well-known small seed,
used as a metaphor for the ultimate in smallness.
From the benefits of the hadith:
That Allah, glory be to Him, facilitates for the prophets those who will carry their message after them.
Whoever from the Ummah desires salvation,
must follow the path of the prophets in calling to Allah,
because every path other than theirs is destruction and misguidance.
The exhortation to strive against those who violate the law with their words and deeds.
The best of people after the prophets are their companions,
then those who follow them, then those who follow them.
Whenever the era becomes distant from the Prophet and his companions,
people abandon the Sunnah, follow desires, and introduce innovations.
There are those in the Ummah who belong to it by their words,
but their actions contradict their words and invalidate their claims.
It is forbidden for a person to say what he does not do,
or to do what he was not commanded to do.
The heart's failure to denounce evil is evidence of the departure of faith from it,
as Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
"Ruined is he who does not recognize good and evil with his heart."
On the authority of Abu al-Walid 'Ubada ibn al-Samit, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
"We pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, to hear and obey
in times of ease and hardship, and in times of willingness and reluctance,
and to accept being passed over, and not to dispute the authority of those in charge,
unless you see clear disbelief
for which you have proof from Allah the Almighty."
And we pledged to speak the truth wherever we are,
fearing no one’s blame for the sake of Allah.
Agreed upon.
"Willingness and reluctance,"
meaning in easy and difficult times.
"Being passed over" (al-athara),
meaning the appropriation of shared rights.
Its explanation has already been provided.
"Clear" (bawwah),
meaning manifest, not admitting any interpretation.
"We pledged allegiance,"
meaning we made a covenant.
"To hear and obey,"
meaning that we hear and obey those in authority.
From the benefits of the hadith:
Legitimate allegiance is only to the Prophet, peace be upon him,
or the supreme leader of the Muslims,
who implements the rulings of Allah.
Allegiance to the supreme leader
is only in the obedience of Allah.
Obedience to the supreme leader in what is good
is mandatory in times of willingness, reluctance, ease, and hardship,
even if he acts selfishly.
The fruit of obedience in all that is mentioned in the hadith
is the unity of the Muslims' word,
and the casting aside of discord from their ranks.
The prohibition of rebelling against those in authority and fighting them,
even if they are sinners,
because in rebelling against them
there is a greater harm than their sinfulness.
Therefore, the lesser of the two evils is chosen.
Not disputing those in authority
unless manifest, certain disbelief appears from them,
at which point it becomes obligatory to denounce them
and to stand up for the truth.
The believer may be exposed to harm and hardship
because of declaring the word of truth,
and this makes his action one of the greatest forms of jihad,
as long as he fears no one but Allah the Almighty.
On the authority of al-Nu'man ibn Bashir, may Allah be pleased with them both,
from the Prophet, peace be upon him, who said:
"The example of the one who upholds the limits of Allah and the one who falls into them
is like a people who drew lots for places on a ship;
Some of them were on the upper deck, while others were on the lower deck.
Those who were on the lower deck,
whenever they needed to draw water,
had to pass by those above them.
So they said,
"If only we were to make a hole in our portion,
we would not disturb those above us."
If they were to leave them to do what they intended,
they would all perish.
But if they were to restrain their hands, they would be saved,
and all of them would be saved.
Narrated by Al-Bukhari.
"The one who upholds the limits of Allah the Exalted,"
means the one who rejects the forbidden act,
and stands firm in preventing and removing it.
The intended meaning of "the limits"
is what Allah has forbidden.
"They drew lots" means they cast lots.
"The one who falls into it,"
meaning the one who commits the forbidden act.
"Above them,"
meaning the upper part of the ship.
"We make a hole,"
meaning we open an aperture.
To draw water from it.
"They restrained their hands,"
meaning they prevented and stopped them,
from the hole they intended to make.
Among the benefits of this hadith:
The use of realistic, tangible parables.
It helps in understanding abstract concepts,
and renders them as vivid images,
that become firmly established in the mind.
The punishment for abandoning the duty of forbidding evil,
does not affect only the one who abandons it,
but rather the entire society.
For the general public may be punished for the sins of the few,
if evil is not denounced.
The destruction of society is a consequence of leaving those who commit evil,
to spread corruption throughout the land.
Every evil act that a person commits in their society,
is a dangerous breach in the safety of that society.
A person's freedom is restricted by the need to guarantee the rights of those around them,
and to safeguard their interests.
Some people may act in ways that harm society,
driven by misguided judgment and good intentions.
Therefore, they must be stopped and made aware of the consequences of their actions.
Enjoining good and forbidding evil,
is a safety valve for societies against the wrath and punishment of Allah the Exalted.
Responsibility in the Muslim society is shared,
and is not assigned to any single individual.
Rather, everyone is a guardian and is responsible for those under their care.
It is permissible to divide property of varying quality by drawing lots,
if it consists of upper and lower levels.
The owner of the upper level has the right to prevent the owner of the lower level,
from causing damage to the property.
The owner of the lower level is not permitted to do anything that causes harm to the owner of the upper level.
If they do so, they are obligated to repair it.
Riyad al-Salihin.