Forty Gems of Beauty — Page 47
47 Explanatory Notes While the preceding Hadith comprises an exhortation to battling in the way of Allah, stating how a true Muslim should devote himself through his property and his person to fighting in the cause of Allah, this Hadith outlines a special field, out of the many fields of Jihad. It pertains to national, family and individual reformation. The Holy Prophet (May peace and blessings of Allah be on him) says that many religious and moral evils grow because people connive at their sight and fail to take any oral or practical measures of reformation, the result being that the evil becomes widespread; the bad example of one man infects scores of others. It does not stop at that; the natural fear of evil begins to disappear and to lose its hold on the hearts of men. It is easily comprehensible by every person that in addition to the deterrent of law, there are the other two great methods of dealing with evil in society. One of these is the supervision and advice of the elders and the virtuous, which is a great means of keeping weak-minded elements firm. The other means is the fear of evil that the weight of public opinion inspires. This serves to keep a large number of people in wholesome check, saving them from going wrong. For instance, a child begins to go wrong through falling in with bad company. But timely control or counsel of his parents or some other virtuous elders checks his fall. Or an individual begins having ideas inclining him to a particular evil, but the weight of social pressure and fear of losing face in public opinion keeps him from slipping. Even in the absence of practical supervision or verbal counselling, the silent prayers of virtuous people go a long way in reforming peoples and families. Through this Hadith, the Holy Prophet (May peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) aims at mobilising all the three reformative factors, so that the door to social evils is closed to the Muslims and instead, the road to virtuous activity is opened wide. There are many