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Passive Spectators, Never in Vain, Telling Tales, Reproaching

Issue 424 » May 4, 2007 - Rabi Al Thani 17, 1428

General

Living the Quran

Al-Anfal (The Spoils of War)
Chapter 8: Verse 25

Passive Spectators
"And, beware of a tribulation that will not touch exclusively those among you who transgressed. And beware that Allah is severe in chastisement."

Fitnah has many meanings: the root meaning is trial and temptation; an analogous meaning is trial or punishment; third possible meaning is tumult or oppression; and in this verse the meaning that is suggested is discord, sedition, civil war.

The Divine chastisement visits not only those who are the actual perpetrators of crime but it falls on those also who keep indifferent to the sin and vice around them, and do not admonish the wicked. Islam does not expect of its followers to be passive spectators of guilt and crime; it requires them to be active opponents, so far as in their power, to all forms of irreligion and impiety. [Majid]

What exactly does "transgression" imply here? The answer is, several. It could be refusal to stand for the truth when falsehood is being perpetrated, neglect of the task of enjoining the truth and preventing vice, silence in the face of innovations, fighting shy of Jihad, or other acts of this nature. [Alusi]

What is true of unsanitary conditions in a physical sense also holds true for filth and uncleanliness in a moral sense. If immoral practices remain confined to a few people here and there but the overall moral concern of the society prevents those practices from becoming widespread and public, their harmful effects remain limited. But when the collective conscience of the society is weakened to a point whereby immoral practices are not suppressed, when people indulge in evils without any sense of shame and even go around vaunting their immoral deeds, when good people adopt a passive attitude and are content with being righteous merely in their own lives and are unconcerned with or silent about collective evils, then the entire society invites its doom. Such a society then becomes the victim of a scourge that does not distinguish between the grain and the chaff. [Mawdudi]

Source:
"Tafsir Ishraq Al-Ma'ani" - Syed Iqbal Zaheer, pp. 190-192

Understanding the Prophet's Life

Never in Vain

There is this stigma involved in giving charity. It's that fear and doubt that whatever money we give will not be spent properly. We have to get over this. This hadith addresses this issue:

Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) said, "A man said that he would give something in charity. He went out with his object of charity and unknowingly gave it to a thief. Next morning the people said that he had given his object of charity to a thief. (On hearing that) he said, "O Allah! All the praises are for you. I will give alms again." And so he again went out with his alms and (unknowingly) gave it to an adulteress. Next morning the people said that he had given his alms to an adulteress last night. The man said, "O Allah! All the praises are for you. (I gave my alms) to an adulteress. I will give alms again." So he went out with his alms again and (unknowingly) gave it to a rich person. (The people) next morning said that he had given his alms to a wealthy person. He said, "O Allah! All the praises are for you. (I had given alms) to a thief, to an adulteress and to a wealthy man." Then someone came and said to him, "The alms which you gave to the thief, might make him abstain from stealing, and that given to the adulteress might make her abstain from illegal sexual intercourse (adultery), and that given to the wealthy man might make him take a lesson from it and spend his wealth which Allah has given him, in Allah's cause."

Source:
Sahih al-Bukhari: Volume 2, Book 24, Number 502
Blindspot!
Telling Tales

Calumny is another form of back-biting. The Quran condemns it thus: "A slanderer, going about with calumnies." (Quran 68:11) Hudhaifah ibn al-Yaman says on the Prophet's authority that such a person will not be admitted to Paradise. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave this special directive to his Companions: "You should not convey to me any report about others for I prefer to have a clear conscience about all of you." (Abu Dawud) Calumny may be done with gestures and body language as well and this is also prohibited.

Reproaching

Humiliating someone publicly, by drawing attention to their sins or weaknesses, may casue much discord and bad blood. This leads to the collapse of social relations. For no one puts up with public humiliation. The Prophet warns that one who reproaches others will not die until he commits the same sin. (Tirmidhi) Abdullah ibn Umar, while pointing out the obligations due to fellow Muslims, instructed that one should not target them for any sin which would discredit them. (Tirmidhi)

Compiled From:
"Inter-Personal Relations" - Khurram Murad, p. 23