Kea said, "Tell us about naseehah to the common folk of the Muslims, O wise owl!" Owl said, "Making naseehah to the common folk of the Muslims would include: guiding them to what is good for them in both this life and the Hereafter, not harming them, teaching them about their religion and other things that they may be ignorant about, aiding them, concealing their faults, ordering them to perform good deeds and eradicating evil among them. It also includes having mercy for the young among them and showing respect for the elderly. One also should feel joy when they feel joy and one should be saddened when they are saddened. Imam Al-Nawawi pointed out that the pious forefathers would work for one another and advise one another to the point that they even sacrificed their own worldly interests out of preference to their brothers' needs.
When one is in a position of authority over other Muslims, it is important that he act sincerely toward them and do what is in their best interests according to the shareeah. The obligation of sincere conduct by the ruler towards the masses includes appointing people to governmental posts on the basis of their ability and qualifications.
A Muslim cannot be all to himself and not care about what happens to the other Muslims. Instead, it is his obligation to make naseehah to the other Muslims. This means he is required to wish the best for them and to bring about the best for them if he has the ability to do so."
Kea said, "Tell us about manners of making naseehah." Owl said, "Naseehah is a wonderful weapon, but like most weapons, if the user does not know how to use it properly, it can cause more harm than good. One major reason why Muslims are not giving due regard to this naseehah is that we have lost or we do not know the proper manners of giving Naseehah.
Now let's examine some of the best manners that a Muslim must have in making Naseehah. The first and foremost, it is necessary that a person have the intention of seeking the pleasure of Allah when making Naseehah. Only such an intention deserves reward from Allah and acceptance from His slaves. If the intention is contrary to this, then that person deserves the anger and wrath of Allah as well as the hatred and rejection of the people - including the one being advised.
The second manner is, not slandering the one being advised. This is an affliction that has befallen many Muslims. Many times, after taking a closer look, we find that the person giving Naseehah actually wants to slander the person he is advising because of personal hatred. This does not befit the one being advised and may lead to a worse situation with no benefit resulting from the Naseehah. An important part of naseehah is to advise one another and correct each others' actions. Speaking to another person concerning something that he does not like to have mentioned is common to both the praiseworthy act advising another person and the blameworthy act of shaming and humiliating another person. In fact, one of the early scholars said, "You do not really give me advice until you say to me in my face what I dislike." It is important to realize the difference between these two acts in order to fulfill the obligation of advising one's brother while remaining away from the sin of shaming one's brother.
It must be understood that mentioning another Muslim's faults or sins simply to blame, ridicule or shame him is forbidden. However, if there is some overriding benefit in mentioning such faults, then it can be either recommended or obligatory to mention them. That was, for example, the case with the scholars of hadith who were forced to mention the shortcomings of specific narrators. This action on their part was part of their naseehah to the Muslim nation as a whole, in order to accurately preserve the hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Another example of that nature is the refuting of the misinterpretations of the Quran or sunnah that some people may try to spread throughout the Muslim community. It is a must to refute that evil, even if it is done publicly, as long as the goal is not to ridicule them but to correct their mistakes and stop their evil.
Third, naseehah is to be given in secret. Naseehah will bear its best fruits when given to a person when he is by himself, for in such a situation the person is less likely to be affected by the thoughts of others. The sincere advisor should not aid the Devil over his brother by publicly rebuking him and letting Shaytaan beguile his brother into not taking the naseehah. This closes the doors of goodness and reduces the chances of the Naseehah from being accepted.
Fourth, naseehah is to be given with kindness, gentleness and softness. A sincere advisor must be kind, soft and well-mannered in making naseehah to others, as this might get the desired response from the one he is advising. One must understand that accepting Naseehah is like opening a door, and that the door will not open without the proper key. The one who is given naseehah has a heart that has a lock in some matter - for he has abandoned something that Allah has demanded from him, or has committed something that Allaah I had forbidden him from. There is no better key to unlock the heart than kindness in giving advice, gentleness in exhortation and softness in speech as, in Sahih Muslim, the Prophet (ﷺ) has said, "Kindness is not to be found in anything but that it adds to its beauty, and it is not withdrawn from anything but it makes it defective."
Love is an important driving force behind naseehah. If one has strong love for Allah, His messenger, His book and so forth, his conduct with respect to them will be more sincere. Al-Fudhail ibn Iyaadh said, "Love is better than fear. Do you not see that if you have two slaves and one of them loves you while the other fears you, the one who loves you will be sincere to you while you are present or absent due to his love for you. However, the one who fears you may be sincere to you when you are present and he fears you but he will deceive you and not be sincere to you when you are absent."
Fifth, do not compel others to follow one's naseehah: It is obligatory on the advisor to render sincere advice to others, but it is not his right to compel others to follow his advice as well. That is the right of the Muslim ruler upon his subjects or a Muslim Qadhi (Judge) in his jurisdiction. A sincere advisor is one who guides toward goodness, but he is not to command others to act upon it. lbn Hazm writes that one should not give Naseehah on the condition that it must be accepted, otherwise if one goes beyond this, he will be oppressing not advising, and seeking obedience and control.
Sixth, choosing the proper time to give Naseehah. The one giving naseehah must choose the right time to give his advice, since a person is not always ready to receive naseehah. A person may be angry about something, upset about not getting what he wanted, grieved for something he may have lost, or there may be some other reason that might prevent him from responding to the Naseehah.
Abdul Hamid Bilali writes, "Choosing proper time and place is one of the greatest causes for the acceptance of Naseehah and eradicating evil", and as Abdullah bin Mas'ud said, "Hearts sometimes yearn and are attentive, but sometimes they go through lapses and feed repulsion. So take from them when they are in a state of yearning and are attentive, and leave them alone when they go through lapses and are feeling repulsion."
Seventh, naseehah that is against lslam is not to be followed. Making Naseehah is part of sharee'ah. Therefore, if someone gives advice to leave a deed demanded by the sharee'ah or to perform a forbidden deed, then it is not called Naseehah. The one giving such should quit doing that and the one being advised should not accept it. For instance, if someone tells you to shave your beard, to expose some part of the body by taking off the Hijaab, to shake hands with women on job interviews, to date the girl you are interested in, to take a job at a place that sells alcohol, or to work in a Riba-based bank, then you should not obey. These matters are not counted as Naseehah which the Prophet (ﷺ) made part of the religion.
When naseehah is given with the proper manners, the result is usually healthy and beneficial; except where there is the presence of some factors that affect the receiving of such advice. One of the most important factors that contribute in rejecting a fellow Muslim's Naseehah is arrogance. Arrogance prevents one from accepting naseehah and acting upon it; whereas, the one who continuously strives to take arrogance out of his heart, finds it easy to accept naseehah.
Sultaan states that this naseehah is not just toward other Muslims. The Prophet (ﷺ) made naseehah to his people, the disbelieving Quraish of Makkah. A Muslim should try to make naseehah to the non-Muslims. This is done by teaching them about Islam and trying to show them the straight path. When fulfilling this type of naseehah for the sake of Allah, one should be willing to endure hardships as the Prophet (ﷺ) also had to endure hardships.
Naseehah is from the truth and the advisor is from the people while the arrogant person is one who rejects the truth and looks down on the people. Arrogance and pride prevent such person from complying with the Naseehah, even when he sees the truth of it. On the contrary, a humble person will accept Naseehah from others with an open heart, no matter where the advisor comes from, because he knows that a Waajib (obligatory deed) is being conveyed."
Then the Owl said, "O my brothers and sisters, the reality of this religion, the essence of this religion or a necessary component of this religion is naseehah. This naseehah to Allah, His Book, the messenger, the leaders of the Muslims and the common folk of the Muslims is something that affects every second of the Muslim's life. There is really no moment that passes except that the person must exemplify this quality of naseehah. Therefore, if a Muslim cannot truly characterize himself as making naseehah then he should, in fact, question his religion as a whole. If he is not making the minimum requirements of naseehah to Allah or His book or messenger, and so on, can he really call himself a Muslim? Where is his Islam or lmaan without this naseehah? This is what the Prophet (ﷺ) clearly pointed out when he said, "This religion is naseehah."
Naseehah also plays an important role for the health of the Muslim society as a whole. It is one of key aspects protecting Muslim society from the spreading of evil, as those who may slip and commit evil are sincerely, out of love and brotherhood, encouraged and helped to stop. Such behavior genders love, cooperation and togetherness among Muslims while removing selfishness and hatred. And Allah knows best."
(Part 1)"You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah . If only the People of the Scripture had believed, it would have been better for them. Among them are believers, but most of them are defiantly disobedient." - [QS.3:110]
Reference :
- Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo, Commentary On The Forty Hadith Of Al Nawawi Volume 1, Al-Basheer Publications
- Darussalam Research Section, Golden dvice Series : Do Not Become Angry, Darussalam
