وموجبه الوجوب لا الندب و الإباحة و التوقف
The requirement of amr is that it is wajib (to act upon) and not mandoob (recommended), and not mubah (permissible) and not mawquf (no opinion on it).
The requirement of amr is that it is wajib according to the majority of scholars. And it is not recommended to act upon as some like Abu Hashim and the Mu’tazila have said. And it is not permissible to act upon like Abu Al Abbas Ahmad ibn Shareeh the Shafi scholar has said, and neither do the Ahnaf disregard it as some say there is there no opinion on it.
Those who are of the opinion that to act upon amr is mandoob say amr is for talab (demand / request), so it is necessary to try and carry out the action and the minimal requirement is that it will be recommended to act upon. And this is like the saying of Allah {فكاتبوهم إن علمتم فيهم خيرا}[1], give them such writing if you know that they are good and trustworthy, i.e. that it is only mandoob and recommended to write down a contract if a slave seeks freedom for a certain amount.
Those who are of the opinion that to act upon amr is mubah, say that the meaning of talab is that it is authorised for them to do the action, and it is not haram. Therefore, the minimal requirement is that it is permissible to act upon amr. And this is like the saying of Allah {فاصطادوا}[2] then hunt, i.e. when you come out of ihram it is permissible for you to hunt.
Those who are of the opinion that the Ahnaf do not act upon amr, rather they investigate other avenues, say that amr is of many types (some have identified sixteen). So if the context is not established it will not be possible to act upon the command. According to us amr is wajib and it does not have a conflicting command in reality. If a context is established then they will take it into consideration.
Sixteen types of Amr
| وجوب | compulsory e.g {أقيموا الصلاة Surah al Anaam: 72} i.e. it is compulsory to establish salah. |
| إباحة | permissible e.g. {فاصطادوا Surah Al Maidah:2} then hunt i.e. it is permissible to hunt after coming out of ihram. |
| ندب | recommended e.g. {فكاتبوهم إن علمتم فيهم خيرا Surah al Nur: 33} i.e. it is recommended to write down a contract if a slave seeks freedom. |
| تهديد | threat, to address someone with anger e.g {اعملوا ما شئتم Surah Fussilat: 40} i.e. do whatever you want. |
| تعجيز | challenge e.g. {فأتوا بسورة من مثله Surah Al Baqarah:23} i.e. then you are challenged to bring a surah like it, the quran, but you will not be able to do so. |
| ارشاد | suggestion e.g. {واشهدوا ذوي عدل منكم Surah al talaq: 2} i.e. it is suggested to get two righteous people to testify when in dispute. |
| تسخير | ridicule e.g. {كونوا قردة خاسئين Surah al-Baqarah: 65} i.e. become humiliated monkeys. |
| امتنان | gratitude e.g. {كلوا مما رزقكم الله Surah al Anaam:142} i.e. eat from what Allah has provided you with. |
| اكرام | hospitality e.g. {ادخلوها بسلام آمنين Surah Al Hijr: 46} i.e. enter in peace and safety. |
| اهانة | insult e.g. {فذوقوا فلن نزيدكم إلا عذابا Surah Al Naba: 30} i.e. so taste (the penalty), and never will we increase you except in punishment. |
| تسوية | equality e.g. { فاصبروا أو لا تصبروا Surah Al Tur: 16} i.e. then be patient or do not be patient, neither will save you from the punishment. |
| دعاء | prayer e.g. اللهم اغفرلي i.e. O Allah forgive me |
| تمني | wish e.g. {يا مالك ليقض علينا ربك Surah Al Zukhruf: 77} i.e. O Malik let your lord put an end to us. |
| احتقار | contempt, abasement e.g. {القوا ما انتم ملقون Surah Yunus: 80} i.e. when Musa said to the magicians of Pharaoh; throw down whatever you want to throw. |
| تكوين | formation, fashioning e.g. كن i.e. Be, so it is. Usually when Allah commands something and it is done instantaneously. |
| تأديب | discipline – e.g. the saying of the Prophet ﷺ to Ibn Abbas كل مما يليك i.e. eat that which is close to you. This is close to ندب except that it is to teach manners. |
و سواء كان بعد الحظر أو قبله
It (the ruling of amr) is the same (regardless if it comes) after a prohibition or before it.
This is in response to the companions of Imam Shafi who say that an amr which comes after prohibition is given is to show permissibility, and the amr before the prohibition was for compulsion like the verse {وإذا حللتم فاصطادوا}[3] that when you come out of ihram you may hunt i.e. it is permissible for you to hunt after coming out of ihram whereas you were not allowed to do so whilst in ihram. The Ahnaf say that amr is used for compulsion after a prohibition is given, like the verse of the Quran {فإذا انسلخ الأشهر الحرم فاقتلوا المشركين حيث وجدتموهم}[4] That when the sacred months have passed, then it is wajib to kill the polytheists wherever you find them unless they repent. And the permissibility in the verse {وإذا حللتم فاصطادوا Surah Al Maidah: 2} that it is permissible to hunt after coming out of ihram is not understood from the amr but rather from the saying of Allah {أحل لكم الطيبات Al Maidah: 5} that this day good foods have been made lawful. And the command of hunting is for the strong slaves and it is beneficial for them, but to make it compulsory will be a burden upon them.
لانتفاء الخيرة عن المأمور بالأمر بالنص
(Then Allamah al-Nasafi starts on the evidence for amr being wajib) due to the lack of choice for the commanded upon with the amr with the text.
The Ahnaf say that the requirement of amr is that it is wajib, for the one who is commanded has no choice on whether he should act upon the command. And it is the saying of Allah {وما كان لمؤمن ولا مؤمنة إذا قضى الله ورسوله امرا ان يكون لهم الخيرة من أمرهم}[5] that it is not for a believing man or for a believing woman, when Allah and his messenger have decided a matter, that they should have any choice about their affair. i.e. when Allah and his messenger have given a ruling through a command, then a believer does not have any choice in regards to whether they accept that command, rather it is necessary for them to obey that command. And it is said that nass is the saying of Allah {ما منعك ألا تسجد إذ أمرتك}[6] when Allah addressed Iblees saying what prevented you from prostrating when I commanded you to do so i.e. what choice remained for you after I commanded you, so why did you not prostrate. This indicates that following the command of Allah and his messenger is wajib.
واستحقاق الوعيد لتاركه
The (evil) promise is given merit for leaving the amr.
The Ahnaf say amr is wajib as there is no choice for the commanded upon, and as they give merit to the promise which is given for something bad to occur when its command is left out. And it is the saying of Allah {فليحذر الذين يخالفون عن أمره أن تصيبهم فتنة او يصيبهم عذاب أليم}[7] i.e. Then let those beware who dissent and leave the messengers order, lest some trial befall them in the world or lest a painful punishment befalls them in the hereafter. And this (evil) promise is only given because of leaving out a wajib command.
ولدلالة الإجماع و المعقول [تدلان عليه]
And the indication of the consensus and people of logic is that amr is wajib.
The consensus is that the indication of amr is wajib. For all of them have gathered that whatever action is sought to be intended from someone can only be sought if they are commanded to do so with a command. And the amr does not have any doubt in it originally. And people of logic is mentioned because if a master was to order his slave to do a command and the slave did not do it then the slave would be deserving of punishment, so if amr is not for wujoob how can the slave deserve punishment.
و إذا أريد به الإباحة أو الندب فقيل إنه حقيقة لأنه بعضه و قيل لا لأنه جاوز أصله
And when it (amr) is intended for permissibility or recommendation then some have said that it is Haqeeqa because it is a part of it (amr), and others have said no (it is not a part of amr intrinsically) as it has gone beyond its original roots.
Sometimes an amr does not imply wujoob, but it comes to show ibaha (permissibility of an action) or nadb (recommendation to do an action). There are two opinions; that amr implies ibaha and nadb intrinsically or not.
The first view is that ibaha and nadb are implied by amr haqeeqatan (intrinsically), as they are a part of it. The proponents of this opinion (such as Fakhr al-Islam al-Bazdawi) argue that ibaha and nadb are a haqeeqa qaasira as their definitions form part of the definition of wujoob;
Wujoob – is the permissibility to do an action and prohibition to leave it out
Ibaha – is the permissibility to do an action
Nadb – is the permissibility to do an action with preference for doing it.
Therefore, as all three include the permissibility to do the action, they hold that amr can imply ibaha and nadb intrinsically.
On the other hand, the opposing view is that ibaha and nadb are not implied haqeeqatan (intrinsically), but rather are implied majaazan. This is because it strays from the original meaning of wujoob;
Wujoob – is the permissibility to do an action and prohibition to leave it out
Ibaha – is the permissibility to do an action with permissibility to leave it out
Nadb – is the permissibility to do an action with preference for doing it and with permissibility to leave it out
As there is prohibition to leave out the action in the definition of wujoob, whilst the other two permit the action being left out, there is a clear disparity between both definitions.
[1] Quran 24:33
[2] Quran 5:2
[3] Quran 5:2
[4] Quran 9:5
[5] Quran 33:36
[6] Quran 7:12
[7] Quran 24:63
