1 Mukallaf (legally accountable):-

He should be responsible in shari'ah although a child could perform it but not by way of obligation. The legally responsible is the one who is sane, awake and mature. Nabi (saw) was reported by A'li to have said “The pen is lifted for three – one who sleeps till he awakes, a child till he becomes mature and an insane person till he gains his sanity” (ABU DAWOOD kitabul Hudood, AHMAD, NASAA'I, IBN MAAJAH and graded ‘saheeh' according to AL HAAKIM as reported by IBN HAJR AL ASQALAANI in ‘Bulooghul Maraam min Adillatul Ahkaam' [kitaabun Nikaah no.927])

2 I'lm (Knowledge):-

Islam revolves around knowledge and error in action and belief is connected to following the desires in opposition to the knowledge. Allah (swt) says “Nay, but those who do wrong follow their own lusts without knowledge. Then who will guide him whom Allah has sent astray? And for such there will be no helpers.” (ar Room 30:29) So this also applies to the action of commanding ma'roof and forbidding munkar, if the basis is ignorance then mistakes will be made in the actions. It is reported that Nabi (saw) said “Knowledge is the Imaam of action and action is slave to knowledge” (IBN A'BDUL BARR) Therefore, errors in commanding and forbidding usually start due to ignorance of the subject matter, conditions and methods that have been detailed and explained in the shari'ah.

There is the knowledge of the command to amr bil ma'roof wan nahi anil munkar and then there is the knowledge of the specific obligations and prohibitions of the shari'ah which are the subject matter of commanding and forbidding. The one who was unaware of the duty of hisbah and had a legitmate excuse not for having any access to this command (compelled isolation, disability, imprisonment etc.) is not accountable as Allah (swt) says “We never punish until we send a messenger” and “And Allah will never lead a people astray after He has guided them until He makes clear to them as to what they should avoid. Verily Allah is knowing of everything.” (at Tawbah 9:115)

As for the knowledge of the duties then it would be impossible to perform this task without knowing it. It is fardul a'yn that munkar is forbidden when someone encounters munkar as long as they know this munkar and this would generally apply to the issues known from the deen by necessity such as the prohibition of alcohol etc. as for the matters of ijtihaad or those matters not known by necessity then this is best left to the u'lemaa' or those students of knowledge who know these matters well and this is why a specific section of the Muslim ummah must be dedicated to amr bil ma'roof wan nahi anil munkar rather than the common and the ignorant. Imaam al Juwayni (d.478 h) said ‘For what can only be understood by the specialists in law the common people are not allowed to command and forbid in that area but rather this commanding has been entrusted to those with the legal ability' (‘kitaabul Irshaad')

The forbidding of munkar should not itself be munkar and this could occur due to the one forbidding not having knowledge that there is evidence to allow the matter that he is forbidding or it could be that he exceeds the limits in forbidding and has adopted a prohibited methodology or has not fulfilled the conditions of amr bil ma'roof wan nahi anil munkar so that he himself is committing a munkar. The matter of prohibiting the munkar when it is not munkar or commanding the ma'roof when in fact it is munkar is very dangerous due to this being connected with nifaaq “The munaafiqoon are from one another, they command the munkar and forbid the ma'roof…” (at Tawbah 9:71) and due to this being similar to making haraam what Allah has made halaal and making halaal what Allah has made haraam, Allah (swt) says “And say not that concerning that which your tongues put forward falsely ‘This is halal and this is haram' So as to invent lies against Allah. Verily those who invent lies against Allah will never prosper” (an Nahl 16:116) and “Say: ‘The things that my Lord has forbidden are al fawaahish whether committed openly or secretly, ithm, rebellion without right, shirk with Allah for which He has given no authority (sultaanan) and saying things about Allah of which you have no knowledge.” (al A'raaf 7:33) Similarly, if the ignorance of the one commanding and forbidding was implemented or followed by the people then this would be a sin for the one following and an increased level of sin for the one who called to it as Abu Hurayrah reported that Nabi (saw) said “He who called to guidance (hudaa), there would be rewards for him like the rewards of those who followed it, without their rewards being diminished in any respect. And he who called misguidance (dalaalah) he shall have to carry the sins of those who committed it, without their sins being diminished in any respect.” (MUSLIM [6470]) Therefore, if someone prohibits us from a matter and we know it to be ma'roof or we are commanded to a matter and we know it to be munkar then we should not obey or follow them as Allah (swt) says “And follow not that of which you have no knowledge. Verily! The hearing and the sight and the heart, of each of those you will be questioned” (al Israa 17:36 )

From knowledge is that no false conditions should be put upon the obligation of commanding ma'roof and forbidding munkar. It is also from knowledge that the one commanding and forbidding should have knowledge of the condition of those he is commanding and forbidding and that he chooses the most appropriate way to call them according to the Quran and Sunnah. From knowledge is also that he is clear about what the shari'ah has commanded and prohibited and in the manner in which these obligations and prohibitions should be addressed. Therefore the one commanding and forbidding should always have a dynamic relationship with knowledge and never base his activities on his own desires and nor should he compromise his obligations to suit the desires of others even if they were his ameer, his family, his tribe etc. Allah (swt) says “So unto this then call and go straight [i.e. cling to shari'ah] as you are commanded and follow not their desires but say ‘I believe in whatsoever Allah has sent down of the Book and I am commanded to do justice among you. Allah is our Lord and your Lord…” (ash Shoora 42:15) The justice that we have been commanded to do among the people includes amr bil ma'roof wan nahi anil munkar. And Allah (swt) says “Say: ‘This is my way, I call to Allah with baseerah [sure knowledge and insight], I and whosoever follows me. And Glory to Allah and I am not of the mushrikoon.” (Yoosuf 12:108) Therefore the da'wah to Islam is to be based on knowledge and we should not commit shirk by following others as opposed to the knowledge that has come to us. Indeed, it is when we stray from shari'ah laws, methods, conditions and principles and start to invent our own ways that cause the problems everywhere, Allah (swt) says “And if the truth had been in accordance with their desires, verily the heavens and the earth and whosoever is therein would have been corrupted! Nay! We have brought them their reminder but they turn away from their reminder.” (al Mu'minoon 23:71) and “Corruption has appeared on the land and the sea because of what man has earned with his hands…” (ar Room 30:41)

3 Qudrah (Capability):-

Jareer bin A'bdullah reported that Nabi (saw) said “There is no man from among a people who commits sins in their midst and they have ability to change it but they do not bring him back (to right) except that Allah will inflict punishments on them on his account before they die.” (ABU DAWOOD, IBN MAAJAH as reported in ‘Mishkaatul Masaabih' Eng/Arabic [vol.1 p.374]) There is the capability to forbid and the capability to remove munkar, this is proven by many evidences but especially by what was reported by MUSLIM on the authority of Abu Sa'eed al Khudri who mentioned that Nabi (saw) said “Whoever of you sees a munkar must change it with his hand if he is incapable then with his tongue if he is incapable then with his heart and that is the weakest of Imaan” As for physically removing a munkar then this should only be done if it is considered that this will successfully remove the munkar otherwise risks should not be taken that may result in harm to the one forbidding or harms to the one being forbade it is also a waste of time that could be better directed elsewhere. If someone engaged in this without capability then it may result in a harm that they are unable to tolerate which may then lead them to sins or it may incapacitate them so that the benefit of their commanding and forbidding is then lost and this benefit would then become absent from the society, Hudhayfah reported that Rasool Allah (saw) said “It does not befit a believer to disgrace his own self” They asked ‘How does he disgrace himself?' He (saw) replied “He puts himself in a risk which he can not endure” (IBN MAAJAH kitaabul Fitan Eng/Arabic [vol.5 no.4016] TIRMIDHI) As for the capability of the verbal forbidding then if this can not be done out of the fear of oppression which may lead to a worse situation or if it is thought that it will be of no effect and a waste of time then it should be better directed somewhere else, however this forbidding is rewardable even if it did not result in the removal of the munkar as long as it was not considered to lead to a greater harm. As for the time of great fitnah and munkar then if it is considered that the attempts at forbidding the munkar are in vain and that greater harms will come to the self and others then in stage it can be left but hated in the heart Anas bin Maalik is reported to have said that someone asked Nabi (saw) ‘When should we abandon commanding the ma'roof and forbidding the munkar?' Nabi (saw) said “When what appears among you is what appeared among those before you” We said ‘Yaa Rasool Allah! And what did appear among those before us?' Nabi (saw) answered “When the Mulk falls to your young (small or inferior) ones, when fahshah is among your great (elders, scholars) ones and when knowledge is possessed by the low people amongst you” Zayd said ‘The explanation of the words of rasool Allah “…And knowledge will be among the low [rudhaalatikum]of people amongst you…” is that knowledge will be among the fusaaq (sinners)' (IBN MAAJAH kitaabul Fitan Eng/Arabic [vol.5no.4015] similar from AHMAD [3/187]) AL HAYTHAMI graded it ‘saheeh' in ‘majmu az zawaa'id') This is also supported by the following hadeeth of A'bdullah ibn U'mar who reported that Rasool Allah (saw) said “What would be your condition during a period of time in which soon people would be completely saved and only the rubbish of the people will be left, their oaths and trusts will become loose they will differ (fakhtalafoo) with one another and become like this” (He [saw] interwove his fingers) They said ‘Allah's Messenger, what should we do when it will be like this?' He (saw) said “You should adhere to what you consider good and abandon what you dislike. You should take interest in your own selves and leave the affairs of your masses (public) to them.” (IBN MAAJAH kitaabul Fitan Eng/Arabic [vol.5 no.3957]) However we have not yet reached the stage although there are many traces of it. There are still thousands if not millions of sincere students of knowledge and u'lemaa' who act upon their knowledge and there are many sincere worshippers of Allah and we see that the commanding of ma'roof and forbidding of munkar in these times does have an effect on the strong believers and weak believers and many Muslims make hijrah from the haraam to the halaal and thousands of kuffaar embrace Islam by the will of Allah through the da'wah of sincere muwahhideen and many kaafir countries are afraid of the mujaahideen and the regimes of taaghoot are vulnerable due to the support for those active in calling for the deen of Islam to be established in its entirety.

Also related to the issue of capability (qudrah) is the principle of Istitaa'ah [to do as much as you are able] and this does not only include only engaging in that which you are physically capable of but it also means that people should exhaust their effort to do as much as they are able, and beyond this they are not sinful. All of the commands of the sharee'ah are related to this principle as Abu Hurayrah reported that Nabi (saw) said “If I command you to do something then do as much as you are able…” (MUSLIM kitaabul Hajj, BUKHAARI) Ibn Taymeeyah (d.728 h) said in regards to this ‘Indeed capability is a condition for commanding ma'roof and forbidding munkar. So its level of obligation upon a person is proportional to his level of capability as Allah (swt) says “So have taqwa of Allah as much as you can…” (at Taghaabun 64:16) (‘Majmu'l Fataawa [vol.28 p.66])

4 The avoidance of greater Munkar:-

This greater munkar that is being avoided could be in relation to the person who is forbidding the person who is committing the munkar or anyone else it effects or the society as a whole, Al Khallaal reported that Imaam Ahmad (d. h) said ‘Commanding ma'roof and forbidding munkar is waajib on a person unless he becomes in a state of fear, if he fears for himself then he does not do it.' (‘Al Amr bil Ma'roof wan Nahi anil Munkar' [p.88]) An example of this would be one not approaching a man who is a drunkard or other such things who may react with hostility towards his own wives and children etc. They must be protected and indirect assitance should be adopted. The forbidding of munkar itself should not consist of munkar nor should it lead to it. Thus the dedication to reform the society in accordance with the shari'ah should not be based upon a divisive methodology such as the various groups which remain independent and separate from each other and from the shari' Imaamah on the grounds of grouping to forbid the munkar and revive Islam in the absence of power. Rather the shari'ah not only prescribed a command to unity but also a method to achieve it and this was method was not the method of divided independent groups. Rather the shari'ah commanded to establish the whole deen on the principle of unity and not division and this includes establishing darul Islam, Allah (swt) says “…Establish the deen and do not make divisions in it.” (ash Shoora 42:13) and Nabi (saw) and the sahaabah sought nussrah as one united group under the leadership of Nabi (saw) and not as divided independent groups.

The avoidance of a greater munkar must not be equated to some difficulty or resistance but rather this is a natural consequence of calling to Islam and all of the prophets encountered difficulties and then the difficulty is encountered according to how much we follow the prophets. The believer is rewarded for the difficulties and hardships he encounters while calling to the Deen of Allah (swt) “Or do you think you shall enter paradise without such (trials) as came to those who passed away before you? They were afflicted with adversity and they were so shaken that even the messenger and those who believed along with him said ‘When will be the help (nasru) of Allah?' But verily, the help (nasra) of Allah is near!” (al Baqarah 2:214)

Therefore it is not the hostility to the call of Islam which is an excuse to abandon da'wah and hisbah, as this is a natural struggle between the truth and falsehood and in addition we do not know the future. In fact, if difficulty and hostile reactions was the scale to abandon the obligations then indeed the whole of Islam would be abandoned as Allah (swt) confirmed in many ayaat that the disbelievers hate the truth “…but most of them have a hatred for the Truth” (al Mu'minoon 23:70) and “It is He who sent His messenger with guidance and the deen of truth to make it manifest over all the deens even though the mushrikeen detest it” (at Tawbah 9:33). In truth Allah promised the believers that their difficulties would be a blessing and reward for them “…That is because they suffer neither thirst nor tiredness nor hunger in the cause of Allah nor they take any step to raise the anger of the disbelievers nor inflict any injury upon an enemy but it is written to their credit as an act of righteousness. Surely, Allah wastes not the reward of the muhsineen” (at Tawbah 9:120) and those who are in engaged in difficulty for the sake of Allah are much higher in the Sight of Allah (swt) “Those who believed and made hijrah and strove hard in the cause of Allah with their wealth and their lives are far higher in degree with Allah. They are the victorious” (at Tawbah 9:20) and “And certainly, We shall test you with something of fear and hunger and loss of wealth, lives and fruits but give glad tidings to the saabireen. Who when afflicted with a calamity say: ‘Verily, to Allah we belong and verily to Him we shall return' They are those on whom are the salawaat from their Lord and receive His mercy and it they who are the guided ones” (al Baqarah 2:155-157) Also the hadeeth mentions “The reward is in accordance with the difficulty of the test” (kitaabut Tawheed or Mishkaat) and/or “If Allah loves a people then he tests them” (Mishkaatul Masaabih) and “If Allah desires good for a people then He afflicts them” (MAALIK)

We see clearly from the Qura'n that those who are to attain success will have to suffer difficulty due to their Islamic qualities of belief and action which explicitly includes commanding ma'roof and forbidding munkar. Allah (swt) says “Verily Allah has purchased of the believers their lives and their wealth for that theirs shall be Paradise . They fight in the cause of Allah so they kill and are killed. It is a promise in truth which is binding on Him in the Taurah and the Injeel and the Quran. And who is tuer to his covenant than Allah? Then rejoice in the bargain which you have concluded. That is the supreme success. Those who turn to Allah in repentance, who worship, who praise, who fast who bow down, who prostrate, who command the ma'roof and forbid the munkar and who preserve the limits set by Allah. And give glad tidings to the believers.” (at Tawbah 9:111-112)

It is only allowed to abstain from forbidding a munkar if it is genuinely believed that this will definitely lead to a Munkar that has been regarded as more severe in the shari'ah texts. This is because the objective of commanding ma'roof and forbidding munkar is to bring about Islaah [Beneficial reform] which is in accordance with the shari'ah. If the forbidding of a lesser munkar brought about a greater munkar or prevented a greater shari'ah obligation then this would be a reason to delay the action of forbidding. However, this does not mean that the forbidding of this Munkar is now to be abandoned but rather this would mean that the method of forbidding the Munkar should be changed in order to bring about the most effective result. This could for instance to select a more long term approach to removing or forbidding the munkar so that the forbidding is accepted due to an understanding that has been conveyed to the sinner. When this is understood we can realise that in truth there is no such thing as ‘abandoning forbidding munkar to avoid a greater munkar' but rather it was only the method that was chosen which was inappropriate. This is because there are no contradictions in Islam and the shari'ah rules, objectives, conditions and methods are all consistent with each other and thus there is no way that performing an obligation such as Amr bil ma'roof wan nahi anil munkar in the correct way can lead to munkar. Rather forbidding munkar only leads to munkar in two cases i) When a method of forbidding was chosen that was not the best method according to the shari'ah. This means it was not the obligation of forbidding munkar that led to the greater munkar but rather it was the wrong decision in methodology that led to the munkar. Ii) The munkar was prohibited in the correct manner but this did not lead to change but led to hostility and even more sins and munkaraat. This situation is actually no fault of the one who is prohibiting the munkar and it was not the obligation that led to the munkar but rather it was the deviations in the hearts of those being prohibited that led to the munkar.

5 A'dalah. (Justice):-

The people are less likely to listen to the corrupt and the corrupt can also not be trusted in performing the task properly. The message of Islam is best carried by those who speak the truth and also act according to it so that their guidance is not only verbal but also by their living example and this was much of the way of Nabi (saw). Forbidding munkar should not be neglected even if the one forbidding it is himself a sinner. A confusion arose in some people due to the saying of Allah (swt) “ O ye who believe! why say ye that which ye do not? Grievously odious is it in the sight of Allah that ye say that which ye do not.” (as Saff 61:2-3) and “Do you command people to good and forget yourselves?” (al Baqarah 2:44) The command here is to not deliberately neglect the self reform but to engage in societal reform and self reform. This can not mean that no one should command except the sinless as all sin except the prophets. In addition to this, changing the self is one obligation and commanding others is another obligation, if the one neglected himself and society he would be committing two sins. This was explained clearly by Imaam Abu Bakr al Jassaass ‘One's neglect of some duties does not exempt him from performing all other duties. For instance, one who does not pray is not supposed to give up fasting as well. Likewise, one who is not dedicated to all ma'roof and abstaining from all munkar is not exempted from performing amr bil ma'roof wan nahi anil munkar' (Ahkaamul Quran [vol.2 p40]) Similarly, Imaam Juwayni (d.478 h) said ‘…if the person who takes upon himself commanding ma'roof is not virtuous himself, his commanding of the ma'roof must not stop. What is specifically imposed upon him personally is a duty that is distinct from what he is required to command in others. One of the two duties does not necessarily apply to the other…' (‘kitaabul Irshaad') This view is also supported by the hadeeth where Anas reported that ‘We asked Rasool Allah (saw) ‘O Rasool Allah! Is it right that we should not command with ma'roof until we do all the actions ourselves and that we should not forbid from the munkar until we leave all of them?' and Nabi (saw) said “No, you should command others to do ma'roof even if you do not do it all and you should forbid from the munkar even if you do not abstain from it all.” (TABARAANI ‘al Awsaat') and Imaam Ghazali (d.450) said ‘…There is no such condition. To insist on it results in the negation of the duty because none including the companions of the prophet (saw) can claim infallibility.' (Ihyaa U'loomid Deen [vol. 2 p.275]) Ghazali also said ‘…his neglect of one duty cannot render him exempt from performing other duties. Why should he be forced to neglect the other duty also? His neglect of a duty cannot exempt him from performing other ones.' and ‘…To strive for reform in society is not to be conditional upon self reform. One preaches to others not for the sake of self perfection. It is therefore pointless to consider self reform as a pre-requisite.' In other words, if someone forbids munkar this is not a declaration that he himself is without errors. We can also add to this that to leave others in a sinful state will increase the likelihood of the person himself sinning because he is accustoming himself to neglecting munkar and they also might effect him in the future as the environment effects people as is affirmed by various ahadeeth and by rational fact.

Know that those who command others may be sincere and may be seeking reward of Allah and seeking to assist their brothers and call the kuffaar to Islam but may still neglect much themselves out of weakness or ignorance etc. This type of person should continue his societal duties but make more effort on himself and he is not being forbidden from commanding the people. However, there is another type of person who has no intention to change himself but he continues commanding the people and thus he contradicts himself and commits nifaaq in action. There is another type of person who only commands the people in order to achieve some worldy benefit (such as the rewards from the rulers) or he does it to look down on the people and display his knowledge so this is the type of person who is severely condemned by ayaat and ahadeeth such as the narration of BUKHAARI and MUSLIM concerning the man in the Hell Fire who commanded and forbade the people and yet will be cirling his stomach like a donkey turning a mill due to himself not implementing what he called to. There is also the narration of the one whose lips will be cut with scissors due to himself speaking but not implementing those matters upon himself, this is either the hypocrisy in action which may cause some people to be punished in the grave or even to enter the Fire for a time or it may be cause by the major hypocrisy in belief and those will be in the worst part of the Fire. and Allah knows best. Similarly, Allah (swt) mentions the words of the Prophet Shua'yb “I wish not in opposition to you, to do that which I forbid you to do. I only desire reform to the best of my ability.” (Hud 11:88)

6 Sabr [Perseverence]

People by their nature do not always accept to be corrected but rather their arrogance causes resistance and hostility in them. If the muhtasib is not aware of this he may be deterred by the common negative or even hostile response that he recieves. However, he should realise that all prophets went through such responses and that they were called names and suffered even some to the point of death. This type of death is an honour just as the hadeeth says “The best jihaad is to speak the truth in front of a tyrant ruler” . Also the muhtasib should not expect that all the munkar will be removed in his society by his efforts but rather this is a continuous duty because man is continually erring, sinful, neglectful and ungrateful. The duty must continue and as long as he continues in the task and calls others also to perform it he can hope that a worldly calamity does not strike him and he can hope for good in the hereafter, any hardship endured then will hopefully be a purification for him and a sign of the love of Allah. Patience is necessary for this task as there is much munkar and most people want to remain in the munkar as numerous ayaat and ahadeeth confirm, as for the need for patience in commanding and forbidding, Allah (swt) mentions the advice of Luqmaan to his son “O my son! Estrablish the Salah and command the ma'roof and forbid from the munkar and bear with patience whatever befalls you. Verily, these are from the great commands.” (Luqmaan 31:17)