the inevitable result is disputes, fragmentation, and dissension. Yet if we all unite upon the truth, we will attain goodness, happiness, and success.

This ḥadith also shows that it is permissible to take an oath even when no one has asked you to swear, provided the matter is important and weighty. One may swear regarding such matters. As for affairs that carry no real significance, it is improper to swear about them unless you are asked to do so for the sake of confirmation—then there is no objection.

The report further proves that enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong is an obligation—a duty that ranks among the most important requirements of the religion. Some scholars have even counted it as a sixth pillar of Islam. The correct view is that it is not a sixth pillar, but it remains one of the greatest and most emphatic obligations. When the community neglects this duty, it will be torn apart by whims, and every group will adopt its own way. But if they enjoin right and forbid wrong, their paths converge and they become a single nation, just as Allah has commanded:

“You are the best community ever brought forth for mankind: you enjoin what is right, forbid what is wrong, and believe in Allah.” (Al ʿImrān 3:110)

“Let there arise from among you a group who call to what is good, enjoin what is right, and forbid what is wrong; it is they who will prosper. And do not be like those who split up and differed after clear proofs had come to them; such people shall have a tremendous punishment.” (Al ʿImrān 3:104–105)

However, the person who enjoins right and forbids wrong must keep a crucial point in view: his aim must be to reform his brother, not to exact revenge or assert dominance over him. If his intention is retaliation or self-aggrandizement, he may become impressed with himself