Chapter X: Living and Character of the Prophet
There are five stages of enjoining good and forbidding evil, (1) The first stage is giving simple advice, (2) the second stage is to give sermon with sweet words. (3) the third stage is to abuse and mere out harsh treatment, (4) the fourth stage is to apply force and prevent one from doing a sinful act, such as to throw wine from its pot, to snatch away dress of silk and stolen articles and to return them to rightful owner and (5) the fifth stage is to assaulf, beat and threaten one from doing a sinful act Except in the fifth stage man is not required to obtain permission of the authorities to do such works in the four stages.
SOME EXAMPLES OF GIVING ADVICE TO THE RULERS
(a) Once Caliph Merwan-b-Hakam was delivering sermon before I'd prayer. A man said to him Sermon is generally held after I'd prayer. Merwan said to him : Leave this word. He said :
The Prophet said : If anyone of you sees a bad thing, let him prevent it by his hand. If he.cannot do it, let him prohibit him by this tongue . If cannot do it also let him cherish hatred for it in his
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mind. This is the weakest faith. The rulers are also included in this advice, (b) Once Caliph Mehdhi came to Mecca and stayed there for many days. At the time of Tawaf of the Ka'ba it was cleared of the public. One Abdullah-b-Mazruq jumped up and said to the Caliph : Look at what you are doing. Who hao given you more right regarding the Ka'ba than that of one who comes from a distant place. God says : The man who stays therein and the man who comes from a distant place are all equal who has given you power to drive out the people ? The Caliph recognized him as one of his officers and brought him to Bagdad after arrest and confined him in a stable. His men tied him with a horse for killing him . God subdued the horse to him. Baffled at this, they locked him in a room with the key in Caliph's hand. Three days after this, he was found to the amazement of all eating vegetables in a garden. He was taken to the Caliph and asked : Who has taken you out of this room ? The Caliph raised aloud his cry and asked him Don't you fear that I can kill you ? He was laughing and said : I would have feared you if you would have been the owner of life an death. Afterwards he remained in jail upto the death of Mehdi. when he was released afterwards, he went to Mecca and sacrificed one'hundred camels to fulfil the vow of his release.