Shouldn’t one feel angry and depressed when Allah’s commands are being violated? Everyone says that we should ignore the situation since this is a matter for Allah to decide. For instance, if music is being played in the house, gossiping on the telephone, roaming around without hijāb, carelessness in prayers etc, shouldn’t we be upset? One of my family members says one should concentrate on making people happy because that is the most important thing and the rest is secondary.

It is but natural that a believer feel sadness when he see that the commandments of his dear Allah being violated. This indeed exhibits that the roots of his faith stretch deep within his soul. However, it is not appropriate to be cross and venomous to those who transgress the boundaries set by the Almighty because it will lead them further away from Allah and deliver them completely to the hands of Satan. In a nutshell, though it is very desirable that a believer feel torn inside upon witnessing the violation of Allah’s commands, this should only induce him to be more patient and humble and think profoundly about how he can improve his strategy to exhort his fellows to the right path.

We need to know that Allah has only asked of us to convey what we perceive to be right and righteous. He has nowhere commanded us to forcefully impose the instructions of Allah over our siblings or friends. There lies only a slight difference, in this regard, with the person who stands in a position of authority. For instance, a father is required to ensure that his children act in accordance with religious instructions and his wife complies with the Sharī‘ah. However, a believer, in this case too, cannot go beyond the limits endorsed by sense and reason so as to beat his children and wife. Allah indeed has ordered all of us to be very patient and follow a thought-out strategy while disseminating the message of Allah. The Holy Qur’ān reads:

Call them to the path of your Lord with wisdom and words of good advice, and reason with them in the best way possible. Your Lord surely knows those who stray from His path, and He knows those who are guided to the right way. (16:125)

Another fact that I would like to place before you is that ‘the exhorter to the right path’ needs to know what are the limits set by the Almighty. In other words, he must be very clear about the Sharī‘ah (law) given to us by the Creator. It will help him present the stance of the Sharī‘ah more explicitly and vividly; and thus avoid unnecessary arguments that arise because of intermingling the Sharī‘ah with either the specific tastes of people or the spirit targeted to be achieved by following the directives of the Sharī‘ah. For instance, it is clear from the fundamental sources of Islam, the Holy Qur’ān and the Sunnah, that music has not been prohibited by Allah and His Messenger (sws). It is however an established fact that Islam has explicitly stated that man had better not spoil his inner purification or he will not be able to enter Paradise (91:9-10). So, the strategy that a believer needs to adopt to tackle the case of music is that he, instead of branding music in its entirety as unlawful, should present before the exhorted that he would be questioned on the Day of Judgment if ever he listened to music that involves immoral expressions and gestures and, as a result, affects his inner purification. I believe this way of preaching will be more fruitful because it leaves the burden of decision over the exhorted. Consequently, he decides more responsibly between what music he must listen to and what not.