16
Chapter:
(*)
On Enjoining What Is Right and Forbidding What Is Wrong
Enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong—the teaching for which Allah revealed His Books and sent His messengers—is part of religion. Allah’s message consists either of statements or of prescriptions. Statements concern Himself and His creation, such as teachings about His oneness and narratives, which include promises and warnings. Prescriptions consist of commands, prohibitions, and permissions.
This accords with what has been mentioned concerning the fact that “Say: He is Allah, the One” is equivalent to one-third of the Quran, because it contains the third devoted to Allah’s oneness; for the Quran consists of narratives, teachings about His oneness, and commands.
His words, glorified be He, describing our Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace—
“He enjoins upon them what is right and forbids them what is wrong, makes lawful for them good things, and forbids them foul things”—
explain the completeness of his message. For it was through him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that Allah commanded everything right, prohibited everything wrong, made every good thing lawful, and forbade every foul thing. Thus, it is reported that he said:
“I was sent only to perfect noble character.”
And in the hadith agreed upon by al-Bukhārī and Muslim, he said:
“The parable of me and the prophets is that of
(*) Shaykh Nāsir ibn Hamad al-Fahd said (pp. 217–219):
This treatise, Enjoining Right and Forbidding Wrong, was originally a section of al-Istiqāmah, 2/198–311. A few omissions have occurred in it, mostly because the copyist’s eye skipped passages. These include:
1 - 28/134: “Al-Fudayl ibn ‘Iyād, may Allah have mercy on him, said: ‘The most sincere and the most correct. If a deed is sincere but not correct, it will not be accepted [and if it is correct but not sincere, it will not be accepted], until it is both sincere and correct. Sincerity means that it is for Allah, and correctness means that it accords with the sunnah.’” The words in square brackets are omitted. They appear in al-Istiqāmah, 2/227, and the Shaykh, may Allah have mercy on him, repeats them elsewhere in this section, at 28/177.
2 - 28/138: “Neglecting the obligatory duty of enjoining right is a sin, [and doing what is forbidden while carrying out that duty is a sin]. Thus, someone who moves from one sin to a greater sin is like someone seeking refuge from scorching ground in fire.” The words in square brackets are omitted. They appear in al-Istiqāmah, 2/138.
3 - 28/157: “Since the well-being of human beings in their religious and worldly affairs cannot be attained without courage and generosity, He, glorified be He, explained that whoever turns away from jihad in person, Allah will replace him with someone who undertakes it, [and whoever turns away from it with respect to his wealth, Allah will replace him with someone who undertakes it]. He said: ‘O you who believe, what is the matter with you that, when you are told, “Go forth in the way of Allah,” you cling heavily to the earth?’” The words in square brackets are omitted. They appear in al-Istiqāmah, 2/269.
4 - 28/158: “He has mentioned jihad with one’s person and wealth in His way, and praised it in numerous verses of His Book. This is courage and generosity in obedience to Him, glorified be He, [and in obedience to His Messenger. The foundation of courage is patience, which entails strength and steadfastness of heart. Hence] He said: ‘How many a small company has overcome a large company by Allah’s permission! And Allah is with the patient.’” The words in square brackets are omitted. They appear in al-Istiqāmah, 2/270.
5 - 28/172: “From this, it becomes clear to you how many people of learning and doctrinal discourse, people of worship and spiritual states, [and people of warfare and combat have fallen into mixing truth with falsehood concerning many fundamental principles]. These people frequently make statements contrary to the Book and the sunnah.” The words in square brackets are omitted. They appear in al-Istiqāmah, 2/300.
6 - 28/177: “Ibn Shāhīn and al-Lālakā’ī narrated from Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr that he said: ‘[Allah does not accept words without deeds, and] words and deeds are not accepted without intention; nor are words, deeds, and intention accepted unless they conform to the sunnah.’” The words in square brackets are omitted. They appear in al-Istiqāmah, 2/309.
فَصْلٌ:
(*)
فِي الْأَمْرِ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَالنَّهْيِ عَنْ الْمُنْكَرِ
الْأَمْرُ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَالنَّهْيُ عَنْ الْمُنْكَرِ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ بِهِ كُتُبَهُ وَأَرْسَلَ بِهِ رُسُلَهُ مِنْ الدِّينِ؛
فَإِنَّ رِسَالَةَ اللَّهِ:
إمَّا إخْبَارٌ وَإِمَّا إنْشَاءٌ.
فَالْإِخْبَارُ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ وَعَنْ خَلْقِهِ:
مِثْلَ التَّوْحِيدِ وَالْقَصَصِ الَّذِي يَنْدَرِجُ فِيهِ الْوَعْدُ وَالْوَعِيدُ. وَالْإِنْشَاءُ الْأَمْرُ وَالنَّهْيُ وَالْإِبَاحَةُ.
وَهَذَا كَمَا ذَكَرَ فِي أَنْ:
{قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ}
تَعْدِلُ ثُلُثَ الْقُرْآنِ؛ لِتَضَمُّنِهَا ثُلُثَ التَّوْحِيدِ؛ إذْ هُوَ قَصَصٌ؛ وَتَوْحِيدٌ؛ وَأَمْرٌ. وَقَوْلُهُ سُبْحَانَهُ فِي صِفَةِ نَبِيِّنَا صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
{يَأْمُرُهُمْ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَاهُمْ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَائِثَ}
هُوَ بَيَانٌ لِكَمَالِ رِسَالَتِهِ؛ فَإِنَّهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ هُوَ الَّذِي أَمَرَ اللَّهُ عَلَى لِسَانِهِ بِكُلِّ مَعْرُوفٍ وَنَهَى عَنْ كُلِّ مُنْكَرٍ؛ وَأَحَلَّ كُلَّ طَيِّبٍ وَحَرَّمَ كُلَّ خَبِيثٍ؛
وَلِهَذَا رُوِيَ عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ قَالَ:
{إنَّمَا بُعِثْت لِأُتَمِّمَ مَكَارِمَ الْأَخْلَاقِ}
.
وَقَالَ فِي الْحَدِيثِ الْمُتَّفَقِ عَلَيْهِ:
{مَثَلِي وَمَثَلُ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ كَمَثَلِ
(*) قال الشيخ ناصر بن حمد الفهد (ص ٢١٧ - ٢١٩):
هذه رسالة الأمر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر، وأصلها فصل من كتاب (الاستقامة) ٢/ ١٩٨ - ٣١١، وقد حصل فيها سقط يسير أكثره بسبب انتقال النظر من الناسخ، ومن ذلك:
١ - ٢٨/ ١٣٤: (قال الفضيل بن عياض رحمه الله: أخلصه وأصوبه. فإن العمل إذا كان خالصا ولم يكن صوابا لم يقبل [وإذا كان صوابا ولم يكن خالصا لم يقبل]، حتى يكون خالصًا صوابا والخالص: أن يكون الله والصواب أن يكون على السنة)، وما بين المعقوفتين ساقط، وهو في (الاستقامة) ٢/ ٢٢٧، وكما ذكره الشيخ رحمه الله في هذا الفصل مرة أخرى: ٢٨/ ١٧٧.
٢ - ٢٨/ ١٣٨: (فإن ترك الأمر الواجب معصية، [وفعل ما نهي عنه في الأمر معصية،] فالمنتقل من معصية إلى معصية أكبر منها كالمستجير من الرمضاء بالنار]، وما بين المعقوفتين ساقط، وهو في (الاستقامة) ٢/ ١٣٨.
٣ - ٢٨/ ١٥٧: (ولما كان صلاح بني آدم لا يتم في دينهم ودنياهم إلا بالشجاعة والكرم: بين سبحانه أن من تولى عن الجهاد بنفسه أبدل الله به من يقوم بذلك، [ومن تولى عنه باتفاق ماله أبدل الله به من يقوم بذلك]، فقال: "يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ مَا لَكُمْ إِذَا قِيلَ لَكُمُ انفِرُواْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ اثَّاقَلْتُمْ إِلَى الأَرْضِ ")، وما بين المعقوفتين ساقط، وهو في (الاستقامة) ٢/ ٢٦٩.
٤ - ٢٨/ ١٥٨: (وقد ذكر الجهاد بالنفس والمال في سبيله، ومدحه في غير آية من كتابه، وذلك هو الشجاعة والسماحة في طاعته سبحانه، [وطاعة رسوله، وملاك الشجاعة الصبر الذي يتضمن قوة القلب وثباته، فلهذا] قال: " كَم مِّن فِئَةٍ قَلِيلَةٍ غَلَبَتْ فِئَةً كَثِيرَةً بِإِذْنِ اللهِ وَاللهُ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ ")، وما بين المعقوفتين ساقط، وهو في (الاستقامة) ٢/ ٢٧٠.
٥ - ٢٨/ ١٧٢: (ومن هنا يتبين لك ما وقع فيه كثير من أهل العلم والمقال، وأهل العبادة والحال، [وأهل الحرب والقتال، من لبس الحق بالباطل في كثير من الأصول،] فكثيرًا ما يقول هؤلاء من الأقوال ما هو خلاف الكتاب والسنة)، وما بين المعقوفتين ساقط، وهو في (الاستقامة) ٢/ ٣٠٠.
٦ - ٢٨/ ١٧٧: (وقد روى ابن شاهين واللالكائي عن سعيد بن جبير قال:: [لا يقبل الله قول إلا بعمل، و] لا يقبل قول وعمل إلا بنية ولا يقبل قول وعمل ونية إلا بموافقة السنة ")، وما بين المعقوفتين ساقط، وهو في (الاستقامة) ٢/ ٣٠٩.