وَلْتَكُن مِّنكُمْ أُمَّةٌ {And let there be [arising] from you a nation}: The word Ummah (Nation) is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an with several meanings:
1- A group of people, which is the predominant usage, as Allah (swt) said:
وَلِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولٌ
{And for every Ummah (a community or a nation), there is a Messenger} [Yunus: 47]
2- A moment in time, as Allah (swt) said:
وَقَالَ الَّذِي نَجَا مِنْهُمَا وَادَّكَرَ بَعْدَ أُمَّةٍ
{But the one who was freed and remembered after a time said, “I will inform you of its interpretation, so send me forth.” } [yusuf: 45]
3- An individual to be followed, as Allah (swt) said:
إِنَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ كَانَ أُمَّةً قَانِتًا لِلّهِ حَنِيفًا
{Indeed, Abraham was a [comprehensive] leader, devoutly obedient to Allah, inclining toward truth, and he was not of those who associate others with Allah} [An-Nahl: 120].
4- Sharia and a way in religion as Allah (swt) said:
بَلْ قَالُوا إِنَّا وَجَدْنَا آبَاءنَا عَلَى أُمَّةٍ وَإِنَّا عَلَى آثَارِهِم مُّهْتَدُونَ
{Rather, they say, “Indeed, we found our fathers upon a religion, and we are in their footsteps [rightly] guided.”} [Az-Zukhruf: 22].
وَلْتَكُن مِّنكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ {And let there be [arising] from you a nation inviting to [all that is] good,}: This nation is the nation of good, as our Prophet (saws) said:
“The best among you are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it”[1]
Why? Because the Qur’an calls only for good, and enjoins only good, good for all mankind, for animals, for plants, for objects, and in all fields and locations. Allah (swt) said about His Messenger (saws):
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ
{And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.} (Al-Anbiya: 107)
If you see evil, you should know that it is a clear violation of the Book of Allah (swt). Do not think that the seeds of violence are found in the teachings of Islam, and the seeds of terrorism are found in the provisions of the Qur’an, the Qur’an is clear and when we do not understand the purposes of Islamic legislation, it is not permissible for us to oppose the Islamic call at all, nor to say that we call to Allah (swt), because who calls to Allah (swt) calls to good, Allah (swt) said in His Glorious Book:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ارْكَعُوا وَاسْجُدُوا وَاعْبُدُوا رَبَّكُمْ وَافْعَلُوا الْخَيْرَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
{O you who have believed, bow and prostrate and worship your Lord and do good – that you may succeed.} [Al-Hajj: 77]
And the Prophet (saws) said:
“All creatures are the dependents of Allah. The most beloved of them to Allah is he who is most beneficial to his dependents “[2]
He did not say: (Muslims are the dependents of Allah (swt)), rather he said: “Creation is the dependents of Allah (swt).” Allah (swt) does not want you to worship for his own benefit, and He is the one who says in the Holy Hadith (relates to Allah (swt)):
“O My servants, you will not attain harming Me so as to harm Me, and will not attain benefitting Me so as to benefit Me O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as pious as the most pious heart of any one man of you, that would not increase My kingdom in anything. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as wicked as the most wicked heart of any one man of you, that would not decrease My kingdom in anything.”
But He wants the effect of your worship on his creation, who called them into existence. So it is not correct for a Muslim to do evil towards these creatures; because Islam is a call to goodness to all people.
وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ {enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong,}: Allah (swt) wanted his servants to enjoin good and forbid evil, and this is the condition of goodness since it is not possible for the good and the evil to be in just a committee, but rather they are in the nation, so the nation is the one that calls for good, it is the one who enjoins good and forbids evil.
What is right (good)? And what is wrong (evil)?
-Ma’ruf (good): The Arabic word in one of its definitions: It is what you wanted people to know about you, so is there anyone who wants people to know about anything but good? Even if the thief is in a meeting and they talk about theft, he will attack the theft; Because souls innately deny evil, and desire good, so what is known is what you want people to know.
Munkar (evil): The Arabic word is what you want to conceal from people.
Enjoining what is good and forbidding what is wrong is not a task specific to a group, so every Muslim must enjoin what is right, that is, do good, and must forbid what is wrong, that is, keep away from what harms him, and the evidence is that Allah (swt) said:
وَالْعَصْرِ (1) إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ (2) إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ
{(1) By time (2) Indeed, mankind is in loss (3) Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience.} [Al-Asr: 1-3]
Allah (swt) did not say: (enjoin the truth and enjoin patience) because in this case there have to be two persons one of them who enjoin, and the other who receive this enjoining, rather he said:
{وَتَوَاصَوْا} {advised each other}: meaning I advise you and you advise me; I remind you and you remind me; I am patient with you and you are patient with me.
وَلْتَكُن مِّنكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ، {And let there be [arising] from you a nation inviting to [all that is] good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and those will be the successful.}: So Islam is a general call to goodness.
وَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ {and those will be the successful.}: Every word in the Qur’an attracts its meaning and here the word “Al-Muflifunh” (the successful) in the Arabic language is taken from Al-Felaha (agriculture), the seeds were placed in the ground, and the result of that was the emergence of fruits, and here also the “Muflifunh”(successful) are those who sow and reap.
[1] Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of The virtues of Quran, Hadith No. 4739.
[2] Shuab Al-Iman, Chapter: Obedience of those in authority, Hadith No. 7445.