A Functional Analysis of the Duty of Enjoining Good in Establishing Reciprocal Guardianship: Public Responsibility and Individual Freedom

Articles in Press

Document Type : scientific

Authors

1 Postdoctoral Researcher, Quran and Hadith Sciences, Faculty of Theology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.

2 Department of law, ShK.C., Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran.

3 Graduated from the Department of Jurisprudence, Faculty of Theology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.

Abstract

Within the Islamic intellectual tradition, the duty of enjoining good and forbidding wrong is founded upon the hermeneutical tension between two principles: public responsibility and individual freedom of action. Using a descriptive-analytical method applied to foundational exegetical and juridical texts, this study reconstructs the duty as a structural principle ensuring the cohesion of the Muslim community (ummah).

The findings reveal that enjoining good, beyond a mere moral obligation, constitutes the operational mechanism of the “covenant of reciprocal guardianship” and a foundational pillar of the “active community.” Neglecting this covenant, according to divine tradition, results in “collective punishment” and social decline. Within this framework, the Qur’anic verse ‘alaykum anfusakum (“You are responsible for yourselves”) does not represent a contradictory principle but rather serves as a “regulatory rule” that balances the system by distinguishing between the responsibility for action and outcome while clarifying the “conditions under which the duty lapses.”

The contribution of this research is the presentation of a coherent model of social solidarity that provides a theoretical alternative to individualistic readings which promote passivity.

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Main Subjects

Civil Jurisprudence Doctrines

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 05 October 2025

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