al-Amr bil-Maruf wal-Nahy an al-Munkar - Ibn Taymiyyah
- Author died
- 728 AH
- Editions
- Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Da'wah and Guidance - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
al-Amr bil-Ma'ruf wal-Nahy 'an al-Munkar (Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil) is a specialized legal and theological treatise by the Hanbali scholar Ibn Taymiyyah (661–728 AH / 1263–1328 CE), expounding the jurisprudential principles, ethical conditions, and sociopolitical limits of public and private moral correction in Islam .
Scope and Foundational Concepts
Ibn Taymiyyah introduces the subject by stating that the divine message comprises reports (ikhbar) and commands (insha'), and that enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil constitutes the core of religious obligation sent down in all divine scriptures and with all messengers . He argues that this duty was fulfilled in its absolute completeness through the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, citing يَأْمُرُهُمْ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَاهُمْ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَائِثَ ("He enjoins upon them what is right and forbids them what is wrong and makes lawful for them the good things and prohibits for them the evil") .
Legally, he characterizes enjoining good and forbidding evil as a communal obligation (fard kifayah) incumbent upon each individual only according to their capacity . He discusses the prophetic hierarchy of moral intervention, noting that while correction with the hand or the tongue depends upon ability and jurisdiction, denunciation in the heart remains an unconditional personal duty (fard 'ayn) in all circumstances, without which no faith remains .
Legal Weighing and Theological Deviations
A central thesis of the treatise is the universal legal rule governing the weighing of benefits and harms (al-masalih wal-mafasid) . Ibn Taymiyyah emphasizes that whenever an act of enjoining or forbidding results in corruption or harm greater than the evil being addressed, it ceases to be legally sanctioned and becomes prohibited .
He highlights how various theological factions diverged from orthodox practice regarding this principle:
- The Kharijites and Mu'tazila adopted armed rebellion and fighting unjust rulers as an essential tenet of enjoining good and forbidding evil, which in reality caused widespread bloodshed and greater corruption .
- The Murji'a and others neglected the duty entirely under the pretext of avoiding civil strife (fitnah) .
As a historical and jurisprudential precedent for tolerating a lesser evil to avert a greater one, Ibn Taymiyyah cites the Prophet's ﷺ restraint in executing prominent hypocrites such as 'Abd Allah ibn Ubayy, because punishing them would have provoked tribal rebellion and spread reports that the Prophet was killing his own companions .
Prerequisites and Ethics of the Reformer
Ibn Taymiyyah articulates three mandatory traits required of anyone undertaking moral correction, citing an early report referenced by al-Qadi Abu Ya'la in al-Mu'tamad:
- Knowledge ('ilm): Possessing sound jurisprudential discernment of what constitutes good and evil prior to enjoining or forbidding, so that one does not command in ignorance .
- Gentleness (rifq): Exercising mildness during the act itself, citing the hadith ما كان الرفق في شيء إلا زانه، ولا كان العنف في شيء إلا شانه ("Gentleness does not exist in anything except that it beautifies it, and it is not removed from anything except that it mars it") .
- Patience (sabr): Bearing subsequent harm and hostility with forbearance, as reflected in the counsel of Luqman to his son in وَأْمُرْ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَانْهَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَاصْبِرْ عَلَى مَا أَصَابَكَ ("And enjoin what is right, forbid what is wrong, and be patient over what befalls you") .
Social Psychology, Sins, and Governance
The latter half of the treatise examines the psychological and sociological roots of transgression and civil strife, classifying sins into three categories: those involving injustice against other people (such as theft and envy), those involving wrongdoing against oneself (such as drinking wine and fornication without third-party injury), and composite sins combining both .
Ibn Taymiyyah warns against acting out of personal passion (hawa), covetousness (shuhh), or self-interest disguised as religious zeal . He observes that worldly affairs endure with justice ('adl) even alongside disbelief, whereas they collapse under oppression (zulm) even alongside Islam, demonstrating that preserving societal equity and averting mutual transgression is fundamental to human order .
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