The Scholar’s Duty: Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil
God rebuked the Rabbis and scholars of the Children of Israel for failing to forbid sinful words and forbidden acts, as stated in the Quran: “Evil indeed are their works” (5:63). They witnessed oppressors committing vile acts but remained silent, driven by love for worldly favours and fear of persecution.
This silence was a grave failure, for God commands: “Fear not men, but fear Me” (5:44). The true believers, however, are described as friends and protectors who “enjoin the good and forbid the evil” (9:71), demonstrating courage and faith.
The duty of al-Amr bi al-Ma’ruf wa al-Nahy an al-Munkar is placed before all other obligations because its establishment ensures the fulfilment of all other religious duties. It is not merely a social recommendation but a comprehensive call to Islam and a resistance against injustice.
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وَأْثُرْ لَهُ حُسْنَ النِّيَّةِ، وَتَوَلَّهُ بِالْعَافِيَةِ، وَأَصْحِبْهُ السَّلَامَةَ، وَأَعْفِهِ مِنَ الْجُبْنِ، وَأَلْهِمْهُ الْجُرْأَةَ، وَارْزُقْهُ الشِّدَّةَ، وَأَيِّدْهُ بِالنُّصْرَةِ، وَعَلِّمْهُ السِّيَرَ وَالسُّنَنَ، وَسَدِّدْهُ فِي الْحُكْمِ، وَاعْزِلْ عَنْهُ الرِّيَاءَ، وَخَلِّصْهُ مِنَ السُّمْعَةِ، وَاجْعَلْ فِكْرَهُ وَذِكْرَهُ وَظَعْنَهُ وَإِقَامَتَهُ، فِيكَ وَلَكَ
pass along to him an excellent intention, attend to him with well-being, make safety his companion, release him from cowardice, inspire him with boldness, provide him with strength, support him with help, teach him right conduct and the norms of the Sunna, point him straight in judgement, remove from him hypocrisy, purify him from seeking fame, and make his thinking and remembrance, his departing and his staying, be in You and for You!
— Sahifa Sajjadiyyah, Prayer 27: His Supplication for the People of the Frontiers, Verse 15