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104. " and there should be a party among you who invite (others) to good and
enjoin what is right and forbid the wrong, and these are they that
shall be prosperous."
commentary:
the secret of the location of the verse concerning with the subject of
`enjoining right and forbidding wrong' between two verses that instruct to
union and singleness; may be in the fact that in a dispersed social system
either there is not an authority to invite people to do good, or these
invitations are not effective and helpful.
the act of enjoining right and forbidding wrong may be performed in
two ways: 1) it may be done as a public, common duty in which everybody
must undertake it as much as the one is capable to fulfil it. 2) the duty
that a uniformed group undertake and follow it powerfully. like a driver
who does not observe the traffic rules in the street. so, both other drivers
protest him by lights and horns and the traffic police enters the scene to
face seriously with the offender.
there are many traditions and narrations upon the subject of
`enjoining right and forbidding wrong' in islamic literature. here, we
suffice to only this one in which imam ali (a.s.) says:
" do not give up enjoining right and forbidding wrong lest the mischievous gain
positions over you, and then (in that case) when you pray, your invocations will
not be granted to you." 1
* * * *
explanations:
1. in an islamic society, it is necessary to be a group of inspectors and
controllers, confirmed by the islamic system, to superintend and control
the situations, attitudes, and movements.
" and there should be a party among you who invite (others) to good and
enjoin what is right and forbid the wrong, ..."
2. in the society, the invitation to benevolece is prior to enjoining the
right.
3. to improve a society and to prevent corruption and corruptive
people, without the existence of authority and a definite responsible
manager, is impossible.
4. those who compassionately sympathize with the development and
improvement of the society are the true prosperous ones:
"... those are they that shall be prosperous."
5. invitation to benevolence, enjoining the right and forbidding the
wrong should ceaselessly be performed in the society, not in the form of
seasonal and temporary movements.
6. prosperity is not found only in personal delivery, but the prosperity
and delivery of others are also from its conditions.
7. the invitor to benevolence and right would be islamicist,
anthropologist, and one who knows the methods. it is for this reason that
it is said that some of the members of community have special duty, not all
of them.
8. enjoining the right is prior to forbidding the wrong, because if the
way of what is right be open, there will be little possibility for committing
wrong.
1
nahjul-balaqah, leller 47
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