. Li (cont.)

It is even incorrect for him to oppose it in his heart, because that goes against the very foundation of freedom of thought and freedom of action that they claim to believe in. He must accept the deed and stand up for the person's right to perform the deed in the name of liberty and freedom. That is why, for example, one can find "Christians" standing up for the rights of gays and others who are acting in un-Christian like fashion. The right of "freedom" has become more important than ethics and morals. One cannot judge other's deeds but must simply accept them in the name of "freedom." Unfortunately, people are trying to spread this way of thinking throughout the Muslim lands-- indeed, this way of thinking is spreading throughout the Muslim world. This way of thinking is absolutely unacceptable from an Islamic point of view. Any act that is defined as evil by the shareeah is an evil and must be opposed. It can never be accepted in the name of "freedom," "democracy," "progress," "civilization," or any other slogans it is given. These are all false and satanic plots. Evil is evil and must be changed by one's hands, tongue or heart. If not, the Muslims are sinful and may even lose all semblance of their faith. • Imam Ahmad said, "Ordering good and eradicating evil is like jihad. It is obligatory upon one person to have patience and struggle against two and he may not flee from those two. It is not obligatory upon him to be patient and face more than that. If he is able to bear the harm and is strong enough [so he takes on more than two people], that is best. Allah said, 'Enjoin right and forbid evil and bear with patience whatever befalls you' [Luqmaan 17]. If a person fears being verbally abused or having the people say something about him, something of that nature does not remove the obligation upon him."1 • Al-Bugha and Mistu point out that one must have the right intention when ordering good and eradicating evil. One must not do so out of love of fame or to have dominance or power over others. Instead, one must do so out of the love of Allah and hatred for seeing His laws ignored or violated. One must also do so as a mercy to the believers and as a kind of naseeha to them, which falls under the category of "for the sake of Allah."2 Although those comments are true for any act of worship, they probably emphasized this point in their discussion of this hadith because this is an area where 1 Quoted in al-Bugha and Mistu, pp. 261-262. lbn Shibrima said something similar to that. See ibn Rajah, Jaami, vol. 2, p. 249. 2 Al-Bugha and Mistu, p. 266. Hadith #34: "Whoever of You Sees an Evil. . . " Satan easily misguides people. Ordering good and eradicating evil is an opportunity to display one's knowledge and bravery for the sake of Allah. Hence, it is an area in which acting for show and popularity can be a common disease. Therefore, every Muslim must be clear to himself as to why exactly he is ordering good and eradicating evil. • Sultaan points out that the circumstances surrounding Abu Saeed's narration of this hadith, in which he objected to the ruler Marwaan's actions, is evidence that it is permissible to oppose the rulers with one's hand. However, of course, one is not allowed to do that if it will lead to bloodshed or greater harm. 1 Ibn Rajab also states that it is allowed to spill the wine of the rulers or break their musical instruments. He says that if they order some kind of zulm (wrong, oppression) and one has the ability to stop it, he should do so. All of that is permissible and does not fall under the category of fighting or revolting against the ruler. However, using weapons to revolt against the Muslims rulers and the spilling of Muslim blood is not permissible.2 • As noted earlier, a Muslim must remain away from evil. This is part of his "changing it with his heart" as referred to in this badith. The scholars have discussed the case where a person enters a place in which there is evil but not specifically in the portion where he will be. For example, suppose a person is in a shopping mall which contains stores that sell unacceptable items. It seems that it is permissible for him to be in that situation as long as be does not enter the actual portions where the evil is existing. If a person is invited to a wedding party and in some portion of the party area there is evil but not where he is or where the food is being served and so forth, he may stay in that place.