Kunu ala al-khayr Awana
- Author died
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- Editions
- The book is published on the website of the Saudi Ministry of Awqaf without publication details
Kunu ala al-khayr Awana (Be Helpers in Doing Good) is an Islamic treatise by Muhammad Salih al-Munajjid focused on the obligation and virtues of mutual cooperation in righteousness and piety, as well as the prohibition of aiding in sin and transgression.
Purpose and Conceptual Foundation
The treatise is framed around the Quranic command in Surah al-Ma'idah: وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَى وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ ("And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression") [Quran 5:2]. The author articulates the need to revive this practice in contemporary times, arguing that cooperation strengthens religious reform, bolsters righteous individuals, and curbs corruption.
The book begins with linguistic definitions of assistance (i'anah) and harmony (ulfah), followed by legal definitions of cooperation (ta'awun) cited from scholars such as Abd al-Rahman al-Sa'di, Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah, and Al-Qurtubi. It elaborates on the distinction between birr (righteousness) and taqwa (piety), citing Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya's differentiation that birr represents the sought-after end of human perfection, while taqwa is the necessary path leading to it.
To demonstrate that mutual assistance is part of innate human nature (fitrah), the work quotes Ibn Khaldun's Muqaddimah on human interdependence, societal organization, and the necessity of division of labor to fulfill basic needs. It outlines the religious motives encouraging a Muslim to cooperate, including obeying divine orders, the multiplication of heavenly rewards in collective deeds, accomplishing projects beyond the capacity of isolated individuals, and achieving higher quality through distributed effort.
Spheres of Cooperation
The work examines practical spheres where mutual aid is commanded and encouraged:
- Islamic Propagation and Defending Faith: Supporting the spread of Islam and aiding leaders and preachers, exemplified by the companions' solidarity during the Battle of the Trench and military missions against hostile forces.
- Building Mosques: Participating in the physical and communal establishment of mosques, drawing on prophetic traditions concerning the construction of the Prophet's Mosque in Medina.
- Seeking Knowledge: Collaboration among students and scholars, illustrated by Umar ibn al-Khattab alternating days with his Ansari neighbor to attend the Prophet's assemblies, students pooling money to assist Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari during financial distress, patrons funding scholars such as Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi and Abu Ya'la ibn al-Farra, and scholarly collaboration between Zayn al-Din al-'Iraqi and Al-Zayla'i on hadith authentication.
- Educational and Reform Initiatives: Distributing roles in public lectures, administrative management, funding, and coordinated efforts in commanding right and forbidding wrong.
- Aiding the Weak and Oppressed: Protecting the vulnerable and providing charity, citing the Quranic narrative of Dhu al-Qarnayn enlisting collective manpower to erect a barrier against Gog and Magog, as well as the historical philanthropy of figures like Muhsin ibn Muhammad al-San'ani.
- Confronting Hardship and Administrative Unity: Communal pooling of resources during scarcity—as practiced by the Ash'arite clan—and mutual harmony among administrators and leaders, drawing on the Prophet's guidance to Mu'adh ibn Jabal and Abu Musa al-Ash'ari upon their dispatch to Yemen.
- Resisting Satan: Assisting fellow believers against demonic deception rather than aiding Satan against them through curses or ostracization when they commit sins.
Prohibition of Assisting in Sin
The second major thematic division addresses forbidden forms of cooperation. The author warns against assisting in polytheism and unlawful innovations, such as erecting shrines over graves or supporting religious heterodoxy. It also censures aiding oppressors through unjust taxation, facilitating murder or physical harm, promoting illicit music and entertainment, and using sorcery. The book concludes with a passage from Ibn al-Qayyim's Ighathat al-Lahfan emphasizing the necessity of bearing temporary social discomfort by refusing to participate in wrongdoing, rather than compromising and enduring prolonged harm.
Publication
The work has been published by Maktabat al-'Ilm.
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