O people, Truly Allah says enjoin the good and forbid the evil before you call upon me which means that I don’t answer you and you ask me and I don’t give to you and you seek Victory from me and I do not give you that Victory (because you did not enjoin the good and forbid the evil first)

No Du’a answered and no Victory from Allah unless the people account according to Islam

يا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يَقُولُ مُرُوا بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَانْهَوْا عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ مَنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ تَدْعُونِى فَلاَ أُجِيبَكُمْ وَتَسْأَلُونِى فَلاَ أُعْطِيَكُمْ وَتَسْتَنْصِرُونِى فَلاَ أَنْصُرَكُمْ

O people, Truly Allah says enjoin the good and forbid the evil before you call upon me which means that I don’t answer you and you ask me and I don’t give to you and you seek Victory from me and I do not give you that Victory (because you did not enjoin the good and forbid the evil first)

(Ahmed, ibn Hibban, Bayhaqi)

ما ترك قوم الامر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر الا لم ترفع أعمالهم ولم يسمع دعاؤهم

A people do not leave behind enjoining the good and forbidding the evil except that their actions are not raised and their Du’a is not listened to.

(Ibn Qayyim)

 

Commentary

a. These and similar narrations are a proof against those who claim that use verses such as “Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change themselves” (TMQ 13:11) mean that the Muslims should turn inwards and work on personal morals and by doing so they will gain the victory of Allah سبحانه وتعالى, since the conditions for victory as mentioned are to call to Islam and forbid the evil, and the biggest evil today is the implementation of other than the laws revealed by Allah upon His slaves, and the biggest order that has been neglected is the order to establish the deen of Allah سبحانه وتعالى upon the earth, to establish His Hudood and establish the Jihad to spread the Justice of Islam to the oppressed and overthrow those who prefer to live in darkness.

b. This is reflected in the example of our Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم who called against the manners and practises of the jahiliyya society in Mecca for years, and carried the Dawa to the tribes around the Arabian Peninsula, while turning to Allah سبحانه وتعالى to bring about the Victory. So the action is carried out, and Allah سبحانه وتعالى is relied upon.

 

Source: The Sixty Sultaniyya – A collection of narrations relating to Ruling by Abu Luqman Fathullah