Al-Waadih Fee Usool ul-Fiqh by Muhammad Hussein Abdullah

The Seeghat ul-Amr (Command form) has been provided in the Arabic language to indicate the request or demand to undertake the action. To demand the undertaking of the action there are forms (Siyagh) that the Shaari’ has utilised in the Qur’aan and the Hadeeth and these include:

1 – The Seeghah (form) that has been provided by the language to indicate the command form linguistically and this is the form ‘If’al’. This is like what has come in the Qawl of Allah (swt):

And like His Qawl Ta’Aalaa:

2 – The command is also realised with the Mudaari’ (present tense) form prefixed with ‘Laam Al-Amr’ 'LaYaf’al’ like in His Qawl (swt):

And in His Qawl Ta’Aalaa:

3 – The Talab (demand/request) to perform the action (i.e. the Amr/command) is also realised by the Jumal Al-Khabariyah (informative sentences) like His Qawl Ta’Aalaa:

The intended meaning in this form is the Amr (command) for the mothers to breastfeed their children. It is not intended to just inform about the occurrence of breastfeeding from the mothers and this understanding is gained and deduced from the Siyaaq (context) of the Aayaat. Another example of this is in the Qawl of Allah Ta’Aalaa:

4 – The demand or request (Talab) to do the action i.e. the command (Amr) is also realised by the Lafzh (worded expression):

(Amara, Ya’muru, Amr/He commanded, he commands, command). This is like what is found in the Qawl of Allah Ta’Aalaa:

And like in His Qawl (swt):

5 – The command is realised with the Seeghah (form) of the Ism Fi’l (verbal noun) of the command like: (Halumma) which means go ahead or proceed upon. Allah (swt) said:

The ‘Ulamaa have differed in respect to what the command form indicates from the angle of the Hukm At-Takleefiy and from the perspective of repetition, immediacy and abatement (let up). In general, the ‘Ulamaa said that: The Amr (command) has been placed and set in origin to provide one of three meanings and these are: Al-Wujoob (obligation) or An-Nadb (recommendation) or Al-Ibaahah (permissibility) and these ‘Ulamaa disagreed or differed in respect to an intended single meaning for it as follows:

1 – Some of the followers of Al-Imaam Maalik said that the Seeghat ul-Amr (command form) indicates Al-Ibaahah (permissibility) because the Amr (command) has been provided or set to request the presence of the action and the least of this presence or existence is its permissibility. 2 – Others said, and this includes one of the two views attributed to Ash-Shaafi’iy, that the Seeghat ul-Amr indicates An-Nadb (recommendation) and that is because the Amr has been provided to request the action and its least amount is recommendation.

3 – The majority said that the Seeghat ul-Amr indicates Al-Wujoob (obligation) as the command has been provided to indicate the obligation. It is therefore, in respect to the obligation, a Haqeeqah (literal or according to its reality) and in other than the obligation it is Majaaz (metaphorical). Consequently, it does not become other than the obligation unless there is a Qareenah (connotation). If the Qareenah has then indicated to Al-Ibaahah, the Amr would be for permissibility and if it indicated An-Nadb then the Amr (command) would be for recommendation. Those holding this opinion deduced it based on evidences from which we will mention the following:

A – It was mentioned in the Qur’aan Al-Kareem:

As long as Allah (swt) has built upon the violation of his command (Amr), the consequence of Al-Fitnah or punishment, then the Amr (command) is there to indicate Al-Wujoob (obligation) otherwise the Fitnah and punishment would not be the consequence of the one who left it.

B – The Messenger of Allah (saw) said:

If the command (Al-Amr) had been for other than the Wujoob (obligation) then there would not have been difficulty in the command.

C – Allah (swt) said:

The one who contravenes and goes against the command is described with disobedience and the disobedient one deserves the fire due to His statement:

This therefore indicates that the Amr (command) is indicative of Al-Wujoob (obligation).

In respect to the Adillah (evidences) used as proof by those who say that the Seeghat ul-Amr indicates Al-Wujoob (the obligation), then they have erred in their manner or process of deduction. That is because these evidences are related to the obedience to the command (Al-Amr) and disobedience to it whilst they are not related to the Seeghat ul-Amr (form of the command). The Amr (command) of Allah is Waajib (obligatory) to obey and disobedience to it is Haraam. Obedience to the command is by not rebelling against it and obedience to the command is fulfilled in accordance to what Allah Ta’Aalaa has commanded. Consequently, if His command was Jaazim (decisive) then its obedience is Waajib in accordance to what has been commanded; undertaking the action is Waajib (obligatory) and the person would be disobedient if he did not undertake the action. This is represented in the Fard and Waajib. It is like His command to perform the obligatory Salawaat (prayers). And if the command (Amr) was Ghair Jaazim (indecisive), obedience to it (in respect to being a command) is obligatory, as it has been commanded in its indecisive form. If the person undertook the action he would earn reward and if he submitted to the command but did not undertake the action that had been commanded, he would not have sinned, would not be disobedient (‘Aasiy) and would not be punished. This is the Mandoob like the Sunan prayers.

If, however he was to rebel against this command, deny it, not submit to, not accept this Mandoob nor acknowledge it, then he would be ‘Aasiy (disobedient) and going against the command of Allah. That is because the One who commanded the Waajib is also the One who commanded the Mandoob. Therefore, it is obligatory to submit to the Mandoob being from Allah even if he did not undertake or perform it. Allah (swt) said:

So, Allah Ta’Aalaa has commanded justice and He has commanded the best conduct. However, the command for justice (Al-‘Adl) is one of obligation (Al-Wujoob) whilst the command for the best conduct (Al-Ihsaan) is one of recommendation (An-Nadb) even though they have come in the text as a single command and within one single text. That indicates that the mere Amr (command) does not indicate the obligation but rather it could indicate the Wujoob, the Nadb or the Ibaahah (obligation, recommendation or permissibility).

Consequently, the obedience to the Amr (command) and disobedience to it does not indicate undertaking the action that has been commanded or refraining from undertaking it. Rather, it indicates to submitting to the command and obedience to it upon the basis that it was commanded in terms of it being obligatory, recommended or permissible.