In the name of freedom and modernity, it’s easy to forgo core principles and moral values of our faith. We see wrong and instead of doing something about it we use excuses like “let people be themselves” or “they’re free to do as they want.” While those statements may hold some truth in a way, that is not a reason we don’t help them pave the way out of wrong, or at minimum try.
In Surah al-mai’dah, chapter 5 of the Quran, verse 79, God speaks of a nation and their main characteristic that steered them astray from His way. The verse states:
كَانُوا لَا يَتَنَاهَوْنَ عَن مُّنكَرٍ فَعَلُوهُ لَبِئْسَ مَا كَانُوا يَفْعَلُونَ
“They would not discourage each other from the immorality in which they used to indulge...”
The main wrong these people did was simply not speak out against the wrong they saw. Injustice didn’t bother them. Toxicity and abuse were ignored. Corruption, lying, stealing, and immorality became the norm. When we forgo one of these principles, just one, we risk losing them all, like this nation did.
What’s even more interesting is that this is the only verse in the Quran that uses the word نهي (to forbid) in this form. It is used in the reciprocal verb form, meaning it takes at least two people to do. So it wasn’t just one person ignoring the wrong they saw and letting it slip by. It was a group of friends or communities maybe. If a friend engages in injustice or immorality, it shouldn’t mean we should be okay with it too, or else we could be engaging in this same verb that led a whole nation astray.
I pray we can hold steadfast to our core values and principles, lest we lose ourselves.
In Surah al-mai’dah, chapter 5 of the Quran, verse 79, God speaks of a nation and their main characteristic that steered them astray from His way. The verse states:
كَانُوا لَا يَتَنَاهَوْنَ عَن مُّنكَرٍ فَعَلُوهُ لَبِئْسَ مَا كَانُوا يَفْعَلُونَ
“They would not discourage each other from the immorality in which they used to indulge...”
The main wrong these people did was simply not speak out against the wrong they saw. Injustice didn’t bother them. Toxicity and abuse were ignored. Corruption, lying, stealing, and immorality became the norm. When we forgo one of these principles, just one, we risk losing them all, like this nation did.
What’s even more interesting is that this is the only verse in the Quran that uses the word نهي (to forbid) in this form. It is used in the reciprocal verb form, meaning it takes at least two people to do. So it wasn’t just one person ignoring the wrong they saw and letting it slip by. It was a group of friends or communities maybe. If a friend engages in injustice or immorality, it shouldn’t mean we should be okay with it too, or else we could be engaging in this same verb that led a whole nation astray.
I pray we can hold steadfast to our core values and principles, lest we lose ourselves.
