No Bystanders on a Sinking Ship: Fulfilling Collective Duty in Islam ( Abdullah Cheng)
Dear brothers and sisters, When we read the Qur’an, there are many places in which Allah (SWT) mentions stories about past civilizations that were once prosperous and powerful, but end up in complete destruction and even forgotten by the later generations due to the sins that they have committed. Within these stories, Allah also talks about the challenges and encounters of the Prophets in the past, and then talks about the ending results of those who opposed His Messengers and His commandments, so that we could learn and benefit from these stories. لَقَدْ كَانَ فِي قَصَصِهِمْ عِبْرَةٌ لِّأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ There was certainly in their stories a lesson for those of understanding. [12:111] And when we look at the stories of these nations that were destroyed, the reason they were destroyed and perished wasn’t simply because every single person within that community was corrupt and evil. In fact, there would even be righteous people among those who are destroyed. Allah says in the Qur’an: فَلَوْلَا كَانَ مِنَ الْقُرُونِ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ أُولُو بَقِيَّةٍ يَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْفَسَادِ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا مِّمَّنْ أَنجَيْنَا مِنْهُمْ Among those who have been destroyed before you in the past, if only there had been virtuous, righteous people who prevented and forbade corruption in the land, they would have been saved, but in the end only a very few are saved ˹from the punishment˺. [11:116] In one narration, the wife of the Prophet ﷺ Zaynab bint Jahsh asked him: O Messenger of Allah, will we be destroyed even while there are righteous people among us?' He ﷺ replied: 'Yes, when corruption and evil become so prevalent and nobody opposed against it.’ [Sahih al-Bukhari 7135] So this should be a warning for us as a community, that even if we are doing fine in our own personal obligations, if we fail to fulfill our Fardh Kifayah (communal obligations), such as funerals, such as ongoing oppression that is happening within our community, and that nobody stepped up, or nobody supported those who have the ability, then every single person in that community who were capable and knew of it are sinful. Imam Al-Haramayn Al-Juwaini (Rahimahullah) stated that fulfilling a communal obligation is superior to an individual obligation, because the one who performs the communal obligation is trying to protect the entire Ummah from falling into sin. And communal duties include the preservation of religious scholarship, maintaining and safeguarding public funding, defending territories, and so on. If the community neglects communal duties and allow institutions to collapse, the entire community falls into sin. Our Prophet ﷺ gave a very accurate example to illustrate this concept. He described it as two groups of people on the same ship, one group of people is trying to dig a hole in the bottom of the ship thinking that they can get water like that. And for the other group of people, if they don’t stop those people from digging the hole, every single person on the ship will be destroyed. But if they stop them, then all of them can be saved. [Sahih Bukhari 2493] Therefore we understand that as a community we are all on the same boat. When we read about punishments that Allah warn about in the Qur’an which may occur to us in this world, they are not necessarily referring to only the disbelievers or evildoers. Allah (SWT) says explicitly in the Qur’an: وَاتَّقُوا فِتْنَةً لَّا تُصِيبَنَّ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مِنكُمْ خَاصَّةً ۖ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ Beware of a trial (affliction, punishment during this life) that will not only affect the wrongdoers among you. [if it’s not the wrongdoers, who else?] And know that Allah is severe in punishment. [8:25] And that punishment could be of many types. It could be that our Du’a doesn’t get answered by Allah; it could be that we don’t even realize our hearts become hardened; it could be any general punishment. And this punishment may occur if we fall into the mindset by thinking that communal problems have nothing to do with ourselves and therefore remaining silent, and failing to forbid evil despite being capable and knowing what’s going on. The Prophet ﷺ warns us: “When people see an oppressor and do not take him by his hands (to stop him), it is likely that Allah will punish them all.” [Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi] Therefore my brothers and sisters, if the consequences of not fulfilling communal obligations are so severe, then how can our hearts feel at ease and sit back without any action when we witness issues that involve the welfare of our community? Are we comfortable enough to draw the line and say confidently, that these issues in the community are purely personal and have nothing to do with me? We have very limited ability if we try to change the situation completely on our own, but we can make huge impacts if we cooperate collectively, as Allah commands us: وَتَعَاوَنُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلْبِرِّ وَٱلتَّقْوَىٰ ۖ وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلْإِثْمِ وَٱلْعُدْوَٰنِ ۚ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ شَدِيدُ ٱلْعِقَابِ Cooperate with one another in goodness and righteousness, and do not cooperate in sin and transgression. And be mindful of Allah. Surely Allah is severe in punishment. [5:2] And as each one of us have limited capability, we can only do as much as we can, and fear Allah as much as we can: فَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ مَا ٱسْتَطَعْتُمْ وَٱسْمَعُوا۟ وَأَطِيعُوا۟ وَأَنفِقُوا۟ خَيْرًا لِّأَنفُسِكُمْ So fear Allah to the best of your ability, hear and obey, and spend in charity—that will be best for you. [64:16] May Allah grant us the courage to fulfill our communal obligations, and make us among those who actively stand for justice and forbid wrongdoing, and may Allah hold back the hands of the oppressors, guide those who are misguided, and grant ease and victory to all who are wronged and oppressed.