Ordering with What Is Good and Forbidding What Is Abominated

Definition

What is good represents the righteous deeds with which The Most High God ordered us, like: praying, fasting, paying the fifth, fighting for God’s sake, keeping connection with kins, filial obedience, honesty, loyalty, etc.

What is abominated represents the bad deeds which The Most High God forbade us to do, like: backbiting, escaping from the fight for God’s sake, filial disobedience, hurting the people, etc.

The Dutifulness of Ordering What Is Good and Forbidding What Is Abominated

Ordering what is good and forbidding what is abominated are two duties which all the religiously responsible people must perform. One is not spared these duties unless others perform them.¹ The Most High God says, ﴾Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is good , enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong: They are the ones to attain felicity﴿²

The Importance of These Two Verses

They are considered to be from the noblest and greatest religious duties, so their dutifulness is from the necessities of the religion. The one denying them, in spite of having considered their necessity, does not belong to the religion of the Muslims.³

It is related that God’s prophet (God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household) said, “My nation will be fine as long as it orders what is good, forbids what is abominated, and cooperate on benevolence and piety. If they do not do this, the bliss will be taken away from them; they will be empowered against each other; and they will have supporter neither on the earth nor in the sky.”⁴

It is also related that he (God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household) said, “The Most Glorious and Reverent God detests the weak believer who has no religion.” He (God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household) was asked, “Who is the weak believer who has no religion?” He (God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household) answered, “He is the one who does not forbid what is abominated.”⁵

This duty is given such significance since Islam ordained the order with what is good for the sake of preserving Islam and for the sake of protecting the Islamic society from falsehood and deviation. By means of this duty, the message will be delivered to the one ignorant about it; the deviating person will be guided; the human being will be led to the performance of what is good; evil and corruption will be fought; and the spirit of awareness and cautiousness will grow in the nation against whatever is odd or strange from its message or thought.⁶

The Conditions of Their Dutifulness

The duty of ordering what is good and forbidding what is abominated is dutiful on every religiously responsible person in case the following conditions are available in him:⁷

1- Recognizing the Good and the Abominated: It is not dutiful on the ignorant person who does not know what the good is and what the abominated is to order what is good and to forbid what is abominated. On the contrary, he is in need to be ordered and forbidden.⁸

2- The Possibility of Influence: In case the religiously responsible person knows that his order and forbiddance will not have any influence on the others, then it is not dutiful on him to order what is good and forbid what is abominated.⁹

3- Guarding Oneself against Harm: In case the religiously responsible person knows that his order and forbiddance will result in any harm on his self or his money, then it is not dutiful on him to order what is good and to forbid what is abominated.¹⁰

4- Insistence on Disobedience: In case the religiously responsible person knows that the disobedient abandoned the disobedience and has no more gone back to it, then it is not dutiful on him to order him with what is good and to forbid him from what is abominated.¹¹

The Levels of This Duty

Ordering what is good and forbidding what is abominated has several levels, that it is impermissible to move from one level to another in case the aim is achieved by the lower level. These ranks are as follows:

1- Disapproval by the Heart¹²: This level is accomplished through showing the heart annoyance from the performance of what is abominated. This has several examples, like showing one’s detest of the deed through closing the eyes, turning the face away, frowning, forsaking the person, breaking up with him, getting out of his house, etc.

2- Disapproval by the Tongue¹³: This level is accomplished through the amiable word, soft talk, preaching, instruction, and illustrating the reward and the punishment and the fear of The Most High God. In case one does not turn away from the performance of the abominated deed, then it is permissible to turn into the hard talk, coarseness, and threat in case this is fruitful.

3- Disapproval by the Hand¹⁴: In case the religiously responsible person realizes for sure that the aim is not achieved through the two previous levels, he is then permitted to move to this third level. It is confirmed that beating must be for the sake of reformation and education and not for the sake of taking revenge. In addition, one must restrict to the light beating which serves in achieving the aim; one must not reach the point of wounding or killing because this is exclusive for the Impeccable Imam (May God hasten his honorable revelation) or to his representative during the period of absence.

The Etiquettes of the Order with What Is Good and the Forbiddance of What Is Abominated¹⁵

1- The person ordering with what is good must be like the doctor who is treating a patient.
2- The forbiddance must be kind and merciful for the disobedient in particular and the nation in general.
3- The person ordering and forbidding must have his intention absolutely for the sake of getting close to The Most High God.
4- The person ordering and forbidding must not deem himself far above faults and consequently must not be arrogant with the sinner. The sinner may be endowed with a psychological trait of which The Most High God loves him even if He detests his deed, with the one ordering or the one forbidding being just the opposite.

1- Tahreer Al-Waseela [Editing the Means]/ Part One/ Page 463/ Question 2
2- The Noble Qur’an/ Al-Omran [Omran’s Household] Chapter/ Verse 104
3- Tahreer Al-Waseela [Editing the Means] / Part One/ Page 4/ Part One/ Page62
4- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 462
5- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 462
6- Ajweebat Al-Istifta’at [The Answers to the Consultations] / Part One/ Page 321/ Question 1065
7- Ajweebat Al-Istifta’at/ Part One/ Page 118/ Question 1058
8- Ajweebat Al-Istifta’at [The Answers to the Consultations] / Part One/ Page 119/ Question 1060
9- Ajweebat Al-Istifta’at/ Part One/ Page 119/ Question 1060
10- Ajweebat Al-Istifta’at/ Part One/ Page 119/ Question 1060
11- Tahreer Al-Waseela [Editing the Means] / Part One/ Page 470
12- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 471/ Question 1
13- Tahreer Al-Waseela [Editing the Means] / Part One/ Page 477/ Question 1
14- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 480/ Question 1
15- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 480/ Question 14