Tafsir of Al-Ma'idah 5:79

His saying, exalted be He: "They used not to forbid one another from the evil that they committed" denotes the continuity of the transgression; for it is a new clause (isti'naf) that signifies the persistent absence of forbidding evil, and its persistence cannot be maintained except by the persistent commission of evils.

The meaning of al-tanahi (forbidding one another) is not that each of them forbade the other from what he was committing, as is the well-known meaning of the reciprocal (tafa'ul) form. Rather, it is the mere occurrence of forbidding from various individuals without each one of them being a forbidder and a forbidden simultaneously, similar to [the verb] "sighting the new moon" (tara'a al-hilal). It is also said that al-tanahi carries the meaning of al-intiha' (refraining), derived from their saying: "He refrained from the matter" (tanaha 'an al-amr) and "He ceased from it" (intaha 'anhu), if he abstained. In this case, the sentence explains what preceded it of disobedience and transgression, explicitly indicating their continuity. On the first view, it only indicates the persistence of the absence of forbidding the evil, and a necessity of this is the persistence of its commission. In either estimation, this sentence does not strengthen the possibility of a new clause (isti'naf) in what preceded it, contrary to [the opinion of] Abu Sufyan.

As for "the evil," it is said that it refers to fishing on the Sabbath; others say it refers to taking bribes in judgment; and still others say it refers to consuming usury and the prices of fats. The most appropriate [view] is that "evil" is intended as a generic category of evil, and the tanwin (indefinite marking) signifies generic unity, not individual unity. Thus, describing it with the past tense verb [in "they committed"] does not invalidate the application of the prohibition to it, because the object of the verb is merely an instance of the instances to which the prohibition applies, or [it refers to] forbidding evil in the absolute sense, considering its realization within any instance thereof. Furthermore, if "they committed" were to be interpreted in relation to the time of the address rather than the time of the forbidding, there would be no problem in the verse.

Some, having overlooked this, said: "The verse is problematic because it blames the people for not forbidding what has already occurred, whereas forbidding is not conceivable regarding [a past event], for it only pertains to a thing before it occurs." Thus, they felt compelled to interpret it as meaning "forbidding the return to it." This is achieved either by implying a hidden noun before "evil"—meaning, "the recurrence of evil"—or it is understood from the context; or [by interpreting] it as "they committed the like of it"; or by interpreting "they committed" as "they intended to commit," as in His saying, exalted be He: "When you recite the Quran, seek refuge [with Allah]."

The first [interpretation] was objected to on the grounds that "recurrence," like forbidding, cannot relate to an evil already committed. Thus, one must resort to one of the latter two [interpretations], both of which contain an obvious degree of artificiality. It is said that the problem is only valid if the discourse were not along the lines of our saying: "They used not to forbid one another on Thursday from an evil they committed on Friday, for example," for there is no obscurity in its correctness, and there is nothing in the speech that rejects it; so let it be interpreted in that manner.

His saying, exalted be He: "Vile indeed is what they used to do" is a condemnation of their evil deed and an expression of astonishment at it. The oath is for the sake of emphasizing the astonishment or for the act being wondered at. In this verse is a severe warning to anyone who abandons commanding the good and forbidding the evil.

Ahmad and al-Tirmidhi (who graded it hasan) narrated from Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Him in whose hand is my soul, you shall surely command the good and forbid the evil, or Allah will soon send upon you a punishment from Him, then you will supplicate to Him and He will not answer you."

Ahmad also narrated from 'Adi ibn 'Amirah, who said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: 'Indeed, Allah, the Exalted, does not punish the general public for the deeds of the elite until they see the evil among themselves while being capable of forbidding it, yet they do not forbid it. When they do that, Allah, the Exalted, punishes the elite and the general public.'"

Al-Khatib narrated through the path of Abu Salamah from his father from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that he said: "By Him in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), there shall emerge from my nation people from their graves in the form of monkeys and swine because they were lenient with the people of disobedience and refrained from forbidding them while they were able."

The traditions on this subject are numerous and contain great intimidation. Alas for the Muslims in their turning away from the gate of forbidding evils and their little concern for it!