If you don’t stop the fire, do not be surprised when it reaches you

ByShaykh Haytham Tamim

The duty of the Ummah is to prevent harm

Allah stated in Surat Ale Imran,

‫كُنتُمۡ خَیۡرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخۡرِجَتۡ لِلنَّاسِ تَأۡمُرُونَ بِٱلۡمَعۡرُوفِ وَتَنۡهَوۡنَ عَنِ ٱلۡمُنكَرِ وَتُؤۡمِنُونَ بِٱللَّهِۗ

You have been the best community that was ever brought forth for mankind: you command to what is fair and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah. (3:110)

In this ayah, Allah is defining the role of the Ummah and their status. They are the best community as they have been appointed to the task of upholding goodness and justice withing society and minimising harm. If they neglect to carry out their role as they lose their special status. The Arabs were not the best Ummah before Islam, but became the best Ummah after the revelation. When they assumed this position, Allah elevated their status from simple Bedouins to the leaders of the civilisation that blossomed as a result of it.
The task was very clear – command what is good and prohibit what is wrong from all facets of society – from the leaders down to the community at large. If they abnegate this role, the are demoted.

Many of us are familiar with the phrase Al-Amr Bil-ma’ruf wan-Nahyi an-Almunkar. We hear it repeated frequently and it loses its meaning sometime through misuse and over use, but the Quran made it very clear that all prophets and messengers came with this mission, introducing Allah and the concept of monotheism to them and warning them against sinning. As the final messenger was Muhammad, he confirmed this concept for all time. There are many narrations about this in the sunnah.

If the Ummah is silent, punishment will envelop them

Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

قال أبو بكرٍ رضي الله تعالى عنه، إنَّا سمِعنا النَّبيَّ صلَّى اللهُ عليه وسلَّم يقولُ : “إنَّ النَّاسَ إذا رأَوُا الظَّالمَ فلم يأخُذوا على يدَيْه، أوشك أن يعُمَّهم اللهُ بعقابٍ”
وإنِّي سمِعتُ رسولَ اللهِ صلَّى اللهُ عليه وسلَّم يقولُ : “ما من قومٍ يُعمَلُ فيهم بالمعاصي ، ثمَّ يقدِرون على أن يُغيِّروا ، ثمَّ لا يُغيِّروا إلَّا يوشِكُ أن يعُمَّهم اللهُ منه بعقابٍ”. رواه أبو داود.

When people see an (wrongdoer/oppressor) and do not restrain him, it is likely that Allah will encompass them all with punishment.

This hadith shows that there are consequences if the Ummah fails to fulfil its duty of ensuring the orderly functioning of society within a just framework. Allah will punish them all, even if righteous people are among them.

The wife of the Prophet ﷺ, Zaynab bint Jahsh, asked if the righteous would also be punished and the Prophet confirmed that if evil overtook any community and the righteous did nothing to stop its spread, then they too would be included in the punishment.

It was asked, “Shall we be destroyed though there are righteous people among us?” The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Yes, if evil increases.” (Bukhari)

So it is not enough to worship Allah at a personal level and think that is enough. That is only fulfilling your personal obligation, not the communal obligation. We are an Ummah, not individuals cut off from each other and our community. We have obligations towards Allah but we also have obligations towards our families and communities – national and international, depending on our situation.

If we have the power do stop wrong-doers but do nothing, it is like seeing a fire in your neighbours house, but not calling the fire brigade. If you fail to do this, the fire will spread to your house.

International chaos

The international community did nothing to stop the genocide in Gaza and created justifications for it. The fire is now spreading to their neighbours. It is the rule of Allah, if you do not stop evil you will be punished. Do your best. If you try and did not succeed you at least have an excuse, but passivity and apathy is not an excuse.

In another narration, Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said

“I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: ‘There is no group of people among whom sins are committed, and they are able to change it but do not do so, except that Allah is about to encompass them with punishment.’” (Abu Dawood)

We are seeing the consequences of the inaction of leaders who could have acted to stop the genocide but did not. The heat is affecting the whole world now, with the disastrous impact of the war in the Middle East affecting the globe.

Do not be afraid to speak out

Allah made it clear that inaction is not a choice. If you see an oppressor and do nothing, the punishment of Allah will strike you and come back to haunt you. Throughout history, we see that oppressors do not get away with their crimes. They will be punished in dunya before the akhirah. And there are times when we will be punished as well, for our inaction.

When Allah talks about Firaun in the Quran, he also mentions his people. When Firaun drowned he was not alone, there were those with him, who did not agree with what he was doing, but they remained silent – they did not attempt to stop him. Without doubt he was a vicious tyrant and it would be dangerous to do this, but the Prophet ﷺ addressed this in his hadith.

عن أبي سعيد الخُدري رضي الله تعالى عنه قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم:  “ألَا لا يَمنَعَنَّ أحَدَكم رَهْبةُ النَّاسِ أنْ يقولَ بحَقٍّ إذا رَآهُ أو شَهِدَه؛ فإنَّه لا يُقرِّبُ من أجَلٍ، ولا يُباعِدُ من رِزْقٍ؛ أنْ يقولَ بحَقٍّ أو يُذكِّرَ بعَظيمٍ.)
قال أبو سَعيدٍ: فحَمَلَني على ذلك، أنْ رَكِبتُ إلى مُعاويةَ، فمَلَأتُ أُذُنيهِ، ثُمَّ رَجَعتُ.
رواه أحمد بإسناد صحيح

Abu Saeed al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

‪“Do not let the fear of people prevent you from speaking the truth if you see it or witness it, as it won’t shorten lifespan or decrease your livelihood if you tell the truth or remind people about something great”.

Definitely, speaking out brings challenges, but when you side with the truth and support it, even against a genocidal oppressor, there is a risk, but it will not cut short your lifespan. No one can change how long Allah has decreed for you to live on the earth. Nor can anyone decrease the provision that has been decreed for you. Therefore do not be afraid to speak the truth. The Prophet is saying that your rizq is not in people’s hands. It is in Allah’s Hands. This is not an invitation to be reckless, but to be wise and courageous, rather than cowardly or passive. Be strong in your belief and express the truth even if it is bitter. If everyone is too afraid to stop bullies and allow corruption spread, then their evil spreads.

When Allah asks why did you not do something, and you reply I was afraid of people, He will say, you should have been more afraid of Me!

On the authority of Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Let not any one of you belittle himself. They said: O Messenger of Allah, how can any one of us belittle himself? He said: He finds a matter concerning Allah about which he should say something, and he does not say [it], so Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says to him on the Day of Resurrection: What prevented you from saying something about such-and-such and such-and-such? He say: [It was] out of fear of people. Then He says: Rather it is I whom you should more properly fear. (Ibn Majah)

Imam al Shatibi said the basis of the shariah is to bring goodness and prevent evil and harm – from worship to relationships, and from transactions to contracts. It is our role as humans to help one another and minimise evil, wherever it is. We ask Allah to give relief to those who are being harmed and oppressed.
We ask Allah to enable us to be the callers to goodness and to prevent evil as much as possible. Ameen.

Based on the Khutbah of Shaykh Haytham Tamim on 3rd April 2026.

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