These things must be done with compassion. The Prophet (sas) said:
"Compassion does not enter into anything without beautifying it, and
is not removed from anything without making it ugly." (Muslim and
others)
And, he (sas) said:
"O, Aisha: Verily Allah is Compassionate, and He loves compassion. He
gives based on compassion that which is not given based on force, and
is not given based on any other cause." (Muslim and others)
At the same time, the practitioner of enjoining right and forbidding
wrong must be forbearing and patient in the faceof adversity and
persecution. Persecution must, of necessity, confront the true
practitioner of enjoining right. If he is not patient, forbearing and
wise in the face of this, he will cause more corruption than reform.
Allah tells us of Luqman saying tohis son:
[And enjoin all that is right, and forbid all that is wrong, and be
patient in the face of that which afflicts you, verily, that is the
most upright of positions.] Qur'an 31/17.
Thus, Allah ordered His prophets, and they are the imam 's of
enjoining right and forbidding wrong, to have patience, just as He
ordered the seal of the Prophets Muhammad (sas). The order to have
patience came along with the order to deliver the message of Islam.
When the Prophet (sas) was first ordered todeliver the message to the
people, Allah sent Sura Al-Mudaththir , which followed after the
revelation of the first five verses of Sura Iqraa' which announced the
beginning of the prophethood. Allah said in Al-Mudaththir :
[O, you covered in a blanket * Stand up and warn * And praise the
greatness of your Lord * And purify your garments * And keep yourself
well away from false gods and other forms of foolishness * And do not
do all of this hoping for gain or payment *And for the sake of your
Lord maintain patience. ] Qur`an 74/1-7.
Allah began these seven ayas, with which He commissioned theProphet
(sas) to deliver the message to His creation, by ordering the Prophet
to warn , and concluded them with the order to have patience . Warning
people of Allah's punishment is of course enjoining them to do right
and forbidding them the doing of wrong, so we see that patience is
obligatory after undertaking the enjoining of right. In this vein,
Allah said:
[And be patient for the decree of your Lord, verily you are in our
Eyes] Qur'an 52/48
[And be patient with that which they say, and remove yourself from
them in a gracious manner.]Qur`an 73/10
[And so be patient, as the firmly-intentioned prophets were patient.]
Qur`an 46/35.
[So be patient for the decree of your Lord, and do not be as the man
in the Whale (i.e. Jonah)] Qur`an 68/48
[And be patient, and your patience is none other than by the leave of
Allah.] Qur'an 16/127.
[And have patience since, verily Allah does neglect the reward of the
good-doers.] Qur'an 11/115.
Thus, three things are absolutely essential: knowledge, compassion,
and patience. Knowledge is required before enjoining right and
forbidding wrong, compassion is required during its practice, and
patience is required after it. This separation is not to negate the
fact that these three qualities need to be present at all times. This
is similar to a statement narrated from the early generations of
scholars and which has been attributed by some to the Prophet. Abu
Ya'la mentioned it in his book entitled Al-Mu'tamad as follows:
"None should enjoin right and forbid wrong except one who is
knowledgeable in that which he enjoins, knowledgeable in that which he
forbids, compassionate in that which he enjoins, compassionate in that
which he forbids, forbearing in that which he enjoins, and forbearing
in thatwhich he forbids."
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