Amr-bil-Ma’roof and
Nahy anil Munkar are the 7th and 8th Branch of Islam
(Furu’-e-Deen). There are many Ayahs of the Glorious Qur’an expressing
their importance; some of them are as follows:
Surah Ale Imran Ayah 104:
“And from among you there should be a party who invite to good and enjoin what
is right and forbid the wrong and these it is that shall be successful.”
Surah Ale Imran Ayah
110: “You are the best of the nations raised up for (the benefit of men; you enjoin
what is right and forbid the wrong and believe in Allah.”
Surah al-Ma’idah Ayah
63: “Why do not the learned men and the doctors of law prohibit them from their
speaking of what is sinful and their eating of what is unlawfully acquired?
Certainly evil is that which they work.”
Surah al-Nahl Ayah
125: “Call (the Pagans) to the path of your Lord through wisdom and good advice
and argue with them in the best manner.”
It is evident that
Amr-bil-Ma’roof and Nahy anil Munkar are obligatory duties which if not
fulfilled, will invite Divine chastisement. Those who neglect Nahy anil Munkar
are as guilty as those who commit sins and deserve punishment.
It is reported in “Wasa’il al-Shia” that the Noble Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.) said: “Indeed,
Allah is furious with the weak believer who has no religion, and the feeble one
who sees evil but does not try to prevent it.”
The King of Martyrs,
the Infallible Imam Husayn (a.s.) said: “No one can be our Shiah except a
person whose heart is free of deceit, malice or hatred towards others and free
of corruption.”
In the same “Wasa’il al-Shia”, the Infallible Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.) said: “The Almighty Allah
revealed to Prophet Shuaib (a.s.): ‘I shall destroy a hundred thousand people
from your nation; forty thousand of whom are sinners and sixty thousand
righteous’. Prophet Shuaib (a.s.) said ‘O My Lord! The sinners are liable for
punishment but why the righteous ones?’ Allah replied ‘Because they used to
socialize with the sinners and in spite of My dislike they never disliked the
sinners. They never restrained them from sins.”
It is reported in “Wasa’il al-Shia”, the Infallible Imam Ali al-Reza (a.s.) said: “You must practice Amr bil
Maroof and Nahy anil Munkar because if you do not, you will be ruled upon evil
people and after that if righteous ones among you supplicate, their
supplications shall not be granted.”
There are three
grades of Nahy anil Munkar: Forbidding evil by heart, tongue and hands. These
three are further divided into different kinds and it is obligatory (wajib) to
take them into considerations.
The Commander of the
Faithful, Imam Ali (a.s.) said: “Some believers perform Nahy anil Munkar with
heart, tongue and hands. These people possess good qualities from every aspect.
Some people perform Nahy anil Munkar with heart and tongue. They have two good
qualities and lack the third one. Others perform Nahy anil Munkar only with
their hearts and have only one good quality. They are deprived of two higher
qualities. But the person who has none of these three qualities is like a
corpse among the living! By performing Amr bil Ma’roof and Nahy anil Munkar
someone’s death does not come near and neither is there any reduction in
sustenance.”
Before proceeding to Karbala, the King of Martyrs Imam
Husayn (a.s.) said to his brother Hazrat Muhammad Hanafiya that he was going to
propagate Amr bil Ma’roof and Nahy anil Munkar to the Ummah of his grandfather
the Noble Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.). On the
plain of Karbala, he addressed the people assembled to kill him saying:
“Remember that when you see a ruler who does what has been forbidden by Allah
and His Messenger, who indulges in sins, who oppresses people he rules and you
do nothing to stop such a ruler, before Allah you are as guilty as he is.”
Siurces used: The Glorious Qur’an, Greater Sins by Ayatullah
Sayyid Abdul Husayn Dasteghaib, Inner voice by Allama Sayyid Akhtar Rizvi, Journey
of tears by Bashir Hasanali Rahim