Assalamu Alaikum War. Wab.
Dear brothers and sisters
This is an article which wrote by someone in trustislam.com, so if you don't mind. Please read. Insha allah, that's really useful especially for moslems who have an obligation to amar ma'ruf and nahi mungkar in our deen...(ummu hani)


Those among the Children of Israel who disbelieved were cursed by the tongue of Dâwud (David) and 'Isa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary). That was because they disobeyed (Allah and the Messengers) and transgressed beyond all bounds. They habitually refused to forbid one another from the "munkar" (wrong, evildoing, sins, polytheism, disbelief, etc.), that they committed. How vile were the things they used to do! [TMQ, Surat ul-Ma'idah, 78-79]

The ayahs translated above are a lesson about the past for the present day. In it, Allah informs us that two of our most important prophets (AS) cursed a large group among our predecessors, Bani Isrâ'îl ("The Children of Israel").

For what reason, we might ask? It's simple: those people avoided forbidding each other's munkar. They would watch each other doing haram acts, and allow it to happen by remaining silent both outwardly-and even in their hearts!

These verses continue to be a warning against following such ways. Muslims are supposed to be superior to all other ummahs because we help each other back to the Path should some of us fall astray. Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) has an ayah in the Qur'an that means:

"You are the best nation amongst mankind because you command the good (Islam), you forbid evil (sins), and you believe in Allah…[TMQ, Surat Al 'Imran, 110]

A climate of remaining silent in the face of haram acts is foreign to the Ummah of Muhammad (SAAW). However, this phenomenon is beginning to emerge within our Ummah quite recently, starting among those of us who live in the West. Just try to enjoin the good or forbid the evil; and almost instantly, you'll get the knee-jerk response,

"Don't judge me!"
"You're not my father!"
"Only God can judge me!"

Tell a sister to wear hijab or a brother to stop dating; and, sad to say, just about always you will hear a variation of the same old song. These statements are another way to say, "Leave me alone; let me do what I want to do." They have become a false shield for some of us who want to commit shameful acts openly while convincing others that they have a right to do it, and mustn't be criticized!

Those who snarl such words want to take the shame off their shoulders and set it on those of the messenger, stigmatizing him or her for "playing judge." Such a mentality is a byproduct of the extreme individualism bred here in the West, especially the USA.

The secularism of the dark "Age of Enlightenment" has reduced religion to something of a private affair: "Keep it in the closet!" From this came the notion, "If I commit a sin, it is between me and my God; so stay out of my business!" The non-Muslims around us adopt this concept without hesitation; and, unfortunately, it has emerged among "American Muslims" too, perhaps in preparation for its export to the Ummah overseas.

Unfortunately, many of our local youth and parents do not realize the impact of saying, "Don't judge me," or, "You're not my father." Not only does it go against core Islamic values to think this way, but it eventually breeds major corruption in our public life. If we won't help our neighbors by reminding and correcting them, then how shall we ever get the courage to expose the wrong-doing of the present age's rulers, especially when everyone else around us says, "Never mind, politicians lie and mess with interns all the time!" Even more importantly, how shall we Muslims develop the ability to straighten out the leaders among us when they go wrong? Many of the symptoms afflicting the Muslim Ummah everywhere these days are a direct result of its losing this ability to adjust and correct itself.

The notion that our sins are a personal issue, as opposed to a public one, has no place in Islam. Accepting a brother's alcohol use is one step closer to making the habit commonplace. If another brother smokes marijuana and nobody objects, it will start becoming normal for all ("Thank God it's only weed; at least it wasn't crack or 'E'!").The moment a sister removes her hijab, it becomes okay for others to remove it too-if we remain silent about it.

Therefore, your sins are a matter of public concern, with severe political consequences, even. We must care enough about each other to make sure that the norms that Muslims live and act by are Islamic. Nobody is playing "judge" just by telling you to follow Islam. Otherwise, why would Allah tell us to enjoin the good and forbid the evil?

Forbidding each other's munkar (sins) and enjoining the good (Islam) was once the shield that protected the Ummah from falling into corruption. In the USA, this shield is now breaking; and we must re-institute the concept of enjoining good and forbidding evil to rebuild it. The stories of Muslim women dressing ever more provocatively, men and women cheating on their spouses, drinking alcohol, and doing drugs are so abundant that they are starting to look like ordinary practice. Why? It's because we allow each other to commit haram acts. When friends begin to do these things together, they become normal: "If everyone's doing it then it has to be OK."

Furthermore, the task of those sticking to the Deen becomes even more complicated. If they try to prevent haram acts, their neighbors start branding them as fanatics (a dangerous accusation in these days of War on Terror) simply for not joining in.

There was a time when it was a shame to commit haram openly. Eighty or so years ago it could not be imagined that a Muslim woman would walk on a public street without hijab. It was such a prevalent practice that Arab non-Muslims made their women dress as the Muslim women did: Islam was the standard for what is right and wrong in society.

Then, one never heard of a male and female having a relationship outside of wedlock-it was, after all, shameful. Now the culprits dare to justify themselves by saying, "My mom knows where I'm at," or "My mom knows what I'm doing." For some reason, young people have started to think that if their parents know about their sins, it's OK to keep committing them. All of this goes against what our beloved Prophet (SAAW) expected from us. In one of the most oft-narrated ahadith the Prophet (SAAW) says, "If you see a munkar (unislamic act), you change it with your hand; and if you cannot do that, then change it with your mouth (speak out against it); and if you cannot do that, then forbid it in your heart; and that is the least of belief."

So in this hadith, we are commanded to forbid any munkar done in private or public (there is no distinction made in the hadith), either physically (when warranted), by mouth, or from within.

The Prophet (SAAW) warned us in another hadith about the consequences of not forbidding each other's munkar. He compared the society to a ship with two decks floating in a lake. He said, "Imagine that the people on the lower deck of the ship had to go to the upper deck to fetch water to drink, but one day they decided that there was no longer a need to go to the upper deck since they could easily drill a hole through the bottom of the ship. If those from the upper deck do not prevent those from the lower deck from drilling the hole, then the whole ship will end up sinking."

Now reader, imagine going over to the person drilling the hole at the bottom of your ship and asking him to stop before catastrophe strikes. Imagine if the response you got was, "Don't judge me!"

In conclusion, Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) has established a shield for us to protect the Ummah from corruption and degradation. That shield is simple; enjoin the good (Islam), forbid the evil (sins), and believe in Allah. If we neglect this essential tool of Islam, we will continue to hear the horror stories going around about the men and women of Islam. We are supposed to be a dignified people, an honorable people because we have Islam. So if Islam is our honor, we must practice it in private and public. Let us support one another by enjoining good and forbidding evil amongst ourselves with the hope that we don't end up cursed like the Children of Israel who failed to forbid each other's munkar (by ahmedsmv, Apr 18 2006, 10:33 PM, http://http://www.trustislam.com/studiobb/index.php?showtopic=7630)


Wassalamu alaikum War. Wab
Your sister in Islam
Ummu Hani