وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاء بَعْضٍ يَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ (71:9)

And believers, both men and women, are friends to one another. [They] enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil. (9:71)

he word أمر is used in this verse to mean urging to what is good. In Arabic, just as this word means giving a directive, it also means giving counsel and advice. The fact that this verse begins with the words وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاء بَعْضٍ testifies that it is used here in the latter meaning. The Almighty has said that people should be urged to whatever sense and human nature call as good and forbidden from what sense and human nature call as evil. In Surah Asr, this is stated from another aspect by the words: وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ. The Quran says:

وَالْعَصْرِ إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ (103: 1 -3)

Time bears witness that these people shall definitely be in a state of loss. Yes! except those who accepted faith and did righteous deeds and exhorted one another to the truth and exhorted one another to remain steadfast on it. (103:1-3)

It is evident from this verse that this is the responsibility of every person and from among the basic requirements of faith. Whether we belong to the common masses or to the intellectual class, whether we live in a jungle or in a city, whether we are the citizens of a Muslim state or residents of a non-Muslim country, we are liable to carry out this responsibility. Every person is liable to it and it is among the requirements of faith. If a believer does righteous deeds and also fulfils this requirement of faith, the Quran has ensured him protection from the punishment of this world and of the Hereafter and he shall be granted the eternal Kingdom of Heaven.

It is evident from the nature and scope of this preaching as mentioned in these verses that the preacher and the preached are not distinct from one another. Every person at all times acts as a preacher as well as an addressee to this preaching. This is evident by the words used by the Quran: بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاء بَعْضٍ (they are friends to one another). This responsibility should be discharged by a father towards his son and a son towards his father, a husband towards his wife and a wife towards her husband, a brother towards his sister and a sister towards her brother, a friend towards his friend and a neighbour towards his neighbour – in short, a person should discharge it towards every person who has an immediate relation with him. When he sees that someone among them has adopted an attitude which is contrary to the truth, he should try to urge him according to his knowledge, capacity and ability to mend his ways. It is quite possible that while at one time of the day we deliver some truth to a person, and at another time, he does this very service to us. Today, we may urge a person to the right way and tomorrow that person might urge us to the same. In short, a Muslim should keep discharging this duty in his immediate circle whenever he gets the opportunity.

Moreover, it is also essential that his preaching be directed from the nearest to the next, and a person should foremost address his family members and try to save them from the Fire of Hell. He must be aware of the fact that if he went after others while leaving aside these immediate people who might be deep in evil, then in spite of all his efforts, he may end up at the losing end in the Hereafter:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَهْلِيكُمْ نَارًا وَقُودُهَا النَّاسُ وَالْحِجَارَةُ عَلَيْهَا مَلَائِكَةٌ غِلَاظٌ شِدَادٌ لَا يَعْصُونَ اللَّهَ مَا أَمَرَهُمْ وَيَفْعَلُونَ مَا يُؤْمَرُونَ (6:66)

Believers! Protect yourselves and your kindred from a Fire fuelled with these men and these stones [they worship]. In charge of it will be stern and mighty angels who never disobey God’s directive and promptly do what they are told. (66:6)

Here, this should also remain clear that within one’s immediate sphere, there exists a sphere in which a person possesses authority. In a family system, a person often has two capacities: he is a father and he is a husband. As per the dictates of common sense and human nature, a person has authority in these two spheres. It is because of this authority that a person in his capacity of a husband and that of a father is responsible for the affairs of his wife and children respectively. The Prophet (sws) is reported to have said:

أَلاَ كُلُّكُمْ رَاعٍ وَكُلُّكُمْ مَسْؤُوْلٌ عَنْ رَعِيَّتِه

Beware that each of you is a shepherd, and each person will be held accountable for his herd.

It is about this circle of authority in which the Prophet (sws) directed Muslims to try to curb any evil they see in it. He is reported to have said:

مَنْ رَأَى مِنْكُمْ مُنْكَراً فَلْيُغَيِّرهُ بِيَدِهِ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِلِسَانِهِ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِقَلْبِهِ وَذَلِكَ أَضْعَفُ الِإيمْاَن

When any person among you sees an evil [in his circle of authority], he should try to curb it by [the force of] his hands. If he does not have the faith to do it, he should try to curb it by his tongue and if [even] this is not possible, he should consider it bad in his heart and this is the lowest level of faith.

The words فَإِنْ لَمْيَسْتَطِعْ (if he does not have the strength …) do not refer to physical strength or the strength of resources which make a person liable to follow some directive; they refer to one’s courage whose source is one’s faith. Thus the foremost responsibility of a person in his circle of authority is to curb evil by force unless some religious expediency is attached to it. To curb evil by the tongue is the second level of faith and the last level is that a person should at least consider it to be evil in his heart. If he does not even have this feeling, then it means that he has become totally devoid of faith.

In the opinion of this writer, if this narrative is deliberated upon in the light of the Quran, then its correct interpretation is the one presented above. A husband, a father and a Muslim ruler are, no doubt, responsible to curb evil by force within their circles of authority. Less than this, whatever action they take shall indeed be a show of their weak faith; however, if they venture to use force outside their circle of authority, then this is the worst kind of disorder and anarchy that they can create. Such measures have no place in religion. The Quran is absolutely clear in this regard: as a preacher, no messenger of God was ever given the authority beyond reminding and lucidly presenting religion. It says:

إِنَّمَا أَنْتَ مُذَكِّرٌ لَسْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ بِمُصَيْطِرٍ(88: 21-22)

Your duty is only to remind them; you are not to force them.(88:21-22)

The words used in Quran and in Ahadith are ‘Maruf‘ and ‘Munkar‘ and in classic Arabic, these words refer to universal ethics/basic ethics that are known and well agreed everywhere, specially in a society one lives in i.e. deception, oppression, fraud and lying etc. They do not refer to interpretation of some verse by an individual and its inclusion as Maruf or Munkar. Therefore, being a head of family, just the way husband has a responsibilty to enforce maruf and mukar under his roof, similarly, he has no religious obligation to enforce anything beyond that i.e. forcing his wife to wear different clothes becasue he thinks they are immodest. Ideally, these matters should be agreed upon by the couple before marriage to avoid any major diasgreement in the future; and if not, then atleast they should be resolved through proper consultation between a husband and wife the way other marital issues are resolved.