Jihaad of fighting corruption with wise Da‘wah (propagation)
7-10-2010 | IslamWeb
Question:
In the name of Allaah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Peace be upon you. When corruption and immorality are rampant and the Sharee‘ah is abandoned, is resisting all that considered a Jihaad in the cause of Allaah The Almighty? Is this obligatory? And what is the most suitable way of doing this?
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.
It is not permissible for a Muslim to surrender to evil or to be satisfied with immorality and sinful acts. He is also not allowed to remain silent about the truth, and it is prohibited for him to be a mindless follower of others without enjoining the good or forbidding the evil. Additionally, a Muslim is not permitted to give up on reform, for despair and hopelessness are the companions of disbelief and aberration. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {He said, "And who despairs of the mercy of his Lord except for those astray?"}[Quran 15: 56] And: {Indeed, no one despairs of relief from Allah except the disbelieving people."}[Quran12:87]
Our honorable religion teaches us how to deal with problems and how to face crises; for it did not leave any good but guided us to it, nor any evil but warned us against it. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {We have not neglected in the Book a thing.}[Quran 6:38] Allaah The Almighty commanded us to call for His cause with wisdom and gentle preaching and to argue in the best way accompanied by guidance, insight and knowledge.
The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, applied this methodology perfectly. He, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, continued alone calling for Allaah The Almighty in a society full of polytheism and ignorance which was undoubtedly more corrupt than today's societies. He, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would invite to Allaah The Almighty with wisdom and in a gradual manner. First, he only preached the Islamic principles and the bases of the creed. He directed his call to those whom he trusted. He continued in this way until he formed a group of Muslims who would assemble in the house of his Companion Al-Arqam 
. He would educate them, purify them and teach them the Quran and wisdom. They were his students who graduated at his hands and became the first nucleus of the Muslim society and the foundation upon which it was established.
If nowadays we have lost the way of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, himself and his Companions, we still have the methodology upon which he nurtured them, namely the Quran and the Sunnah which are guarded by Allaah The Almighty.
Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {Indeed, it is We who sent down the Quran and indeed, We will be its guardian.}[Quran15:9]
Imaam Maalik narrated that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, stated that whoever abides by the Quran and the Sunnah will never go astray. Therefore, the later generations of this Ummah (Muslim nation) will be not reformed until they follow the methodology which was the cause of reform in the earlier generations. We can claim that modern ignorance is more complicated and more dangerous than the older one; however, the call to Allaah The Almighty these days has means that were not available before. This Ummah is like rain, one cannot know which part of it is better, the first or the last.
Moreover, we are not held accountable for the results of our efforts, as they are in the hands of Allaah The Exalted. All we have to do is act and do our best. Allaah The Almighty Says what means: {So fear Allaah as much as you are able.}[Quran64:16] And: {And say, "Do [as you will], for Allaah will see your deeds, and [so, will] His Messenger and the believers. And you will be returned to the Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, and He will inform you of what you used to do."}[Quran 9:105]
The laws of Allaah The Almighty governing the universe will always continue to exist: whoever works hard will reap the fruits. History repeats itself. The promised glad tidings have begun to appear and so have the signs of success as a result of the efforts of the sincere callers who are preaching everywhere. The Islamic revival is spreading throughout the whole world and it is but one of these signs and glad tidings.
Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {And Allaah will surely support those who support Him. Indeed, Allaah is Powerful and Exalted in Might.}[Quran 22:40], and: {Allaah has promised those who have believed among you and done righteous deeds that He will surely grant them succession [to authority] upon the earth just as He granted it to those before them and that He will surely establish for them [therein] their religion which He has preferred for them and that He will surely substitute for them, after their fear, security, [for] they worship Me, not associating anything with Me. But whoever disbelieves after that - then those are the defiantly disobedient.}[Quran 24:55]
In brief, the most appropriate way for fighting corruption is to call to Allaah The Almighty with wisdom and gentle preaching in addition to arguing in the best way accompanied by guidance knowledge and insight. This is your duty and the duty of every Muslim who follows the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {Say, "This is my way; I invite to Allaah with insight, I and those who follow me. And Exalted is Allaah; and I am not of those who associate others with Him."}[Quran12:108] This is undoubtedly a kind of Jihaad which Allaah The Almighty commanded us to observe. This is also the methodology adopted by the Quran about which Allaah The Almighty Says to His Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, (what means): {And strive against them with the Quran a great striving.}[Quran 25:52] This is also the way of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, whose characteristics we have previously described.
And Allaah Knows best.