Book reference: Q.17 (Question Bank, p.viii) — "Discuss the concept of Amar Bil Ma'roof wa-nahi An-Al Munkar and highlight its importance. Discuss possibilities and hardships in today's real world scenario to implement this concept."

Definition

• Amr bil Ma'ruf: commanding/enjoining what is right and good.
• Nahi 'anil Munkar: forbidding/prohibiting what is wrong and evil.
• Together they form a foundational collective religious-social duty in Islam, closely linked to Hisbah (see Theme VI).

Qur'anic Evidence

<aside> 📗

وَلْتَكُن مِّنْكُم أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ

اردو: اور تم میں سے ایک جماعت ایسی ہونی چاہیے جو بھلائی کی طرف بلائے، اور نیکی کا حکم دیے اور برائی سے روکے۔

English: "And let there be among you a community calling to good, enjoining right and forbidding wrong."

— Surah Āl-'Imran 3:104

كُنتُم خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ

اردو: تم بہترین امت ہو، جسے لوگوں کے لیے نکالا گیا، تم نیکی بات کا حکم دیتے ہو اور بری بات سے روکتے ہو۔

English: "You are the best nation produced for mankind, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong."

— Surah Āl-'Imran 3:110

</aside>

Hadith Evidence

<aside> 📘

مَنْ رَأَى مِنْكُمْ مُنْكَرًا فَلْيُغَيِّرْهُ بِيَدِه

اردو: جو شخص کوئی برائی دیکھے تو اسے چاہیے کہ اپنے ہاتھ سے اسے بدل دے، اگر طاقت نہ ہو تو زبان سے، اگر یہ بھی نہ ہو سکے تو دل سے (برا جانے)، اور یہ ایمان کا سب سے کمزور درجہ ہے۔

English: "Whoever among you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand; if he cannot, then with his tongue; if he cannot, then with his heart — and that is the weakest of faith."

— Sahih Muslim 49

</aside>

Importance

• Preserves the moral fabric of society and prevents collective corruption.
• Functions as an internal self-correcting mechanism for the Ummah, independent of state enforcement alone.
• Explicitly credited (3:110) as what makes the Ummah "the best nation."

Possibilities and Hardships in Implementation Today

• Hardships:
  • Risk of vigilantism/moral policing without proper scholarly qualification.
  • Tension with individual privacy and modern legal norms in plural societies.
  • Potential for the concept to be politically weaponised.
• Possibilities:
  • Institutionalised, state-regulated Hisbah-style bodies (consumer protection, media regulation) as a modern, lawful channel.
  • Civil-society and educational campaigns rather than individual coercion.
  • Emphasis on the Hadith's own graded, proportionate approach (hand → tongue → heart) as inherently moderate and non-coercive at the lowest level.

CSS Exam Tips

• Explicitly address both "possibilities" and "hardships" as the book's question demands — do not only describe the concept.
• Cross-reference: System of Accountability (Hisbah) (Theme VI).