The Necessity of Islaah (Revival, Reform, Recalibration and Course Correction) in the Ummah
Read the next part of this article – What is the Al-Islaah Platform?
The Noble Qur’ān repeatedly shows us how Allāh (SWT) sent messengers and prophets to different nations, tribes, and communities with the ḥaqq (truth). It also shows us how, over time, the core teachings, vision, and missions of these prophets were gradually altered, misunderstood, or influenced by various human interests and shortcomings after them.
Perhaps one of the most striking examples of such transformation is how the very House of Allāh (SWT), built by Prophet Ibrāhīm (as) and his son Ismāʿīl (as) upon the foundation of pure tawḥīd (Islāmic Monotheism), and established in honour of the divine command:
أَنْ لَا تُشْرِكْ بِي شَيْئًا
“That you shall not associate or set up anything as a partner (or associate) with Me!”1
eventually became associated with shirk and idol worship after the passing of the prophets (as) who established it.
It is both profound and sobering that the House of Allāh (SWT), intended to stand as the global symbol of tawḥīd and resistance against shirk, later became a centre through which shirk and pagan practices spread — remaining in that state until the arrival of Prophet Muḥammad (Saww), the reviver of the monotheistic legacy of Prophet Ibrāhīm (as).
What is especially remarkable in this historical transformation is how falsehood can sometimes appropriate even sacred institutions and symbols in order to undermine their original purpose from within.
Thus even the Kaʿbah, which was established as a beacon of tawḥīd, was at one stage used to promote its very opposite: shirk.
When Prophet Muḥammad (Saww) initially rose to restore the House of God to its original purpose, he faced severe persecution, resistance, and opposition, to the extent that he was forced to seek refuge in Madīnah and was prevented from entering Makkah for many years. Such examples illustrate the deeply rooted nature of falsehood once it becomes embedded within societies and institutions.
The Qur’ān presents us with many other examples of deviation and corruption in past communities as well. In the case of Prophet Mūsā (as), we see that parts of his community showed an immediate inclination toward abandoning tawḥīd in favour of shirk:
وَجَاوَزْنَا بِبَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ الْبَحْرَ فَأَتَوْا عَلَى قَوْمٍ يَعْكُفُونَ عَلَى أَصْنَامٍ لَهُمْ قَالُوا يَا مُوسَى اجْعَلْ لَنَا إِلَهًا كَمَا لَهُمْ آَلِهَةٌ قَالَ إِنَّكُمْ قَوْمٌ تَجْهَلُونَ.
We took the Banī Isrā’īl (Children of Israel) safely across the sea. They came upon a people devoted entirely to idols they had. They said: “O Mūsā! fashion for us a god like the gods they have.” He said: “Surely you are a people acting with reckless ignorance!” (The Qur’ān: 07:138)
Prophet Mūsā (as) then reminded them of the destructive outcome awaiting such practices:
إِنَّ هَؤُلَاءِ مُتَبَّرٌ مَا هُمْ فِيهِ وَبَاطِلٌ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ.
These are people whose way is destined for destruction, and all that they are doing shall be in vain! (The Qur’ān: 07:139)
Despite the immense blessings granted to them, and despite the admonitions of Prophet Mūsā (as), sections of Banū Isrā’īl still fell into shirk during his temporary absence, as documented extensively in the Qur’ān (07:148-152; 20:83-97).
Corruption, decay, and deterioration are realities of worldly existence. They affect individuals, societies, institutions, and even people’s understanding and application of religion.
However, when corruption, innovation, or deviation emerge, Allāh (SWT) expects believers to strive to preserve and protect the dīn from harmful influences, so that deviations do not gradually become normalised as part of religion itself.
The Noble Qur’ān and Qur’ān-verified ḥadīth literature make it clear that whenever deviations and innovations arise within society, scholars and people of knowledge carry a responsibility to clarify truth, expose falsehood, and strive to preserve the integrity of the religion through their speech, writing, and efforts.
Interestingly, the Qur’ān highlights that this expectation applies even to the scholars of earlier religious communities. In Sūrah al-Mā’idah, Allāh (SWT) criticises some scholars among Banū Isrā’īl for failing to restrain wrongdoing within their communities:
وَتَرَى كَثِيرًا مِنْهُمْ يُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ وَأَكْلِهِمُ السُّحْتَ لَبِئْسَ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ.
And you will see many of them hastening toward sin and transgression and consuming what is unlawfully acquired; evil indeed is what they do! (The Qur’ān: 05:62)
The Qur’ān then reproaches their scholars for failing to intervene:
لَوْلَا يَنْهَاهُمُ الرَّبَّانِيُّونَ وَالْأَحْبَارُ عَنْ قَوْلِهِمُ الْإِثْمَ وَأَكْلِهِمُ السُّحْتَ لَبِئْسَ مَا كَانُوا يَصْنَعُونَ.
Why do the learned Godly scholars and jurists not prohibit them from sinful speech and unlawful gain? Evil indeed is what they do! (The Qur’ān: 05:63)
Similarly, later in the same chapter, Allāh (SWT) explains that some among Banū Isrā’īl were condemned because they failed to restrain evil practices within their societies:
كَانُوا لَا يَتَنَاهَوْنَ عَنْ مُنْكَرٍ فَعَلُوهُ لَبِئْسَ مَا كَانُوا يَفْعَلُونَ.
They would not forbid one another from the evil they committed; evil indeed was what they used to do! (The Qur’ān: 05:79)
The Qur’ān therefore establishes that believers and people of knowledge carry a moral responsibility to speak against deviation and wrongdoing when such phenomena emerge within society.
When we turn to the teachings attributed to the Prophet (Saww) and the Imams of Ahlul Bayt (as), we find a similar emphasis on the duty of scholars and people of knowledge to preserve truth and resist harmful innovations.
This principle was invoked by Yūnus bin ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān, a companion of Imam al-Riḍā (as), when members of the Wāqifite faction attempted to persuade him to support their claims regarding Imāmah. He responded:
إِنَّا رُوِّينَا عَنِ الصَّادِقِينَ (ع) أَنَّهُمْ قَالُوا إِذَا ظَهَرَتِ الْبِدَعُ فَعَلَى الْعَالِمِ أَنْ يُظْهِرَ عِلْمَهُ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَفْعَلْ سُلِبَ نُورَ الْإِيمَانِ…
“We have narrated from the truthful ones (i.e. the Imams of the Ahlul Bayt) that they said: When bidʿah (innovations) emerge, it is the duty of the person of knowledge to make his knowledge manifest, and if he does not, the light of īmān is taken from him.”2
Likewise, Imam ʿAlī bin al-Ḥusayn Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn (as), in his letter to Muḥammad bin Muslim bin Shihāb al-Zuhrī, emphasised that Allāh (SWT) has taken a covenant from the people of knowledge to clarify guidance and not conceal it, citing the verse:
وَإِذْ أَخَذَ اللَّهُ مِيثَاقَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ لَتُبَيِّنُنَّهُ لِلنَّاسِ وَلَا تَكْتُمُونَهُ...
And when Allāh made a covenant with those given the Book that they must make it clear to the people and not conceal it... (The Qur’ān: 03:187)
The Imam (as) also encouraged sincere introspection regarding how much effort one has made toward reviving forgotten truths and resisting falsehoods that may have entered into religious understanding.
In light of this, every scholar, speaker, and person of knowledge should periodically reflect and ask:
- How many neglected practices of the Prophet (Saww) and Ahlul Bayt (as) have I helped revive?
- How many unhealthy or harmful innovations have I helped address within my community?
- How much have I contributed toward clarity, sincerity, and unity rooted in truth?
It is therefore the responsibility of scholars and people of knowledge within the Ummah to warn against unhealthy sectarianism, blind partisanship, and the uncritical following of populist ideologies that can distract communities from the central teachings of the Qur’an and the authentic legacy of the Prophet (Saww) and his family.
- The full text of the Divine Imperative issued to Prophet Ibrāhīm (as) is found in 22: 26 of the Qur’ān. It reads:
وَإِذْ بَوَّأْنَا لِإِبْرَاهِيمَ مَكَانَ الْبَيْتِ أَنْ لَا تُشْرِكْ بِي شَيْئًا وَطَهِّرْ بَيْتِيَ لِلطَّائِفِينَ وَالْقَائِمِينَ وَالرُّكَّعِ السُّجُودِ.
“(And make mention of the time) When we pinpointed for Ibrāhīm the place of the (Sacred) House, (saying) that ‘You shall not associate or set up anything as a partner or associate with Me’; and sanctify My House for those who will perform Ṭawāf (circumambulate) around it, or stand up (for prayer), or bow, or prostrate themselves (therein in prayer).”
↩︎ - Al-Ṣadūq, Shaykh Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad bin ʿAlī bin al-Ḥusain bin Mūsā Ibn Babawayh al-Qummī. ʿIlal al-Sharāʾiʿ. al-Maktabah al-Ḥaydarīyah, Najaf, 1385 AH/1966 CE., vol. 1, pp. 235-236. (Narration # 1 from Bāb (Chapter 171)). (https://lib.eshia.ir/10107/1/236).
He also narrates it in: Uyūn Akhbār al-Riḍā. Manshūrāt al-Sharīf al-Raḍī, Qum, 1st. ed., 1378 H., vol. 1, p. 103. (Narration # 2 from Bāb (Chapter 10)). (https://lib.eshia.ir/14032/2/103); in the edition of the same book edited by Sayyid Mahdī al-Ḥusaynī al-Lājūrdī and published by Riḍa Mash’hadi, Qum, 2nd Ed., 1363 H. Sh., see: vol.1, p. 113. (https://lib.eshia.ir/86808/1/113).
Also narrated in: Al-Ṭūsī, Shaykh al-Ṭā’ifah Muḥammad bin al-Ḥasan. Al-Ghaybah (Kitāb al-Ghaybah). Eds. Shaykh ʿIbādallah al-Ṭehrānī & Shaykh ʿAlī Aḥmad Nāṣiḥ. Muʾassasat al-Maʿārif al-Islāmiyyah, Qum, 3rd ed., 1425 AH., p. 64. (Narration # 66). (https://lib.eshia.ir/15084/1/64).
Authentication: The content of this narration has been authenticated and deemed reliable by Shaykh Ḥaidar Ḥobbullāh despite the presence of weak narrators in its chain. He writes:
وعليه، فهذه الرواية ضعيفة السند بالرفع، وبضعف محمد بن جمهور العمي، وبعدم ثبوت وثاقة معلّى بن محمد البصري. لكنّ متن هذه الرواية سليم موافق للقواعد العامّة في الدعوة إلى الله ووظائف العلماء والأمر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر وغير ذلك.
‘Therefore, this narration is weak in terms of its Sanad (chain) due to it being Marfūʿ, the weakness of Muḥammad bin Jumhūr al-ʿAmmī, and the lack of reliability of Muʿallā bin Muḥammad al-Baṣrī. However, the content of this narration is sound, as it is conforming to the general principles of Daʿwah (calling to Allah), the duties of scholars, enjoining good, forbidding evil, etc.’ (https://tinyurl.com/26k32cpd). Its content is also verified by the Qur’ānic verses such as 05:62-63, 78-79 which showcase the Divine expectation from people of knowledge and the Prophetic curses on those who failed to live up to this sublime Divine expectation.
↩︎