Page 15 - The Importance of Following the Good Word

Those who have moral failings, who earn their living
through illicit means, who strive to spread immorality and
see compassion, mercy, charity and respect as weakness, are
in the majority. Even though there are those among them
who are aware of what is good, they avoid the responsibility
of enjoining it. Instead, they turn a blind eye to the facts, pre-
ferring to abstain from involvement.
Yet, it should be noted here that what we have said above
holds true for those who do not "believe with certainty," and
fail to heed the word of Allah, for true believers are conscious
of the importance of this important responsibility described
in the following verse, "They believe in Allah and the Last
Day, and enjoin the right and forbid the wrong, and com-
pete in doing good. They are among the righteous." (Surah
Al `Imran, 114). For this reason, believers summon all around
them to nurture consciousness of Allah, and to become of
those of moral excellence. The Qur'an draws our attention to
the need to enjoin the good, as an attribute of believers as fol-
lows:
The men and women of the believers are friends of
one another. They command what is right and forbid
what is wrong, and establish prayer and pay alms, and
obey Allah and His Messenger. They are the people
on whom Allah will have mercy. Allah is Almighty,
All-Wise. (Surat at-Tawba, 71)
As this verse also makes clear, every person of faith is re-
sponsible for communicating moral excellence, throughout
his life, to live by it, to enjoin the right and forbid the wrong.
If one wants to lead a good life, then he must encourage oth-
ers to good. Similarly, anyone who wants good to happen to

The Good Word is Calling to Allah 13