A narration concerning enjoining good and forbidding evil

12-6-2023 | IslamWeb

Question:

Please provide the reference for the following hadeeth. Once Abu bakr Sidheeq(ra) asked the prophet(pbuh), is there a jihad better than the jihad with the disbelievers. And prophet(pbuh) answered, yes o Abu bakr, the mujahid in the way of ALLAH(SWT) are better than the martyrs. Allah(swt) praises them to the angels and jannah is adorned for them. They are the ones who roam around in this world and they "enjoins good and forbids evil". Please quote the full version of this hadeeth both in Arabic and english.
Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

Al-Ghazali may Allaah have mercy upon him mentioned a hadith in Al-Ihya on the authority of Abu Dharr that Abu Bakr may Allaah be pleased with them said, “O Messenger of Allah, is there any kind of jihad other than fighting the polytheists?” He said, “Yes, O Abu Bakr. Allah the Exalted has mujaahideen (fighters in the cause of Allah) on earth who are better than the martyrs.” Then he mentioned the hadith in which he said, “They are those who enjoin good and forbid evil, those who love for the sake of Allah and hate for the sake of Allah.” Then he said, “By Him in Whose Hand my soul is! A slave among them is to be in a chamber above the chambers, above the chambers of the martyrs, for a chamber of them has three hundred thousand doors, among them are sapphire and green emeralds, on each door there is light, and a man among them is to marry three hundred thousand houris, who restrain their glances (desire none except their husbands), with wide and beautiful eyes. Whenever he looks at one of them, she says to him. “Do you remember on such-and-such a day that you enjoined good and forbade evil? Whenever he looks at one of them, she mentions to him a situation in which he enjoined good and forbade evil.” [End of quote].

It was also mentioned by Ibn al-Nahhas al-Dimashqi in Tanbeeh al-Ghafileen 'an 'A'maal al Jahileen wa Tahdheer as-Salikeen min Af'aal al-Jaheleen.

Al-‘Iraqi may Allaah have mercy upon him said concerning this hadeeth in Takhreej Ahadeeth al-Ihya: “I could not find any source for it and it is a Munkar (Odd) hadith”.

Allah knows best.

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