Juz’ 4- Al Imran 93 – An Nisaa 23 , Topic: Forbidding Wrong

Let there be among you a community calling to the good, enjoining right, and forbidding wrong. It is they who shall prosper. (2:104)


According to the commentators, the concepts of enjoining the right and forbidding wrong appear again and again in the Quran and are tied to various topics, including: political rebellion, privacy, speaking back to those in power, etc. Although my doubt waivers in many (if not most) aspects of faith---the call to justice is perennially compelling and resonant. It is also what I find least realized in the practice of my own life and in the lives of the communities surrounding me. Enjoining the right is something that seems to come much more easily but forbidding wrong is much, much harder, particularly if the act of forbidding holds within it a call to action--which I would argue it does. There are several examples of how forbidding wrong is actionable. In the Study Quran, the commentators cite a hadith of Prophet Muhammed (SAAS) which is narrated:

"Whosoever among you sees a wrong being done, let him change it with his hand, and if he is unable then with his tongue, and if he is unable then with his heart and that is the feeblest of belief." (p.159)

The commentators point out that the heart is usual given primacy in the Quran, but in this case it is clear that prayer, reflection or attitudinal shifting is not enough when it comes to forbidding wrong. Considering this, what is the moral imperative incumbent upon us as "the community"?

For this blog post, I invite you to think about the most pressing wrongs we are failing to forbid. Taking it a step further, why are we failing to fulfill our duty to forbid these wrongs? By asking you think about what "we are failing to forbid", I am asking about the individual or the community (broadly or narrowly defined). Please feel free to comment.