Ghurar Al-Hikam Wa Durar Al-Kalim, Exalted Aphorisms And Pearls Of Speech

Enjoining Good And Forbidding Evil

Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil الأمرُ بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر

1. Enjoining good and forbidding evil are the best actions of the creation.

1ـ اَلأمرُ بِالمَعْرُوفِ أفْضلُ أعْمالِ الخَلقِ.

2. Enjoin good and you will be among the virtuous. Forbid evil with your hand and tongue, and make an effort to disassociate yourself from the one who commits it.

2ـ اُومُرْ بِالمَعْروفِ تَكُنْ مِنْ أهْلِهِ، وأنْكِرِ المُنْكَرَ

3. Submit yourselves to good and enjoin it; keep away from evil and forbid it.

3ـ إئتَمِرُوا بِالمَعرُوفِ، وَأْمُرُوا بهِ، وتَناهَوا عَنِ المُنكَرِ

4. Verily enjoining good and forbidding evil neither brings death near nor decreases sustenance, rather it multiplies reward and magnifies recompense; and a just word in the presence of an oppressive ruler is [even] better than this.

4ـ إنَّ الأمْرَ بالمَعروفِ والنَّهيَ عنِ المُنْكَرِ لا يُقَرِّبانِ

5. Whoever observes excesses being committed and people being called towards evil, and disapproves of it with his heart, is safe and free [from responsibility for it], and whoever disapproves of it with his tongue will be rewarded for it, and he is in a higher position than the former. But whoever disapproves of it with his sword in order that the proof of Allah may remain superior and the word of the oppressors may remain inferior, has found the path of guidance and stands on the right way while his heart is illuminated with conviction.

5ـ إنَّ مَنْ رَأى عُدْواناً يُعمَلُ بهِ، ومُنْكَراً يُدعى إلَيهِ،

6. If one of you sees an evil being committed and is unable to forbid it with his hand or tongue and forbids it with his heart, while Allah knows the truth of his intention, then [it is as if] he has forbidden it.

6ـ إذا رَأى أحَدُكُمْ المُنْكَرَ، وَلَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ أنْ يُنْكِرَهُ

7. When [showing] respect is of no benefit then humiliation is firmer; when the whip is not successful then the sword is sharper.

7ـ إذا لَمْ تَنْفَعِ الكَرامَةُ فَالإهانَةُ أحْزَمُ، وَإذا لَمْ

8. He (‘a) said regarding those who enjoin good and forbid evil: From among them there is one who disapproves of evil with his hand, tongue and heart. He is the one who has perfectly attained [all the] virtuous qualities. And among them there is one who disapproves of evil with his tongue and heart but not with his hand. He is the one who has attained only two virtuous qualities but lacks one. And among them there is the third one who disapproves of evil with his heart but not with his tongue and hand. He is the one who lacks the two better qualities out of three and possesses only one. Then, among them there is he who does not disapprove of evil with his tongue, heart or hand. He is just [like] a dead man among the living. All the virtuous deeds, including fighting in the way of Allah, when compared to the act of enjoining good and forbidding evil, are just like drops in the ocean. Enjoining good and forbidding evil does not bring death nearer, nor does it decrease sustenance. And better than all this is a just word in the presence of a tyrannical ruler.

8 ـ وقال ـ عليه السّلام ـ في ذِكْرِ الآمرينَ بالمَعْرُوفِ والناهينَ

9. Enjoining good [was prescribed] as a reformation for the common people, and forbidding evil as a restriction for the insolent.

9ـ والأمرَ بِالمَعرُوفِ مَصْلَحةً لِلْعَوامِّ، والنَّهيَ عَنِ

10. Be one who invites towards good, dissuades from evil, builds ties with those who cut him off and gives to those who deprive him.

10ـ كُنْ بِالمعرُوفِ آمِراً، وعَنِ المُنْكَرِ ناهِياً، ولِمَنْ

11. Be one who invites towards good, dissuades from evil, acts with virtue and prevents vice.

11 ـ كُنْ بِالمَعْرُوفِ آمِراً، وعَنِ المُنكَرِ ناهِياً، وبِالخَيْرِ

12. Be one who invites towards good while acting upon it, and don’t be one who enjoins it while being distant from it [himself], thereby committing a sin and earning the displeasure of his Lord.

12ـ كُنْ آمِراً بالمَعْروفِ عاملاً بهِ، ولا تَكُنْ مِمَّنْ يَأمُرُ

13. You will never be guided to good until you stray from evil.

13ـ لَنْ تَهتَدِيَ إلَى المَعْرُوفِ حَتّى تَضِلَّ عَنِ المُنْكَرِ.

14. One who enjoins good strengthens the backs of the believers.

14ـ مَنْ عَمِلَ (أمَرَ) بِالمَعرُوفِ شَدَّ ظُهُورَ المُؤمِنينَ.

15. One who forbids evil rubs the noses of the evildoers to the ground.

15ـ مَنْ نهَى عَنِ المُنْكَرِ أرْغَمَ اُنُوفَ الفاسِقينَ.

16. It is disgraceful for a man to dissuade the people from evil actions and forbid them from vices and sins, and then perform the same deeds when he is alone and not refrain from them.

16ـ يَقْبَحُ عَلَـيالرَّجُلِ أنْ يُنْكِرَ عَلَى النَّاسِ مُنكَرات

17. Allah, the Glorified, has not commanded you to do anything but [that which is] good and has not forbidden you from anything but evil.

17ـ لَمْ يَأمُرْكُمُ اللّهُ سُبْحانَهُ إلاّ بِحَسَن، وَلَمْ يَنْهَكُمْ

18. Allah, the Glorified, does not command anything except that He assists [the people] towards it.

18ـ ما أمَرَ اللّهُ سُبْحانَهُ بشَيْء إلاّ وأعانَ علَيهِ.

19. Allah, the Glorified, does not forbid anything but that He has makes [the people] needless of it.

19ـ ما َنهَى اللّهُ سُبْحانَهُ عَنْ شَيْء إلاّ وأغنى عنهُ.

20. Verily I deem myself higher than that I should forbid people from that which I do not forbid myself, or enjoin them towards that which I have not preceded them in performing, or that I should be pleased with their actions which my Lord is not pleased with.

20ـ إنّي لأرفَعُ نَفْسي أنْ أنْهَى النَّاسَ عَمّا لَستُ أنْتَهي عَنْهُ