Enjoining

Now

we know that after having made Shahada

our Islam is about much more than just making the Sala

and Saum and Hajj, and paying our Zaka.

Our Islam is our Deen,

our whole way of living our lives,

and the Qur'an explains the principles of muslim behaviour

with regard to different aspects of our Deen,

with one of the most important being related to

how muslims function not just as individuals,

but as a society.

The words of the Qur'an put it quite simply,

that as part of the greater jihad

that is the Deen of a muslim way of life

it is the duty of the muslim community

to establish Ma'ruf and to forbid Munkar,

that is to establish what is right and good

and to forbid what is wrong and evil,

So over the years

much has been written in an attempt to define

exactly what is meant by these terms,

and who these duties apply to

and what they involve.

So who does the duty apply to?

Those who are able to understand,

so children

and those lacking the mental capacity

are free of obligation.

But although many traditional lawyers have argued

that women are mentally and physically inferior to males,

and therefore have no obligation,

the Qur'an specifically names women alongside men as sharing in this duty.

Exceptions are usually considered

not in terms of gender

but in terms of capacity.

It is understood

that just because you can see that something is wrong

doesn't mean that you actually have the power to change it,

and that there are circumstances

where even to voice an opinion can put your life at risk.

The Messenger knew this,

and is said to have said that the greatest jihad is to speak truth to a tyrant,

an action more likely to terminate the life of the speaker

than to change the life of the tyrant.

So the Messenger is said to have described

various different degrees of response

when facing different situations.

If it is possible,

then we should try to change objectionable things

by making a physical effort,

holding a wrongdoer back from doing wrong.

If we do not have that power, however,

then we should speak up about what we see as wrong,

and use our voices to call for justice

and for a change in such behaviour.

But in the event that someone sees a wrong being done,

but has no power to change things directly,

and fears for their safety should they even raise their voice against it,

there remains a way of dealing with the duty

that is still acceptable to God.

This is to hold the understanding of right and wrong in our hearts,

not just accepting the opinion of others as to what is good and bad,

not just joining them in that behaviour.

By staying firm in our faith,

we can continue in a small personal way to influence our society

by being examples of the best way to live a life.

For the best way to change a society

is not by telling others how to behave,

but by showing them

through our own behaviour.

The act of forbidding Munkar,

forbidding wrong,

is just one half of what is asked for in this muslim duty.

Establishing Ma'ruf,

what is just and good,

begins with our own behaviour.