(6) Considering the Tremendous Principle;‘Preventing Harm Takes Precedence Over Achieving Benefit’

[Moin]

The evidence of this principle is:

A} The saying of Allāh:

“And do not insult those they invoke other than Allāh, lest they insult Allāh in enmity without knowledge.” (Soorah al-Anām 6: 108)

Allāh has prohibited insulting the gods of the Mushrikīn due to insults being levelled at Allāh and on the pretext that humiliating their deities leads to insulting Allāh. So the benefit of averting the insulting of Allāh is better than the benefit of us insulting their deities.

B} It is mentioned in the Hadīth of Ā’ishah (radi Allāhu ’anhā) that the Prophet (sallallāhu alayhi wassallam) said: “Yā Ā’ishah! If your people had not been recent converts to Islām, I would have spent the treasure of the Ka’bah in the way of Allāh and would have constructed its door just on the level of the ground and would have encompassed in it the space of Hijr.” (Agreed Upon)

In the hadīth is a clear evidence for this principle as the Prophet (sallallāhu ’alayhi wassallam) left of the benefit of the Ancient House on the premise that Ibrāhīm (‘alayhis-salām) in order to avert the evils and fearing falling into them destroyed it and built on it and out of the people apostating due to this action. So the Prophet (sallallāhu alayhi wassallam) gave precedence to preventing this evil than achieving the benefits.

C} The Prophet (sallallāhu ’alayhi wassallam) sufficed from fighting the hypocrites due to the benefit in that for safeguarding the people from their harm, such as it being said that Muhammad (sallallāhu ’alayhi wassallam) kills his companions.

D} The Prophet (sallallāhu ’alayhi wassallam) forbade killing the leaders (of the Muslims) and revolting against their Imāms (i.e. leaders) even if they oppress, as long as they establish the prayer, in order to prevent the means to fitna and the wisdom in this was to prevent further corruption and harm; this is because what results in killing and revolting against leaders is double the evil than what the leader was doing in the first instance, and the Ummah is still reaping the effects of this to this day. The Prophet (sallallāhu ’alayhi wassallam) said: “If two Caliphs are pledged allegiance to then kill the last of them (who called for allegiance to be pledged to him)”, in order to prevent the means to fitna (tribulation).

Shaykh ul-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullāh), after mentioning the different branches under the principle of preventing harm takes precedence over achieving benefits, mentioned that if the benefits and harms conflict then the most correct one in the situation will take precedence, he said (rahimahullāh):“From the Usool of Ahlus Sunnah is to stick to the Jamā’ah, leave off fighting against the leader, meaning: the oppressive leader, and abandoning fighting during times of fitna and all of these are included with the general principle that if the benefits and harms, and the evil and good conflict, then the most correct option has to be selected. This is because enjoining and forbidding though they entail the attainment of some benefit, and the prevention of some harm, its opposite must also be considered. If, in carrying out this enjoining or forbidding, there is benefit lost greater than the benefit gained, or harm is brought about greater than the harm which was avoided, then this is not part of that which Allah has ordered us to do, rather it is harām, because of the fact that its net harm is greater than its net benefit. the only criterion for measuring the above-mentioned harm and benefit is with the scales of the Sharī’ah. Whenever one is capable of following a text directly, it is not permitted for him to turn elsewhere. If he cannot find a text for the exact problem confronting him, he can exert his reason to understand the ruling by way of analogy. the legal texts are seldom without someone capable of knowing their implications, and how they point the way to the rulings of the Sharī’ah” (Majmu al-Fataawa vol. 28 page 128.)

So we have heard amongst brothers saying that, ‘if we make the dawah clear then the people will leave’, ‘our numbers will decrease’, ‘the masjid will become empty’, ‘donations will fall’ and so on. These are excuses and not the legislated principles which allow one to leave of enjoining the good. Further, these points are mere conjectures and just darkness upon darkness.


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