In my opinion the interpretation of the Hadis, to prevent evil with the heart is to hate the evil action but not to hate the evil doer is a very wrong interpretation of the Hadis. Allah does not order Muslims to hate evil action, the evil doer or to do evil action. Why should we hate the evil action or to love the good action? We are not ordered to hate or to love any action or to hate any person but to love the person. We are ordered to do good actions and are not ordered to do evil actions. Allah orders us to love the whole mankind and not to hate anyone. We are ordered by Allah to do good actions and not to do evil actions. When a person hates an evil action, automatically the person will hate the person who is committing the action. When a person hates that person, he/she is disobeying an order of Allah. Allah does not order the Muslims to hate the evil action or the evil doer but Allah orders the Muslims not to do the evil action but to prevent the evil action either with power or with words or at least with the heart which means to make doa to Allah so that the evil doer is given guidance or taufik by Allah to stop committing the evil action.
In my opinion, this Hadis has led to many Muslims to believe that to hate evil actions and evil doers is a virtuous action. In my opinion, because the Muslims believe to hate evil actions and evil doers is a virtuous action is the reason why there are many Muslims who hate the Jews, the Christians and the Muslims who disobeyed the orders of Allah. Muslims believe when they hate the Jews, the Christians and the Muslims who disobeyed the orders of Allah they are preventing evils with their heart. Although this Hadis is true but the interpretation is wrong. Who teaches the Muslims the wrong interpretation of the Hadis? It is the Muslims scholars. There are many Muslims who hate the Jews and the Americans because they believe the Jews and the Americans are evil doers and when they hate the evil doers they believe that they are preventing the evils with their hearts. In my opinion, the wrong interpretation of this Hadis has caused hatred in the hearts of the Muslims towards the non-Muslims and the evil doers.
When a person hates another person it means the person has instilled negative values into their own hearts. Negative values in our hearts will give birth to negative actions. Allah never orders a Muslim to hate any man, irrespective whether the man is a Jew or a non-Muslim or a Muslim who is an evil doer. Hatred is a negative value while love is a positive value. In my opinion, it is wrong to interpret the word to prevent evil with the heart is to have hatred towards the evil actions in our heart. In my opinion, a person who is committing an evil will not be prevented from doing the action by hating the action. The person will only be prevented from doing the evil when Allah gives the person the guidance (taufik) to stop committing the evil action. What it means by the words “to prevent evils with the heart” is to make doa to Allah so that Allah will give to the person who is committing the evil the guidance (taufik) to stop doing the evil action.
How could our Muslims scholars interpret the Hadis wrongly whereas our Muslims scholars have studied the Quran and Hadis for so many years? The Hadis was interpreted wrongly by our Muslims scholars because the Hadis was interpreted without any reference to the Sunnah of our Prophet Muhammad saw and the Quran. As I have mentioned earlier in many of my previous articles that Hadis explain the Sunnah and Sunnah explain the Quran. Sunnah is the actions of our Prophet Muhammad saw which explain the Quran. In other word in order to understand a Hadis we need to use the Sunnah and the Quran. Without using the Sunnah and the Quran we cannot interpret a Hadis. Interpreting a Hadis without any reference to the Sunnah and the Quran will lead to the wrong interpretation of the Hadis. Both Sunnah and the Quran is the same. Quran is the word of Allah and Sunnah is the actions of Prophet Muhammad saw which explain the Quran. When we are trying to interpret a Hadis without using the Sunnah and the Quran, it means we are interpreting the Hadis with our own mind and thinking. We will only be able to understand the meaning of the words, to prevent evils with the heart when we look at the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad saw in preventing the evil actions of the peoples of Taif. What were the evils actions of the peoples of Taif? The evils actions of the peoples of Taif were not recognizing the oneness of Allah, and not recognizing Muhammad saw as the Prophet of Allah. In Taif, our Prophet Muhammad saw was not able to use power to prevent evils of the peoples because Allah had not given to our Prophet Muhammad saw the power over the peoples of Taif. Therefore, our Prophet Muhammad saw was only able to prevent the evils of the peoples of Taif by using words. When our Prophet Muhammad saw was not able to prevent the evils of the peoples of Taif with words, our Prophet Muhammad saw resort to prevent the evil actions of the peoples of Taif with the heart.
When our Prophet Muhammad saw was trying to prevent the evils of the peoples of Taif with words, he was ridiculed by the leaders of Taif and he was forced by the leaders to leave Taif. While he was leaving the town, the children of Taif were throwing stones at our Prophet Muhammad saw which had caused our Prophet Muhammad saw to bleed with blood. When our Prophet Muhammad saw had realized that he was not able to prevent the evils actions of the peoples of Taif with words, then he resorted to the next method of preventing evil deeds, which is with the heart. Did our Prophet Muhammad saw hate or curse the evil actions of the peoples of Taif, or curse the peoples of Taif? What our Prophet saw did after he was not able to prevent the evil actions of the peoples of Taif with words is the true meaning of the words in the Hadis “to prevent evils with the heart”. The true meaning of the words “to prevent evils with the heart” is not to hate or to curse the evil actions or the evil doers but to make doa or prayer to Allah and to ask Allah to give guidance or hidayah to the evil doers. In other words the true interpretation of the words in the Hadis “to prevent the evils with the heart” is to make doa to Allah and to ask Allah to give guidance or hidayah to the evil doers.
When our Prophet Muhammad saw was quite a distance away from the town of Taif, our Prophet Muhammad saw, in solitude and with tears flowing down his cheeks, he was making a very long doa or prayer to Allah and in the doa our Prophet Muhammad saw was asking Allah to give guidance or hidayah to the peoples of Taif and their children. When our Prophet Muhammad saw was unable to prevent the evils of the peoples of Taif with words, he neither hate the evil actions nor did he cursed the evil actions but instead our Prophet Muhammad saw was making doa for the guidance of the peoples of Taif. When we relate the Hadis with the Sunnah then only we are able to understand the true interpretation of the meaning of the Hadis “to prevent evils with our heart” means to make doa for the guidance of evil doers. The meaning of the Hadis is not to hate or to curse the evil actions but to make doa for the guidance or taufik for the evil doers to stop committing the evil deeds. This Hadis is a true Hadis and very popular among the Muslims but the interpretation of the Hadis is wrong. In my opinion, the wrong interpretation of this Hadis has caused many Muslims to think and to believe, that to hate evil actions is the correct method to prevent evils with the heart. In my opinion a person who hates evils action will automatically hates the evil doers. When a person hates the evil doers the person has disobeyed the order of Allah.
Once a person hates the evil actions, the next action the person will do is to hate the evil doers. Then the next action the person will do is to kill the evil doers. When the person killed the evil doers, syaitan will whisper to the killer that you are preventing evils with power and in case you died in this path, you will die as a martyr. Muslims who believe that the act of killing evil doers is the act of preventing evils with power will become the Muslims who are now currently known in the world as terrorist. Muslims who believe to kill evil doers is an act to prevent evils with power, will name the war against the evil doers as Jihad and to die in the war as martyrs. Nowadays, there are many Muslims, which name their wars against the Jews and the Americans as Jihad and to die in these wars as martyrs. Muslims who are involved in these movements often regard themselves as the true Muslims with strong iman to Allah. They think and believe that they are the true Muslims with strong iman to Allah because they are able to prevent evil actions with power. They have interpreted the meaning of the Hadis to prevent evils with power is to declare war against the non-Muslims whom they believe to be the evil doers and the enemies of Islam. Since the Jews and the Americans are regarded by many Muslims to be the evil doers and the enemies of Islam, many Muslims who wage war against the Jews and the Americans regard the war as Jihad and as an act to prevent evils with power and to die in the war as martyrs.
Many young Muslims who want to die as martyrs will join these movements, which are known to the Jews and the Americans as the terrorist movement. Allah does not teach the Muslims to hate the evils and the evil doers but Allah teaches the Muslims not to do the evil deeds but to love the evils doers. What it means to love the evil doers? It means to invite the evil doers to good. Allah orders the Muslims to obey the order of Allah in the way shown by our Prophet Muhammad saw. Allah orders the Muslims to do the work of inviting mankind to good and forbidding mankind from evils in the ways shown by our Prophet Muhammad saw. Muslims must interpret the Quran with the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad saw and not with their own minds and experiences. When Muslims interpret the Quran and the Hadis with their own minds and experiences, the Muslims will become deviated from the correct path. Allah orders the Muslims to prevent evils either with power or with words or with our heart. It is also mentioned in the Hadis that the persons who prevent evils with the heart will obtain the lowest level of iman. What are evil deeds? When men do not recognize the existence of Allah or associate Allah with others, or taking others as their God, then men are committing evils. All the non-Muslims in this world are committing evils. When men who have recited the Great Kalimah do not do the work of inviting mankind to good and forbidding mankind from evils in the ways shown by our Prophet Muhammad saw the Muslims are committing evils. The greatest evil done by the Muslims in this world is the Muslims are not doing the work of inviting mankind to good and forbidding mankind from evils in the ways shown by our Prophet Muhammad saw. Allah orders the Muslims to prevent evils by inviting the men who do evils to do good and not to hate the evils or the evil doers but to invite the evil doers to do good.
A person is only able to do an evil deed when Allah has given the person the permission to do the evil deed. Allah will give a person the permission to do the evil deeds when the person chooses to do evil deeds. How to prevent a person from choosing to do the evil deeds? In order to prevent the person from choosing to do the evil deeds is to love the person which means to invite the person to do good deeds. What is a good deed? A good deed is to recite the Great Kalimah. When a person recites the Great Kalimah the person has become Muslim but the Great Kalimah has not entered into the person’s heart and the person has not become believer or the lover of Allah. In order for that person to become a believer or the lover of Allah, the person must do the work of inviting mankind to good and forbidding mankind from evils.
Prof Dr Nasoha Saabin
July 2013
Integrative Holistic Wellness Centre